Every Day In Christian History

 An Irish monk, St. Killian was consecrated Bishop, went to Rome with eleven companions in 686, and received permission from Pope Conon to evangelize Franconia (Baden and Bavaria).      He was successful in his missionary endeavors until he converted Gosbert, Duke of Wurzburg, who had married Geilana, his brother's widow.      While Gosbert was away on a military expedition, Geilana was reputed to have had the three missionaries beheaded when she found that Gosbert was going to leave her after Killian      had told him the marriage was forbidden by the Church. St. Killian is one of the patron saints for sufferers of rheumatism. Kilian is the patron saint of the parish of Tuosist,      near Kenmare in County Kerry, where he is believed to have resided before travelling to Germany. A Church and holy well are named after him and his feast day, July 8,      is traditionally celebrated with a pattern when crowds ...

 The statue of Our Sweet Mother is of oak is nearly four feet tall and is of an unusual pattern: Our Mother stands upright, while her forearms are extended at right angles to her body.     The Child is balanced on her left hand and in her right, she holds an apple. The image known as the “Kind Mother” at Hertogenbosch, or “Our Sweet Mother” of Den Bosch,      as she is also known in the north Brabant province of the Netherlands, was an object of derision in 1380. It had been found dirty and damaged in a builder’s junk-yard,      but it soon became celebrated for the wonders connected with it. The dedication of the new Church of Our Mother of Arras occurred in 1484 by the Bishop of that city.      The Kind Mother was hidden and saved from the destruction in 1566. It wasn’t until the year 1810 when the Cathedral at Den Bosch was returned to the Catholics by Napoleon.      Then, it took the prolonged efforts of the ...

 Maria was born in Granada, Nicaragua, in 1902 to a wealthy family, her father being a government minister. At the age of 12, she became extremely sick and was paralyzed for six      months with rheumatic fever. She was cured through the intercession and apparition of Our Lady Help of Christians, during which she discovered her vocation to be a Salesian sister.      She entered the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and made her final profession in 1929. Two years later, she was transferred to San Jose, Costa Rica. She taught music,      drawing and typing to rich girls. She also trained catechists and taught the poor. She inspired many of her students to join her in her work with the poor,      and was known for helping people to come to know God in a personal way. More and more, her ministry became focused on social development, helping the rich to see how they could      help the poor. She set up recrea...

 The village of St. Sulpice-le-Dunois is a small village located near the center of France. There was a young French couple living in the village at that time who felt      themselves blessed. They took pleasure in their youth and enjoyed good health, had gainful employment, owned a modest home and they had recently been blessed with a fine baby whom      they felt was as sweet as the Babe of Bethlehem. Thus, they mused on their way home together after morning Mass. As soon as they entered their home,      Pierre hurried to the cradle to gaze lovingly at his infant son. The child must have been restless as there was evidence that he had struggled with the bedclothes which were      tossed about and tangled strangely about the infant. Pierre reached in and lifted his son to hold him in his arms, only to find that the tiny figure was rigid and cold. Stunned,      he called for his wife disbelieving, for it see...

 Nazaria was born in Madrid in 1889 to a large Spanish family, quickly developed a strong faith that her family often opposed. Nazaria persisted in her belief and after her family      moved to Mexico in 1904, she continued her devotion and decided to join the Institute of Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly at the age of 19. The Institute sent her to work in Oruro,      Bolivia, where she supported the elderly, poor, and neglected. After a few years in Bolivia, Sister Nazaria became inspired by the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola      and began to feel called to establish a new order devoted to missionary work, evangelization, and religious education. In 1925, she founded the Congregation of the Missionary      Crusaders of the Church. It was the first Bolivian religious community for women. Their mission supported the catechizing of children and adults, while also supporting priests,      cond...

 In the year 1472, the statue in the shrine of Our Mother of Cambray was dedicated by Peter de Ranchicourt, the Bishop of Arras. The statue at the shrine is known as Our Mother of      Grace at Cambray and is a famous and popular image of the Blessed Virgin. It depicts Mary standing atop a globe, with her hands down at her sides so that grace can fall from her      fingertips upon her children. There is also a miraculous icon of the Blessed Virgin holding her Divine Infant in a tender embrace. The image is said to have come to Cambray from      Rome in about 1440 and it is ascribed to St. Luke the Apostle. This icon is also known as Our Mother of Grace and is considered the patroness of Cambray.      The icon was crowned in the year 1894 and is proudly taken through the streets of Cambray in procession on the eve of the Assumption each year.

 Anthony was born into an Italian family and his father died shortly after Anthony's birth, and his mother, though only 18 years old, chose not to marry again,      preferring to devote herself to charitable works and her son's education. He went on to study medicine at the University of Padua and had no intention of either marrying or      accumulating wealth. While caring for the physical conditions of his patients, he also encouraged them to find spiritual healing through the sacraments. Ordained a priest at age 26,      Anthony is said to have experienced a miraculous occurrence during his first Mass, being surrounded by a supernatural light and a multitude of Angels during the consecration of      the Eucharist. The new priest encountered widespread ignorance and religious indifference among laypersons, while many of the clergy were either weak or corrupt.      In these dire circumstances, he devoted hi...

 Tradition holds that on the 24th of March, in the year 1320, two criminals were condemned to be burned to death for their crimes. One of them, a youth,      called on the Blessed Virgin Mary. After invoking her name, he stood in the flames and remained unhurt, while the other was entirely consumed. Pope John XXII was made aware of      what had happened, and recognized the miracle and directed that a Chapel known as Our Nother of Miracles should be built at the execution site. During the French Revolution,      the Chapel was seized as state property, and then sold. The Church has now been made into an apartment building “conducive to meditation and contemplation.

 Elizabeth born in Zaragoza, Spain in 1271, she was the daughter of Peter III of Aragon and was married off to King Denis of Portugal in 1282.      From the beginning Elizabeth showed a great compassion to the poor. Legend says she would leave the palace disguised, in order to take food to the poor.      She was very devoted to God and also passed great part of her time in prayer. One of the miracles attributed to her is the “miracle of the roses”.      After the king had discovered she was leaving the palace to take food to the poor he forbade her to do it. She never gave up and every day she was still leaving behind the      king’s back. One day in the winter time she was carrying pieces of bread hidden in her dress. The King saw her going out and stopped her.      Obediently she unfolded the dress and there were roses instead of bread. She was always an example of devotion to God and to those in need. Whe...

 According to tradition, on 3 July in the year 1418, a Swiss soldier committed a sacrilege upon a statue of the Blessed Virgin known as Our Mother of la Carolle.      It was located at the corner of the Rue aux Ours, which was built in the 13th century and terminated at the hospital of Saint John. The Rue aux Ours     is now a short street that begins at Rue Saint-Martin and ends at the Boulevard Sebastopol in Paris, France. The Swiss soldier came upon the shrine of the Blessed Virgin      after having left a tavern. He was probably intoxicated when he drew his sword and repeatedly struck the statue of the Blessed Virgin with the weapon for no known reason.      The statue of Our Mother of Carole then began to bleed profusely as if made of flesh and blood, and wounded by the blows. The citizens who had observed the sacrilege were outraged      and followed the soldier as he fled from the scene of his crime. The m...

 Thomas was a Jew and called to be one of the 12 Apostles. He was a dedicated but impetuous follower of Christ. When Jesus proposed to go to Bethany after Lazarus had died,      Thomas said to the other Apostles, “Let us also go to die with him” (John 11:16). He made one remark and has been branded as “Doubting Thomas” ever since. But if he doubted,      he also believed. He made what is certainly the most explicit statement of faith, “My Lord and My God!” (John 20:24-28) and, in so expressing his faith,      gave Christians a prayer that will be said till the end of time. He, who was the last to believe, was the first to make the full confession of the Divinity of the Risen Savior.      Some gratitude must always be credited to Thomas, who touched Christ as a man, but believed in him as God. Tradition says that at the dispersal of the Apostles after Pentecost      this saint was sent to evangelize to the Pa...

 The Shrine of Our Mother of Madhu is in Mannar district, Sri Lanka. With a history of over 400 years, this shrine acts as a center for pilgrimage and worship for Sri Lankan Catholics.     In 1670, 20 Catholic families fled Mantai with the miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary amidst Dutch persecution. They had stumbled upon a forest hamlet named Maruthamadhu      adjoining a tank, where they had settled and were soon joined by about 700 other Catholics and seven Priests fleeing from Jaffna. Among them was a Portuguese named Helena,      who created a humble mud structure to house the statue. A strong community, devoted to the worship of the Virgin Mary, took root at this spot.      The small Church gradually earned repute for possessing the power of healing drawing more devotees to seek refuge. There is a custom that the sick remains outside the Church and      chant their entreaties loud enough for Mary to hear ...

 Born in the Italian nobility, he studied law and medicine at Bologna, Italy, receiving a law degree in 1556. He was Mayor of Felizzano, Italy. Following a retreat,      and aided by our Lady's appearance to him, he became a Jesuit in 1564, and was ordained in 1567. Novice master in Naples, and then was sent to found a college in Lecce,      a small city in the south of Italy. He quickly became the most loved man in Lecce due to his concern and charity. He made himself appear the receiver rather than the giver,      and the poor and galley slaves were his special concern. One of the more interesting miracles attributed to him concerned his small jug of wine which was never empty until everyone      present had had enough. On Bernadine's death bed, the city's magistrates formally requested that in the after-life he take the city under his patronage. Unable to speak,      he nodded, and died soon after, whispe...

 Apostle of California – Patron of Vocations Miguel Jose Serra entered the Franciscan University at Palma, Spain at age 15 and joined the Order at age 17,      taking the name Junipero after the friend of Saint Francis. Ordained in 1737, he taught philosophy and theology at the Lullian University. In 1749, Serra was sent to the missionary      territories of the west of North America. A mosquito bite he received early in his trip to the New World left one leg swollen and his asthma made walking a painful process for the      rest of his life. In 1768 he took over missions, the Jesuits were forced to abandon in the Mexican provinces. A tireless worker, Serra was largely responsible for the foundation      and spread of the Church on the West Coast of the US; Founded twenty-one missions, converted thousands of Native Americans and trained many of them in European methods of agriculture,      cattle husbandry, ...

 For a whole year the town of Calais in France was besieged by the English who had lost many troops during the siege. Starvation finally forced the French to consider giving up but      the English King, Edward III, would not accept their surrender unless six citizens of Calais came before him bare-headed, bare-footed, dressed in rough shirts and each with a halter      about his neck. The entire population prayed to Our Mother of Calais which had been damaged during the war. This shrine had been built by the English while they had possessed that      city, of which they had been masters for 210 years. No one wanted to give his life in such a manner. Finally, a nobleman stepped forward and offered his head as a ransom to the      English king so that the city of Calais should be spared. Five others then volunteered, all dressed as the king had demanded. When they stood before the irate king he angrily      r...

 The people we honour today gave up their lives for Christ. They were martyred because they were followers of the Lord Jesus. By the year 64, Emperor Nero's human rights violations      had reached proportions beyond description. When a fire broke out in Rome on July 16, it was commonly believed that the emperor himself was responsible. As two-thirds of Rome lay      in ruin, resentment grew. Nero became fearful. He needed a scapegoat and blamed the fire on the Christians. Tacitus, a well-known historian, recorded that the Christians suffered      cruel deaths. Some were fed to wild beasts. Others were tied to posts and became human torches that lit the Roman streets. The exact number of heroes is not known, but their gift      of witness and their lives made a lasting impact on the people. Nero's was the first persecution by a Roman emperor, but not the last. And the more the Church was persecuted,      the...

 Located about two leagues from Acqe in Glascony is the shrine containing a miraculous image of Our Lady of Buglose. The original shrine was burned and completely destroyed by the      Huguenots and the statue of Our Mother was hidden in a marsh. The exact location of the statue was eventually forgotten.Years later, a shepherd led his herd into the marshes and      observed that one of his oxen did not go with the others but went into an area of the marsh alone and began to bellow in a strange manner. The shepherd climbed a tree to see      what was happening and saw the ox was licking an unknown object that was half buried in the mud. Not understanding the mystery, he ran into town to bring others back with him to      see what had happened. When the shepherd returned, the statue of the Blessed Virgin holding the baby Jesus in her arms had been revealed. It was respectfully removed from the water      and t...

 Peter, the first Pope, was a fisherman from Galilee. Jesus invited him to follow him, saying: "I will make you a fisher of men." This great apostle's name was Simon,      but Jesus changed it to Peter, which means "rock." "You are Peter," Jesus said, "and on this rock I will build my Church." When Jesus was arrested, Peter became afraid.      It was then that he committed the sin of denying Our Lord three times. Fear for his safety got the best of him. But Peter repented totally. He wept over his denials for the rest of      his life. Jesus forgave Peter. After his resurrection, he asked Peter three times: "Do you love me?" "Lord," Peter answered, "you know all things. You know that I love you."      Jesus truly did know! Peter was so right. Jesus said kindly: "Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep." He was telling Peter to take care of his Church because he would be ascending into heaven.     Jesus left Peter ...

 This present-day custom of reciting the Angelus is a short practice of devotion in honor of the Incarnation, repeated three times each day morning, noon, and evening,      at the sound of the Church bell. The institution of the Angelus occurred on 28 June in 1456 by Pope Callistus. The Turks had been threatening Europe and it was the Pope’s request      that the faithful recite the Angelus for the safety of Christendom against the Turks and for peace. The Angelus was first recited about sunset, a general practice throughout Europe      in the first half of the 14th century, recommended by Pope John XXI. The morning Angelus seems to have started somewhat later, again, for peace. The recitation of the midday      Angelus began sometime in the 15th century; it was called the “Peace Bell.

 Irenaeus was a Greek who had the great privilege of being taught by St. Polycarp, who had been a disciple of St. John the Apostle. Irenaeus once told a friend: "I listened to      St. Polycarp's instructions very carefully. I wrote down his actions and his words, not on paper, but on my heart." After he became a Priest, Irenaeus was sent to the French city      of Lyons. It was in this city that the Bishop, St. Pothinius, was martyred along with a great many other saints. Irenaeus was not martyred at that time because he was asked by his      brother priests to take an important message from them to the Pope in Rome. In that letter, they spoke of Irenaeus as a man full of zeal for the faith. When Irenaeus returned to be      the Bishop of Lyons, the persecution was over. But there was another danger: a heresy called Gnosticism. This false religion attracted some people by its promise to teach them secret    ...

 The name of Our Mother of Perpetual Help derives from one of the most famous of all pictures of Mary, an icon of the 14th century painted on walnut wood perhaps in Crete;      from where it was thought to have been stolen by an Italian merchant and brought to Rome. It was venerated, famous for miracles in the Roman Church of St. Matthew,      in charge of the Irish Augustinians for a century, when the church was destroyed by fire. The picture was saved and in 1866 it was set up in the Redemptorist Church of St. Alphonsus.      In the following year, it was crowned. Since then numberless copies and reproductions of the icons have gone all over the world, some of them themselves wonder-working.      Two angels in the picture, Michael and Gabriel are showing the instruments of the passion to the Child, who clings to the Mother’s hand, shaking loose a sandal.      The Mother reassuringly holds tightly to the Ch...

 Cyril was born in Alexandria, Egypt. His uncle, Theophilus, was the Patriarch. His uncle meant well, but he had a bad temper and could be stubborn at times.      Archbishop Theophilus was responsible for sending John into exile in 403. But the emperor brought the famous Bishop back to his Archdiocese of Constantinople.      Cyril was influenced by his uncle's prejudice of John, and agreed when he was sent into exile. When his uncle died in 412, Cyril became the Archbishop.      He was very clear about his love for the Church and for Jesus. He was a brave man in confusing times and preached what the Church taught. He was honest and straightforward.      He was not looking for praise or positions. However, Cyril could be impulsive and stubborn at times. He wanted to express the truths of the Church with his preaching and writing,      and he did. But when he became upset, what he said was not always easy to f...

 The Church of St. Thomas of Mylapore contains Mary’s shrine. The Apostle St. Thomas came to India in 52 AD. The Church was built by St Thomas. According to tradition,      there was a huge log that had washed down the river to a place where it blocked the water and caused massive flooding. The king was at a loss to remove the blockage,      but having heard that St Thomas was a miracle worker, asked him for his assistance. St. Thomas prayed and then touched the log, which made it so light that the king’s men were      suddenly able to easily pull it from the river. The king, in thanksgiving, gave the massive log to St Thomas, who used the wood he obtained from it to construct his Church.      Due to his success making converts to the true Faith, he was persecuted and finally martyred in the year 72 AD. St. Thomas is buried at the shrine of Our Mother of Mylapore.      The good people knew that they were Chr...

 These four French martyrs were Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Besides Madeleine, there were Frances Lanel, Teresa Fantou, and Joan Gerard. They were put to death for      their Faith in the bloodiest days of the French Revolution.     In 1794, the four Sisters were arrested because they refused to take an oath that could not be taken without committing a sin. The enemies of the Church said that they had found      certain papers in the convent which showed that the Sisters had been working against the Revolution. None of this was true, but a wicked judge in the city of Cambrai had B Madeleine,      the Superior, condemned to death, together with her three Sisters. The sisters walked to their execution calmly singing a hymn to the Blessed Mother,      “Hail, Star of the Sea.” Sr. Madeleine was the last to die. As she came near the guillotine, she cried to the watching crowd, “Listen, Christians! The p...

 Mary's divine Motherhood was proclaimed at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Various names are used to describe Mary's role as mother of Jesus. She is called "Mother of God" which      translates the more accurately stated Greek term "Theotokos" or "Birth giver of God." The Council of Ephesus attributed to Mary the title, Mother of God. This needs to be read      against the Council's declaration that in Christ there are two natures, one divine and one human, but only one person. Indeed, according to the Council the Holy Virgin is the Mother      of God since she begot according to the flesh the Word of God made flesh. Mary's Divine Motherhood was not the object of an independent or exclusive Dogmatic declaration.      The statement is embedded in texts defining the person and natures of Jesus Christ. Thus, the Dogma of Divine Motherhood becomes an integral part of the Christological Dogma.      This does not ...

 S DOMINGO HENARES DE ZAFRA CUBERRO (1766-1838)     Domingo was born in the city of Cordoba. He was baptized in the parish of St. Bartholomew on December 21 of the same year. He took the habit of a Dominican friar in the convent of      Santa Cruz la Real in Granada on August 30, 1783 and professed a year later. Assigned to the missions of Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico and the Philippines, he landed in 1786.      He joined the courses of the University of St. Tomás de Manila, in which he completed his studies, while he taught Humanities. At the end of 1789,      he was ordained a priest and assigned to the Missions of Tonkin. In 1802, he was consecrated Bishop. He was arrested and detained on June 9, 1838.      After several interrogations, he was sentenced to death. The King passed the sentence and was beheaded. He was declared Blessed by Leo XIII, May 27, 1900. Canonized,      by John Paul II, June 1...

 The shrine of Our Mother of Clos Evrard is in the city of Trier in Germany founded before the time of Christ on the bank of the Moselle River.      An image of the Blessed Virgin was fastened to an oak tree by a wine-dresser, who wished to honor Mary; but Our Mother ordered him to build a small hut in her honour.      The miracles wrought here caused this hut first to be changed into a little Chapel, and finally into a Church which was dedicated to Our Mother of Clos Evrard in 1449.      The city of Trier is also the location of the famous cathedral of Trier which has the unique privilege of having among its precious relics the Robe of Christ,      the Holy Coat as it is called. It is the garment over which the soldiers cast lots during the Crucifixion of Christ. The relic was sent to Trier by the Empress St. Helena and there      is an ancient document of Pope Sylvester written to the Church of Trier which...

 Jesus called John the greatest of all those who had preceded him: “I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John….” But John would have agreed completely with      what Jesus added: “Yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Lk. 7:28). John spent his time in the desert, an ascetic. He began to announce the coming of the Kingdom,      and to call everyone to a fundamental reformation of life. His purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus. His baptism, he said, was for repentance. But one would come who would      baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. John was not worthy even to untie his sandals. His attitude toward Jesus was: “He must increase; I must decrease” (Jn. 3:30). John was humbled      to find among the crowd of sinners who came to be baptized the one whom he already knew to be the Messiah. “I need to be baptized by you” (Mt. 3:14). But Jesus insisted,      “Allo...

 Justinian the Great, was a Byzantine Emperor who reigned from the year 527 until 565 AD. His great desire was to restore the lost western half of the ancient Roman Empire to his      control to reunite it with the Byzantine Empire in the east. He was largely successful. Justinian never fought personally, in any of his campaigns, for he had a talented and      capable general named Belisarius to lead his armies. Belisarius took the opportunity to gather his own forces and regroup, returning to attack the Vandals as they hesitated and      eventually drove them from the field of battle. Belisarius then went on to take Carthage and the last Vandal army was defeated and the conquest of North Africa completed.      Emperor Justinian was known as a great builder of monuments and Churches and Our Mother of Justinienne was built in honor of the Blessed Virgin in Carthage.

 Thomas Garnet was born in Southwark, England as the son of an Oxford don. Because Catholic colleges had been turned over to aggressive Protestants,      young Thomas went to the continent in 1593 to attend the newly opened Jesuit college at Saint Omer. A storm in the English Channel caused Thomas and his companions to be captured by      the English Navy who tried to force them to accept Elizabeth's religion. After months of abuse, they escaped. Later Thomas returned to England as a Jesuit. His uncle,      Fr. Henry Garnet, was superior of all Jesuits in England, and in charge of the entire network of priests working secretly among the Catholics who had refused to take the oath of      Supremacy. Thomas Garnet worked near Warwickshire for six years, but his ministry ended with the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot.      The Jesuit martyrs of this time were known for their intelligence, joy, humour, and for th...

 At Narni in Italy, there is a shrine to Our Blessed Mother. The image spoke to Blessed Lucy, to whom Mary gave the Infant to hold, while Lucy venerated the Mother and Child.      Born in 1476, Blessed Lucy lived in the town of Narni in Italy. As a small child, she preferred religious articles to toys, sharing the former as well as the latter with her      playmates. At the age of five Lucy experienced her first vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary. When she was seven years old, she visited an uncle in whose home a picture of angels      was painted on the ceiling. Lucy secretly went there to pray. She was favored by a heavenly vision of Our Mother, who gave Lucy her Divine Son to hold. Our Lord gave Lucy a ring,      and St. Dominic, who was also present in the vision, gave Lucy a scapular to wear at that time. As she grew older, Lucy's family wished her to marry; at Lucy’s objection,      the Blessed Mother a...

 John Fisher (1469-1535) was an English Catholic bishop and theologian. Fisher was also an academic, and eventually served as Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.      Fisher was executed by order of Henry VIII during the English Reformation for refusing to accept the king as Supreme Head of the Church of England and for upholding the Catholic      Church's doctrine of papal primacy. He was named a cardinal shortly before his death.     Thomas More (1478-1535) was a famous lawyer and writer. Thomas' wife, Jane, died very young. More was left with four small children. He was married again,      to a widow. Thomas made home life enjoyable for his family because he was so pleasant to be with. Thomas often asked poorer neighbours in to dinner, too. Yet few could have      imagined how deeply spiritual Thomas really was. He prayed long hours into the night and performed penances, too. Thomas held important gover...

 At Grand Cairo in Egypt is seen a miraculous fountain which Our Mother obtained by her prayers when she fled to Egypt with St. Joseph and the Divine Child,      to escape Herod’s wicked designs. This journey was so arduous that the very angels were struck with wonder when they beheld the Savior required to make it.      At Matarieh the Blessed Virgin, Our Mother of Matarieh, washed the swaddling clothes of the Infant Jesus and bathed him. It still displays miraculous powers.      Matarieh is five miles Northeast of Cairo; here grew also the famous balsam trees, the oil of which was used in Baptism. The city is called the “City of the Fountain”      in remembrance of Our Lord Jesus Christ who used it as a bath. People still call it the Holy Fountain and at the Feast of the Epiphany a vast number of people are said to flock      there from all nations to wash themselves in its water. Our Lady told Mary of Agr...

 At Grand Cairo in Egypt is seen a miraculous fountain which Our Mother obtained by her prayers when she fled to Egypt with St. Joseph and the Divine Child,      to escape Herod’s wicked designs. This journey was so arduous that the very angels were struck with wonder when they beheld the Savior required to make it.      At Matarieh the Blessed Virgin, Our Mother of Matarieh, washed the swaddling clothes of the Infant Jesus and bathed him. It still displays miraculous powers.      Matarieh is five miles Northeast of Cairo; here grew also the famous balsam trees, the oil of which was used in Baptism. The city is called the “City of the Fountain”      in remembrance of Our Lord Jesus Christ who used it as a bath. People still call it the Holy Fountain and at the Feast of the Epiphany a vast number of people are said to flock      there from all nations to wash themselves in its water. Our Lady told Mary of Agr...

 In the year 1034, Robert the Magnificent, Duke of Normandy was sailing to England. He was suddenly assailed by a violent storm, and at the height of the danger he promised to      build three Chapels and devoted to the Blessed Virgin if he returned safely to his lands. The storm ended at once and the prince immediately returned home to take care of his vow.      He built one of the Chapels near his castle and dedicated it to Our Mother of Mercy. Another he built near Caen, which he called Notre-Dame de la Deliverance,      and the third he built on the plateau overlooking Honfleur, which was named Notre Dame de Grace. This Chapel near Honfleur soon became a busy place of pilgrimage.      The Chapel partially collapsed, and the sea swallowed part of the cliff near the Church during a violent earthquake in 1538. Only a section of one wall,      the Altarand the statue of the Virgin Mary remained standing, but...

 Pacheco was born in Ponte di Lima, near Braga, Portugal. As a youth, he heard of the exploits of missionaries in Japan and dreamed of imitating them.      While at the Jesuit school in Lisbon, he also watched the annual departure of the Jesuit missionaries and this further strengthened his resolve to be one and thus he decided to      join the Society in 1585. His request to go to the missions was only granted seven years later and his first stop was Goa, India where he continued his studies. He then went on      to Macau to further continue his studies before being ordained.     Fr Pacheco finally set forth for Japan in 1604 and spent four years in the capital of Osaka, Miyako before taking up his next appointment as head of the Jesuit college in Macau.      In 1614, he returned to Japan and became vicar general to Bishop Luis de Cerqueira, and was based in Nagasaki until the promulgation of the shogun’s decree...

 The cradle of the order of the Servants of Mary began at Monte Senario in the year 1233 in the city of Florence, Italy, by a group of Hermits now known as the Seven Holy Founders.      They were sons from different wealthy families, and they retired from the world for a life of prayer and devotion to the praises of Mary. Leaving La Camarzia, a suburb of Florence,      the seven went to Monte Senario in the region of Tuscany. Uncertain of what way of life to follow, they turned to Our Lady in prayer and supplication and she appeared to them on the      Feast of the Assumption in the year 1240. From that day, the seven were known as the Order of Servants of Mary. Members of the order take solemn vows to especially honor the      Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The sorrows are the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the loss of the Holy Child at Jerusalem,      meeting Jesus on his way to Calv...

 Your heart pumps about 100,000 times a day to keep your lifeblood flowing through you. For this reason, it has become a symbol for our very selves.      The heart also is a symbol for love, perhaps because it seems to beat faster when we are in love. The biblical image of the heart means the depth of our selves where we decide for      or against God. God, who always speaks to us using our own experiences, has chosen our symbol of the heart to represent Jesus. The heart of Jesus was a human heart like ours.      It stopped beating the day Jesus was crucified. According to the Gospel of John 19:34, after Jesus had died a soldier made sure of his death by piercing his side with a lance.      Blood and water ran out. Jesus’ pierced heart became a sign of the completeness of his love for us, a love that compelled him to die for us and that prompted him to remain with us      in the bread and wine of the Euchari...

 St. Agnes of Montepulciano was born into a noble family in Italy in about the year 1268. Agnes was no more than four years old when she began seeking solitude where      she could pray privately for many hours to Jesus, whom she already loved. At the age of nine Agnes entered the convent and began living under the rule of St. Augustine.      The sisters she lived with soon recognized that St. Agnes appeared more like an angelic spirit than a human being. She lived an austere life on bread and water.      Agnes was absorbed in prayer while seemingly unaware that she was suspended nearly two feet above the ground or violets, lilies or roses would be found growing up through the      stones where St. Agnes had just prayed. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Agnes and told her that she would one day found a large monastery based on faith in the Most High and      undivided Trinity. Agnes was known to have expe...

 Five Jesuits, including Thomas Whitbread, the Provincial Superior, were falsely accused of plotting to assassinate King Charles III and overthrow the government.      They were themselves the victims of a plot hatched by the infamous Titus Oates, a man whom the provincial had refused to accept into the Society. No plot against the king was ever      planned, but the plot against the Jesuits was all too successful. Whitbread was a native of Essex but he attended the Jesuit college at Saint-Omer in Flanders.      He entered the Society at the age 17 and was ordained at the age 27. Two years later he returned to England and enjoyed a fruitful apostolate of more than 30 years.      In 1678, during the first year of his term as provincial superior of the Jesuits in England, Father Thomas Whitbread visited the communities on the continent that trained Catholics      from England. At Saint-Omer he encountered Titu...

 In 1380 there lived a good old man named Solomon near Lesneven. He was a simple man of the woods and slept in the open under an oak tree where the Chapel of Our Mother of the      Forest was built. Solomon loved to swing from the branches of a tree that hung over the fountain, all the while singing his praises to “Ave Maria!” at the top of his lungs.      He was commonly known to one and all as “The Fool of the Wood.” One day the villagers found the old man in the snow dying of exposure. They tried to help him, but it was too late      for their kindness, as the old man soon died with the words “Ave Maria” on his lips. The fool of the wood had finally gone to his Queen in Heaven. He was buried in an out-of-the-way      place in Lesneven, for he had no family to mourn him. When spring came, a snow-white lily rose from the outcast’s grave, and on the delicate petals of the lily, in letters of gold,      the w...

 Cafasso was born in Piedmont, Italy, of peasant parents. He studied at the seminary at Turin, and was ordained at a the age 22. He continued his theological studies at the seminary      and university at Turin and then at the Institute of St. Franics, and despite a deformed spine, became a brilliant lecturer in moral theology there. He was a popular teacher,      actively opposed Jansenism, and fought state intrusion into Church affairs. He succeeded Luigi Guala as Rector of the Institute in 1848 and made a deep impression on his young      priest students with his holiness and insistence on discipline and high standards. He was a sought-after confessor and spiritual adviser, and ministered to prisoners,      working to improve their terrible conditions. He met Don Bosco in 1827 and the two became close friends. It was through Joseph's encouragement that Bosco decided his vocation was      working with boys...