St Apollonia

Apollonia was a very holy follower of Jesus.  In the year 249 AD, many Christians in Alexandria were treated badly and martyred for believing in God and sharing the Good News of Jesus.  Apollonia was one of these Christians.  She was arrested and told to give up her faith in God, but she would not turn her back on Jesus.  When the guards gave her a second chance to give up her faith or be thrown into a fire, she peacefully walked into the fire on her own.  She chose to die rather than give up her faith in Christ.  St Apollonia is the patron saint of dentistry and those suffering from tooth aches and other dental problems, because it is believed that she lost her teeth while she was being beaten by the guards.

St Jeome Emiliani

St Jerome came from a rich and important family.  Growing up, he did not care about God.  He relied on his own strength and ended up becoming a soldier.  He was taken prisoner and chained in a dungeon where he had a lot of time to think about his life. He realized that not only was he chained up in the dungeon, he was chained up in the life he was leading without God.  He began praying that Mary, Jesus' mother, would help him to be released not only from the dungeon, but also from the things that were keeping him away from God.  By a miracle, he was able to escape from the dungeon.  He went straight to a nearby church and hung his prison chains at the foot of a statue of Mary and gave his life to her Son Jesus.  When he returned home he studied to become a priest and he began to help homeless and orphaned children.  He used his money to rent a home to house, feed, cloth, and educate many children.  He believed it was so important that all these children learn about Jesus and about the Catholic faith.  He built many orphanages and founded the religious congregation of the Company of the Servants of the Poor.

St Giles

St. Giles Mary was given the name Francis when he was born.  He always wanted to be a priest but he had not finished enough schooling to enter the seminary, so he became a monk instead. When he turned 25, he entered the Friars of St Peter Alcantara in Naples.  As Brother Giles Mary of St. Joseph, he served God with simplicity and humility.  He had a heart for the poor and the homeless.  His job in the monastery was to go out begging in the streets for the needs of the poor and for the needs of the Brothers in the monastery.  He would always generously give food and money to the poor.  No matter how much he would give away, there always food and money left over for the Brothers.  He believed St. Joseph was responsible for this miracle of always providing for the needs of the poor and the Brothers.  Brother Giles always had a special devotion to St. Joseph because he was always providing for him and that is why he is now called St. Giles Mary of St. Joseph.  Brother Giles Mary  was peacefully praying when he left this world to be with Jesus in heaven.

St Paul Miki

Paul's father was a leader in the Japanese army.  When he grew up he attended college to become a Jesuit priest. When he became a priest he taught the Good News of Jesus to many Japanese people.  In 1587 there were many Catholic Christians in Japan thanks to the work of Fr. Paul Miki and other missionaries. Ten years later, a Japanese ruler became convinced that the Catholic missionaries in the country were working with the countries of Portugal and Spain to take over Japan. Out of fear that the Catholic people would fight for his country he had 26 Catholic missionaries and lay people arrested; Fr. Paul was one of the people arrested.   Each of the 26 Catholic people were put on a cross and died as martyrs for their faith in Jesus.

St Jeanne

Jeanne was the daugther of King Louis XI of France.  She was a princess, but her father didn't pay attention to her because he wanted a son not a daughter.   Even though Jeanne was not treated kindly by her father, she knew that Jesus loved her and treated everyone with kindness. She loved Jesus with all her heart and she wanted to spend her life with Jesus.  Her father did not accept this decision and made her marry the Duke of Orleans.  She obeyed her father's wishes and the Duke and Jeanne were married when they were still very young.  Once the Duke became King, he sent Jeanne to live on her own.  Instead of being sad, she said if this is what God's wants then let it be.  Like Mary, she accepted whatever God wanted for her life. Jeanne gave her money to the poor and she started an Order of nuns called the Sisters of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

St Blaise

Blaise learned about Jesus as a boy.  He was always concerned about the troubles of the world but found great joy in Jesus.  He became a priest and then a Bishop.  He was always trying to do good and to help people.  He was arrested for his belief in Jesus, because the ruler of Armenia did not believe in God and would not let Christians practise their faith.  As he was being taken to prison, people gathered on the roadside to see him one last time.  A young boy was choking on a fishbone and his mom brought him forward to Bishop Blaise. Bishop Blaise prayed for the boy and saved his life.  That is why we ask St. Blaise for prayers to protect us from sickness of the throat.  On his feast day we have our throats blessed with two candles.  Bishop Blaise was martyred for his faith because he would not stop believing in Jesus.  

Presentation

In the time of Jesus it was the Jewish law that all babies were to be brought to the great Temple to be presented to God.  Mary and Joseph were obedient to God's law and brought Baby Jesus to the Temple for this presentation.  An old priest named Simeon was at the temple that day.  God had shown Simeon that Baby Jesus was the Savior of the world.  Simeon rejoiced when he saw Baby Jesus.  He then told Mary that she would have to suffer in her life; this was because she would have to give up her Son to save the world.  On the Feast of the Presentation we celebrate our obedience to God because He is our Loving Father and we belong to Him.