Visitation

After the Archangel Gabriel told Mary that she was going to have baby Jesus, she went to go visit her cousin Elizabeth, who she loved so much and who was also having a baby.  As soon as Mary arrived and called out to her cousin Elizabeth, the baby inside Elizabeth’s womb, St. John the Baptist, jumped for joy because he knew that Mary was carrying Jesus!  When Elizabeth asked Mary why she had the honour to have the Mother of Jesus come and visit her, Mary humbly said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.  For He has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid and holy is his name.”  Mary knew that everything that was happening was from God and all she had to do was say YES.  Mary stayed with Elizabeth for 3 months helping her get ready for the birth of St. John the Baptist.

St Maximinius

Maximinius studied for many years to become a priest and later he even became a Bishop of Trier.  When St. Athanasius of Alexandria was sent into exile (kicked out of his own country and not allowed to come back) in Trier, Maximinius did everything he could to make him comfortable and lessen his sorrow of being far away from his people.  Bishop St. Paul of Constantinople was also protected by Maximinius from the anger of Emperor Constantius.  St. Athanasius wrote that Maximinius was brave, holy and well known by his people as being a miracle worker.  He defended the Church against many people that attacked it.

Blessed Margaret Pole

Margaret was the niece of 2 English Kings, King Edward IV and Richard III.  King Henry VII found someone for her to marry, Reginald Pole a brave solder and a friend of the royal family.  Together they had 5 children; Margaret also helped raise the King’s son Henry VIII.  Henry VIII became King and he said that Margaret was the holiest woman in England, he was so amazed by her that he made her a countess (an important person in the King’s Court) of Salisbury.  Henry trusted her so much that he put her in charge of his daughter Princess Mary.  Unfortunately, King Henry VIII made a lot of bad decisions and Margaret was not afraid to tell him that what he was doing was wrong and sinful.  This made the King very angry and he made her leave the King’s Court.  He got even madder when one of Margaret’s sons, Cardinal Reginald Pole, wrote an article saying that King Henry was wrong to think that he was in charge of the Church in England.   King Henry turned his back on God and sinned more and more.  He ended up putting Margaret in prison, even though nobody could say that she did anything wrong, and he had her killed.  She died a martyr because she stood up for the law of God.

St Augustine of Canterbury

Augustine was a monk and became the Abbot (leader) of St. Andrew’s monastery in Rome.  Pope Gregory the Great chose him and 40 other monks to go on a mission to England to bring the people living there the Gospel.  They were warned by the people of France not to go there, because the Celts in England were very mean.  So all the monks asked Abbot Augustine to talk to the Pope and change his mind, so that they would not have to go because they were scared.   The Pope did not change his mind because he knew the people in England wanted to know Jesus.  They were welcomed in England and even King Ethelbert listened to their message and was baptized into the family of God.  Abbot Augustine became a Bishop during their first year of mission. Bishop Augustine was able to perform miracles and through him many people came to know God.  In the city of Canterbury, England, Bishop Augustine built a church and a monastery, which became very important in England.

St Philip Neri

because he was always happy and friendly to everyone – everybody loved Phillip.  When he got older he went to study in Rome with the Dominican priests.  He was a good student and a very good Christian.  He did everything he could to bring people closer to Jesus.  When he turned 36 years old he felt like God was calling him to become a priest.  As a priest Fr. Phillip really helped everyone around him.  He would listen to confessions for hours a day and no matter how many people lined up to come and receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, he was always patient, kind and gentle with everyone.  At one point he thought maybe he should go to a far off land to be a missionary; but a wise monk told him that Rome was his mission field and he really did so much to bring the people of Rome closer to God.  A few years before he died he started working with young people, finding them safe places to play and becoming their friend, so that he could lead them to God.  

Pope St Gregory VII

Gregory was named Hildebrand when he was born, but chose the name Gregory when he became Pope.  Hildebrand did not want to become Pope, but all of the Cardinals knew that God was calling him to be Pope, so they chose him.  He knew that being Pope was a very difficult job and during that time the Church was going through a very difficult time because Kings and Emperors were trying to control the Church.  The first thing Pope Gregory did when he became Pope was to pray very hard for God to tell him what he needed to do.  He made all the bad and dishonest leaders in the Church leave and he did everything he could to stop the Kings and Emperors from getting involved in making decisions in the Church.  These things made the Emperors and Kings mad, so they tried to capture Pope Gregory, but the people of Rome loved their Pope and they protected him.  Then King Henry chose his own Pope and tried to convince the people that he was the true Pope.  The Emperor then sent his army to try and capture Pope Gregory again and so he had to leave Rome and go into hiding.  He died in a place called Salerno where he was hiding from the Emperors and Kings.  His last words were “I have loved justice and hated evil.  That is why I am dying in exile”.

St King David I

David was the youngest son of King Malcom and Queen Margaret of Scotland.  His mother was such a good woman and Queen that she also became a Saint.  David was made King when he was about 40 years old.  He didn’t want to be the King because he knew how much responsibility that meant, but he was a very good King.  King David was always willing to meet with anyone in his kingdom, even the poor.  He was a good example to everyone of how to be a good Christian, and because of his leadership, the people of Scotland grew closer to God.  He helped the Church a lot during his 20 years as King; creating new diocese, building monasteries, giving money to the Church and the poor.  King David prayed until the very moment that he died, because he knew that he wanted to meet Jesus in Heaven and that praying would prepare him for that journey.  “Let me think about the things of God instead, so that my soul may be strengthened on its trip from exile to home”.  He died on this day in the year 1153.v