tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337581972024-03-07T14:22:47.839-06:00Saints Preserve Us!People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.
- Thich Nhat HanhLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-1453314274103698772007-02-21T13:44:00.000-06:002007-02-21T14:35:53.162-06:00Saint Olga of Kiev<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_P_o5oRUOLgE/RdyhzDaIuOI/AAAAAAAAABE/ggIm8v88EQ0/s1600-h/Baptizm_of_Olga_Kirillov.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5034076381953702114" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_P_o5oRUOLgE/RdyhzDaIuOI/AAAAAAAAABE/ggIm8v88EQ0/s400/Baptizm_of_Olga_Kirillov.jpg" border="0" /></a> Saint Olga was the wife of the prince of Kiev, Igor. Igor was the son of King <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Oleg</span>, the second leader of Viking descent who ruled Novgorod, one of the largest cities in what we now know of as present-day Russia.<br /><br />As prince, Igor was methodically subduing the various surrounding tribes, expanding his lands and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">receiving</span> tribute from the tribes that proved too difficult to control completely. Among the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">conquered</span> people was the tribe known as The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Drevlians</span>. They had tried to rebel several times in the past, and once again were refusing to pay <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">their</span> annual tribute to Igor.<br /><br />With a large army, Igor went to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Drevlians</span>' largest town and threatened them with violence. This caused the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Drevlians</span> to back down and pay Igor what they owed him. It seemed that everyone would go home happy. However, halfway to Novgorod, Igor instructed his men to carry on with the tribute, and went back to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Drevlian</span> territory alone with the intent of forcing further payment out of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Drevlians</span> for all the trouble they had caused him.<br /><br />Without his army to back him up, Prince Igor <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">didn't</span> have quite the clout he thought he had. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Drevlians</span> murdered him and dumped his body in a shallow grave. The Chief of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Drevlians</span>, Mal, then came up with a brilliant plan. If he could get Igor's widow, Olga, to marry him, he would be the prince of all the other tribes in that corner of Russia. He summoned 20 of his men and sent them to bring the "good" news to Olga and inform her of Igor's untimely demise.<br /><br />When the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Drevlian</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">ambassadors</span> arrived and told Olga that Igor was dead, she welcomed them graciously and spared no hospitality. Encouraged by what seemed to be a grand welcome, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Drevlians</span> decided to be honest with Olga. They admitted to her that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">thier</span> people had killed Igor, and that he had deserved it, then offered her the proposal from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">thier</span> king, Mal, for her hand in marriage.<br /><br />Amazingly <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">suppressing</span> her rage, Olga replied that the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Drevlian's</span> proposal was pleasing to her, admitting that Igor cannot rise from the dead. She suggested that they return the next day because she needed some time to think it over. As soon as the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Drevlians</span> had left, Olga instructed her servants to dig a deep ditch.<br /><br />The following day, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Drevlians</span> returned, dressed in their finest and expecting to hear Olga accept and become <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">their</span> princess. Instead, Olga had them <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">seized</span> by her guard and thrown into the pit. She stood at the edge of the pit and called down to the ambassadors, asking them how they liked their visit to Kiev. They replied "Our case is worse than <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Igors</span>!" as she turned and commanded the pit to be filled. She had buried the 20 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Drevlians</span> alive.<br /><br />Before word of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">their</span> fate could reach the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Drevlian</span> king, Olga sent a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">messenger</span> to Prince Mal. She told him that she accepted his proposal of marriage but if he wanted her to come, he must send his most distinguished men to serve as her escort. Imagining his plan to be going well, Mal sent the escort at once.<br /><br />Once again, Olga played the part of a exemplary hostess. She welcomed the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Drevlians</span> and offered them the use of her private bathhouse to clean up after the ride. Once they were all inside, Olga had her guards seal the doors and set fire to the building. Everyone inside was burnt alive.<br /><br />Olga sent another message to Prince Mal, saying she was coming at last. But she wanted to mourn at <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Igor's</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">grave site</span> and give him a proper memorial with the traditional banquet. She asked Mal and his favored men to be her guests, and to bring plenty of mead. Once finding <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Igor's</span> grave, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Olga's</span> men got busy building a proper burial mound while she wept like a dutiful wife. When the funeral rites were complete, she went with Mal to the hall for the feast. Mal inquired about the escorts that he had sent her, and Olga told him that they were on the way accompanied by her personal bodyguards.<br /><br />Olga and her people hosted the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Drevlians</span> and kept the mead flowing. Prince Mal and his men were so happy that everything seemed to be going their way that they never noticed how little drink was being consumed by Olga and her companions. When the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Drevlians</span> were finally incapacitated by mead, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Olga's</span> men went about with swords and killed every single <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">Drevlian</span> in the hall. It is estimated by historians that several hundred men were killed that night alone.<br /><br />Princess Olga was still not satisfied. She returned to Kiev, massed her army and marched to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Iskorosten</span>, the main town of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Drevlians</span>. By this time, word had gotten around, and the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">Drevlians</span> were scared. They offered her anything she wanted, but Olga did not want to be bought off. Her soldiers set fire to the city, and as the townspeople ran out the gates into the field, they were slaughtered by Olga's troops. Those who managed to survive were sold into slavery. Finally, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">Igor's</span> death was avenged.<br /><br />In 954, approximately 9 years later, Olga went to Constantinople to form an alliance with the Emperor Constantine. While there, she converted to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">Christianity</span>. There is no historical evidence to suggest why she was so willing to give up her pagan ways, but she returned to Kiev determined to bring her people to the Church. She was largely unsuccessful. She even invited <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">missionaries</span> from Germany to come to her lands and convert her people, but they were murdered by the tribes of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">Rus</span> in the Ukraine for <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">their</span> efforts. Her own family even rejected her <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">new found</span> faith. When she died, her attempts to convert the people appeared to be a failure. It would be her grandson, Vladimir, who would see her vision of a christian Russia come to pass.<br /><br />Olga is titled "Equal to the Apostles" because of her efforts. Her feast day is July 11.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-2495964642366264622007-02-14T11:06:00.000-06:002007-02-14T11:59:05.088-06:00Saint Calixtus<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_P_o5oRUOLgE/RdNDbDaIuLI/AAAAAAAAAAg/zaei6xcd5zs/s1600-h/calixtus.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5031439340753434802" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_P_o5oRUOLgE/RdNDbDaIuLI/AAAAAAAAAAg/zaei6xcd5zs/s400/calixtus.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>In Rome, around the year 190, a man named <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Carpophorus</span> set up a bank for fellow Christians, in particular, poor widows. He placed in administration a slave named <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Calixtus</span> who had experience managing money. It was the worst choice he could have possibly made.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Calixtus</span> made terrible investment decisions, and worst of all habitually helped himself to the bank funds. The money was gone in no time at all, and the widows found themselves with no money at all. To escape punishment, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Calixtus</span> took the first ship out of port. However, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Carpophorus</span> chased after the slave and caught up with him in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Portus</span>, captured him and sent him back to Rome and hard labor chained to a gristmill and sentenced to work until he died.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Strangely, after hearing of his fate, the destitute patrons of the bank asked <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Carpophorus</span> to release <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Calixtus</span> and ask him to recover some of the money he had lost. No sooner was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Calixtus</span> out of his chains when he got into more trouble. The following Saturday, he stormed into Rome's Synagogue, disrupting the sabbath service, and demanded money from the Jewish congregation. A brawl ensued and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Calixtus</span> was dragged to court and charged with desecrating a holy place and disturbing the peace, in addition to being a Christian. He was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">sentanced</span> quickly and given a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">scourgeing</span> then sent off to the Mines of Sardinia, a virtual death <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">sentance</span>. Life expectancy in the mines for a healthy man in his prime was less than a year. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Calixtus</span> was in the mines only a short time when fate gave him yet another chance. Marcia, the mistress of the Emperor <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Commodus</span>, was a christian, and decided to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">excersize</span> her power on behalf of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">christians</span> who were <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">sentanced</span> in the mines. She asked pope Victor to prepare a list of the "living martyrs" so she could arrange for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">thier</span> release. The pope named every christian he knew of in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Sardina</span>, but purposely left out <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Calixtus</span>. Marcia sent her old eunuch to Sardinia to release the prisoners. As he was leaving, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Calixtus</span> ran up to him weeping, and begged for his help. The old man knew of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Calixtus's</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">repuation</span> but couldn't leave him in the mines to die, so <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Calixtus</span> returned to Rome once again.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Predictably, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Carpophorus</span> and Pope Victor were horrified that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Calixtus</span> had returned, and he was set up outside the city walls with a small allowance and a home, in the hopes that he would stay out of trouble. He was placed in the service of a priest who managed the priests and deacons of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Rome</span>. After Pope Victor died, his successor, Pope <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Zephyrinus</span>, elevated <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Calixtus</span> to the position of Deacon and put him in charge of a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">cemetery</span>. By the time Pope <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Zephyrinus</span> died, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Calixtus</span> had become so respected among the church and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Christians</span> of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Rome</span>, he was elected Pope. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>He ruled for 5 years and was acclaimed as a virtuous and merciful man. His reign was noted for his forgiveness. He decreed that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Christians</span> who had <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">committed</span> adultery, fornication, or even heresy, could be restored to full communion with the church if they confessed <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">their</span> sins and did penance. <div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_P_o5oRUOLgE/RdNKJjaIuMI/AAAAAAAAAAo/IuweMk-ZqAE/s1600-h/2725b.jpg"></a></div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>In 222 an anti-christian mob murdered <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Calixtus</span> and threw his body down a well. His remains <div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_P_o5oRUOLgE/RdNKJjaIuMI/AAAAAAAAAAo/IuweMk-ZqAE/s1600-h/2725b.jpg"></a></div>were recovered and are now enshrined in Rome. <div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_P_o5oRUOLgE/RdNKJjaIuMI/AAAAAAAAAAo/IuweMk-ZqAE/s1600-h/2725b.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5031446736687118530" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_P_o5oRUOLgE/RdNKJjaIuMI/AAAAAAAAAAo/IuweMk-ZqAE/s400/2725b.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_P_o5oRUOLgE/RdNKJjaIuMI/AAAAAAAAAAo/IuweMk-ZqAE/s1600-h/2725b.jpg"></a></div><div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_P_o5oRUOLgE/RdNKJjaIuMI/AAAAAAAAAAo/IuweMk-ZqAE/s1600-h/2725b.jpg"></a></div></div><br /><div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_P_o5oRUOLgE/RdNKJjaIuMI/AAAAAAAAAAo/IuweMk-ZqAE/s1600-h/2725b.jpg"></a></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-66405828942991170252007-02-14T10:41:00.000-06:002007-02-14T11:06:05.816-06:00Saint Valentine<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_P_o5oRUOLgE/RdNBNTaIuJI/AAAAAAAAAAM/Ya49V9RlIZk/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5031436905506977938" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_P_o5oRUOLgE/RdNBNTaIuJI/AAAAAAAAAAM/Ya49V9RlIZk/s400/untitled.bmp" border="0" /></a><br />There were perhaps as many as 3 Saint Valentines. He is perhaps one of 3 martyred men named <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Valentinius</span> from the late 3d century. He was either a Priest in Rome, a Bishop of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Terni</span>, or a Roman who was martyred in Africa. Or, he was completely fictional.<br /><br />The feast day of of St. Valentine, February 14<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">th</span>, was decreed in 496 by Pope <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Gelasius</span> I, who included Valentine among those "... whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God." which implies that there is not much known at all about the saint, at all.<br /><br />Many of the current legends surrounding Saint Valentine were created in the fourteenth century in England by Geoffrey Chaucer. It is also around this time that the day of February 14 first became associated with romance and love.<br /><br />In 1836, a body was exhumed from the catacombs of Saint <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Hippolytus</span> near Rome, were identified as being that of St Valentine. They were placed in a gilded casket, and transported to Dublin, Ireland. Many tourists visit the relics there on St. Valentine's Day, when the casket is carried in solemn procession to the high altar for a special Mass which is dedicated to young people and everyone in love. Relics of St Valentine also lie in France, in Vienna and in Glasgow, Scotland.<br /><br />The Saint's feast day was removed from the Church calendar in 1969 as part of a broader effort to remove saints viewed as being of legendary origin. It is still celebrated around the world locally, as well as by those Catholics who follow the older, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">pre</span>-Vatican II calendar. Prior to this, the church in Rome that had been dedicated to him observed his feast day by displaying (one of) his (many) reputed skull(s) surrounded by roses.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-8048540589853811032006-11-27T14:28:00.000-06:002006-11-27T14:48:56.962-06:00Christina the Astonishing<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/7157/4120/1600/751524/christina_fit2.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/7157/4120/400/674717/christina_fit2.jpg" border="0" /></a> Christina, considered by some to be a saint, is as much remembered for her faith as she is for her <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">bizzare</span> and sometimes violent behaviour.<br />She was born in Belgium in 1150, and was orphaned soon after. Around the age of 21 she suffered a massive seizure , which resulted in a condition so severe that everyone assumed she was dead. During the funeral service, she awoke and it is said she <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">levetated</span> over the crowd. A priest in attendance ordered her to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">decend</span>, and she did so upon the altar of the church and proclaimed to all that she had witnessed Heaven, Hell and Purgatory.<br /><br />After that incident, Christina exhibited more strange behaviour. She had many more severe seizures. It is thought today that she suffered from an extreme form of epilepsy. She claimed that she could 'smell sin' on people and in order to escape the smell she would climb trees and rooftops and one time even hid inside an oven. Other times she would <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">levetate</span> to extreme heights.<br /><br />Christina chose to live in poverty, and exhibited it in ways that were considered extreme even by 13<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">th</span> century standards. She slept on rocks, wore rags, and begged for her food. She often fell into "<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">ecstasies</span>" where she would lead the souls of the recently dead to purgatory, and those from purgatory to Heaven. During which, Christina would roll in fire or handle it without harm, stand in freezing water in the winter for hours, spend long periods in tombs, or allow herself to be dragged under water by a mill wheel, and it is claimed she never sustained injury.<br /><br />The people of the day were divided in their opinions: Some said she was a holy woman, touched of God, and that her actions and torments were simulations of the experiences of the souls in purgatory, and that she was suffering the torments of devils - Others believed she was completely insane. However, the prioress of Saint Catherine's convent testified that no matter how bizarre or excessive Christina's reported actions, she was always completely obedient to the prioresses orders. She was a good Friend of Louis, Count of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Looz</span>, whose castle she visited, and whose actions she rebuked. Blessed Marie of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Oignies</span> thought well of her, and Saint <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Lutgardis</span> sought her advice.<br /><br />She passed away at the age of 74 due to natural causes.<br /><br />No formal beatification has taken place. Christina is sometimes referred to as Blessed or as a Saint and her patronage is considered to include insanity; lunatics; madness; mental disorders; mental handicaps; mental health caregivers; mental health professionals; mental illness; mentally ill people; psychiatrists; and therapists.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-31269655868982690462006-11-15T14:47:00.000-06:002006-11-15T15:09:36.692-06:00Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/1600/gabriel.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/400/gabriel.jpg" border="0" /></a>Francesco Possenti was born on March 1, 1838 the eleventh of thirteen children. He led a relatively normal life, becoming popular for his warm and outgoing personality. His interested included dancing, hunting and the theater. Twice he fell seriously ill as a child, and promised his life to God if he became well, and twice was healed. Both times he put off his promise.<br /><br />During a procession of an icon of the Mother of Sorrows, Francesco felt her call to him and say that he was not meant for this world, and he should join the seminary. On the night his father had arranged for him to become engaged, he left for the Passionist novitiate. His journey there was delayed by well-meaning relatives who, on his father's direction, attempted to turn him from joining the order. He was able to overcome all their arguments and persuade them that his desire was genuine.<br /><br />Francesco took vows in the Passionist community, and took the name Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, reflecting the devotion that he always had to Our Lady of Sorrows. Gabriel attained holiness in a very short space of time, he was consumed with love for Christ, through Our Lady of Sorrows. As well as the vow made by all Passionists to spread devotion to Christ, Gabriel took an additional vow to spread devotion to Our Sorrowful Mother. His writings reflect his close relationship and devotion with God and Saint Mary.<br /><br />The <a title="Saint Gabriel Possenti Society" href="http://www.possentisociety.com/default.asp">Saint Gabriel Possenti Society</a> has recently been promoting the idea of having Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows designated as the Patron Saint of Handgunners. The story says that in 1860, a band of soldiers from the army of Garibaldi entered the mountain village of Isola, Italy where Saint Gabriel was staying at the time. They began to burn and pillage the town, killing and otherwise terrorizing the villiagers.<br /><br />Saint Gabriel walked into the center of town, unarmed, to face the terrorists. One of the soldiers was dragging off a young woman he intended to rape when he saw the monk and made a remark about the young man being all alone.<br />Saint Gabriel quickly took the soldier's revolver from his belt and ordered him to let the woman go. Gabriel also grabbed the revolver of another soldier who walked by, and the man let the woman free. The other soldiers started to gather at that point, with the intent of stopping Saint Gabriel. At that moment a small lizard happened to run across the road between Saint Gabriel and the band of soldiers. When the lizard briefly paused, the Saint took careful aim and killed the lizard with one shot. Turning his two handguns on the approaching soldiers, He then commanded them to drop their weapons. After seeing his marksmanship with a pistol, the soldiers complied. Saint Gabriel then ordered them to put out the fires they had set, and otherwise clean up the mess they had caused, and upon finishing, marched the whole lot out of town, ordering them never to return. The grateful townspeople thereafter referred to him as "the Savior of Isola".<br /><br />Gabriel died of tuberculosis in 1860.<br />Pope Benedict XV canonized Gabriel in 1920 and declared him a patron saint of Catholic youth. In 1959, Pope John XXIII named him the patron of the Abruzzi region, where he spent the last two years of his earthly life. His patronage is also invoked by the Church for students, seminarians, novices and clerics. Saint Gemma Galgani held that it was St. Gabriel who had cured her of a disease and led her to a Passionist vocation. Millions of pilgrims visit St. Gabriel's shrine each year in Teramo, Abruzzi to see the burial place of the Saint and the monastic house in which he lived out his final years. The cult of St. Gabriel is especially popular amongst Italian youth. Every March, thousands of high school students from Abruzzo and the Marche reions of Italy visit his tomb 100 days before their expected graduation.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-834108093494132752006-11-10T16:38:00.000-06:002006-11-10T17:50:23.069-06:00Saint Patrick<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/1600/patrick.gif"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/400/patrick.gif" border="0" /></a>Saint Patrick is sometimes referred to as "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Maewyn</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Succat</span>" which some believe to be his birth name.<br />Patrick was born somewhere along the west coast of Great Britain <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">or the</span> north coast of France. The location has never been identified, and many places along both coasts claim to be his birthplace.<br /><br />Although Patrick reportedly came from a Christian family , he was not particularly religious. As a young man, he was captured and sold as a slave to a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Druidic</span> high priest and was put to work tending sheep on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Slemish</span> Mountain in present day Ireland. During his 6 years of enslavement, Patrick became very devout. He also learned about the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Druidic</span> faith and how to speak Celtic. He escaped, under the direction of God's voice, and returned home. There he lived happily until one night when he dreamed that the children of Ireland were begging for him to return.<br />Great Britain at this time was undergoing turmoil following the withdrawal of Rome. First with the troops in 407 and then the Roman central authority in 410.<br /><a id="Mission" name="Mission"></a><br />Patrick returned to Ireland and began work as a missionary. His first convert was Saint <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Dichu</span>, who made a gift of a large <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">sabhall</span> (barn) for a church sanctuary. This first sanctuary dedicated by St Patrick became his retreat when he aged. A monastery and church were erected there, as well. The site, Saul, County Down, retains the name <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Sabhall</span> (pronounced "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Sowel</span>").<br />While Patrick encouraged the Irish to become monks and nuns, it is not known if he ever was a monk himself. It is even less likely that in his time the monastery was a principal unit of the Irish Church, although it became so in later years. The choice of its location may have been determined by the presence of a powerful king. Patrick built a school and probably had a small residence, so from this base he could make his missionary journeys.<br /><br />One famous story tells about a time at the annual vernal fire that was to be lit by the High King, a custom where all the fires in the land were extinguished so they could be renewed in a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Druidic</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">ceremony</span> from a single sacred fire. Patrick lit a rival, miraculously inextinguishable Christian bonfire on a hill at the opposite end of the valley. This struck a major blow to the ruling Druids. Patrick was not the first Christian missionary to Ireland, as men such as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Secundus</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Palladius</span> were active there before him. However, tradition credits him with the most impact, and his missions seem to have been concentrated in the provinces of Ulster and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Connaught</span> which had never received Christians before. He established the Church throughout Ireland on lasting foundations: he travelled throughout the country preaching, teaching, building churches, opening schools and monasteries, converting chiefs and bards, and everywhere supporting his preaching with miracles.<br /><br />Patrick was very much against slave trading, for obvious reasons. He wrote that he daily expected to be violently killed or enslaved again. Patrick gathered many followers, including Saint <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Benignus</span>, who would become his successor. His chief concerns were the raising up of native clergy, and abolishing Paganism, and Sun-worship. He was the first christian writer to condemn all forms of slavery, long before the papacy did so in the late 19<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">th</span> century.<br /><br />One of Patrick's surviving letters is addressed to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Coroticus</span>, a king of Alt <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Clut</span>, and his soldiers. It is the oldest surviving and identified literature of the British or Celtic Catholic Church. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Coroticus</span> and his army had attacked a band of newly baptized Gaels, killing some and taking the rest as captives to sell as slaves to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Picts</span>. In the letter, Patrick requests that his messenger read aloud in the presence of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Coroticus</span> and all his people, "so that on no account it be suppressed or hidden by anyone," He goes further on to mention his hope that his words would inspire <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Coroticus</span> and his soldiers to repent and to release their captives.<br /><br />In his writings, Patrick describes how he used various symbols from Druidism to illustrate Christian ideas and made subtle changes to doctrine. For example, the Sun was associated with the deity <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Lugh</span>, but Patrick reinterpreted it as certainly being a symbol of a deity, but that deity was the Christian God.<br /><a id="Patrick_in_legend" name="Patrick_in_legend"></a><br />Most famously, Patrick is credited with banishing snakes from the island of Ireland, though the post-glacial island never actually had snakes. It is suggested that snakes referred to the serpent symbolism of the Druids. Legend also credits Patrick with teaching the Irish about the concept of the Trinity by using the shamrock, a 3-leaved clover. Whether or not these legends are true, it goes to show how important his ministry was to Ireland. <a id="Death" name="Death"></a><br /><br />Patrick died in AD 493 according to the latest reconstruction of the old Irish writings, a date accepted by some modern historians. Prior to the 1940's it was believed without doubt that he died in 461 and thus had lived in the first half of the 5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">th</span> century. <a class="internal" title="The reputed burial place of St. Patrick in Downpatrick" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Saint_Patrick%27s_grave_Downpatrick.jpg"></a><br /><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Saint_Patrick%27s_grave_Downpatrick.jpg"></a>The reputed burial place of St. Patrick in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Downpatrick</span><br /><br />March 17, the day celebrated as St. Patrick's Day, and is also his feast date, is believed to be date of his death.<br />For most of the first thousand years of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Christianity</span>, canonizations were done on a regional level. Relatively soon after the death of people considered to be very holy, the local Church would affirm that they could be celebrated as saints. As a result, St. Patrick has never been formally canonized by a Pope, but he is still widely venerated in Ireland and around the world today.<br /><a id="The_cult_of_Patrick" name="The_cult_of_Patrick"></a>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-16334768562492676662006-11-09T22:54:00.000-06:002006-11-09T23:17:54.180-06:00Saint Hubert<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/1600/hubert.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/400/hubert.jpg" border="0" /></a>Hubert was born the son of a Merovingian Duke. When he was a child, Hubert was sent to the court of Theuderic the third at Paris, where his charm earned him the title "count of the palace". Like most nobles, Hubert was addicted to hunting. He killed everything a young noble should, and apparently spent all his free time doing so. Hubert married a girl named Floribanne, the daughter of Dagobert, Count of Leuven. They had a son named Floribert would later become bishop of Liège.<br /><a id="Hubertus.27_withdrawal" name="Hubertus.27_withdrawal"></a><br />Hubert's wife died giving birth to their son, and Hubert left the court, withdrew into the forest of Ardennes, and buried himself entirely in the hunt. One Good Friday morning, when everyone else was going to church, Hubert instead set out to hunt deer. Soon he was pursuing a magnificent stag, some legends claim it was a rare white stag. Suddenly, the animal turned and Hubert was amazed to see a crucifix standing between its antlers. He heard a voice saying: "Hubert, unless thou turnest to the Lord, and leadest an holy life, thou shalt quickly go down into hell". Hubert immediately dismounted, prostrated himself and said, "Lord, what wouldst Thou have me do?" He received the answer, "Go and seek Lambert, and he will instruct you."<br /><br />The story of the stag seems to have been appropriated from the legend of Saint Eustace or Placidus. It was first attributed to St. Hubert in the 15th century. The apparition may hark back to an even older Celtic tale, recorded in the Mabinogion, where Arawn, Lord of the Underworld, is crowned with antlers.<br /><br />Hubert set out immediately to find Saint Lambert who was bishop. Saint Lambert received Hubert kindly, and became his spiritual director. Hubert renounced all his honors, and gave up his birthright to the Aquitaine to his younger brother Odo, whom he also made guardian of his infant son, Floribert. He distributed all his personal wealth among the poor, then studied for the priesthood, and was soon ordained. Shortly afterwards Saint Hubert became one of St. Lambert's chief associates in the administration of his diocese. Taking the advice of St. Lambert, Hubert made a pilgrimage to Rome in 708. During his absence, Lambert was assassinated by the followers of Pippin. According to legend, the assassination was revealed to the pope in a vision, together with instructions to appoint Hubert bishop of Maastricht, which he did.<br /><br />Hubertus died peacefully in Fura, Brabant, May 30, 727 or 728. He was first buried in the collegiate church of St. Peter, Liège, but his bones were exhumed and moved to the Ardennes in 825. The abbey became a focus for pilgrimages, until the coffin disappeared and likely became a casualty of the Reformation. His feast day is the 3rd of November.<br /><br />Saint Hubert is traditionally the Patron Saint of hunters and in relation to this is invoked against dog bite and rabies, two very real threats in medieval times. Throngs of believers made pilgrimages to Leige to pray for his prevention and cure. The common cure for rabies was the use of the "Saint Hubert's keys". This was an iron bar or cross that was carried or hung on the wall of a home for additional protection against rabies. If bitten, the peasant would take the key and heat it then apply it to the wound. Surprisingly, this cure often worked. If heated and applied immediately the key would cauterize and sterilize the wound, effectively killing all of the rabies virus. This belief and practice continued well into the 19th century and really only faded into obscurity when Louis Pasteur invented the Rabies vaccine.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-72220194027740313962006-11-02T17:05:00.000-06:002006-11-02T18:13:54.933-06:00Saint Polycarp of Smyrna<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/1600/polycarp.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/400/polycarp.jpg" border="0" /></a>Saint <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Polycarp</span> is a celebrated figure in the history of Christianity, and one of the few martyrs from the first centuries who's story has been proven to be historically accurate. A direct pupil of the apostle John, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Polycarp</span> lived between 70 and 155 A.D., connecting him to both the biblical apostles and the early church fathers. Several ancient sources document the contributions of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Polycarp</span> to Christianity. These include his letters written to the church at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Philippi</span>, in which he encourages the members to remain strong in their faith and to flee from materialism and instructs the members in the proper handling of financial dishonesty, which was apparently an issue creeping into the church.<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Polycarp</span> served as the bishop at Smyrna (in modern day Syria), and was recognized as one of the early combatants of Christian heresies, namely the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnostics"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Gnostics</span></a> and the theologian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcion"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Marcion</span></a>.<br /> <br />Some argue that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Polycarps</span> greatest contribution to Christianity was his martyred death. His martyrdom is one of the most well documented events of antiquity. The emperors of Rome recorded many of the persecutions and deaths from this era that resulted from the widespread crackdown on Christianity, which was viewed as a dangerous cult that needed to be stopped.<br /><br />At 86 years of age, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Polycarp</span> was arrested on the charge of being a Christian. Amidst an angry mob, the Roman proconsul took pity on the gentle old man and urged <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Polycarp</span> to proclaim, "Caesar is Lord". If only <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Polycarp</span> would make this declaration and offer a small pinch of incense to Caesar's statue he would escape torture and death.<br />To this <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Polycarp</span> responded, "Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" Steadfast in his stand for Christ, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Polycarp</span> refused to compromise his beliefs, and was burned alive at the stake. The date of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Polycarp's</span> death is disputed. The historian <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Eusebius</span> dates it to the reign of Marcus Aurelius, circa 166 – 167. However, a post-Eu<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">sebian a</span>ddition to the Martyrdom of Po<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">lycarp d</span>ates his death to Saturday, February 23 in the pr<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">oconsulship o</span>f St<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">atius Q</span>u<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">adratus—wh</span>ich works out to be 155 or 156. These earlier dates better fit the tradition of his association with Ignatius and John the Evangelist.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-32113732601599190712006-10-20T19:11:00.000-05:002006-10-20T19:44:46.342-05:00Saint Ursula<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/1600/ursula1.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/400/ursula1.0.jpg" border="0" /></a>Ursula is a British saint, and her feast day is October 21, though her feast was removed from the general calendar of saints in 1969.<br />Her extremely unhistorical legend, is that she was a Romano-British princess who, at the request of her father King Donaut of Cornwall, set sail to join her future husband, the pagan Governor of Brittany, and taking along with her 11,000 virginal handmaidens. <div></div><div>A miraculous storm brought them over the sea in a single day to a Gaulish port, where Ursula declared that before her marriage she would undertake a pilgrimage to Rome. She set off with her followers, and somehow persuaded the Pope and the Bishop of Ravenna to join them. When they arrived at Cologne, it was being besieged by the Huns. All the virgins were beheaded in a dreadful massacre. The Huns' leader shot Ursula dead when she refused his hand in marriage.</div><div>Ursula and her fellow virgins were buried in Cologne where the Church of St. Ursula is dedicated to her. </div><div> </div><div></div><div>While there was a long standing tradition of virgin martyrs in Cologne by the 5th century, this was limited to a small number between two and eleven according to different sources. The number 11,000 was first mentioned in the 9th century. It has been suggested that this came from reading the name "Undecimillia" or "Ximillia" as a number, or reading the abbreviation "XI. M. V." as eleven thousand virgins rather than a more realistic eleven martyred virgins. Another theory however is that the number 11,000 originated in the middle ages, when bones of questionable origin were commonly sold as relics. St. Ursula and her virgins were very popular, so according to theory, people sold so many bones of the Saint and the virgins that people invented the 11,000 virgins as an explanation for the ample supply of bones. These bones were in fact proven to be the remains of people buried in a churchyard which dates back to Roman times.</div><div><br />Today the story of Saint Ursula is overwhelmingly considered to be fiction, for obvious reasons. As a result of this, in 1969 Pope Paul VI suppressed her cult as part of a larger revision of the canon of saints. Interestingly enough, Ursula which means 'bear' in Latin, was also another name for Artemis, (the Great Bitch, Mother of Animals, Mother of Cats), one of whose shrines was, unsurprisingly, at Cologne. The church dedicated to Saint Ursula in Cologne has so many relics that Lord Byron was moved to comment: 'Eleven thousand maidenheads of bone, / the greatest number flesh has ever known.' </div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-53363431259623723242006-10-19T09:06:00.000-05:002006-10-19T09:41:03.871-05:00Saint Frideswide<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/1600/frideswide_window.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/400/frideswide_window.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> was the daughter of King <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Didan</span>. She was born in the mid 7<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">th</span> century. An early age, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> was already rather spiritual, having been raised by a devout governess. After her mother's death, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> persuaded her father to give her a large parcel of land at the gates of the city where she could build a church. Here she and twelve companions built a convent adjoining the church. The ladies were not, however, bound by the strict rules of the cloister, but only by their love of seclusion and chastity.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide's</span> fame spread far and wide, and as a beautiful girl with plenty of money and vast tracts of land, she was seen as a rich prize. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Aelfgar</span>, the Earl of Leicester, decided to try and woo the lady and sent messengers asking for her hand in marriage. Though she was flattered, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> would not give in because she had taken a vow of chastity. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Aelfgar</span> was furious at her refusal, and decided to take <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> by force. King <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Didan's</span> spies, however, got wind of the plan and his daughter thought it best to flee to Oxford with two of her companions.<br /><br />By the Thames, the three found a small boat tended by a white robed youth. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Unknow</span> to them, according to legend, the young man was an angel in disguise. He happily agreed to take them down the river to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Abingdon</span>. From here the ladies hid in the deep oak forest which covered much of Berkshire at that time. They then travelled many miles on foot to a place then called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Bentona</span>, now <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Yattendon</span>. Here they discovered a small ivy-covered pig-sty. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> made the sty into a small oratory for the three companions and they lived off the land for about three years, drinking from a well which appeared when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> prayed for water.<br /><br />In the meantime, Prince <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Aelfgar</span> continued to search for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span>. He sent his emissaries all over the land looking for her. In desperation he gathered a large force of men and marched on Oxford. At the city gates, he threatened to burn the city down if <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> was not delivered to him. King <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Didan</span> would not sacrifice his daughter, but the people of Oxford were frightened of loosing their homes. They opened the city gates to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Aelfgar</span> and revealed the princess's hiding place.<br /><br />At a drunken party that night, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Aelfgar</span> declared he would take <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> for his pleasure, and that his men could have her too, whether she liked it or not. However, in the morning, after he became sober, he changed his mind and hoped to win her with a display of his persistent affection. He sent two messengers into the forest with gifts and songs of love. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> received the ambassadors with quiet reverence, and listened to what they had to say. Her answer, however, was the same as before. The two messengers returned to Oxford, and as they entered the city gates to report to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Aelfgar</span>, they were both struck blind.<br /><br />The prince was furious at the second rebuff. He jumped on his horse and rode off into the forest to confront <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span>. She was going to be his wife whether she liked it or not. Near <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide's</span> oratory, her two companions were out gathering berries when they heard <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Aelfgar's</span> approach. They ran to their mistress to warn her. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide's</span> body, however, was weak and her spirit broken. It seemed she was cornered at last. She remembered Saints Catherine and Cecilia, who had also had to defend their virtue at the price of life, and she prayed to them for help. Just as she became within grasping distance of Prince <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Aelfgar</span>, he was suddenly struck blind, just like his emissaries before him. Ever since, the superstition grew up that the same would happen to any monarch who entered the City of Oxford. Accordingly, the Kings of England stayed away until the reign of Henry III. Some said that all the ills of his reign were due to this. Perhaps, if the kings had known the Berkshire version: that the people of Oxford were St. Frideswide's betrayers, not her defenders, then they would have visited Oxford sooner<br /><br />The prince fell to the ground, stumbling around in the mud and crying out for help. He pleaded forgiveness from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> and swore to his repentance. He would leave her alone, if only he could see again. Having pity on this pathetic sight, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> took <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Aelfgar</span> by the hand and led him to her well. Here she bathed his eyes and prayed for his sight to be restored, and it was. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> now decided to return to her nunnery at Oxford. She refused offers of a ride home, and travelled on foot.<br /><br />On her way back through North Berkshire, she and her companions were accosted by a hideous leper. Her friends were repulsed, but when he asked her to kiss him, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> overcame her natural revulsion. She made the sign of the cross and gave the man a sisterly kiss on the lips. At once his leprous skin fell away, to reveal his flesh to be as smooth once more. He was cured.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> lived happily at Oxford for many years. She eventually retired to quiet seclusion in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Thornbury</span> Wood where, at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Binsey</span>, she built a small chapel. She prayed for water once more, this time to St. Margaret, and a spring appeared to feed her for the rest of her life. She eventually died on 19<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">th</span> October 735 and was buried in her nunnery's church in Oxford. Many pilgrims visited the holy lady's grave and so many miracles occurred there that she was soon proclaimed a saint. She died in 735 of natural causes. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">monastary</span> she founded is now Christ Church College, University of Oxford, and the convent church became Oxford cathedral.<br /><br />Hundreds of years later, in 1561 the bones of Saint <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Frideswide</span> were dug up by an extremist Protestant reformer called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Calfhill</span>, who mixed them with the bones of a nun who had married a monk, and reburied it all in the cathedral with a new inscription '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Hic</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">jacet</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">religione</span> cum <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">superstitione</span>' (Here lies religion with superstition). Ironically, by this act he preserved the saint's bones when so many other catholic relics were completely destroyed by Cromwell's enthusiasts.<br /><br />Her feast day is October 19<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">th</span><br />She is the patroness of Oxford England, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Oxford">University of Oxford, England</a>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-59273105864458317242006-10-10T20:25:00.001-05:002006-10-10T20:42:12.092-05:00Saint Basil the Blessed, Fool for Christ<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/1600/stbasilblessed.1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/400/stbasilblessed.1.jpg" border="0" /></a> Saint Basil the Blessed, was born in December 1468 on the portico of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Elokhov</span> church outside Moscow. His parents were commoners and sent their son to be trained as a cobbler. During Basil's apprenticeship, the master cobbler happened to witness an occurrence, which showed him that his <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">apprentice</span> was not an ordinary young man. A merchant had brought grain to Moscow on a barge and came in to order boots, specifying that they be made in a particular way, since he would not pick them up for a year. After taking the order, Saint Basil began to weep and said, "I wish you would cancel the order, since you will never wear them." Confused, the master cobbler questioned his apprentice, and he explained that the man would not wear the boots, for he would soon die. After several days the prediction came true.<br /><br />When he was sixteen, the saint arrived in Moscow and began to display what is called "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurodivy"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Yurodivy</span></a>" or foolishness for Christ. In the burning summer heat and in the freezing <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Russian</span> winters, he walked barefoot through the streets of Moscow. His actions were strange, for instance, he would topple <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">kalachi</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">kvas</span> stands in the marketplace. Angry merchants would throttle and beat Saint Basil, but he welcomed the abuse with joy and he thanked God for it. Soon after it would be discovered that the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">kalachi</span> was poorly cooked, and the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">kvas</span> was badly prepared. The reputation of St Basil quickly grew. People saw him as a holy fool, a man of God, and a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">denouncer</span> of wrong.<br /><br />Another story tells of a merchant who wanted to build a stone church on in Moscow, but its arches collapsed three times. The merchant turned to the saint for advice, and he pointed him toward Kiev. "Find John the Cripple," he said. "He will advise you how to construct the church." Traveling to Kiev, the merchant sought out John, who sat in a poor hut and rocked an empty cradle. "Whom do you rock?" asked the merchant. "I weep for my mother, who was made poor by my birth and upbringing." Only then did the merchant remember his own mother, whom he had thrown out of the house. Then it became clear to him why he was not able to build the church. Returning to Moscow, he brought his mother home, begged her forgiveness, and built the church.<br /><br />Preaching mercy, Saint Basil helped those who were ashamed to ask for alms, but who were more in need of help than others. Once, he gave away a rich imperial present to a foreign merchant who had been left destitute. Although the man had eaten nothing for three days, he was not able to beg for food, since he wore fine clothing. The saint harshly condemned those who gave to the poor for selfish reasons, not out of compassion, but hoping for an easy way to attract God's blessings. St Basil also visited the taverns, where he tried to see goodness, even in people who others had given up as lost, and to strengthen and encourage them by kindness.<br />Once Saint Basil even reproached Tsar Ivan the Terrible, saying that during the divine services the Tsar was preoccupied with thoughts of building a palace in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Vorobiev</span> hills.<br /><br />St Basil died on August 2, 1557. His body was buried in the cemetery of Trinity church, where in 1554, In an early icon, St Basil is portrayed as old, with white hair curling at his ears, and a short, curly white beard. He is completely naked, and holds a handkerchief in his hand. The veneration of St Basil the Blessed was always so strong that the Trinity temple and the attached Protection church were renamed for him as the famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Basil">St Basil's Cathedral</a> in Moscow. The saint's chains, his relics, are preserved at the Moscow Spiritual Academy.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-65590029943236412672006-10-10T13:00:00.000-05:002006-10-10T13:08:40.479-05:00Saint Dymphna<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/1600/DYMPHNA-02.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/400/DYMPHNA-02.jpg" border="0" /></a>Saint Dymphna is believed to be the daughter of a pagan Irish chief and his Christian wife or concubine and who was born in the 7th century. When her mother unexpectedly died, her father Damon scoured the world for an equally beautiful replacement. When his search failed, the chiefs advisors pointed out to him that his teenage daughter had inherited her mother's looks. Driven mad by grief, Damon made advances on Dymphna. <div></div><div>With the assistance of St. Gerebernus, she fled to Belgium. There they took refuge at a chapel not far from Antwerp. However Damon's spies tracked them down the chief confronted them, ordering his soldiers to slay Gerebernus. Damon then begged Dymphna to return with him to Ireland as his wife. When she refused, he decapitated her in a rage with a single stroke of his sword. </div><div></div><div>The historical basis for this story is uncertain. There are variations in the legend and it has counterparts in the folktales of many European countries. Dymphna as a saint first shows up in a 13th century document after a local bishop commissioned her biography. Although it is obvious that he was prompted by already existing practice of veneration by the locals, it is clear the story is derived entirely from oral tradition. Fragments of two sarcophagi that supposedly bore the bodies of Dymphna and Gerebernus were found in the area, as well as a brick inscribed "DYMPNA" that was supposedly lay in one of the coffins. The body of St. Dymphna is supposedly held in a silver reliquary in the church named in her honor, although the original church burnt down in the 15th century.</div><div><br />The burial place of St. Dymphna has long been associated with accounts of miraculous cures of mental illness. A hospital was built there in the 13th century and to this day hosts a world-class sanatorium. A peculiar aspect of the treatment from the earliest days is that patients are hosted with local residents, living and working alongside them. This is especially remarkable considering the attitudes of hostility towards the insane at that time.</div><div><br />St. Dymphna may be synonymous with the Irish saints Davets and Damhnait. Her feast day falls on May 15. She is the patron saint of insanity and mental illness professionals as well as incest victims, runaways, and those suffering from mental illness.</div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-21008602748145978112006-10-10T11:43:00.000-05:002006-10-10T12:02:48.110-05:00Saint Vitus<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/1600/saint%20vitus.1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7157/4120/400/saint%20vitus.1.jpg" border="0" /></a>Vitus, according to his extremely unreliable legend, become a Christian when he was very young, around the age of 12, through the influence of the servants who tended him. His tutor and nurse accompanied him on his tours around Sicily where he performed many miracles and converted hundreds if not thousands. When his deeds became widely known his angry father surrendered him to the authorities, who attempted to 'cure' him of his faith. They were unsuccessful, and Vitus with his tutor and nurse fled to Lucania and then to Rome, where he exorcised Emperor Diocletian's son of an evil spirit.<br /><br />When Vitus would not sacrifice to the Roman gods his cure was attributed to sorcery. He was subjected to various tortures, including submersion in a cauldron of molten lead, from which he emerged unscathed. Vitus was then thrown into the den of a hungry lion, and the beast merely licked him affectionately. One version says that the tormentors gave up and freed Vitus and his companions when during a storm temples were destroyed and an angel guided them back to Lucania, where they eventually died.<br /><br />The fact remains that his cult is an ancient one. No one is really even certain about when Saint Vitus lived, although most place his martyrdom at the time of Diocletian. There is even some confusion about the site of his martyrdom. <br /><br />Saint Vitus is one of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Holy_Helpers">Fourteen Holy Helpers</a>, who, are especially venerated in France and Germany. The Holy Helpers are believed to have especially effective intercessory power. The relics of Vitus are said to possess many healing properties, especially when epileptics pray before them<br /><br />Saint Vitus is the patron of Prague, dogs, domestic animals, young people, dancers, copper smiths, actors, comedians, and mummers. He is invoked against epilepsy, lightning, poisoning by dog or snake bite, sleeplessness, snakebite, storm, and Saint Vitus Dance (Sydenham's chorea, a nervous disorder)<br /><br />The reason for his patronage of the Dramatic arts and Dance is thought to be related to the practice of16th century Germans who believed they could obtain a year's good health by dancing before the statue of Saint Vitus on his feast day. This dancing developed almost into a mania, with convulsions and twitching, which could resemble chorea, the nervous condition later known as Saint Vitus' dance.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-1159910212259781662006-10-03T15:58:00.000-05:002006-10-03T16:50:19.933-05:00Saint Walburga<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/grobwalburga.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/400/grobwalburga.jpg" border="0" /></a> St. Walburga (d. 779) was born in England to an aristocratic family. At an early age, she was given to the care of the Benedictine nuns in Wimbourne Abbey (located in present-day Dorset) where she eventually became a nun. When her relative St. Boniface, who was a missionary monk and bishop who evangelized in Germany, asked for help from other Anglo-Saxon monasteries, St. Walburga became part of a group of nuns from Wimbourne who answered the missionary call. Later, she became abbess of the Heidenheim monastary, a double monastery of men and women founded by her brother St. Wunibald, who served as its first abbot. The legends of her life, which date from the 10th century tells stories of her gentleness, humility and charity, as well as her power to heal the sick.<br /><br />Many years after her death, her bones were taken from Heidenheim to the town of Eichstatt, Bavaria. An order of Benedictine nuns was founded for the purpose of maintaining her shrine. Soon after, her bones began to produce a clear liquid, called oil which people began to use as a healing tool and in prayer for the sick.<br /><br />Countless believers claim to have experienced healing through her intercession. St. Walburga's oil continues to flow every year from about October 12 to February 25, two of her feast days. It seeps from her relics through a thick slab of stone where it is collected and distributed by the nuns of the Abtei St. Walburg.<br /><br />The fluid is caught in a silver cup, placed beneath the slab for that purpose, and is distributed among the faithful in small vials. A chemical analysis has shown that the fluid contains nothing more than the chemical makeup of water. The first mention of the oil of St. Walburga is made as early as the ninth century by her biographer Wolfhard of Herrieden.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-1159058153110698892006-09-23T19:09:00.000-05:002006-09-23T19:37:46.280-05:00Saint Brendan the Navigator<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/Saint_brendan_german_manuscript.2.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/400/Saint_brendan_german_manuscript.2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Saint Brendan is primarily known for the seven year voyage he took into the Atlantic with 60 followers. According to a 9th century manuscript <em>The Voyage of Saint Brendan the Navigator </em>he set off to search for the Garden of Eden. This probably occurred around 530 AD, before he traveled from Ireland to the island of Britain.<br /><br />On his journey Brendan is said to have seen an island covered in vegetation, which he believed to be Paradise. Some claim that he may have discovered North America in his travels. He also encountered a sea monster (probably a whale) Christopher Columbus used the legends told of St Brendan as part of his argument that it was possible to travel to Asia by crossing the Atlantic.<br /><br />Later, he traveled to Wales and the holy island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland. Upon his return to Ireland, he founded a bishopric at Annaghdown, where he spent the rest of his days. He was recognized as a saint by the Irish church, and his feast day is May 16.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/brendan02.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/400/brendan02.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Saint Brendan also is one of the few saints to be featured as a comic book character. In Dr. Strange III #11/2 (December 1989) he was summoned by Merlin and it took their combined power to contain the Darkhold and trap Mordred in a special crypt. More about Saint Brendan the Marvel comic book character can be found <em><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/brendan.htm">Here.</a></em><br /><em><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/brendan03.1.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/400/brendan03.1.jpg" border="0" /></a></em>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-1158963286401287982006-09-22T16:17:00.000-05:002006-09-22T17:20:47.636-05:00Saint Januarius<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/200px-SaintJanuarius.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/400/200px-SaintJanuarius.jpg" border="0" /></a> Saint Januarius, or San Gennaro, was the Bishop of Benevento. Sources claim that he died in 305 during the persecution of Diocletian near in the sulfur mines, where he was visiting imprisoned deacons. He was beheaded along with many other companions. His body was later taken to Naples Italy, where he is now the patron saint.<br /><br />His feast Day is September 10th, and he remains extremely popular, despite very limited information about his life and works.This is primarily due to the miracle that occurs annually... The liquefaction of his blood.<br /><br />In small round glass globes in an ornate reliquary there is kept the dried blood of the saint. On his feast day or on the first Sunday in May, the dried "blood" becomes liquid after being handled by a priest during the service and ceremony.<br /><br />Some scientists suggest that it is not blood but instead a gel like hydrated iron oxide. Such a concotion would solidify until shaken or otherwise moved. This would also explain why the blood liquified during an earthquake.<br /><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Fanzago1.jpg"></a><br />The first recorded reference to the "miracle of the blood" was in 1389.<br /><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Januarius.jpg"></a><a class="new" title="Girolamo Pesce" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Girolamo_Pesce&action=edit"></a><br /><a href="http://www.cicap.org/en_artic/at101014.htm"><em>More: The Blood of Saint Januarius</em></a>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-1158552912267824842006-09-17T23:06:00.000-05:002006-09-18T08:46:44.563-05:00Saint Margaret of Antioch<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/saintmarg.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/400/saintmarg.jpg" border="0" /></a>Saint Margaret, also known as Margaret of Antioch was the daughter of a pagan priest named Aedesius. Naturally, she was rejected by her father for her faith, and lived in the country with a foster-mother as a shepardess.<br /><br />A man named Olybrius offered her marriage if she renounced Christianity. Her refusal led to her being cruelly tortured, first by being burned and then they attempted to boil her alive. She was then fed to Satan who was in the shape of a dragon, from which she also escaped alive. Finally, Saint Margaret was put to death by beheading in A.D. 304.<br /><br />Some historians believe that the group of legends that Saint Margaret is connected with are derived from a transformation of the pagan divinity Aphrodite into a Christian saint. In art, she is usually pictured escaping from the dragon. Saint Margaret was immensely popular in England with over 200 churches dedicated to her. She is also one of the Saints who reportedly appeared to Joan of Arc.<br /><br />Some say that if Margaret was a historical person, an explanation for the "dragon" could be a rock python. It was a well known animal to the Romans, and often used in circuses. Rock pythons are known to have attacked and even swallowed humans, the snake could well have devoured her whole and later vomited her out.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-1158552120819533782006-09-17T22:42:00.000-05:002006-09-18T08:38:25.956-05:00Saint Lucia/Lucy<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/lucyZaganelli.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/400/lucyZaganelli.jpg" border="0" /></a>After a fairly typical childhood (by early female saint standards) with the usual fanatical religious devotion and an absent parent, Lucy's mother arranged a marriage for her with a pagan groom.<br /><br />Naturally, Lucy refused and urged that the dowry be spent on alms so that she might retain her virginity. News that the patrimony and jewels were being distributed to the poor came to the ears of Lucy's betrothed, who heard it from a talkative nurse that Lucy had found a suitor of noble stature to replace him.<br /><br />As revenge, her rejected pagan groom ratted out Lucy as a Christian to the magistrate, who ordered her to burn a sacrifice to the Emperor's image. Lucy replied that she had nothing left to give; "I offer to him myself, let him do with his offering as it pleaseth him." So she was entenced to be defiled in a brothel.<br /><br />The guards who came to take her away found her rooted to the spot, she had become heavy and stiff. They could not move her even when they hitched her to a team of oxen. All the while, she spoke against her persecutors. Even when they stuck a dagger in her throat, she kept talking. Finally they gouged her eyes out, but she was still able to see. In art she is shown holding her eyes on a plate. In the end God restored her eyes and eyesight, apparently before she was executed.<br /><br />Her patronage includes; authors; Belgium; cutlers; dysentery; epidemics; eye problems; glaziers; hemorraghes; laborers; martyrs; peasants; Perugia, Italy; saddlers; salesmen; sore eyes; sore throats; stained glass workers; Syracuse, Sicily; throat infections; Villa Santa Lucia, Latium, Italy; writersLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-1158550918732867992006-09-17T22:32:00.000-05:002006-09-18T08:35:19.790-05:00Saint Denis<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/saint%20denis.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/400/saint%20denis.jpg" border="0" /></a> Saint Denis was the bishop of paris and is the patron saint of France. He was martyred by beheading around 250 AD, after being sent there from Italy by Pope Fabian to convert the Gauls.<br /><br />Denis was beheaded by sword on the highest hill near Paris (now called Montmartre.) According to the <em>Golden Legend, </em>after he was beheaded, Saint Denis picked up his head and walked several miles all the while preaching a sermon. The site where he stopped preaching and finally died was made into a shrine that later grew into the Saint Denis Basilica.<br /><br />In art, Denis is depicted holding his head and taking a stroll.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-1158257085058132682006-09-14T12:45:00.000-05:002006-09-14T13:06:41.283-05:00St Christopher Cynephoros<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/christophery.0.png"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/400/christophery.0.png" border="0" /></a> The Eastern Orthodox Church has not downgraded Saint Christopher, although his history is almost certainly fiction. He is sometimes depicted in art and iconography as having the head of a dog. According to the Eastern Orthodox, During the reign of the Emperor Decius, a man named Reprebus (or Reprobus) was captured in combat and was assigned to the "Unit of the Marmaritae". He was a giant and a cannibal said to have the head of a dog. Traditional Orthodox<u><span style="color:#0000ff;"> iconography</span></u> depicts him as literally dog-headed. When Reprebus accepted baptism, he lost his dog head and became human in appearance. The governor of Antioch (or in some versions, the Emperor himself) decreed that Reprebus was to be executed for his faith. He miraculously survived many attempts at his life and "allowed" himself to be martyrdom after he had converted thousands of people.<br /><br />According to the Roman Orthodox tradition, Saint Christopher was a giant whom carried the Christ Child across a river and was baptised by him. He was later beheaded by the local king.<br /><br />Relics and the head of the Saint are being held on the island of Rab, Croatia. Saint Christopher is the patron of the island of Rab. When Normans tried to invade the islands and besieged the city, its inhabitants placed the saints relics on the city walls. As a miraculous result the winds changed and the bows and ships were blown away from the city.<br /><br />Today, Saint Christopher has been demoted to a local commemoration (since many question the historical accuracy of his legend)<br />Despite this, Saint Christopher remains very popular among Roman Catholics. Medallions issued in his name are worn and frequently displayed in automobiles. (Our old Crown Victoria came with one glued to the dashboard.)<br /><br />He holds patronage of things related to travel and travelers: people who carry things; against lightning; against pestilence; archers; automobile drivers; automobiles; bachelors; boatmen; bookbinders; bus and taxi drivers; epileptics; floods; fruit dealers; fullers; gardeners; hailstorms; holy death; lorry drivers; mariners; market carriers; motorists; porters; sailors; storms; sudden death; surfers; toothache; transportation; transportation workers; travellers, and watermenLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-1158091928456536872006-09-12T14:54:00.000-05:002006-09-12T15:18:07.503-05:00Saint Wilgefortis<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/uncu1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/400/uncu1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Also known as Saint Uncumber<br /><br />Legend says she was a Christian daughter of a pagan King of Portugal. In order to keep her vow of chastity, she prayed that God would disfigure her body, so she might evade the command of her father to marry a pagan prince. God caused a beard to grow on her chin, whereupon her father had her crucified.<br /><br />Connected with this legend is the story of a destitute fiddler to whom, when he played before her image (or perhaps <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/wigel.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/400/wigel.jpg" border="0" /></a>before her crucified body), she gave one of her golden boots. Being condemned to death for the theft of the boot, he was granted his request to play before her a second time, and, in presence of all, she kicked off her other boot, which established his innocence.<br /><br />The legend cannot be traced back further than the fifteenth century. It its believed that it originated from a misinterpretation of the famous "Volto Santo" of Lucca, a representation of the crucified savior, clothed in a long tunic, wearing a crown and looking rather androgynous.<br /><br />The name Wilgefortis is said to derive from the phrase Hilge Vartz (Vartz, Fratz, face), "Holy Face". The old English name Saint Uncumber, and the equivalents in other languages, rose from the popular belief that every one who invokes the saint in the hour of death will die without anxiety or regret.<br /><br />Her feast was celebrated on 20 July. The Roman Catholic Church removed her commemoration in the liturgical reform of 1969. She is usually represented nailed to a cross: as a girl of ten or twelve years, frequently with a beard, or as throwing her golden boot to a musician playing before her, sometimes also with one foot bare.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-1157921448461253362006-09-10T15:45:00.000-05:002006-09-11T16:43:08.440-05:00Saint Erasmus of Formiae<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/p-erasmu.2.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/400/p-erasmu.4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Martyrdom: around 330 AD<br /><br />Patronage: Sailors<br /><br />Saint Erasmus, also known as Saint Elmo, might have been a hermit on Mount Lebanon, or a bishop in Formia.<br /><br />According to the legend, he was called before the judges during the persecuting under the Emperor Diocletian, and found guilty of being a Christian. He was beaten and spat upon, then beaten again with lead mauls until the veins in his body broke and burst. Erasmus was then thrown into a pit of snakes, and boiling oil and sulfur was poured on top of him; but "he lay therein as he had lain in cold water, thanking and loving God". According to the <em>Golden Legend</em> by <a title="Jacobus de Voragine" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobus_de_Voragine">Jacobus de Voragine</a>. During his tortures, thunder and lightning struck, killing everyone around except the Saint. Diocletian then had him thrown into another pit, but an angel came and slew all the snakes. He was subsequently released.<br /><br />After the emperor Diocletian came the Emperor Maximus. Maximus is said to be "worse than Diocletian". Since Saint Erasmus had not learned from the past tortures and was still preaching and spreading the word of god, Maximus had him put into a pan boiling with rosin, pitch, brimstone lead, and oil and had it poured into his mouth. Saint Erasmus still did not stop. Maximus then had him fitted into a searing hot cloak of metal, to no effect. The emperor then took Saint Erasmus to the pagan temple and forced him to sacrifice to the roman gods there, but they crumbled to dust. This enraged Maximus, so he put Saint Erasmus into a barrel protruding with spikes and rolled him down a hill. Erasmus came out unharmed. According to the Golden Legend, the Saint was then subjected to the following tortures:<br /><em>"His teeth were plucked out of his head with iron pincers. And after that they bound him to a pillar and carded his skin with iron cards, and then they roasted him upon a gridiron...And did smite sharp nails of iron in his fingers, and after, they put out his eyes of his head with their fingers, and after that they laid this holy bishop upon the ground naked and stretched him with strong whites bound to horses about his blessed neck, arms, and legs, so that all his veins and sinews that he had in his body burst."</em><br /><em></em><br />It is not clear how Erasmus escaped these tortures, but he ended up on Mount Lebanon as a hermit, and was fed by ravens. He was recaptured, beaten and whipped again, then coated in pitch and set alight. Finally, after Maximus threw him into prison with the intent of starving him to death, Erasmus managed to escape again.<br /><br />He was recaptured,in the Roman province of Illyrcium, where he was martyred by having his stomach slit open and his entrails wound around a <a title="Windlass" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windlass">windlass</a> (<em>depicted above by Nicolas Poussin 1628</em>). The use of this tool is how sailors took him as their patron saint.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-1157667647725790502006-09-07T17:08:00.000-05:002006-09-07T17:22:55.346-05:00Saint Agatha<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/agatha.0.jpg"><em><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/400/agatha.jpg" border="0" /></em></a><em>martyrdom:</em> c.250 at Catania, Sicily<br /><br /><em>Patronage: </em>Ali, Sicily; bell-founders; breast cancer; breast disease; Catania, Sicily; against fire; earthquakes; eruptions of Mount Etna; fire; fire prevention; jewelers; martyrs; natural disasters; nurses; Palermo, Sicily; rape victims; single laywomen; sterility; torture victims; volcanic eruptions; wet-nurses; Zamarramala, Spain<br /><em></em><br />Not much is known about the martyr, Saint Agatha, who has been honored since the dawn of Christianity. According to legend, she was beautiful, young and rich, and had consecrated her life to God. When the Roman emperor Decius announced the edicts against the Christians, the magistrate Quinctianus tried to blackmail her for sex in exchange for not charging her. She refused. Agatha was handed over to a brothel, where she refused to accept customers. After rejecting Quinctianus's advances, she was beaten, imprisoned, tortured, and her breasts were cut off. Imprisoned again, then rolled in live coals, she was near death when an earthquake struck the region. In the destruction, the magistrate's friend was crushed and the magistrate himself fled. Agatha thanked god for an end to her pain, and died.<br /><br />Legend says that carrying the reliquary with her veil in procession has averted eruptions of Mount Etna. Her intercession is credited with saving Malta from Turkish invasion in 1551.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-1157552054503260122006-09-06T07:22:00.000-05:002006-09-06T09:29:03.453-05:00Veronica Giuliani<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/Guiliani.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/320/Guiliani.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><em>Born</em>: 1660 at Mercatello, Urbio, Italy as Ursula Giuliani<br /><em>Died : </em>July 9 1727 at Citt' di Castello, Italy<br /><br />Apparently Saint Veronica got her start early in life. Born to wealthy parents, her first words were said to be "Do justice, God sees you." Growing up some would even report she was a bit stuck up, especially about her families status and towards those who didn't share her religious fervor.<br /><br />As a teen, when her father presented potential suitors for her to marry she became ill at the thought of not devoting her life to god. With her fathers blessing she joined the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Poor_Ladies">Poor Claires</a> at the age of 17.<br /><br />In 1697 Saint Veronica began showing signs of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmata">Stigmata</a>, starting with the wounds of the crown of thorns on her head and by Good Friday the other 5 wounds on her body and hands. The local bishop eventually decided to study these phenomena himself. In the presence of several nuns, he examined the stigmata and satisfied himself that they were genuine wounds. As a sort of test to ensure no fraud was occuring, he forbade the Veronica to receive Communion, to associate with the other nuns, and to have any communications with the outside world. She was to be under constant observation for a period by a lay sister. Her wounds were to be dressed and bandaged, and her hands clothed in gloves sealed with the bishop's seal. After a long term, the bishop was satisfied that her wounds were not a deception and stopped the experament. There were also reports of her levetation, and that the bleeding from the stigmata would stop with a word of command.<br />After her death the figure of the cross was found impressed upon her incorrupt heart.<br /><br />It is interesting to note that that during her 34 years as mistress of novices, she actively discouraged the apprentice nuns from fancying that they were mystics. She knew well that there could be dangerous consequences. When elected abbess eleven years before her death, she showed herself also as a practical administrator. She started an extensive building program, including enlarging the convent quarters and piping in a better water system. She is also the author of a 10 volume diary of her experiences and visions entitled Diary of the Passion.<br /><br />She succumbed to apoplexy in July of 1727. She was canonized in 1839.<br /><br />Her bones, encased in wax (photo above) are on display. There was a death mask made so the features are accurate. Her incorrupt heart is kept in a reliquiary in Monastero Santa Veronica Giuliani.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33758197.post-1157217161628071822006-09-02T12:12:00.000-05:002006-09-05T09:01:20.006-05:00Joseph of Copertino<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/1600/146_JosephCopertino.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7190/1765/320/146_JosephCopertino.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><em><strong>AKA:</strong></em> Joseph of Copertino; the Gaper; the Flying Friar; Joseph Desa<br /><br /><em><strong>Patronage:</strong></em>air crews, air travellers, aircraft pilots, astronauts, aviators, paratroopers, flyers, students and test takers.<br /><br /><strong><em>Memorial:</em></strong> 18th of September<br /><br />Joseph had a rough start in life. His father died before he was born and his mother was homeless due to debt. He was born in a stable. At age 8 he started having visions that left him staring into space, and earned him the nickname "The Gaper" from his peers.<br /><br />After joining the Franciscans near Cupertino, his visions intensified. They seemed to be triggered by music, a church bell or images of Mary or even thoughts of heaven. Once he would go into a trance, nothing could wake him. Not even being burnt or pinched. Oftentimes he would levetate or float.<br />For 35 years he was not allowed to attend choir, go to the common refectory, walk in procession, or say Mass in church. To prevent making a spectacle, he was ordered to remain in his room with a private chapel. He was even brought before the Inquisition at one point.<br /><br />In September 1663 he died following a sudden fever and is buried in the chapel of the Conception, Ossimo Italy.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12918699764079530610noreply@blogger.com0