St Theresa of the Child Jesus

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day: St. Theresa of the Child Jesus St. Theresa of the Child Jesus St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Feast Day: October 1 Born: 1873 :: Died: 1897 St. Theresa, who was often called the Little Flower, was born in Normandy in France. She had four older sisters and her parents were Louis and Zelie Martin. Theresa was a very lively, lovable little girl and her father called her his "little queen." Yet she could also be too sensitive and irritable. In the story she wrote of her life, she tells how the Infant Jesus helped her overcome this weakness. Theresa wanted very much to enter the Carmelite convent where two of her sisters were already nuns. But since she was only fifteen, they did not let her. Theresa felt sure that Jesus wanted her to spend her life loving him alone. She kept praying and asking the superior to let her join the convent. She even dared to ask Pope Leo XIII himself to grant her heart's desire and finally she was allowed to enter. Although she was only fifteen, Theresa did not expect to be treated like a child. "Obedience, prayer and sacrifice" were her duty. She had a thirst to suffer for love of God. Theresa had the spiritual courage of a real heroine. "May Jesus make me a martyr of the heart or of the body-or better, both!" she wrote. And she meant it. In winter she suffered from the bitter cold and dampness of her plain bedroom. There were other kinds of sufferings, too. Whenever she was made fun of or insulted, she would offer her pain to her beloved Jesus. She would hide her hurts under a smile. She told Jesus to do with her whatever was his will. Sister Theresa tried hard to be humble. She called her great belief in God her "little way" to holiness. She always had a burning desire to become a saint. The young nun wanted to find a "short cut," an to take her quickly to heaven. So she looked in the Bible, and found the words, "Whoever is a little one, come to me." When she lay dying, she could say: "I have never given the good God anything but love, and it is with love that he will repay. After my death, I will let fall a shower of roses. I will spend my heaven doing good on earth." The Little Flower died on September 30, 1897. "O Jesus, my love, my vocation, at last I have found it. My vocation is LOVE!"

St Jerome

Feast Day: September 30 Born: 347 :: Died: 420 Jerome was a Roman Catholic who was born at Stido, Dalmatia. His father taught him his religion well, but sent him to a famous pagan school where Jerome grew to love pagan writings and lost some of his love for God. Then he became great friends with a group of holy Christians, and his heart was turned completely to God. Later, this brilliant young man decided to live alone in a wild desert. He was afraid that his love for pagan writings would lead him away from the love of God. He welcomed the hard penance and the burning hot desert. But even there, he suffered terrible temptations. Jerome did not give in, however. Instead he increased his acts of penance and wept for his sins. He also went to study Hebrew with a monk as his teacher. He did this to get rid of the bad thoughts that kept attacking his mind. He became such a great scholar of Hebrew that he could later translate the Bible into Latin. Many more people were then able to read, learn and enjoy it. St. Jerome spent long years of his life in a little cave at Bethlehem, where Jesus had been born. There he prayed, studied the Bible, and taught many people how to serve God. He wrote many letters and even books to protect the faith from non-believers. St. Jerome had a bad temper, and because of his sharp tongue he made many enemies. Yet he was a very holy man who spent his life trying to serve Jesus in the best way he could. And so, despite his temper, he became a great saint. He died in 419 or 420.

Archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael

Feast Day: September 29 Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are called "saints" because they are holy. But they are different from the rest of the saints because they were not human but spirits. They are angels and the word "angel" means Messenger of God. Angels who deliver messages of lesser importance are just called Angels; and those who proclaim important messages are called Archangels. They are our protectors and we know something about each of the three Archangels from the Bible. Michael's name means "who is like God?" St. Michael is mentioned in three books of the Bible: Daniel, Revelation and the Letter of Jude. In the book of Revelation or the Apocalypse, chapter 12:7-9, we read of a great war that went on in heaven. Michael and his angels battled with Satan (or the fallen angel Lucifer). Michael who was the leader of God's army became the champion of loyalty to God. We can ask St. Michael to make us strong in our love for Jesus and in our practice of the Catholic religion. Gabriel's name means "the power of God." He is mentioned in the book of Daniel and more importantly in Luke's Gospel. This archangel announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of our Savior. Gabriel announced to Zechariah that he and St. Elizabeth would have a son and call him John. Gabriel is the announcer, the communicator of the Good News. We can ask him to help us be good communicators as he was. Raphael's name means "God has healed." We read the touching story of Raphael's role in the Bible's book of Tobit. He was also the Angel mentioned in John 5:1-4 as the power behind the healing at the sheep pool. He brought protection and healing to the blind Tobit. At the very end of the journey, when all was completed, Raphael revealed his true identity. He called himself one of the seven who stands before God's throne. We can ask St. Raphael to protect us in our travels, even for short journeys, like going to school. We can also ask him to help when illness strikes us or someone we love.

Sts Lawrence Ruiz and companions

Feast Day: September 28 Born: (around) 1575 :: Died: 1637 Today we celebrate the feast of St. Lawrence Ruiz, from the Philippines and his fifteen companions. Born in Manila, in the Philippines, St. Lorenzo was the father of a family. He left his wife and children to join a few Dominican priests, brothers and lay volunteers who were going on a mission to Japan to preach the Gospel. The group had nine Dominican priests, two brothers, two single lay women, and three other lay persons. All the people on the group were in some way connected with the Dominican order and were missionaries who had originally come from five nations - France, Italy, Japan, the Philippines and Spain. When the persecution started they all chose to die rather than give up their faith in Jesus. These martyrs suffered greatly before they died, but despite their trials they would not give up their Catholic religion and remained faithful until the end. St. Lawrence Ruiz told his judges that if he had a thousand lives to give for Christ, he would. These sixteen martyrs were killed for their faith in 1637, in Nagasaki, Japan. What a wonderful reminder they are that the Church reaches out to the whole world. This group of heroes was proclaimed saints by Pope John Paul II in1987

St Vincent de Paul

Feast Day: September 27 Born: 1581 :: Died: 1660 Vincent, was born in a town in Southwest France and was the son of poor French peasants. Today the town is called Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Landes, France. When he grew up and became famous, he loved to tell people how he had taken care of his father's pigs. Because he was intelligent, his father sent him to school to study under the Franciscan friars at Acqs. And after finishing his studies from the University of Toulouse, Vincent became a priest at the age of 20. At first, he was given an important position as the teacher of rich children, and he lived rather comfortably. But while he was traveling by sea from one city to another, he fell into the hands of Turkish pirates who sold him as a slave in Tunis. Two years later after he was finally set free by one of his owners, who he converted to Christianity, he returned to France where he served as a parish priest. Then one day, he was called to the side of a dying peasant. In front of many people, this man declared that all his past confessions had been bad ones. Suddenly Father Vincent realized how badly the poor people of France needed spiritual help. When he began to preach to them, crowds went to confession. He finally decided to start a congregation of priests to work especially among the poor. The charities of St. Vincent de Paul were so many that it seems impossible for one person to have begun so much. He took care of criminals who worked on the sailing ships He started the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity He opened hospitals and homes for orphans and old people He collected large sums of money for poor areas He sent missionaries to many countries and bought back prisoners from the Mohammedans Even though he was such a charitable man, however, he humbly admitted that he was not so by nature. "I would have been hard, rough and ill-tempered," he said "were it not for God's grace." "It is not sufficient for me to love God if I do not love my neighbor. I belong to God and to the poor." Vincent de Paul died in Paris on September 27, 1660

Sts Cosmas & Damien

Feast Day: September 26 Born: (around) 250 :: Died: 303 These two martyrs were twin brothers from Syria in Arabia. They were very famous students of science and both became excellent doctors. Cosmas and Damien saw in every patient a brother or sister in Christ. For this reason, they showed great charity to all and treated their patients to the best of their ability. No matter how much care a patient required, neither Cosmas nor Damien ever accepted any money for their services. For this reason, they were called by a name in Greek which means "the penniless ones." Every chance they had, the two saints told their patients about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And because the people all loved these twin doctors, they listened to them willingly. Cosmas and Damien often brought health back to both the bodies and the souls of those who came to them for help. When Emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians began in their city, because they were so famous, the saints were arrested at once. They had never tried to hide their great love for their Christian faith. They were tortured, but nothing could make them give up their belief in Christ. They had lived for him and had brought so many people to his love. So at last, they were put to death in the year 303. These holy martyrs are named in the First Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass. As we remember these two holy doctors, the Church prays today for all health care professionals, that they would follow the example of Cosmas and Damien in their care for the physical and spiritual well being of others.

St Sergius

Born: (around) 1315 :: Died: 1392 St. Sergius was born near Rostov in Russia and was given the name of Bartholomew when he was baptized. He was not as bright as his two brothers, but he did learn to read and write. This made him really happy because he wanted so much to read the Bible. Bartholomew's parents were very rich but when he was still a boy, the family had to flee from enemies and lost all their wealth. They had to go to work as peasants. After his parents died, Bartholomew and his brother Stephen went off to live as hermits. They built a little church from trees they had cut down. The church was dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity. When his brother went to Moscow to enter a monastery, Bartholomew lived alone. He wore the habit of a monk and took the name Sergius. He was a tall, husky young man. He was strong enough to stand the biting cold and fierce winds of his forest home. He was happy praying to God and loving him with all his heart. He called fire and light his companions, and even made friends with bears. Soon, other young men came to share St. Sergius's holy life and he started the Holy Trinity monastery for them. He was ordained a priest and ruled his monastery very wisely. Once when some of the monks together with his own brother Stephen-who had come back - disagreed with Sergius about his strict rules, he went away to live as a hermit again so as to keep peace. Four years later, he was asked to return. The monks were so happy to see him that they kissed his hands, his feet and even his robe. Powerful rulers often went to ask St. Sergius for advice. He became so famous that he was asked to become bishop of the greatest Russian diocese in Moscow. But he was too humble to accept. The prince of Moscow was not sure if he should try to fight the terrible pagan Tartars. St. Sergius said, "Do not fear, sir. Go forward with faith against the foe. God will be with you." And the Russians were victorious. It was not great learning that made people trust and love St. Sergius. It was his confidence in God and his desire to help everybody. St. Sergius died in 1392.