St Edmund Campion

Edmund was born into a Catholic family in 1540. He was raised in the Catholic faith and studied the faith at school. He was a very smart boy. He was so smart that people from the Queen’s court, and even the Queen herself, were interested in getting to know Edmund. Queen Elizabeth I had separated herself from the Catholic Church and made herself head of the Protestant Church in England. This caused a lot of trouble for the Catholic people of England and many were killed because of their faith in the Catholic Church. In order to show his support for the Queen, Edmund turned away from the Catholic faith and became a deacon (helper) in the Protestant Church. He never felt good about this decision and he always had questions in his heart and mind about whether the Catholic Church was the Church that Jesus left for His people. He wanted to study this more and went to Ireland. There, he decided that he had to live the Catholic faith because he found that it had all the truths that Jesus taught and left his followers. This meant he had to leave England because he knew he would not be treated well for becoming Catholic again, so he went to France and joined the Jesuit Order and became a priest. It was then decided that Fr. Edmund would return to England to help the Catholic people there. He knew that it would be dangerous, but he wanted to go back to preach the Gospel and take care of the Catholic people of England who were being treated badly by the Queen. He spent a year among the Catholic people celebrating Mass, helping the poor, and teaching them about the faith before he was captured by the Queen’s men. They tried to convince him to give up his faith - the Queen even offered him riches - but he refused and he was martyred for his faith in Jesus and His Church.

St Andrew Apostle

Andrew was a fisherman with his brother Simon Peter. When he heard John the Baptist preaching about turning away from sin and preparing the way of the Lord, he began to follow John. Andrew was with John the Baptist when Jesus came to be baptized by John. John told his followers that Jesus was the “Lamb of God”; Andrew didn’t quite understand what this meant, but he did understand that John was telling him that Jesus was greater then John and that he should follow Jesus – and so he did. When Jesus asked Andrew why he was following him, Andrew said that he wanted to know where Jesus lived so that he could go and stay with Him. Jesus said, “Come and see” and Andrew did. He stayed with Jesus and became one of Jesus’ first disciples. Andrew came to believe that Jesus was the Saviour the Jewish people had waited for, and he shared this with his brother Simon Peter who also came to follow Jesus. At first, Andrew kept fishing with his brother Simon Peter, but soon Jesus asked them to leave their lives and follow him as one of his 12 Apostles. After Jesus ascended into Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, Andrew went to spread the Gospel in Greece, telling them about Jesus giving us Eternal life. Unfortunately, Christians were not always welcome by the rulers of that time and Andrew was put to death. He was tied to a cross and lived for 2 days, preaching to those who were there about Jesus’ life and death and resurrection.

St Francis Fasani

Francis was named Giovanniello (Johnny for short) and took the name Francis when he joined the Franciscan order. He went to study with the Order in Assisi, close to where St. Francis was buried. He became a priest and kept studying until he became a Doctor of Theology (the study of God and faith). He was put in charge of the young men studying to become a priest, taught philosophy, helped lead his Order, and became the priest for the town of Assisi. He spent lots of time in prayer and people who saw him pray said he would float (levitate) while praying. Lots of people came to him to get advice, ask for prayers, and receive forgiveness through confession. He taught many people in missions at churches, through retreats and devotions. He also helped the poor, always asking that people would give money to help with the needs of the poor. He followed the example of St. Francis of Assisi and the people he served loved him very much.

St Catherine Laboure

Catherine was named Zoe when she was born; she had 10 brothers and sisters and her father was a well-off farmer in France. She joined the Daughters of Charity when she was quite young, an Order of sisters started by St. Vincent de Paul in Paris. The sisters spent their days nursing the sick and the dying. Soon after joining the convent, the Virgin Mary appeared to Catherine while she was praying in the Church at her convent. Mary was sitting on the right side of the sanctuary (where the priest sits), and she pointed to the altar and said that from the altar of Jesus would come all that she needed. Mary told Catherine that she would have a lot of suffering in her life and there would be a lot of trouble against the Church. She appeared to Catherine again on another day and gave her the medal of the Immaculate Conception, which is known as the Miraculous Medal. She told Catherine to have the medal made, in the description that she gave her, and told her to get people to wear them so they would believe in her power to help them get closer to Jesus. After lots of investigation to see if Catherine was telling the truth and receiving a message from Mary, the Archbishop had the medal made just like Mary had told Catherine. Now this medal is worn by many Christians throughout the world. Catherine had only told her priest of her visions of Mary, and, after the medal was made, she continued her regular life as a nursing sister without any of the sisters knowing that Mary had appeared to her to give the world this medal. Before Catherine died, Mary again appeared to her and told her to share what had happened to her with the leader of the Convent, who then shared Catherine’s story with the others. After Catherine had been dead for many years, they looked at her body and it had not decayed like normal; it was incorrupt. Her body is still in the Church where Mary appeared to her the first time, and people can see her and ask for her prayers.

St James Intercisus

James was raised by his family to know and follow Jesus. He became a soldier in the Persian King’s army and became friends with the King, Yezdigerd I. When the King started to kill Christians because of their faith in Jesus, James got scared and he did not tell the King that he, too, was a Christian. Instead, he gave up living his life of faith. This made his family so sad and they prayed that James would have the courage to live his faith again. When King Yezdigerd died, the King that followed him (Yezdigerd’s son) was also putting Christians to death. This time, James had the courage to tell the King that he was a Christian. When the King told him to give up his faith or be killed, James refused to give up his faith in Jesus again. The King condemned him to die and he was killed by being cut into 28 pieces (this is what the name Intercisus means - cut to pieces). James died happy because he had the courage not to deny Jesus again.

St John Berchmans

John was the son of a shoemaker; he had 4 brothers and sisters. His mom and dad raised their children to know Jesus and 3 of them gave their lives to Jesus as religious (priests and nuns). John knew he wanted to be a priest from the time he was a little boy. He became an altar server and helped at every Mass he could. When he was 7 years old, his mother became sick and John spent many hours beside her, keeping her company and praying for her. When he was 16 years old, he joined the Jesuit College and started to study to become a priest. He was sent to Rome to continue his studies. He lived his life doing everything with great care, making sure it was all for God’s glory. In his 3rd year of studying to become a priest, he was asked to speak at a meeting at a Greek College, to tell people about the Catholic faith. After giving a wonderful speech he came home to his college and became sick with the Roman fever, a terrible illness that he could not overcome. He died when he was only 22 years old. St. John loved the Blessed Virgin Mary very much, and he left us the Chaplet of the Immaculate Conception, which he prayed every day so that Mary could help him to be pure his whole life. The Rosary has 3 groups of four beads, with a large bead separating them, and a medal of the Immaculate Conception is attached to remind us of Mary’s purity. On the large beads we say, “Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and then we pray the Our Father and Glory Be. On the 4 small beads we say the Hail Mary. Try finding or making a Chaplet like this and asking Mary to help you be pure for Jesus too.

St Catherine of Alexandria

Catherine was a princess; her mom and dad were the Queen and King of Alexandria. She was a very smart girl and she had a good education, which made her very wise. Her mom and dad did not know Jesus, so growing up Catherine did not believe in Jesus either. When she was about 14 years old, she had a vision of Mary giving Catherine to Jesus in marriage. From that day on, she believed in Jesus and gave her life to Him. When she was older, she went to visit the Roman Emperor Maxentius, who was killing Christians because of their faith. She tried to convince him that what he was doing was wrong and she shared the Gospel with him, hoping that he would also come to believe in Jesus. Even though all who heard her share the Gospel gave their lives to Jesus that day, the Emperor refused to believe and he had everyone who had just become Christians condemned to death. He threw Catherine into prison but, while she was there, over 200 people came to see her to hear about Jesus, including the wife of the Emperor! They all came to believe in Jesus and became martyrs for their faith in Jesus. The Emperor still tried to change Catherine’s mind about Jesus - he even asked her to become his wife and live a life of luxury in Rome - but she said no and told him she was the Bride of Jesus. This made the Emperor very angry and he had Catherine killed because of her faith in Jesus. St. Joan of Arc, hundreds of years later, said that St. Catherine appeared to her to encourage her to follow Jesus.

St Andrew Dung Lac

Andrew was named Tran An Dung when he was born. He was born in Vietnam where people were killed for living out their faith in Jesus. He came to hear about Jesus because of the work of many missionaries that brought the Gospel to Vietnam. Tran An Dung was baptized and took the Christian name Andrew. He later became a priest. It was very dangerous to be a priest in Vietnam so Fr. Andrew had to hide and celebrate Mass in secret. In order to not be found, Fr. Andrew changed his name to Lac; this is why he is known as St. Andrew Dung Lac. Eventually he was captured and he was martyred for his new faith in Jesus. On this day, we remember 117 people from Vietnam, some missionaries and some Vietnamese people, who were martyred for their faith and became Saints. Even though it was dangerous, these people accepted Jesus as their Lord and continued to share the Gospel with the people of Vietnam.

St Columban

Columban was born into a rich family in Ireland and he received a good education. He knew that he wanted to live his life for Jesus from the time that he was a young boy, but he found it very hard to leave behind the good things that the world wanted to give him. He knew that if he was really going to give his life to Jesus, then he would have to leave his home. He became a monk in Ireland and studied about Jesus. Then he felt called to leave Ireland and spread the Gospel in other lands. He went to the big country of Gaul, which is now many countries in Europe including France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany. People had heard of Jesus there, but they were not living their lives the way Jesus would want. Columban worked with the other monks that had journeyed with him, to teach the people about how Jesus wanted them to live. He gave a good example to everyone he met, living with great charity and humility with his community of monks, sharing everything they had. Although his community was given great castles to live in wherever they went, Columban preferred to live in the forest in caves, with only the things that he could find there to wear and to eat. It is said that all the animals of the forest listened to him and obeyed his commands. He started many large monasteries wherever he went, because so many people wanted to live the way that Columban taught so that they would be close to Jesus. He made all those that joined the monastery work hard and pray always, telling them that they should go to bed so tired that they would fall asleep on the way there and that they should get up before they had fully rested, so that they would always rely on God’s strength to get them through the day. Some of the Kings and Queens did not like what Columban preached and others thought that the way he lived was too strict. After 20 years of serving God in the land of Gaul, he and his monks were kicked out by the King and sent back to Ireland. Instead of returning to Ireland, he and his monks went to other lands to tell the people about Jesus and they ended up in Italy, where they built his last monastery. He found a cave which he made into a Chapel dedicated to Mary and he spent most of his days there in the cave, praying. Many miracles were said to have happened for those who visited his tomb after he died.

St Cecilia

Cecelia was a Roman, who came to believe in Jesus during a time when Christians were being killed because of their faith. She wanted to live her life only for Jesus, but her parents gave her to be married to a man named Valerian. Valerian did not believe in Jesus when he was married to Cecelia. During her wedding, she prayed that Jesus would help her to continue to live her life just for Jesus. After her wedding, she told Valerian about Jesus and she explained how she felt that Jesus was asking her to live just for Him. She explained that she had a special angel that was always with her to help her live a pure and holy life. She asked if he would be able to live this kind of life with her. He said that if he could see her angel, then he would believe. Cecelia explained that he had to give his life to God in order to see her angel, and so he agreed to be baptized. After his baptism, he came home and saw Cecelia praying and beside her was her special angel. This angel had two crowns, which she placed on both their heads, crowning them as children of God the King. Cecilia and Valerian shared their faith with Valerian’s brother, Tibertius, and he also came to believe in Jesus. Together, the three of them lived their lives only for Jesus. They made it their mission to bury all the Christians that were being martyred by the ruler of Rome. They were soon captured and put in prison because of their faith. Valerian and his brother were martyred first and then they tried to kill Cecilia. They put her into a burning chamber, but the flames would not harm her. Then they tried to behead her, but they could not. She died from the wounds that were caused by those who tried to kill her. She died as a martyr for her faith in Jesus.

Presentation BVM

God, in the temple in Jerusalem, to do His will in her life and for the salvation of the whole world. She was taught her whole life to say yes to God and, because of this, she was able to trust God and say yes to Him when He asked her to become Jesus’ mother. She was presented at the temple of God in Jerusalem and then she became the Temple of God, when she became pregnant with Jesus. She then made her home and family a holy Temple where Jesus, God’s Son, could live and grow and become ready for His mission. She is our example of how to make our own bodies and homes a Temple for the Holy Spirit and Jesus to live.

St Edmund

Edmund was made a King in England when he was only 14 years old. He tried to rule the land the way that God would have wanted. When Vikings invaded his land to take it over, King Edmund tried to fight them but he could not win. The Viking leader captured King Edmund and tried to make him say that he did not believe in God, but King Edmund never rejected God. Even when he was being killed, he called out to Jesus in faith, telling everyone that he believed in Jesus. He was first whipped like Jesus was, then they pierced him with arrows like St. Sebastian, the first martyr of the Church, and then he was beheaded like John the Baptist. The whole time, King Edmund called out to Jesus and told everyone he believed in Jesus no matter what. He died a martyr because of his great faith in Jesus.

St Nerses

Nerses was born in Armenia and spent most of his life there trying to help people follow Jesus. He was the son of a Princess and, when he was older, he married a Princess. Together they had a son who also became a Saint - St. Isaac the Great. When his wife died, Nerses decided to serve the Church and became a priest. He worked hard to make sure that the Church was following the teachings of Jesus. He helped build monasteries and hospitals in Armenia. The King of Armenia did not like Nerses, because Nerses told the King when he was doing something wrong. The King had killed his own wife and Nerses told the King that he had committed a very big sin. This made the King mad and he kicked Nerses out of Armenia. When the King died, Nerses came back to Armenia to continue his work of guiding the Church in the right direction; he hoped that he would be welcomed back. Unfortunately, the new King was not living a life that was pleasing to God and Nerses would not allow the King to come to Church unless he asked forgiveness and changed his life. This made the new King very angry and one day he invited Nerses to a party and he poisoned him. Nerses died a martyr because he died for his faith in Jesus.

St Rose Duchesne

Rose was born into a very important family in France. Her father was a lawyer and her mother came from the family of a past president of France. When she was 19 years old, she joined the Sisters of the Visitation, where she studied and became a nun. When the revolution started in France (a time of big changes for the rulers of France and the Church in France), her order of sisters fell apart, because the revolutionists where trying to break down the organization of the Church. After many years of trying to start up the Sisters of the Visitation again, she accepted an invitation to join another convent, the Society of the Sacred Heart. She was quickly sent to start their first house in Paris, France. Soon, God called her to another challenge: to bring the Order to North America in the United States. There was so much work to do in this new land and she and the sisters started the first free schools for children in Missouri. She worked hard with very little money, tried hard to learn English, and kept opening schools so that children could get an education. She then felt that God was calling her to work with the Aboriginal people, to help the sick and to open schools for the children. The Aboriginal people named Sr. Rose a name in their own language, which in English meant, “Woman Who Prays Always”. She started many convents throughout the United States and opened many free schools, working hard her whole life to help the people God put in her life.

St Hilda

Hilda was a princess because she was raised by King Edwin of Northumbria in England, after her father died when she was only a baby. She was born during a time when the people in England were just learning about Jesus. She was baptized with the King and her whole family, because they had come to believe that Jesus was the Son of God. Hilda had an older sister named Hereswith who lived a holy life, doing whatever God asked her. Because of Hereswith’s example, Hilda also wanted to live her life for Jesus. When Hilda was 33 years old, she joined a convent and became a nun. Soon, because of her wisdom and ability to organize things and guide people, the Bishop asked her to start a new monastery in a town called Whitby in England. Since she was so wise (able to make really good decisions), kings and princesses came to her to ask for advice when they had to make important decisions. She also helped train 5 Bishops in their work of leading the Church in their Diocese. Since the Catholic faith was so new in England, she helped guide the leaders of the Church to make good decisions. She also cared for all the ordinary people around her and helped them to use the gifts God gave them to give Him glory. Hilda always had lots of energy and never stopped doing the work God asked of her. She is considered one of the greatest women in England.

St Margaret of Scotland

Margaret was born in England; she was an English princess. She and her mother had to escape from England because the Norman King had taken their land. They took a ship to Scotland and asked the King, King Malcolm, if they could stay. The King welcomed them to his land and quickly fell in love with Princess Margaret and they were married. Margaret was then the Queen of Scotland and, as Queen, she helped her husband rule his country better. Queen Margaret was very wise, polite, pure, and devoted to God and she helped all the people in the court and in the country of Scotland come closer to God. Margaret helped the people of Scotland by making sure there were good teachers in schools so the people could get a good education and she built new Churches to make sure people could worship God. She took care of the orphans and the poor, giving them food every day before she ate and washing their feet, just like Jesus had washed the feet of his Apostles to show them how to be servants. Together with King Malcolm, Queen Margaret had 6 sons and 2 daughters; her children knew God and lived good lives; one son became St. David King of Scotland.

St Albert the Great

Albert was named Albertus when he born, and he earned the title Albert the Great because of the way he used his gift of intelligence in his life. Albertus loved to study and he got most of his education in Padua, Italy. He was a very smart man and his family had lots of ideas of what he should do with his great gift. Then he saw a vision of Mary from Heaven, who told him that he should give his life totally to God. So Albertus joined the Dominican Order, even though his family did not want him to. He kept studying and then became a teacher for the Dominicans. He even taught St. Thomas Aquinas, who went on to write many amazing things about our relationship with God. He was a great scientist who did lots of experiments and taught us so much about science; but the most important thing he taught people was that you could believe in God and also learn about science without denying that God existed. Most scientists, until St. Albert, thought that if you were going to study science you could not believe in God. He wrote many books and reports about what he was learning so that others could learn, too, and, because of the amazing things he learned and shared, he is called a Doctor of the Church. He was put in charge of the Dominican Order he lived with and was later a Bishop for three years. He did both these jobs very well and was always very humble and generous with those he served. After his time as Bishop, he spent the rest of his life continuing his studies, preaching the Gospel, and working towards peace in his country of Germany and in the Catholic Church. His body is said to be incorrupt (it has never decayed after he died), which is a miracle.

St Lawrence o'toole

Lawrence's father was a Chief (ruler) in Ireland and his mother was a Princess. When Lawrence was only 10 years old, he was kidnapped by the King of Leinster, another area in Ireland, who kept him for 2 years and treated him very meanly. Lawrence’s father finally convinced the cruel King to give his son to a Bishop and, under the Bishop’s care, Lawrence grew up to be a great man of faith and decided to become a priest. The Bishop was the Abbot (the person in charge) of the Monastery and, when the good Bishop died, Lawrence was picked to be the new Abbot, even though he was only 25 years old. He later became the Archbishop of Dublin. Once, he went on a trip to England to meet with King Henry II. The day after he arrived, he was about to celebrate Mass when a sick man came up to him and hit him on the head. He was hit very hard and fell to the floor and everyone thought he was going to die. But then Archbishop Lawrence asked for some water, blessed it, and poured it on his head where he was hurt. He was completely healed and he celebrated Mass. Archbishop Lawrence also helped the King of Ireland make peace with King Henry II by going to speak with him. King Henry was amazed by how holy, kind, and wise the Archbishop was that he agreed to follow whatever the Archbishop thought was right. Archbishop Lawrence worked hard to bring the Catholic Church closer with the Pope and Church in Rome. He rebuilt the Cathedral in Dublin and built many local churches so that people could worship and get closer to God. He took care of the poor in Dublin, giving them meals in his own home and also making sure that the orphaned children were well taken care of. When he died he had nothing left to give anybody because he had given everything he had to the people he served and he had given his whole life to God.

St Frances Xavier Cabrini

Frances had 12 brothers and sisters! She wanted to become a nun from the time she was 18 years old but, because she was sick all time, she couldn’t. Instead she stayed home, took care of her mom and dad, and worked on a farm with her brothers and sisters. Then a priest asked her if she would teach at a school for girls; she said yes and this changed her life forever. She taught at this school for 6 years until her Bishop asked her to start an order of sisters. This young girl who was too sick to join the convent when she was 18 years old was now being asked to start an Order herself! She started the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. These sisters took care of poor children by running schools and taking care of the sick in hospitals. After running this Order in Italy very well, Pope Leo XIII asked Frances to bring some sisters to Chicago in the United States to help the Italian people living there. She trusted in God and travelled to the United States, where she worked hard with her sisters to help the Italian people by starting schools, hospitals, and orphanages. By the time she died, her Order had spread in England, France, Spain, United States, and South America.

St Josaphat

Josaphat was named John when he was born. His father was a merchant (he sold things) and his mother loved God very much. When John grew up he joined the order of St. Basil and chose the name Josaphat. He became the Bishop of Polotsk and helped his people get closer to God. Before he was even born, the Catholic Church had split because of different ideas on some important teachings of the Church. Bishop Josaphat was a leader in the Eastern Church, which did not follow the Pope in Rome. Many people had already tried to unite the Catholic Church and many people had died as martyrs trying to find peace. Bishop Josaphat continued this work towards finding unity with the Church of Rome, but it was very difficult because a lot of his work made many people angry. He worked very hard to rebuild the Church in Polotsk, where many Churches were falling apart and the priests were not following the ways of God. People from the Eastern Church and people from the Roman Church would often fight and go against what Bishop Josaphat taught; some even wanted to kill him. One day there was a big group of these people who wanted the Church to stay separated, and they were angry with Bishop Josaphat. Instead of avoiding the group, the Bishop went to speak with them to try to make peace. But this group of separatists ended up killing Bishop Josaphat; he died a martyr for his faith. Even though the separatists thought that by killing Bishop Josaphat they would keep the Church separate, his death actually caused healing and unity between the two sides of the Church. Bishop Josaphat became the first Saint of the Eastern Church to be canonized (made a saint) by the Church of Rome.

St Martin of Tours

Martin’s mom and dad did not believe in God, so Martin did not learn about God growing up. When he was only 10 years old, he went to the Christian church in his community and asked to be taught about the faith. In quiet times of prayer, he grew to love God more and more. Because Martin's father was a soldier, he also had to become a Roman soldier when he was 15 years old. His job was to protect the emperor and he went to France to do his job. Even though Martin had to be a soldier, he still spent as much time as he could praying. All that Martin wanted to do was to be a monk and spend all of his time with God but, because he couldn’t, he did whatever he could to live like a monk. He would serve anybody that he met, even his own servants. Then on a very cold winter day, when Martin was riding his horse through the city gates, he passed by a beggar whose clothes were so worn out that they could not keep him warm. Martin saw that the man was very cold and needed something to keep him warm, so he took off his cloak, used his sword to cut it in half, and gave the man half of his warm cloak. That same night Martin had a dream that Jesus appeared to him wearing the half of the cloak Martin had given the beggar. Jesus said to the angels and saints that Martin had given him the cloak and he wasn’t even baptized yet. When Martin woke up, he went straight to find a priest to baptize him. He was 18 years old. Martin was released from the army because he did not want to fight but, when he returned home, he was not accepted there either. He left and became a hermit. Martin soon started a monastery where people came to get closer to Jesus. The people of Tours then chose Martin to be their Bishop. He continued to live the very simple life of a monk and to serve everyone he could. He made sure that as many people as possible learned about Jesus and had a chance to give their life to Jesus. He built many churches and helped people turn away from worshiping idols. He performed many miracles and worked hard to serve his people.

St Leo The Great

Leo was born into a very important family in Rome. He studied a lot when he was growing up and was a very good student. He became a priest, wrote many books, and became a good preacher of the Gospel. He became the Pope on September 29, in the year 440. As Pope, he helped lead the early Church closer to Jesus by teaching them about who Jesus really was. He taught that Jesus was both human and divine (God), which is sometimes very hard for people to understand. He stopped Attila the Hun (the ruler of the Huns who was taking over a lot of Italy to gain power) from taking over Rome by making peace with him. He reminded the Catholic Church that there needed to be a leader for the whole Church, so that the people didn’t start going down the wrong path, and that the leader of the Church was the Pope who was chosen by God, just like Peter the Apostle was chosen by Jesus. He taught us that every human being is equal; no one is better than anyone else because Jesus came to save all of us! His leadership and teachings in the Church made him a Doctor of the Church and earned him the title “Leo the Great”.

St Benignus

Benignus’ father was a Chieftain (leader) in Ireland who came to know Jesus through the missionary work of St. Patrick in Ireland. Through his father’s faith, Benignus came to know Jesus, too, and he helped St. Patrick spread the good news of Jesus to the people of Ireland. Benignus used to sing for the Masses that St. Patrick would celebrate all over Ireland, and he had such a beautiful voice that many people came to know Jesus from listening to him sing. Benignus became the Bishop of Armagh in Ireland. He continued the work that he had done with St. Patrick and helped many more people in Ireland give their lives to Jesus by sharing the Gospel with them. His loving and gentle ways helped many people believe in God.

Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity

Elizabeth was born into a military family and she was the oldest child. Her father was a captain and he died when Elizabeth was only 7 years old. Because she was the oldest child, she had many responsibilities as she grew up. But she had a very bad temper which she couldn't control very well... until she had her First Communion. Receiving Communion brought her closer to Jesus and this relationship helped her to control herself more. As she grew up she loved Jesus more and more and she decided she wanted to join the Carmelite convent close to home so that she could give her whole life to Jesus. Her mother did not want her to go; she wanted her to marry one of the many men who had asked Elizabeth to marry them. Elizabeth said no and she joined the convent when she was 21 years old. She felt so close to Jesus in the convent; whether she was doing a chore or praying, she knew Jesus was with her. She didn’t live a very long life - she was only 26 years old when she died - but she wrote down many things about God to help us get closer to Him, too. She tells us that we should hold on to God just by loving Him and to let God speak to us by being quiet and listening for His voice. She says that by holding on to God and listening to Him, He will change us slowly into Himself. She loved the mystery of God in the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - and would spent a lot of time praying to God in His three person. One simple prayer that she left for us to say too is, “Holy Trinity Whom I Adore”. Before she died she said, “I am going to Light, to Love, to Life!”

St Willibrord

Willibrord’s family loved God very much. In fact, his father is a saint, too - St. Hilgis. Willibrord was sent to study with St. Wilfrid when he was a young boy. When he was old enough, he entered the Benedictine order. He studied for many years and then was sent to Frisia to preach the Gospel to people who did not believe in God, but worshiped idols. Many people started to believe in Jesus because of the work that Willibrord did in spreading the Gospel. He was made the first Bishop of Frisia and he built a Cathedral and lots of Churches there. Then a King who did not believe in God took power of Frisia and he kicked Bishop Willibrord out, burned many churches, and killed some missionaries who were there spreading the Gospel. Bishop Willibrord went back to Frisia when that King died and he rebuilt the Churches and continued to spread the Gospel there.

St Theophane

Theophane’s family loved God very much; his older brother was a priest and his other brother was a Bishop in France. So when Theophane was old enough, he became a priest, too. He wanted to be a missionary so that he could share the good news of Jesus with people who didn’t know about Him yet. This made Theophane and his family very sad, because they knew that they would probably never see each other again. Even though it was hard for Theophane to leave his family, he knew that God wanted him to go and share the Gospel. He went to Hong Kong and learned how to speak the language of the people he would be teaching. Then, he went to Vietnam. Christians in Vietnam were put into prison and killed, so Theophane was always in danger. He also suffered because he was would get sick often. Even though it was very difficult to be there, Theophane kept sharing about Jesus and many people gave their life to Jesus. He was very well loved by the people that he served but, one day, someone betrayed him, just like Judas betrayed Jesus. Theophane was thrown into prison for 2 months. While he was there, he shared the Gospel with the guards and they gave their lives to Jesus, too. Even though everyone wanted to save his life, the ruler of Vietnam did not like Christians and he had Theophane killed. Theophane was martyred for his faith in Jesus.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth was the cousin of Mary, Jesus’ mother. Elizabeth and her husband, Zacharias, wanted a baby, but they were never able to have one. Then one day, while Zacharias was praying in the temple, the Angel Gabriel told him that Elizabeth was going to have a baby boy. Elizabeth was very old and she thought she couldn't have a baby, but she did become pregnant just like the Angel said. Soon after, the Angel Gabriel told Mary she was going to have a baby and that her cousin, Elizabeth, was also pregnant. Mary left to go visit her right away. As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice, Elizabeth’s baby jumped in her womb. Elizabeth knew that Mary was going to have the Saviour. She said to Mary, “Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of they womb. And why has the mother of my Lord come to me?” Elizabeth knew how special Mary was and she helped her during her pregnancy to prepare for the coming of Jesus. Elizabeth’s baby was John the Baptist, who helped people prepare their hearts for the life and mission of Jesus.

St Charles Borromeo

Charles was born into a very rich and famous family; he had 5 brothers and sisters. Charles’ uncle (his mother’s brother) was Pope Pius IV. His family sent him to study at the Benedictine abbey in their town when he was 12 years old, and he was put in charge of taking care of the money that the brothers at the Abbey made. Even though he was so young, he made sure that the money was spent on the things of God. When he was older, he went to University and he became a lawyer. His uncle Pope Pius IV asked him to come to Rome to work for the Church and made him a Cardinal. During this time he took care of the Franciscans, Carmelites, and Knights of Malta, he organized important meetings in the Church called the Council of Trent where lots of Church teachings were decided on, he helped write one of the Catechism books of the Catholic Church, and he started a college! His family wanted him to stop working for the Church and to come home to get married and have kids, but Charles had grown in his love for the Church and God and decided that he wanted to become a priest. He was later made Archbishop of Milan. Milan was a very big city, with over 3,000 priests, but they weren’t following the teachings of the Church. As Archbishop, Charles worked very hard to bring the Christians and the priests in the Church back to a good and holy relationship with God. He started good schools for people to study to become priests and he started Sunday school classes so that boys and girls could learn the truths about the Church. Even though it was hard to make these changes, Archbishop Borromeo didn’t let anyone stop him.

St Martin de Porres

Martin’s dad was a knight from Spain and his mother was a woman who used to be a slave. His family was very poor and so Martin and his sister had to work very hard to help the family. After working all day, Martin would spend many hours praying at night. When he was 15 years old he entered the Dominican Convent of the Rosary in Lima, Peru. He joined only as a servant at first and he did all kinds of work - whatever the Dominicans asked of him. Later in his life, he felt called to join the Dominican Order, but wasn’t allowed to become a friar because he had dark skin. After many years of serving the Dominicans, the leaders of the Order saw how holy Martin was. He was always praying, always helping others, and even healed the sick through miracles in God’s name. They finally allowed him to become a Dominican Friar and he was put in charge of the Dominican’s hospital. Martin served there until he died. He was always very patient with those who were sick and he performed many miracles there. He also served those who did not come to the hospital, helping anyone he saw who was sick and healing many people. Other miracles that people reported were that Martin would sometimes levitate (float) while he prayed, he was able to bilocate (be in more than one place at a time), and he was able to pass through locked doors without opening them. He shared God’s mercy and practiced charity (giving to others) his whole life, with everything he had.

All Souls

Today we pray for all the people that have left this earth and started their journey to heaven. When we die, our body stays here on earth, but our soul starts its journey into heaven where Jesus has promised us eternal life! As we learned yesterday, we are all part of the Communion of Saints and we must pray for each other to help one another get to Heaven. Today is a special day to remember those people we love who have died; we pray that Jesus will welcome them into Heaven with a big hug and kiss! We pray for those people who have died and have nobody to pray for their souls; they need our prayers the most so that they too can join Jesus in Heaven. We pray for the souls of people who had a lot of responsibility here on earth, like priests, rulers of countries, and doctors. Jesus expects these people to use their lives to do good things and their souls might have to go through a longer journey to be pure enough to get into heaven. Since today is such an important day, it is good to go to Mass and pray for all these souls to ask that Jesus would show His love and mercy on them and welcome them home into Heaven.