Visitation

The Visitation of Mary

Feast Day: May 31

Visitation means "visit." The Archangel Gabriel told the Blessed Virgin Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was going to have a baby boy in her old age. Mary loved Elizabeth and knew she could use some help. So she set out at once on the journey.

Mary too was expecting a baby, the baby Jesus. The trip into the hill country where Elizabeth lived was long, dangerous and uncomfortable. But that would not stop Mary and she rode there on a donkey, as that was the best way to travel in the hill country. 

Mary reached her cousin's house and greeted Elizabeth. At that moment, the Holy Spirit revealed to Elizabeth that Mary had become the mother of God our savior. 

Elizabeth asked joyfully, "How have I deserved that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?" Mary was not boastful or proud of this great honor, but remained humble and quickly gave all the credit to God. He had blessed her so richly.

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior," she said. "For he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid, and holy is his name."

What graces the Blessed Mother brought to the home of her cousin! St. John, while still hidden in his mother's womb, was cleansed of original sin. His father Zachary who had lost his voice, was able to speak again. St. Elizabeth was filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Mary stayed three months at her cousin's home. With great kindness and love, she helped Elizabeth.

St. Joan of Arc

Feast Day: May 30
Born: 1412 :: Died: 1431

Joan was born at Greux-Domremy, Lorraine, a little village in France. Jacques d'Arc, her father, was a hard working farmer. Her mother Isabelle Romee was gentle and loving. She taught Joan many practical things. "I can sew and spin as well as any woman," she once said. 

Joan was a shepherdess who loved to pray, especially at the shrines of Our Blessed Mother. This honest little peasant girl was to become a heroine. One day while she was watching her sheep, St. Michael the Archangel, appeared to her and said, "Daughter of God, go save France!" 

For three years she heard the voices of saints calling her to action. When she was sixteen, she began her mission.

At that time, there was a war going on between France and England. It was called the Hundred Years' War. England had won so much French land that the king of England called himself the king of France, too. The real French king was weak and fun-loving. He thought the French armies would never be able to save the country.

With his permission, St. Joan led an army into the city of Orleans, which the English had almost captured. In her white, shining armor, this young heroine rode with her banner flying above her. On it were the names of JESUS and MARY. 

She was hit by an arrow in the great battle of Orleans, but she kept on urging her men to victory. At last they won! St. Joan and her army won more and more battles. The English armies had to retreat.

After the victories, Joan's time of suffering began. She was captured by the Burgundians. Then she was sold to the English for ten thousand Francs. The ungrateful French king did not even try to save her. She was put in prison and after an unfair trial at Rouen in France, she was tied to a stake and burned to death. 

Joan was not even twenty. She had a great horror of fire. Yet she went bravely to her death on May 29, 1431. Her last word was "Jesus." Four hundred and eighty-nine years later, on May 16, 1920, Pope Benedict XV proclaimed Joan a saint.

St. Maximinius

Feast Day: May 29
Died: (around) 347

Maximinius was born at Silly near Poitiers in France. As a young man, he heard of a saintly bishop of Trier, in Gaul. He traveled to that city and became a disciple of St. Agritius. This holy bishop saw to it that Maximinius received a good education. After many years of study and preparation, Maximinius became a priest and then bishop. He took over the diocese of Trier. Bishop Agritius could not have been more pleased. He knew that his people would have a wonderful bishop.
When St. Athanasius of Alexandria, Egypt, was sent into exile to Trier, St. Maximinius welcomed him. He did everything to help Athanasius and to make his time away from his people less painful. Another brave bishop of those times, St. Paul, bishop of Constantinople, was also protected by Maximinius from the anger of Emperor Constantius.
St. Athanasius wrote that Maximinius was brave, holy and a well known as a miracle worker. Because he was a great man, he was willing to defend the Church of Jesus from the Arians and others who attacked it.
He was willing also to protect those brave bishops who fell out of favor with the political powers. Maximinius put his own life in danger even if he had to lose his position or his life, if necessary. He died around the year 347 and his body was buried in the church of Saint John near Trier in Germany.

Blessed Margaret Pole

Feast Day: May 28
Born: 1471 :: Died: 1541

Margaret Plantaganet was born in England. She was the niece of two English kings, Edward IV and Richard III. King Henry VII arranged her marriage to Sir Reginald Pole who was a brave soldier and a friend of the royal family. They had five children and Margaret also privately helped raise the king's son Henry VIII. Years later, Sir Reginald died leaving Margaret a widow. The young Henry VIII became king, he called Margaret the holiest woman in England. He was so impressed with her that he returned some property her family had lost in the past. He also made her a countess of Salisbury. Henry trusted her so much that Countess Margaret was appointed the governess of Princess Mary, his and Queen Catherine's daughter.
But then Henry tried to marry Anne Boleyn although he was already married. Margaret told the king that what he did was wrong. This upset the king very much and he made her leave the court. The king was even more upset when one of Margaret's sons, a priest (and who later became the famous Cardinal Reginald Pole), wrote a long article against Henry's claim to be head of the Church in England.
Henry was out of control. He had become cruel and hateful. He threatened to get rid of Margaret's whole family. Henry sent people to question Countess Margaret to prove her a traitor. They questioned her from noon until evening but could not find any fault with her. She had nothing to hide.
Then Margaret was wrongly accused and kept under house arrest at the castle of a nobleman. She was later moved to the huge tower of London without even a trial. During the long winter months, she suffered very much from the cold and dampness. She had no fire and not enough warm clothing.
Finally, on May 28, 1541, when she was seventy years old, Blessed Margaret was led out of the tower to the place of execution. She was tired and sick, but she stood tall and proud to die for her faith. "I am no traitor," she said bravely. Margaret was beheaded on Tower hill and died a martyr for her faith in Jesus.

St Augtine of Canterbury

St. Augustine of Canterbury

Feast Day: May 27
Died: 605

St. Augustine was born in Rome, Italy. When he grew up, he became a monk. Years later he was made the abbot of St. Andrew's monastery in Rome. Pope St. Gregory the Great chose him and forty other monks for a mission dear to his heart. They were to preach the Gospel or the Good News of Jesus to the people of England. Abbot Augustine and the monks started on their journey for the British Isles. When they reached southern France, people warned them that the Celts in England were fierce. The monks felt discouraged and frightened.
They asked Augustine to go and ask the pope's permission to give up the whole idea. He did, but the pope would not change his mind. He said that the people in England wanted to accept the Christian faith. The monks went to England. They arrived in 596.
The missionaries were well received by King Ethelbert, whose wife was a Christian princess from France. When they landed, the monks formed a procession and walked along singing psalms. They carried a cross and a picture of our Lord. Many people received the monks' message. King Ethelbert himself was baptized on Pentecost, 597. Abbot Augustine became a bishop that same year.
St. Augustine often wrote asking the pope for advice. And Pope St. Gregory gave him much holy advice, too. Speaking about the many miracles St. Augustine worked, the pope said: "You must rejoice with fear and fear with joy for that gift." He meant that Augustine should be happy that through the miracles the English were being converted. But he should be careful not to become proud because the miracles were worked by God through him.
He worked to make peace between the Celtic churches and the Church of Rome. It was there that he was buried. At Canterbury, St. Augustine built a church and a monastery, which became the most important in England. St. Augustine died seven years after his arrival in England, on May 26, 605.

St. Philip Neri

Feast Day: May 26
Born: 1515 :: Died: 1595

St. Philip Neri was born at Florence, in Italy to poor parents. His father Francisco Neri who worked as a lawyer had two sons and two daughters. But Philip's brother died when he was a little child. 

As a child, Philip was affectionately called "Good little Phil." He was always so jolly and friendly that everyone he met loved him. Philip went to Rome as a teenager. He studied theology and philosophy for three years under Dominican priests and was a good student. 

Above all, Philip was a very active Christian. He lived simply and worked hard. But he also did much good for the people around him. He helped poor children and spent time with the sick. He was a friend to people who were troubled and lonely. In fact, he reached out to everybody he could for the love of Jesus.

Philip with the help of a few people started an organization to take care of poor pilgrims. That ministry gradually continued as a famous Roman hospital. The priest who guided him realized that Philip was doing so much to help the Christians of Rome come close to God again.

But when Philip was thirty-six he felt a strong calling to be a priest. It was then that he began his most wonderful ministry for others. He was available for the sacrament of Reconciliation for several hours every day. The lines of people who came to him grew longer. But Father Philip was never in a hurry. He never ran out of patience and gentleness.

People began to notice that he could often read their minds. He could sometimes tell the future and the Lord even worked miracles through him. But all Philip wanted to do was bring Jesus to the people. To avoid their admiration, he acted silly once in a while. He wanted people to laugh and forget that they thought he was holy.

St. Philip was making a difference, though. Because of him, the whole city of Rome was becoming better. Once he started to think about being a missionary to far-off lands. He was very impressed by the life of St. Francis Xavier, who had died in 1552 at the gate of China.

Philip had been a priest for just one year at the time of St. Xavier's death. Should he leave Rome and volunteer for the missions? A holy Cistercian monk told him "Rome is to be your mission land." After that, Father Philip was at peace.

St. Philip spent the last five years of his life offering the sacrament of Reconciliation to the people. He began working with youth, finding safe places for them to play, becoming involved in their lives. He died at the age of eighty in 1595. 

St. Gregory VII

Feast Day: May 25
Born: (around) 1023 :: Died: 1085

Hildebrand was born at Soana, in Italy. His uncle was a monk in Rome so Hildebrand studied in the monastery. When he grew up, Hildebrand became a Benedictine monk in France. Soon, however, he was called back to Rome. There he was given very important positions under five popes until he himself was made pope.For twenty-five years, he refused to become pope. But when Pope Alexander II died, the cardinals made up their minds to elect Hildebrand pope. With one voice they cried out: "Hildebrand is the elect of St. Peter!"
The saint wrote afterwards, "They carried me to the throne, and my protests did no good. Fear filled my heart and darkness was all around me." Hildebrand chose the name Gregory VII.
These were truly difficult times for the Catholic Church. Kings and emperors were meddling in Church matters. They named the men they wanted to be bishops, cardinals and even popes. Many of those chosen were bad examples to the people.
The first thing Pope St. Gregory did was to spend many days in prayer. He also asked others to pray for him. He knew that without prayer nothing can be done well for God.
Afterward, he began to act to make the clergy better. He removed all the bad and dishonest men in important positions who were destroying the faith of the Church. He also did what he could to keep the rulers out of the affairs of the Church. This was very difficult because the rulers were all against the change.
One ruler, Emperor Henry IV of Germany, caused Pope Gregory great sufferings. This young man was sinful and greedy for gold. He would not stop trying to run the affairs of the Church. He even sent his men to capture the pope. But the people of Rome rescued the saint from prison.
Then Henry IV chose his own pope. Of course, the man he chose was not the real pope. But Henry tried to make people think he was. Then, once again, the emperor sent his armies to capture Pope Gregory and the pope was forced to leave Rome.
He was taken safely to Salerno where he died in 1085. His last words were, "I have loved justice and hated evil. That is why I am dying in exile. Pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand) is known for his fantastic courage. He stood up for the cause of Jesus and his Church.