St. Catherine of Siena

Today is the feast day of St. Catherine of Siena. Catherine was the 23rd child of Jacopo and Lapa Benincasa. Catherine disappointed her mother by cutting off her hair as a protest against being overly encouraged to improve her appearance in order to attract a husband. Her father ordered her to be left in peace, and she was given a room of her own for prayer and meditation.

She wanted to enter the Dominican Third Order but wasn't allowed in because she was young and all of the other members were widows. She became very sick and, thinking she was about to die, she was allowed to join. Once she had joined the order, she quickly healed. She spent years in a room praying with a crucifix. After many mystical experiences she was told by Jesus that she should serve in the world, which she did. 

Her strong sense of service drew many people to her. As some of her thoughts caused some controversy. Some priests disliked giving her the Eucharist because they thought she got too excited about it. Because she was a Dominican, stories about her reached their authorities who ordered her to cease and desist teaching and appear before them. She greeted the order with joy. When she appeared before the Dominican General Chapter of 1374, they questioned her for three days and, in the end, found nothing in her philosophy/thoughts that were inconsistent with the faith. All charges were cleared, but they did say she needed a better spiritual director and assigned Bl. Raymond of Capua as her confessor.

She only lived to 33 but changed the course of history. She became a counselor to Popes and Princes at a time when Europe had been tearing itself apart She was instrumental in helping to start a process which would usher in a more stable continent.Along with St. Francis of Assisi, she is a Patron Saint of Italy, but also a Co-Patron of Europe itself. She was also declared a Doctor of the Church.

Her spiritual legacy still affects us in the twenty-first century. The two-fold truth as taught by Jesus to St Catherine was quite simply this: we are created, wounded and broken, yet we are also loved infinitely by Christ. Within these statements lies an important value, that of respect for all human life, and for each other. The legacy of St Catherine enables us to gain a clearer understanding of ourselves, and also the opportunity to know Christ. When this has been attained, then we may look with the loving eyes of Christ, learning to recognize in the other, one who whilst broken, is profoundly loved. St Catherine shows us, therefore, how to understand each other – to be merciful - and to love them with the love of Christ.

Praying with the Saints

There are so many beautiful prayers, especially the ones given to us by the saints and those found in Scripture.

Sometimes you find one that you want to make part of your daily prayers.

I recently found a beautiful prayer by St. John Neumann, whose memorial we celebrated Jan. 5. The excerpt I saw was printed in the Magnificat monthly prayer publication. And I think the prayer is a keeper.

"I feel within myself and ardent desire to love Jesus and to be closely united with Him. The daily reception of His Sacred Body and Blood brings with it immense graces to my soul. But I find that I am not sufficiently watchful over my senses. I am indolent in the discharge of my duties. I say my prayers with distraction. O my dearest Jesus, what a great privilege to visit You daily, as often as I choose, and to receive You each day in Holy Communion!...
O my God, I  have consecrated myself to You.
Do with me whatever is most pleasing to You.

I beg of You, O my God, to let me see clearly what I ought to do.
O Jesus, grant me and to all the courage to resist the evil that is in the world.
You know, O my Jesus, that I would willingly suffer and die for You, though I am unworthy of such a grace.
I have consecrated myself entirely to You! You are my only Lord.
How gladly, O Lord, I thank you for the innumerable benefits You give me.
You are the best of fathers. I will be faithful in keeping Your commandments.
Take entire possession of me, O my dearest Jesus. To You I consecrate all the powers of my soul, my body and my whole being.
Teach me Your will, O dearest Lord, that I may begin and end all my actions for Your greater glory."

Amen!

I have a long way to go to be like St. John Neumann, but may his prayer help me on the path to Heaven. May his prayers, and those of all the saints, bless us all!

And with the Lord's help, may sanctity be our New Year's resolution and lifelong goal.

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.

Blessed Miguel Pro, Pray for Religious Liberty

The 1917 Mexican Constitution created laws that attacked the Catholic Church: seizing church property, outlawing religious orders, taking control of church matters—and went even further. The Constitution also prohibited priests from voting, the Church from even commenting on any public policy, and would not allow priests to wear their clericals or vestments outside their churches. President Calles, who was virulently anti-Catholic (and a Freemason), enforced these restrictions vigorously after his election in 1924. He also required state licensing of priests; thus the state could limit the number of priests by not licensing them. When priests continued to serve the Catholics of Mexico without being licensed, they were forced underground. The results of this persecution were war and martyrdom.

The most famous martyr is Blessed Miguel Pro, the Jesuit priest executed on November 23, 1927 -- 88 years ago today. Father Pro entered Mexico illegally and had to wear disguises and hide to celebrate the Sacraments. He would come in the middle of the night dressed as a beggar to baptize infants, bless marriages and celebrate Mass. He would appear in jail dressed as a police officer to bring Holy Viaticum to condemned Catholics. When going to fashionable neighborhoods to procure for the poor, he would show up at the doorstep dressed as a fashionable businessman with a fresh flower on his lapel. His many exploits could rival those of the most daring spies.

When captured, he was accused of plotting against the government and condemned without trial. President Calle ordered his execution photographed in great detail, hoping to incite fear in the Cristeros army. But the photographs had the opposite effect and Catholics began to show great devotion to the martyr—soon the government forbade the distribution of the very photos it had publicized!

Pope Pius XI wrote three encyclicals denouncing this persecution. The persecution finally ended when a Catholic president, Manuel Avila Camacho, was elected in 1940. When Blessed John Paul II visited Mexico in 1979 it was still illegal for him to celebrate Mass in public. In 1992, a new Constitution amended the anti-Catholic provisions of the 1917 version.

Pope John Paul II beatified Miguel Pro in 1998; he also canonized 25 Martyrs of this period on May 21, 2000. Thirteen more martyrs were beatified in 2005 in Mexico.

Dressing as Scholars, Saints or 100 years olds

Today students at St. Columbkille Catholic School were able to dress as scholars...

... saints ...

... or someone 100 years olds. 

It was to celebrate the success of the HSA fundraiser in the 100th year of the school.

 Here we have Albert Einstein,

 Moses,

St. Vincent de Paul,

St. John Paul II,

Warren Buffet,

 Fr. Vogel, 

 Mary & Joseph.

These young men were asked if they dressed like Mr. Barth to show they were scholars, they said, "No, he's a saint to put up with us."

Live and Love to the Maximum

It’s easy to drift into mediocrity. Sometimes day-to-day life lulls us into a sort of a sleep in which we forget what’s important, why we’re alive. We can feel like Dorothy in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” She can see her goal, the brilliant Emerald City, in the distance. But the seemingly innocuous field of poppies makes her so drowsy she can't go on.

We don’t have a good witch or a scarecrow, tin man or lion to help us get unstuck. We have something better: God and our own traveling companions, the saints. We have those in the making here on earth and those who have gone before us to Heaven. And from time to time, they help rouse us.

I recently was introduced to one such saint, Servant of God Guglielmo Giaquinta, a bishop and founder of the Pro Sanctity Movement, who teaches ordinary people how to be holy, to live and love to the maximum. His message might seem like Catholicism 101, but for me it’s been a spiritual wake up call.

The following passage, from his “Gospel of Maximum Love,” was borrowed from the Pro Sanctity website:

• “Jesus came to bring the message of maximum love;
• We have a Father in heaven who loves us infinitely, watches over us unceasingly, and has sent his only Son, having him accept death for our salvation;
• Jesus, the Word of God, has come among us to bring the message of the Father, to make us one with himself as branches of a vine, showing us concretely how we must live, and He died to merit for us the strength to do this and to draw us to Himself with the example of His infinite love;
• We must correspond with all our strength, that is, to the maximum, to this love of the Father and of Jesus, accepting and actuating the message received;
• Love among ourselves as Jesus loved us, that is, to the point of heroism unto death, is a duty that Jesus has left us as his last will and testament;
• This unity and fraternal love must find a particular expression in our faithful participation in the life of the Church centered on the Eucharist, animated by the Spirit and the presence of Mary, and based on Peter and the Apostles.”

Don’t settle for a life that’s anything less. Let’s love to the maximum.

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.

The Feast of St. Columbkille

Today is the Feast Day of St. Columbkille. While his feast isn't on the US liturgical calendar, it is in Ireland and Scotland.

He was born in December of 521 and died on June 9, 597. He was born into a royal family and was sometimes known as St. Columba or Columb Cille which means "Dove of the Church." He entered religious life as a youth and started a number of monasteries in Ireland before bringing the faith to Scotland. He is considered second only to St. Patrick among Irish Saints and is the Patron Saint of Scotland. He is the patron saint of bookbinders, poets and navigators as well.

The following was taken from the Derry Diocesan Organizing Committee for the Columban Centenary Celebration 1997:

Columbkille was a man of outstanding gentleness and empathy. He was a kindly individual with a practical concern for people. He helped the unfortunate: interesting himself in the plight of a hostage; rehabilitating a reformed robber; curing a nun with a broken hip; assisting a woman in the pangs of child-birth with his prayers; providing destitute men with means of feeding themselves; and even at his death approached comforting others rather than seeking to be comforted. He had a profound sense of the worth of human beings and of the contribution they were making to society.

Above all, Columbkille was a man of prayer. Coming from a princely background with a commanding and practical personality he was bound to make an impact on his generation. His real greatness was that he was able to combine the advantages given him by temperament and birth with the ambition of sainthood.

Hypocrites

"I'm a phony and a fake."

A holy man used to say those words, the late Father William O'Leary, a Jesuit at Creighton Prep who sometimes celebrated Masses at St. Columbkille.

When Father O'Leary talked that way, I was taken back, because clearly he was a good Christian. He gave away what few possessions he had, constantly made himself available to serve others and maintained a life of prayer and sacrifice.

A phony and a fake?

I thought maybe that was his awkward way to deflect his growing reputation for holiness. But to say he was a phony, a fake, a hypocrite, seemed so over the top, maybe even a lie. I've had the same feeling when I read the writings of some saints, when they go on and on about how wretched and unworthy they are. I would read their works, knowing that the Church later canonized them as saints, and think, "Really, how could think of yourself that way?"

But I was completely wrong. That's no false sense of humility. In fact, the saints had humility in the truest sense, knowing how completely unworthy they were of God's calling and recognizing Him alone as their source of holiness. They were, and we are, pretty wretched on our own. And it's proper to give credit where credit is due: all our good works, our love for one another, comes from God.

They couldn't help that others saw their holiness. After all, you can't hide a lantern under a bushel basket. Christ's presence, His holiness, glows in His saints. It's meant to be noticed, that all would give glory to God.

Sometimes I say to myself quiet accurately, "I'm a phony and a fake." I try to witness to how God is working in my life, but I know my faults and failures, and so do others. I can't help but feel like a hypocrite.

When we try to be Jesus' disciples, we make ourselves vulnerable that way. Others will see the sinner in us, but hopefully they will see something of God.

In a way, we're all phonies and fakes. But God's light can be seen most clearly when it shines through the darkness of sin.

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.

Chaplain Kapaun

Father Emil Kapaun, was born in Pilsen, Kansas in the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas on Holy Thursday, April 20, 1916.  He was ordained as a Priest for the Diocese on June 9, 1940 and entered the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps in 1944. Separated from the service in 1946, he re-entered the Army in 1948 and was ordered to Korea in 1950.

Communist forces surrounded Chaplain Kapaun’s outfit near Unsan the night of November 1, 1950. Fr. Kapaun was captured but escaped when his captors were shot by allied soldiers. He was captured a second time the next day when he went back to be with the wounded.  He and the other POWs were marched for days to the prison camp at Pyoktong. Father had difficulty walking because of his frostbitten feet. At the prison site, the officers were separated from the enlisted men and on a hill above the rest of the camp. Fr. Kapaun would sneak down the hill to tend to the sick and wounded, and he would even sneak out of the camp to scrounge for corn, salt, millet, and soy beans for the starving POWs. He prayed to St. Dismas before every one of these missions. He gathered sticks to make fires to heat water in the twenty-below-zero temperatures of February 1951. Using talents he learned on the farm in Kansas, he fashioned vessels out of old iron sheeting so he could have containers to launder the clothing of the wounded and a place to store purified water.  

He led the prisoners in prayer for their daily material and spiritual needs and for their deliverance and liberation.  He even led prayers for their captors. His favorite prayers were the rosary, prayers from the Mass and the Stations of the Cross. He also conducted services for the Protestant POWs. After prayers he made his rounds in the camp, burying the dead and tending to the sick and dying. He boiled water in his home-made vessels and laundered the soiled clothing of the weak, incontinent POWs, and he bathed those too ill to do so themselves. Then he reported to indoctrination where his Chinese captors taunted him that his God must not exist since He would not rescue him. Prisoners were buoyed by Fr. Kapaun’s retort to the communists that, “God is as real as the air they breathed but could not see, as the sounds they heard but could not see, as the thoughts and ideas they had and spoke but could not see or feel.”

Chaplain Kapaun, suffering from a clot in his leg and an infection in his eye, led Easter services for the prisoners in 1951. He employed a cane to help him walk, and his infected eye was covered with a black patch. Shortly after Easter, Fr. Kapaun was immobilized on the floor of the prison so that he could heal. The POWs who visited him knew he had to be suffering great pain, but Fr. Kapaun rarely let on that he was hurting. Over protests of the other POWs, the Chinese captors ordered Fr. Kapaun to the prison hospital. Everyone knew that hardly any prisoners came back alive from the hospital. 

Sources differ on the exact date and cause of Fr. Kapaun’s death. The U.S. Army records indicate that he died of pneumonia on May 6, 1951. His fellow prisoners insist that he died on May 23, 1951, and that the cause of his death was malnutrition and starvation.    

The Diocese of Wichita and the Vatican have begun the formal process that could lead to Father Kapaun's canonization. In 1993, it was announced that Fr. Kapaun would receive the title of "Servant of God." Earlier this year President Obama awarded him the Medal of Honor.

St. John Neumann

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops highlights an American saint each month during the Year of Faith. St. John Neumann, the patron saint for Catholic schools, is our saint for December.

 

In 1836 the Bohemia native sailed to the United States to be ordained a priest. At that time, Neumann was one of only 36 priests in the country. He served thousands in a 'parish' that stretched from Lake Ontario through Pennsylvania.

 

God accomplished much through one man. Here are some highlights taken from the Web sites of the USCCB and the National Shrine of St. John Neumann:

• The saint reached out to everyone. He learned Gaelic so he could hear the confessions of the Irish immigrants and had learned Italian as a seminarian in Bohemia. He founded the first national parish for Italians in the United States.
• He was the first Redemptorist to profess vows in the United States and was appointed general superior of the American Redemptorists.
• In 1852, on his 41st birthday, he was consecrated as the fourth bishop of Philadelphia. He had become a U.S. citizen four years earlier.
• He founded the first diocesan Catholic school system, which quickly grew from two schools to one hundred.
• He is known for helping to establish the 40 Hours Devotion in the United States.
• Under the recommendation of Pope Pius IX, Neumann set up a religious order, the Third Order of Sisters of St. Francis.

Today seems an appropriate day to tell a story about our saint. Bishop Neumann traveled to a small parish to confirm the young people just after a snowstorm. The pastor explained that one candidate lived further away and could not make it, "but that's okay, he can be confirmed next year."

 

"Does he have a soul?" the bishop asked. After confirmation Bishop Neumann walked to the candidate's house and stayed with the family that night. In the morning he celebrated Mass and confirmed the young man.

 

Above all, St. John Neumann was holy. Let's adopt his simple prayer from his first Mass as a newly ordained priest:

 

"Dearest God, give me holiness!"

 

 

Inspired by this Year of Faith we will be posting columns like this about exploring and/or deepening our faith. Watch for it on Thursdays.

Fr. Augustus Tolton

In 1862, Martha Tolton was a runaway slave. She traveled 20 miles with her children Charley (9), Gus (8), and Anne (20 months) to Hannibal, Missouri. With the help of Union troops, she got into an old rowboat and managed to get her family across safely while Confederate troops fired at her.

Three days and twenty one miles later they arrived in Quincy, Illinois. There she and her sons began working in a tobacco factory. When Charley was ten, he died from pneumonia. When Gus (Augustus) turned ten, she got him enrolled in a local Catholic school as the first black student. Unfortunately the other parents rebelled threatening to withdraw their children, withhold their giving and/or leave the parish entirely. A month later, Gus was no longer in the school.

Four years later, Fr. Peter McGirr insisted that Gus begin attending school at St. Lawrence (now known as St. Peter). While a student, Fr. McGirr realized that Gus seemed to have a calling to the priesthood. At the age of 19, he began to be tutored in Latin and prepared for the priesthood.

Seven years later, after every seminary and religious order in the United States refused to allow Gus to enter (due to his race) he left for Rome to study at the Collegium Urbanum de Propaganda Fide. The understanding was that upon ordination he would become a missionary priest in Africa.

The day before he would be ordained a priest, Cardinal Simeoni told Gus Augustus that at a committee meeting the evening before, it was agreed that he should be sent to Africa, but at the end of the discussion, Simeoni overruled the committee announcing, "America has been called the most enlightened nation in the world. We shall see whether it deserves that honor. If the United States has never before seen a black priest, it must see one now." He was assigned to a parish in Quincy and was the first black, diocesan priest in the United States.

A few years after his time in Quincy, Fr. Tolton was assigned to an all black church in Chicago. Fr. Tolton died in Chicago 115 years ago today. On March 10, 2010 Cardinal George announced his intent to pursue the cause of sainthood for Fr. Augustus Tolton. On February 13, 2012 the Sacred Congregation for Causes of Saints at the Vatican granted the title "Servant of God" to Father Augustus Tolton and ordered that the Archdiocese of Chicago proceed with the Diocesan Inquiry into his life and virtues.

For more information on Fr. Tolton, click here.

No Alessandro, It is a sin

Although Alessandro was only 19 years old, he had become addicted to pornography. Wanting to live out his fantasies he attempted to molest an 11 year old girl. As she yelled out, "No Alessandro, it is a sin..." he became enraged and stabbed her 14 times. Although she made it to a hospital and received Communion as Viaticum, she died.

Alessandro was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Although he was aware that Maria, the girl, had forgiven him on her deathbed (even saying she wanted to be in heaven with him) he did not feel remorse. Then he had a dream -- which was surprising in and of itself because Alessandro did not typically dream.

In this vivid dream, the prison walls and bars fells away as his cell became a sunlit garden. full of flowers. He was surprised to see a peasant girl dressed in white since they wear dark colors. Then he realized it was Maria. She was walking among the flowers, smiling and not as all fearful. He wanted to leave but couldn't. Maria picked white lilies and handed them to him saying, "Alessandro, take them!"

One by one he accpted the 14 lilies. As he took them, each lily transformed into a flaming light. There was one lily for each of the times he had stabbed her. Then Maria smilingly said, "Alessandro, as I have promised, your soul shall someday reach me in heaven."

The dream changed him. For the first time he understood the light of God's grace and mercy. From that time on, he looked to reform his life.

Because of his good behavior, he got out of prison after 27 years. For a time he wandered as a farmhand, but them he became a brother in a Capuchin monastery.

Finally, 31 years after the trial, he went to visit Assunta Goretti, Maria's mother. Begging Assunta's forgiveness, she placed her hands on his head, caressed his face and gently said, "Alessandro, Marietta forgave you, Christ has forgiven you, and why should I not also forgive. I forgive you, of course, my son! Why have I not seen you sooner?"

The next morning Assunta, with head held high and tears falling, took Alessandro by the hand and led him to Mass. Side by side they took communion. From that day on he was welcomed into the Goetti family as "Uncle Alessandro."

Assunta and Alessandro were also side by side when St. Maria Goretti was cannonized.

Sts. Peter and Paul

O God, who on the Solemnity

 of the Apostles Peter and Paul

give us the noble and holy joy of this day,

grant, we pray, that your Church

may in all things follow the teaching

of those through whom she received

the beginnings of right religion.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you

  in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Feast of St. Columbkille

Our parish patron saint, St. Columbkille, is not well known outside of Ireland and Scotland, yet he is one of the three great saints of Ireland and was the first missionary to Scotland. Born in 521 in Donegal, Ireland to a family connected to kings and princes, Columb was a man gifted with incredible talents. He wrote poetry and music, established churches and monasteries, preached the gospel and painted manuscripts. St. Adamnan, his biographer wrote of him: "He had the face of an angel; he was of an excellent nature, polished in speech, holy in deed, great in counsel . . . loving unto all." He is personally described as "A man well-formed, with powerful frame; his skin was white, his face broad and fair and radiant, lit up with large, gray, luminous eyes.”

From an early age Columb seemed destined for the priesthood, his family sent him off to study under the future St. Finnian and at Clonard Abbey he surrendered his princely claims, became a monk and was ordained. He spent the next 15 years preaching and teaching in Ireland. As was the custom in those days, he combined study and prayer with manual labor. By his own natural gifts as well as by the good fortune of his birth, he soon gained ascendancy as a monk of unusual distinction. By the time he was 25, he had founded no less than 27 Irish monasteries, including those at Derry, Durrow, and Kells, as well as some 40 churches. His work for the Church gained him the addition of “kille” to his name. Columb means “dove” in Gaelic and kille is “church”, so he came to be known as the “church’s dove”. Columb lived, with every ounce of his energy, the commission of Jesus to “go and make disciples.”

There is a famous tale about Columbkille that stands as one of the first copyright cases on record: Columbkille was so anxious to have a copy of Finnian’s Psalter that he shut himself up at night in the church that contained it and secretly transcribed it by hand. He was discovered by a monk who watched him through the keyhole and reported it to his superior. Bibles and prayer books were so scarce in those days that Abbot Finnian claimed the copy, refusing to allow it to leave the monastery. Columbkille refused to surrender it until he was obliged to do so, under protest, on Finnian's appeal to King Diarmaid, who said, "To every cow its calf," meaning to every book its copy.

While historically a bit unclear, an unfortunate period followed, during which, owing to Columbkille's protection of a refugee and his impassioned denunciation of an injustice by King Diarmaid, war broke out between the clans of Ireland, and Columbkille became an exile of his own accord. Filled with remorse on account of those who had been slain in battle and condemned by many of his own friends, he experienced a change of heart and an irresistible call to preach to those who had not heard the gospel. In 563, at the age of 42, he left Ireland with 12 companions and landed on an island now known as Iona. Here on this desolate rock, only three miles long and two miles wide, in the northern sea off the southwest corner of Mull, Scotland, he began his work; and, Iona became a center of Christian learning. It became the heart of Celtic Christianity and a potent factor in the conversion of the Picts, Scots, and Northern English. Monks from the monasteries established by Columbkille would later travel to mainland Europe and Christianize the Frank and Germanic tribes.

There are many miracles and incredible events recorded by St. Adamnan in his biography of St. Columbkille and they make for interesting reading. If you wish to believe it, he is one of the first people to encounter the Loch Ness monster. His memory remains a potent force in Celtic lands and his poetry and songs are still sung:

“Alone with none but Thee, my God,
I journey on my way;
what need I fear when Thou art near,
O King of night and day?"

The above inormation is on our parish website. There are also links there to the five bulletin letters Fr. Damian wrote about St. Columbkille.

St. Philip

One of the saints we celebrate today is one of the apostles, St. Philip. Philip was born in a tiny village of the Holy Land, called Bethsaida, birthplace of St. Peter and St. Andrew. When the disciples drew lots to find which part of the world they would go to preach, St. Philip drew the continent of Asia, also called Asia Minor. He was aided in his holy duties by his sister Miriam and the Apostle Bartholomew.

In Phrygia in western Asia Minor, the threesome came to Ophiorhyme; that is, “Serpent’s Town,” so-called because the inhabitants worshiped serpents and a viper called Echidna. Images of the viper and serpents filled the town, including the serpent temple with its statue of Echidna.

St. Philip approached the creature and placed his hand on it, causing the snake to die immediately. He then converted the thousands of cult members to Christianity. This greatly upset the pagan leaders. Because of this, St. Philip, his sister Miriam and St. Bartholomew were condemned to die on the cross. When the crosses were raised with the three nailed to them, the sky darkened and the earth rumbled. The pagans immediately tried to appease God by removing the three from their crosses. Miriam and St. Bartholomew lived, but St. Philip died on November 14, his last breath praising the Lord.


Italian professor Francesco D’Andria has announced the apparent discovery of the tomb of St. Philip, one of Jesus Christ’s apostles, at the ancient city of Hierapolis in the Aegean province of Denizli. Professor D’Andria has been leading archeological excavations at the ancient city for 32 years.

Profesor D'Andria said, "Until recently, we thought the grave of St. Philip was on Martyrs’ Hill, but we discovered no traces of him in the geophysical research conducted in that area. A month ago, we discovered the remnants of an unknown church, 40 meters away from the St. Philip Church on Martyrs’ Hill. And in that church we discovered the grave of St. Philip.

“St. Philip is considered a martyr. In fact, the church built in his name on the Martyrs’ Hill is, for this reason, also called Martyrion, despite the fact there were no traces of the grave of St. Philip. As we were cleaning out the new church we discovered a month ago, we finally found the grave. With close examination, we determined that the grave had been moved from its previous location in the St. Philip Church to this new church in the fifth century, during the Byzantine era. We are extremely happy and proud to have discovered the grave of a saint whose name appears in the bible – this surely is an important discovery for religious tourism, archaeology and Christendom."

St. Philip, pray for us.

St. Scholastica

When the Bendictine Sisters visited last week, they told each class the story of St. Benedict and St. Scholastic who were twins. Because women weren't allowed in school, Scholastica's parents hired a tutor so she could be educated as well.

After Benedict started his community of men, Scholastica began a community of women. Because they both lived a monastic life, they did not see each other very often. Once a year they would meet in between their communities and talk of spiritual things. One year Scholastica wanted to remain and talk with her brother all night. He said no, because he had to return. Scholastica bowed her head and prayed.

A rain storm immediatly appeared and Benedict was forced to stay with his sister.

Fr. Vogel & St. Marguerite Bourgeoys

As Quebec began to flourish in the 17th century, there was concern in France that Quebec was too concerned with commercial enterprises. As a result Monsieur de Maisonneuve was chosen as the military leader and founder of the colony of Ville-Marie, which was later renamed Montreal.

Stories of hardships and dangers in Ville Marie that made other people shiver awakened a call from God in Marguerite Bourgeoys to serve the Indians and settlers who endured this adversity. In 1654 she met with the governor of Ville Marie and convinced him she was the person he was looking for to help start a school for the children.

When she arrived in Ville Marie, she found that few children survived to school age. She helped the remarkable Jeanne Mance, who ran the hospital, to change this tragedy. When she finally had children to teach, she had to set to up school in a stable.

During this time King Louis XIV set up a program to provide wives for French soldiers to establish lasting settlements in New France. These Fille du Roi or "Daughters of the King" were young women trained by nuns to be homemakers. When these women arrived in Canada, St. Marguerite Bourgeoys would bring them into the convent to live until they married. In the process she because a mother to these young women.

In 1670 Madeleine Chretien was one of these young women who arrived in Canada and lived with St. Marguerite until she married a soldier, Pierre Chicoine, three or four months later. Pierre amd Madeleine were Fr. Vogel's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents (10 generations) on his mother's side. Their son Pierre Chicoine II was born in 1676, the same year that soon-to-be-named-St. Kateri Tekakwitha was baptized. Blessed Kateri lived 40 miles south along the St. Lawrence River from where the Chicoines lived.

There isn't any detail of their interaction with these saints, but Fr. Vogel suspects the strong Catholic devotion throughout the generations of his family may be rooted in the faith inspired by his ancestors like Pierre and Madeleine.

Although it is not celebrated on the US calendar, today is the feast day of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys. We thank her for listening to God's call and helping establish the faith in North America.

A Saint Among Us

Today is the feast of St. John Neumann. As the fourth bishop of Philadelphia he oversaw the growth of the Catholic Schools from two to over 100. He is considered a Patron Saint of Catholic Schools. Because he was born 200 years ago, the Redemptorists are celebrating this as his Jubilee year.

After he was canonized in 1977, the National Shrine of Saint John Neumann was constructed at the Parish of St. Peter the Apostle in Philadelphia. His remains rest under the altar of the shrine within a glass-walled reliquary.

Mrs. Wilson's third grade glass is borrowing a relic of St. John Neumann and will have it in their classroom from his feast day through Catholic Schools Week.

Relics vary from a hair or bone of a saint to a piece of cloth touched to a saint. Relics can be a way to come closer to the saints and thus form a closer bond with God. A relic can never be sold.

Fr. Damian is talking to the Chancery about relics that may be available for our parish. We would like to be able to put a relic in the new altar as part of our remodeling.

What if your enemy wrote your bio?

St. Callistus was a pope who died as a martyr in the year 222. Interestingly, the only biography we have of him was written by a rival, St. Hippolytus. When it was time to choose a pope, the deacon and former slave Callistus was chosen over Hippolytus.

Hippolytus was very strict and rigid in the way he followed rules and regulations. This was also true of the early Church which had been very rough on those who committed sins of adultery, murder, and fornication.

In contrast Callistus showed mercy to repentant sinners by allowing them back into communion of the Church after they had performed public penance. Callistus also promoted equality among Church members. For example, he accepted marraiges between slaves and free people. Hippolytus was enraged by this as he considered it degrading to the Church.

Fortunately the Church has continued to follow the path of St. Callistus.

He was accused of wrong doing

He was a very popular priest. People packed his Masses. People came to him and wrote to him asking for spiritual direction. He was seen by some as a living saint. But not by all.

He had been accussed of wrong doing. His superior read that the declaration that he "is to be stripped of all faculties of his priestly ministry except the faculty to celebrate the Holy Mass, which he may continue to do provided it is done in private, within the walls of the friary, in the inner chapel, and not publicy in church”.

Knowing that he hadn't done anything wrong, how does he react?

He said, “God’s will be done,”…then he covered his eyes with his hands, lowered his head, and murmured, “The will of the authorities is the will of God.”

While it caused him immense suffering, which he admited privately, he did not complain or object.

Almost two years later the pope sent some representatives to interview him. To their suprise, "They found no wild-eyed fanatic, no crazed neurotic, no embittered rebel, but a pleasant, humorous man." They were impressed with "his humility, his docility, and the whole of his conduct" and recognized him "as a man of prayer and entirely godly.”

This priest was Padre Pio. Soon afterwards Pope Pius XI ordered the Holy See to reverse its ban on Padre Pio’s public celebration of Mass, saying, "I have not been badly disposed toward Padre Pio, but I have been badly informed."

He died in 1968 and was canonized in 2002. He is an example that the life of a saint is not perfect. There can be times where we can choose to be heretics or saints. Today is the feast day of St. Padre Pio. A short biography of his life is available here.