The rosary is a truly Catholic devotion. It is a form of prayer and meditation in honor of Mary and celebrates the mysteries of Jesus’ and Mary’s lives. It has been called a miniature catechism highlighting the key events of our faith. Our Lady of the Rosary remembers Mary’s intercession and celebrates this popular devotion.
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Today we celebrate a saint who was never canonized and who wanted to live in solitude and prayer. Saint Bruno was a Carthusian monk who took great steps to find a quiet place to live in spite of being asked to assist the Pope in Rome.
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O Good Saint Anne,
who had the incomparable privilege of bringing into the world
Her who was to become the Mother of God,
I come to place myself
under your special care.
I confide myself to you,
together with the child I am carrying.
Thousands of children owe you,
Glorious Mother of Mary,
the life of the body and the grace of baptism.
Hence I wish, in my turn,
to place my whole confidence in you.
Make me keep in mind the precautions I need to take
so as not to …
A sister of Our Lady of Mercy, Saint Maria Faustina was blessed with unique messages from Christ concerning his mercy and forgiveness. These messages came at a time when many people viewed God as a strict judge.
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Saint Theodora was born in France but came to Vincennes, Indiana, at the invitation of the bishop. Eventually she established a new foundation of her community in the United States, but only after suffering many hardships.
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Angels play an important role in Sacred Scripture as messengers of God. The belief that each person has a guardian angel watching over him or her is an extension of that role, and a reminder of God’s never-failing providence.
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Saint Thérèse of Lisieux is perhaps one of the most known and best loved saints in the Catholic calendar. A young Carmelite nun who wanted to go to the missions, she remained within the cloister yet became the patron of the missions.
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Known mostly for his translation of the Scriptures into Latin, Saint Jerome was also an inspiring writer of letters and commentaries. He was said to have had a bad temper, yet he was a man of prayer and penance. A combination of conflicting qualities, Saint Jerome stands out as one of the four great Doctors of the Latin Church.
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Govern by all Thy Wisdom, O Lord,
so that my soul may always be serving Thee as Thou dost Will,
and not as I may choose.
Do not punish me, I beseech Thee,
by granting that which I wish
or ask if it offended Thy Love,
which would always live in me.
Let me die to myself,
so that I may love Thee.
Let me live to Thee,
Who art in Thyself,
the True Life.
Dear St. Therese,
guide me in your Little Way,
so that I may ascend to the heights and happiness of Heaven.
Angels appear frequently in Scripture, but only Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael are named. Each of these archangels performs a different mission in Scripture: Michael protects; Gabriel announces; Raphael guides.
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More than just a name in a Christmas carol, Wenceslaus managed to rule with a clear vision of what a Christian leader should be. Many opposed him during his reign, and his brother eventually betrayed and killed him, but he continued to hold the faith and is hailed today as an outstanding king in Eastern Europe.
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Matthew was a Jew who worked for the Romans as a tax collector. His fellow Jews considered him a traitor and resented him. The Pharisees viewed him, and all tax collectors, as sinners. So it was a real shock to hear that Jesus called such a man to be one of his followers. But that’s the kind of thing that Jesus did.
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Pope Saint Paul VI helped prepare for the Second Vatican Council, and was the one to complete it after the death of his predecessor, Pope Saint John XXIII. In 1965, he instituted the Synod of Bishops, and spoke to the United Nations General Assembly during a historic visit to New York City.
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John Henry Newman, the 19th-century’s most important English-speaking Catholic theologian, spent the first half of his life as an Anglican and the second half as a Roman Catholic. He was a priest, popular preacher, writer, and eminent theologian in both churches.
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Frustrated in their attempts to enter religious life, Louis Martin and Zélie Guérin married and had nine children. Their youngest child, who entered a Carmelite convent at 15, became Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, affectionately known as the Little Flower.
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Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, popularly known as Padre Pio, grew up in southern Italy. At the age of 15, he joined the Capuchins and was ordained in 1910. In 1918 he received the stigmata, the markings of the crucified Jesus, which he then bore for the next 50 years.
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Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, the first canonized Filipino martyr, became a witness to the faith almost by accident. Fleeing a legal charge, he ended up with a group of Dominicans headed for Japan, where they were all arrested, tortured, and finally executed.
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The Korean martyrs, including Saints Andrew Kim Taegon and Paul Chong Hasang, spread the gospel in their native land under extremely difficult circumstances. The holy companion martyrs include bishops, priests, and laity, some of whom where French missionaries.
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Little is known about the life of Januarius. Legend has it that he and his companions were thrown to the bears in the amphitheater of Pozzuoli, but the animals failed to attack them. They were then beheaded, and Januarius’ blood ultimately brought to Naples.
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Joseph of Cupertino is most famous for levitating during prayer. After a short career with the Capuchins, he joined the Conventual Franciscans. Following a brief assignment caring for the friary mule, Joseph began his studies for the priesthood.
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Cornelius was elected pope “by the judgment of God and of Christ, by the testimony of most of the clergy, by the vote of the people, with the consent of aged priests and of good men” after a 14 month vacancy in the papacy.
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The principal biblical references to Mary’s sorrows are Simeon’s prediction about a sword piercing Mary’s soul, and Jesus’ words from the cross to Mary and to the beloved disciple. The two passages are brought together as prediction and fulfillment.
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Saint John Chrysostom, the great preacher of Antioch, was the victim of his own success. Called to be a bishop, this simple monk found himself embroiled in the workings of the empire. He, however, managed to stay focused on the needs of the Church.
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This feast is a counterpart to the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus: both have the possibility of uniting people easily divided on other matters. Mary encourages us to cooperate with Jesus in building a peace based on justice.
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Saint Cyprian played an important role in the development of Christian thought and practice in the early Church. He was a noted speaker who became a Christian as an adult. He was ordained a priest within two years of his conversion, and was then chosen to be bishop of Carthage.
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A native of Spain, young Jesuit Peter Claver left his homeland forever in 1610, to be a missionary in the colonies of the New World. He sailed into Cartagena, and began a ministry to the slaves brought there from West Africa, as well as becoming a moral force in the city of Cartegena.
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Affirming the humanity of Jesus, the Church celebrates the birth of Mary, his mother. While Scripture does not record the birth of Mary, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James notes the development of Christian piety around Mary’s parents and her birth.
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Claudio was the youngest of nine children whose father died when the boy was only nine years old. At the age of 15 he entered the army where he served for three years. Eventually Claudio joined the Franciscans, and was known for his artistic abilities.
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Mother Teresa was born in Albania, but is known for her work in India. A member of the Sisters of Loreto, she felt a call to live among the poor. While working with the poorest of the poor in India, she founded the Missionaries of Charity who continue her work.
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Gregory, called “the Great,” became pope at the age of 50. In his new role, he had much to do both within and outside the Church. Known for his reform of the liturgy, he is credited as the author of the Gregorian chant used for centuries in the Latin church.
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Victims of the French Revolution, these blesseds witnessed to their faith by refusing to take a civil oath which amounted to a denial of their faith. On a single day in Paris, 185 priests and religious were martyred.
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We know little about Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus except what we find in scripture. We do know that they were Jewish men of some standing who were not afraid to express their respect for Jesus.
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Canonized in 2009, Saint Jeanne Jugan had a history of helping the elderly and the poor. She founded the Little Sisters of the Poor to help her with her work, and by the time of her death the community numbered 2400 women.
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The martyrdom of John the Baptist is one of the most gruesome stories in the New Testament. Yet it is the story of the victory of faith and loyalty over cowardice and hate.
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Perhaps Saint Monica is best known as the mother of Saint Augustine—a pretty noble label. But Saint Monica was also the mother of two other children, and is known as a woman of great prayer.
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I.
Come, virgins chaste; pure brides, draw near:
Let Earth exult and Heaven hear
The Hymn that grateful accents raise,
Our song of joy in Rita’s praise.
II.
By fast her sinless frame is weak;
Her livid flesh the scourges streak.
In pity for her Savior’s woes,
Her days and even nights are closed.
III.
The thorn-wound on her brow is shown,
The crimson rose in winter blown,
And full-ripe figs on frozen tree
At Rita’s wish the wonders see.
IV.
The widowed spouse …
Saint Joseph Calasanz dedicated his life to poor children. He gathered teachers to help him, and eventually organized the Clerks Regular of Religious Schools–also known as the Piarists or Scolopi. But his work was not without opposition, as some objected to the education of the poor.
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Saint Louis of France took his position seriously as both king and Christian. A true son of the Church, Louis worked for peace and reconciliation within his kingdom and beyond. He was generous with his wealth and his time. He was named a patron of the Secular Franciscans.
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A member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, Saint Rose of Lima lived a life of penance and devotion to the poor at home under the disapproving eyes of her parents.
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The notion of a queen is somewhat foreign to American ears, but this feast of Mary recognizes her role in the Kingdom of her Son, Jesus.
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Wanting to be a simple monk in the quiet of a monastery, Bernard of Clairvaux was called instead to be a very active member of the Church in his day.
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Saint John Eudes was a noted preacher and confessor. He founded several seminaries because he saw the need for clerical formation. He also founded a couple of religious communities to address other needs that he saw. Saint John had a great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
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Transformation from greedy and surly businesswoman to saint is the story of Saint Joan of the Cross. Her conversion is credited to an elderly woman who most people thought was crazy, but who reached Saint Joan’s heart. Joan of the Cross went on to found a religious congregation and several charitable institutions.
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Stephen of Hungary was both a king and a Christian. So, he embodied both the civil and the religious aspects of life in his person. Saint Stephen expressed those aspects in the best way he knew how according to his culture and period of history.
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Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, a Conventual Franciscan, is best known for volunteering to take the place of a condemned prisoner in a death camp. But he also worked tirelessly for the spiritual welfare of people through his deep devotion to the Blessed Mother.
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The son of Irish immigrants, Blessed Michael McGivney saw a need for Catholics to come together to assist widows and orphans who were often left destitute. That organization became the Knights of Columbus.
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Jane Frances de Chantal was a wife and the mother of six. When her husband was killed, Saint Jane Frances took a vow not to remarry and sought to join a religious community. She was dissuaded by her spiritual director, Saint Francis de Sales.
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Devotion to Saint Lawrence dates back to the earliest days of the Church. While we do not know many facts about him, his courageous witness to the faith is well known, as well as some interesting legends which may or may not be true. They show a fascination with Saint Lawrence and his testimony to the faith.
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The story of Teresa Benedicta of the Cross begins with her life as Edith Stein, a noted philosopher raised in the Jewish faith. Her studies led Edith to the Catholic Church and to becoming a Carmelite nun. She died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz in 1942.
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