13 FEB - SAINT OF THE DAY [S GILES MARY-OF-ST JOSEPH (1729-1812)]

 Francis Pontillo was born in Italy, to a pious family and raised in the village there. As a child, he learned rope-making and was good at his trade. 

    When he was 25, Francis became aware of a call from the Lord to give his life to God. He wanted very much to become a priest but because he did not have enough education 

    to become one, he entered the Friars of St. Peter Alcantara in Naples as a lay brother. His complete name as a religious was Giles Mary-of-St.-Joseph. 

    The two virtues that guided his whole religious life were simplicity and humility. Br. Giles walked up and down the halls of the monastery's seminary, 

    as he was the porter and gate-keeper. He took gentle care of the poor, the homeless, the ill who came to that door. He had a special ministry to the sick. 

    He worked with lepers, traveling outside the city to help those who had to live alone because of their disease. He knew it was St. Joseph who did this. 

    After all, St. Joseph had once taken such good care of Jesus and Mary. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1996.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

09 FEB - OUR MOTHER OF THE BELLS (FRANCE)

Image
 The town of Saintes, France was originally a thriving settlement in ancient Gaul located along the Charente River. The town takes its name, Saintes,      due to Mary Salome and Mary Jacob were forced to flee the Holy Land about the year 45 AD. They left taking a boat with no sail and were miraculously transported across      the Mediterranean Sea, making land near the place which became known as Saintes Maries de la Mer and considered a holy place.      This tradition was carried on by the Celts and then the Romans. It is recorded, on the octave day of the Purification, the bells in the Cathedral of Saintes,      rang out most sweetly of themselves. The sacristans, having run to the Church, saw what appeared to be several unknown men holding lighted candles and melodiously      chanting hymns in honor of the Blessed Virgin, Our Mother of the Bells, who was venerated in a Chapel of this Church. Approaching s...
Read more

23rd May - OUR MOTHER OF MIRACLES OF BRESCIA (ITALY)

Image
 This north Italian shrine in Lombardy originated with a painting of the Blessed Virgin on the outside of a house. During an epidemic of plague that devastated Brescia in 1478,      it became the occasion of miracles of healing. The symptoms of the plague began with a severe headache, and then the lymph glands would become swollen.      The victim’s body would literally decay before they would suddenly die. The plague began in March of the year and continued until July the next year.      200 people died per day in the town, while the population of the city dropped from just under 40,000 to somewhat less than 4,000 during that perilous time.      The Church of Our Mother of Miracles in Brescia was built to honor the image of the Blessed Virgin before which so many people were miraculously healed.      Construction began in 1488 in thanksgiving to the Blessed Virgin for those who survived, but work was not co...
Read more

09 FEB - SAINT OF THE DAY [S MIGUEL FEBRES CORDERO MUNOZ (1854-1910)]

Image
 Miguel was born to a prominent family in Ecuador with an unknown disability, he was unable to stand until age five when he received a vision of Our Mother.      At age 8, he was miraculously protected from being mauled by a wild bull. He enrolled in a school run by the Christian Brothers,      an Order which had only recently come to Ecuador and joined the Brothers at age 13. He became a school teacher at Quito, a position he held for 32 years.      A gentle, dedicated, and enthusiastic teacher.      Wrote his own textbooks and some were adopted by the government, and used throughout the country.      He was elected to the Ecuadoran Academy of Letters in 1892, and to the Academies of Spain, France, and Venezuela.      He was sent to Europe in 1905 to translate texts from French to Spanish for use by the Order; worked primarily in Belgium. His health began to fail and he was transferred to the...
Read more

20th May - DEDICATION OF THE CHURCH OF LA FERTE (BURGUNDY)

Image
 The first daughter-house of Citeaux, was founded by St. Bernard’s Cistercian Order. It was one of the largest Cistercian Abbeys and one of the first four abbeys for women.      These Abbeys had a major role in the future organization of the Cistercian Order. During the years 1165 and 1166 the Abbey was at the very heart of disputes.      The convent buildings were reconstructed during the 13th century, and in 1362 the whole complex was surrounded by a stout wall and moat with a single door served by a drawbridge.      In 1574, Rev. Francis Beugre rebuilt the abbey cloister and other buildings. In the year 1760, Fr. Francois Chemilly added some new construction,      including an addition to the front of the Abbey house. The pediment that can still be seen is decorated with his coat of arms.
Read more

14 FEB - OUR MOTHER OF BOURBOURG (BELGIUM)

Image
 During the middle ages, the site of the Chapel was occupied by lepers and one of them sculpted a statue of the Blessed Mother with the Infant in her arms.      The leper was healed at once and several miracles had been attributed to the image. The king of France and all the lords of his army, with their attendants,      entered Bourbourg. The Bretons began to plunder the Church. A barbarian stood upon an altar with the intent of forcing out a precious stone that was in the      crown of an image of Our Mother. As he reached to steal the stone, the image suddenly turned about, and the robber in his fright fell from the altar and was instantly struck      dead. Another aggressor came with a similar intent of robbing the image; but all the bells began a peal without any one touching them, for no one could have rung them,      the bell-ropes being drawn up and fastened. On account of these miracles, the Church ...
Read more