Saint Sharbel Makhlouf was a Lebanese Maronite Rite monk, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches who follow a slightly different liturgy and canon law. We in the Latin or Roman Rite often forget that we have sisters and brothers in the East. Saint Sharbel is a good reminder of the wider Church.
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We celebrate two great saints today, Saints Peter and Paul. Saint Peter is often considered the Apostle to the Jews and Saint Paul to the Gentiles (based, most probably, on his extensive travels among the Gentiles). Together they witnessed to the budding of Christianity, and both laid down their lives for the faith.
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Saint Cyril of Alexandria was instrumental in the Church’s doctrinal statement that there is one person but two natures in Christ. The practical implication of this teaching is that we believe that Jesus is truly God and truly human.
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Saint Romuald had the strange experience of being uncomfortably holy and asked to leave a monastery. When he tried to become a missionary, he was repeatedly hindered by an illness. Next he was falsely accused and excommunicated for a few months. But he didn’t give up.
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Saint Ephrem was ordained a deacon, but refused ordination to the priesthood. He was a teacher, defender of the faith, and a prolific writer. He refuted many heresies of his day, often through the lyrics of hymns that he wrote.
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For many years after his student days, Saint Philip Neri lived as a layman engaged in prayer and apostolic works in Rome. During this time, he attracted many to join him—poor and rich. After ordination, he became a noted confessor and eventually founded the Oratory, a religious institute, with some of his followers.
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Saint Bernardine of Siena seems to have been a man with a whole lot of energy. He preached, reconciled cities, fought heresy, and attracted great crowds. Bernardine always traveled by foot, and often preached in more than one city on a given day. He is best known today for his great devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.
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Saint Theophilus of Corte is a saint known more by reputation than by facts. We know that he was a Franciscan, ordained priest, and served at a retreat house near Subiaco. Theophilus was known for his poverty and his preaching.
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A married man known for his love of prayer, Saint Isidore the Farmer is one of the five saints of Spain. Saint Isidore worked on the estate of a wealthy landowner and thus attained the title of farmer.
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Acts of the Apostles records that Saint Matthias was selected by the early Church to replace Judas Iscariot in the ranks of the apostles. We know little more about him except that he was a witness to Jesus from his baptism to his ascension.
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Saint John of Avila had some pretty impressive friends—Francis Borgia, Ignatius of Loyola, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila—to name just a few. These saints, along with John, were all part of a reform of the Church in Spain. Little did they know at the time the holiness of their group.
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Little biographical data is available for Blessed Michael Giedroyc, but we do know that he was physically handicapped and that this caused him great suffering during his lifetime. But, despite his difficulties, Blessed Michael coped well, due in part to his rich spiritual life.
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Saints Philip and James share a feast day because their relics were brought to Rome together in early May. We know nothing more about either saint than what is found in the Scriptures. There we are told that they were apostles, and tradition has it that they were both martyred.
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