Bl Junipero Serra

Blessed Junipero Serra Feast Day: July 01 Born: 1713 :: Died: 1784 Miguel Jose Serra was born in Petra, Spain. When he was fifteen, he became a student at the Franciscan school in Palma, twenty-five miles away. He then joined the Franciscan order a few months before his seventeenth birthday taking the name Junipero after the friend of St. Francis. During his training to become a priest, Junipero read the life stories of Franciscan saints. The saint whose life fascinated him most was St. Francis Solano, a missionary priest to South America who had been declared a saint just a few years earlier. Young Junipero decided that, if it was God's will, he too would be a missionary. Junipero was ordained a priest in 1736 and became a professor of philosophy. Twenty years, later, he was given the wonderful opportunity to go as a missionary to a place called "New Spain" in Mexico and California. Junipero and his close friend, Friar Francisco Palou, joined the group of missionaries at a seaport city in Spain called Cadiz. From there they sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to Vera Cruz, Mexico and arrived there on December 6, 1749. Soon after they landed, Junipero got bitten by a mosquito that left one leg swollen. He also suffered from asthma (making it difficult to breathe at times). This made walking a painful process for the rest of his life. But he and another friar walked the next part of the journey from Vera Cruz to Mexico City, a distance of 240 miles which took them more than fifteen days. From Mexico City, Junipero and Friar Francisco Palou were sent to work among the Pame Indians (a tribe of Red Indians) at the Franciscan Mission of the Sierra Gorda. Several of the friars then traveled to missions in Lower California. Junipero, Francisco and a handful of other Franciscans were asked to bring the Gospel to the native peoples in Upper California. Junipero started Mission San Diego on July 16, 1769, when he was fifty-six years old. The mission was an open invitation to his beloved people to come and meet Jesus who slowly began to trust the friars. Some people were baptized and began to live the Christian faith. Father Serra and the friars loved and protected their people. They trained many of them in European methods of agriculture, cattle husbandry, and othe crafts. Then the golden chain of new missions grew: Mission San Carlos in Monterey; Mission San Antonio de Padua; Mission San Gabriel Archangel; Mission San Luis Obispo; Mission San Francisco de Asis; Mission San Juan Capistrano; Mission Santa Clara de Asis; Mission San Buenaventura. He founded twenty-one missions and finally, six thousand native peoples were baptized and became followers of Jesus. Junipero helped the Church to grow on the west coast of the United States. Blessed Junipero made his final tour of the missions in Upper California which lasted about six months. He died peacefully at Mission San Carlos on August 28, 1784, and is buried there. In 1988, Pope John Paul II declared Father Junipero Serra "blessed." Reflection: "All my life I have wanted to be a missionary. I have wanted to carry the gospel message to those who have never heard of God and the kingdom he has prepared for them."- Bl. Junipero

First Martyrs

First Martyrs of the Church of Rome Feast Day: June 30 The people we honor today had one thing in common: they gave up their lives for Christ. They were martyred because they were followers of the Lord Jesus. By the year 64, Emperor Nero's cruelty and abuse of people was too much. When a fire broke out in Rome on July 16, the emperor who was at his seaside villa in Anzio was informed that the blaze was out of control. Instead of returning to Rome immediately, he began composing a song that compared Rome to the burning city of Troy. The people then realized that the emperor himself was responsible for the fire as he had plans to rebuild the city. The fire raged on for nine days and as two-thirds of Rome lay in ruin, and more than a million people lost their lives, the anger and hatred of the people began to grow. Nero feared that his people would turn against him and decided to blame the fire on the Christians. By that time, the Jews who were followers of Jesus had begun to separate themselves from the main Jewish community. Tacitus, a well-known historian, wrote that the Christians suffered cruel deaths. Some were fed to wild beasts while the Romans eagerly watched the sport. Others were tied to posts and burnt alive, becoming human torches at evening banquets while some were used to light the dark Roman streets. Many others were crucified in public places like gardens and the circus. The exact number of heroes is not known, but their gift of witness as they gladly gave up their lives for Jesus made a lasting impact on the hearts of people. Nero's was the first Roman emperor to torture Christians, but he was not the last. And the more the Church suffered, the bigger it grew because their faith in Jesus was so strong that they were happy to lose their lives for Him. The martyrs paid this high price so that all who would come after them could also be lead to become Christians and experience the richness of living in the grace and love of God. Reflection: In our prayer today, we offer thanks to the Father for the martyrs of Rome and ask God to help us live lives that are holy and pleasing to Him.

St Irenaeus

St. Irenaeus Feast Day: June 28 Born: (around) 130 :: Died: 202 Irenaeus was a Greek who was born in Asia Minor. He was blessed to be taught by St. Polycarp of Smyrna, who had been a disciple of St. John the Apostle. Irenaeus once told a friend: "I listened to St. Polycarp's instructions very carefully. I wrote down his actions and his words, not on paper, but on my heart." After he became a priest, Irenaeus was sent to the French city of Lyons. Irenaeus was asked to go on a mission by his brother priests to take an important message from them to the pope in Rome. In that letter they spoke of Irenaeus as a man full of zeal for the faith. While Irenaeus was away, the harassment of Christians began in the city of Lyons. The bishop, St. Pothinius, was killed along with a great many other saints who died as martyrs for their faith in Jesus. When Irenaeus returned the persecution was over and he was made bishop of Lyons. But now there was another danger: false teachings about the Catholic faith called Gnosticism. This false religion attracted some people by its promise to teach them secret mysteries. Irenaeus studied all its teachings and then wrote five books showing how wrong they were. He wrote with politeness, because he wanted to win people to Jesus. However, sometimes his words were strong, like: "As soon as a man has been won over to the Gnostics, he becomes puffed up with conceit and self-importance. He has the majestic air of a rooster who goes strutting about." St. Irenaeus' books were read by many people and soon people began to ignore the Gnostics teachings. St. Irenaeus was killed around the year 202 dying a martyr for Jesus. Reflection: "It is better and more profitable to be simple and less well educated but close to God through charity than to appear wise and gifted but to blaspheme the Master." - St. Irenaeus

St Cyril of Alexandria

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day: St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Cyril of Alexandria Feast Day: June 27 Born: 370 :: Died: 444 Cyril was born at Alexandria in Egypt. His uncle, Theophilus, was the patriarch or archbishop of Alexandria. Although his uncle meant no harm, he had a bad temper and could be very stubborn at times. Archbishop Theophilus sent the Bishop of Constantinople, St. John Chrysostom into exile in 403. Cyril who was influenced by his uncle's dislike of John, agreed when John was sent into exile. But the emperor brought the famous bishop back to his archdiocese of Constantinople. When his uncle died in 412, Cyril became the archbishop of Alexandria. His love for the Church and for Jesus was very strong. He was a brave man in times when the Church was confused and clearly preached the teachings of the Church. He was honest and straightforward and was not interested in praise or high positions. However, Cyril like his uncle Theophilus, could be impulsive and stubborn at times. He explained the truths of the Church with his preaching and writing. But when he got upset, what he said was sometimes difficult to understand. He did not always bother saying things in a gentle manner and blurted out angrily at times. His lack of self-control made him sad. Yet Christians were grateful for his many wonderful qualities. For example, he was not afraid to defend the Church and what we believe. He also had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and lovingly defended her from evil people who tried to harm her holy name. St. Cyril was the representative of Pope St. Celestine I at the Council of Ephesus in 431. This was an official Church meeting of over two hundred bishops. They had to study the teachings of a priest named Nestorius who preached that there were two persons in Christ. The Council explained clearly that Nestorius was wrong. The pope gave him ten days to say he would stop preaching what was wrong. But Nestorius would not agree. The bishops at the Council clearly explained to the people of God that these were false teachings and the people were convinced. This would never again be a major threat to the Church. The people were very grateful to St. Cyril of Alexandria who led the Council meetings. Nestorius went quietly back to his monastery and stopped confusing people. Cyril went back to his archdiocese and worked hard for the Church until he died in 444. Pope Leo XIII proclaimed St. Cyril a Doctor of the Church in 1883. Reflection: "Surely she must be the Mother of God if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, and she gave birth to him." - St. Cyril

St Pelagius

St. Pelagius Feast Day: June 26 Born: (around) 912 :: Died: 925 This boy martyr of Spain lived in the days when the Moors who were Muslims ruled part of his homeland. The Moors were fighting the Spanish Christians. Pelagius was only ten when his uncle had to leave him as a hostage with the Moors in the city of Cordova. They would not set him free until his uncle sent what the Moors demanded. Three years later the young Christian Pelagius still remained a prisoner. By this time, he was a handsome, lively boy of thirteen. Although many of his fellow prisoners were men who had formed evil habits, Pelagius would not follow their example. He had a strong will and knew how to keep himself good. The ruler of the Moors heard good reports about Pelagius and sent for the boy. Pelagius was handsome and well-behaved. The ruler felt generous and wanted to get him out of prison. After all, he was only a boy. He offered Pelagius his freedom, plus fine clothes to wear, beautiful horses and money. All this, only if he would give up his faith and become a Muslim like them. "All those things you named mean nothing to me," answered the boy firmly. "I have been a Christian. I am a Christian now. I shall continue to be a Christian." The ruler was surprised. Now instead of promises he threatened Pelagius, but this had no effect. Thirteen-year-old Pelagius was killed for his faith in Jesus and died a martyr in the year 925.

St William of Monte Virgine

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day: St. William of Monte Vergine St. William of Monte Vergine Feast Day: June 25 Born: 1085 :: Died: 1142 William was born into a wealthy family at Vercelli in Italy. His parents died when he was a baby and he was raised by relatives. When William was fourteen, he went on a pilgrimage to Saintiago de Compostela in Spain. There he decided that he wanted to live only for God and became a hermit. One day he worked a miracle where he healed a blind man, and suddenly found himself famous. William was too humble to be happy with the people's admiration. He really wanted to remain a hermit so that he could give all his attention to God. He went away to live alone on a high, wild mountain. No one would bother him now. But even there he was not left alone. Men gathered around the saint and they built a monastery dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. His followers became monks at the monastery. Because of William's monastery, people named the mountain, the Mountain of the Virgin. After a while, some of the monks began to complain that life at the monastery was too hard. They wanted better food and easier work. William would not relax the rule for himself. Instead, he chose a new head for the monks. Then he and five faithful followers set out to start another monastery, as strict as they were used to. One of his companions was St. John of Mantua. Both William and John of Mantua were leaders and great friends, but they saw things differently. They soon realized that they would do better if they split up, each to start a monastery. John went east and William went west. They both did very well. In fact, both became saints. Later, William became the advisor of King Roger I of Naples and the king helped St. William in return. William's good influence on the king made some evil men of the court very jealous. They tried to prove to the king that William was evil, that he was hiding behind a holy habit. They sent a bad woman to tempt William to sin, but she failed. Instead she was sorry for what she had done. She repented and gave up her life of sin. St. William died on June 25, 1142 at Guglietto in Italy. E-mail this page to a friend

The Birth of John the Baptist

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day: The Birth of John the Baptist The Birth of John the Baptist Feast Day: June 24 Born: (a few months before Jesus) :: Died: (around) 30 John's parents were Elizabeth the cousin of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Zachary a temple priest whose job was to burn incense. Zachary and Elizabeth were quite old when one day an angel of God appeared to Zachary in the temple. The angel told him that his wife would bear a son who would be filled with the Holy Spirit at his birth. The child should be named John. Zachary found this difficult to believe and God punished him by taking away his voice. He remained dumb until after John’s birth. Eight days after John was born his parents took him to the temple where he would be named Zachary, after his father. But both Elizabeth and Zachary asked for the child to be named John. Immediately, Zachary’s tongue was loosened and got back his voice. John had a special job to do for God. He was going to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus. So when he was still young, about twenty-seven, he went into the desert to prepare himself with silence, prayer and penance. He wore a tunic of camel hair with a leather belt and lived on wild honey and locusts (the locust tree is an evergreen that has edible bean like pods). Soon crowds started to come to him. They realized he was a holy man. He warned them to be sorry for their sins and asked them to change their lives. He baptized them with water and gave them the baptism of repentance. One day, Jesus himself came to John. He wanted to be baptized with John's baptism to begin making up for our sins. On that day, John told the crowds that Jesus was the Messiah, the one they had been waiting for. He told them and everyone else to follow him. Later on, St. John learned that King Herod had married Herodias a woman who already had a husband and a daughter. This king was the son of the King Herod who had murdered all those little boys in Bethlehem. St. John told him that it was wrong for him to live with that woman. King Herod was angry and humiliated. He locked John up in prison and John remained in a dark, damp dungeon for a long time. Then on Herod’s birthday Herodias’s daughter danced beautifully at his banquet. The delighted Herod said he would grant her any she wished. At her mother’s request, she asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. The shocked Herod had not choice and sent his executioner to kill John and bring back his head. When his disciples heard about it, they immediately came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. Jesus said, “I am the Truth” and John died for the truth. St. John's motto was, "Jesus must become more and more. I must become less and less." He said that he was not even worthy to loosen the strap of Jesus' sandal. E-mail this page to a friend