⛪ Blessed Archangela Girlani - Religious

Blessed Archangela Girlani,
Pray For Us!

⛪ Saint of the Day: January 25

⛪ Other Names: Eleanor Girlani

⛪ Memorial: • 25 January • 13 February on some calendars • 29 January on some calendars

⛪ Born: 1460 in Torino, Italy as Eleanor Girlani

⛪ Died: 25 January 1495 at Mantua, Italy

Blessed Archangela (IT: Arcangel) was born Eleanor Girlani in 1460 in the small town of Trino (Trino-Vercellese) in the diocese and the province of Vercelli in the Piedmont region on the border of Lombardy in northern Italy. From Trino Vercellese came the blessed Magdalene Panattieri (c. 1443-1503) and Oglerius of Lucedio (1136-1214).

Archangela planned to be benediktinerinnen, and together with relatives and friends, she made ready to travel to the monastery of Rocca delle Donne, which had planned a ceremony to raise her in order. But the plans were thwarted by her horse, who refused to carry her to the monastery. The company dissolved gradually and Eleanor returned home after the animal's unusual behavior was accepted as a divine intervention.

Soon after, introduced a Carmelite monk to her for the life that was lived by the nuns of his order (Ordo Suorum Carmelitarum - OCarm), and she immediately saw in this a divine message that she should join them. On his 17th anniversary in 1477, she stepped into the Carmelite order in their convent Maria Maddalena in Parma with his sisters Mary and Scholastic. Eleonora's order took the name Archangela when she received the suit on 25 January 1478 As was customary at that time, the Archangela, who came from a noble family, was soon placed in positions of responsibility despite his young age. She was Prioress of the Abbey was a pattern image of all religious virtues, and had a special devotion to the Holy Trinity.

In 1492, she was at the request of the family Gonzaga sent to found and become the first Prioress of a convent in Mantua, Santa Maria del Paradiso. Her sister Scholastic became Prioress in Parma. Under the Archangela's pious administration the new monastery's reputation for fostering great holiness. Archangela spent many fruitful years in the monastery. She experienced the ecstasies and on many occasions, she was found by the sisters in ecstasy as she levitated (floated) several feet above the ground, and Ecstasy to have lasted over 24 hours. It was also said that she performed miracles.

She died on 25 January 1495 in Mantua, 34 years old. She was buried in the simplicity of a common grave in the monastery. Three years later, when the tomb was opened to receive the remains of another nun, was Archangel Body found as intact as it was on the funeral day. Not only was it completely in every way, but it also retained its natural color and was quite flexible. The miracles of her intercession rose to such astonishing numbers that it seemed appropriate to shelve the relics in a beautifully decorated box, which was placed above an altar made of expensive marble.

Almost 300 years after the death of Archangel, on 24 September 1782, the monastery in Mantua closed by order of Josef II. Her body was intact when brought from Mantua to Trino, where she had been born, much to the pleasure. It was in 1802 placed in the church of San Lorenzo in Trino Vercellese, where it is still visited by numerous pious people. In 1932, the body was carefully examined before it was placed in a new box, but unfortunately, the skin of the face when damaged by a failed addition of chemicals.

A few months before the solemn celebration in 1960 on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of her birth, the body was again taken up by the shrine for official identification and investigation. It was again found quite complete, with the skin and muscles flexible. It was made a face mask to hide the wound after the chemicals and the like covering were also added to the perfectly preserved hands.

She was beatified on 1 October 1864 when her cult was confirmed by Blessed Pope Pius IX (1846-1878). Her memorial day is 13 February, but 29 January 25, the day of death January is also mentioned. Her body rests in the suit of a barefoot Carmelite in a beautifully decorated casket of crystal.

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⛪ Saint Marcella - Widow

⛪ Saint of the Day : January 31

ST. MARCELLA, whom St. Jerome called the glory of the Roman women, became a widow in the seventh month after her marriage. Having determined to consecrate the remainder of her days to the service of God, she rejected the hand of Cerealis, the consul, uncle of Gallus Caesar, and resolved to imitate the lives of the ascetics of the East. She abstained from wine and flesh-meat, employed all her time in pious reading, prayer, and visiting the churches, and never spoke with any man alone. Her example was followed by many who put themselves under her direction, and Rome was in a short time filled with monasteries. When the Goths under Alaric plundered Rome in 410, our Saint suffered severely at the hands of the barbarian, who cruelly scourged her in order to make her reveal the treasures which she had long before distributed in charity. She trembled only, however, for the innocence of her dear spiritual daughter, Principia, and falling at the feet of the cruel soldiers, she begged with many tears that they would offer no insult to that pure virgin. God moved them to compassion, and they conducted our Saint and her pupil to the Church of St. Paul, to which Alaric had granted the right of sanctuary, with that of St. Peter. St. Marcella, who survived this but a short time, closed her eyes by a happy death, in the arms of St. Principia, about the end of August, 410.

Source : Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

⛪ Saint Aldegundis - Abbess

Saint Aldegundis,
Pray For Us !

⛪ Saint of the Day : January 30

⛪ Other Names :

• Adelgundis, Aldegonda, Aldegonde, Aldegondes, Aldegun, Aldegunais, Aldegund, Orgonne

⛪ Born : c.633 at Hainault, Belgium

⛪ Died :

• 30 January 684, probably of breast cancer, at Maubeuge Abbey, France

⛪ Patronage :

• Against breast cancer • childhood Diseases • Fever • Headaches • Pain •  Sudden Death • Ulcers • Wounds • Cancer Patients • Children learning to walk • Eyes • Maubeuge, France

In the time of Dagobert king of France, which reigned about the year six hundred, was born Saint Aldegonde of lineage royal. This holy Aldegonde was nourished in the service of God, and yet I may say that our Lord himself nourished her in his service and endoctrined her as well himself present by noble visions and wonderful, as by his angels, men and women religious and holy, as well by her own holy sister as by others, as it appeareth in her legend. None ought not then to be marvelled if she lived holily that was scholar of such a school. When then this holy Aldegonde was of age competent, her father and mother would have married her to a noble man rich and mighty, but in conclusion she answered that none other she would take to her lord and spouse but our Lord Jesu Christ, to whom of bounty, beauty, noblesse, puissance, riches and wit may none be compared. Saint Wautrud of Mons which, after the decease of her husband Saint Vincent of Longuys, made her profession in the Abbey of nuns at Mons which she had founded, wrote and prayed to her mother that she might have Aldegonde her sister with her for her disport, comfort and company in very love and charity. Aldegonde the holy virgin was sent thither, and was taught and endoctrined by her sister in the manner of holding religion. Ten days after, her mother, yet supposing to have married her, went there where both her daughters were, and to Aldegonde gave a piece of linen cloth, such as princes wear, and commanded to her that therewith she should make shirts, sheets and kerchiefs for her paramours. The good virgin, weeping that her mother had meant her spouse Jesu Christ, took the said cloth and thereof she made chrisms which are put on new-born children’s heads when they be borne to the fonts, there to be baptized, to whom the priest saith: Take thou this white clothing, which thou shalt bear tofore the siege tribunal of our Lord. Wherefore the said holy virgin, to the end that the shirts of her own shaping and making should be borne to her spouse Jesu Christ, she made chrisms with her mother’s cloth, and when she had made them much fair and rich, as for king’s sons, she with a merry countenance gave them to her mother, saying that she had done it in the best wise that she could. When her mother saw the chrisms and her linen cloth thus employed, she was much wroth and evil apaid, and fette a rod for to beat her daughter withal. But the blessed saint fled unto the forest of Maubeuge, that was there nigh, and there she made her penitence with the comfort and help of our Lord.

It is said that he, which by the assent and grant of her mother should have had her to his wife, came in to the said forest for to have ravished her by force, but he could never find ne see her, all went he nigh her. There she abode unto the time that her mother was dead, and after, she went to Mons, where she was sacred unto a nun by the hands of Saint Obier and of Saint Amand, and anon after she builded and founded her abbey of Maubeuge.

There was once brought to this holy virgin a great fish which she put into a fountain for to be kept there. It happed, as such great fishes be accustomed to do, that he leapt so high from the water that he fell on the ground and could not return in to the fountain. On him came a great raven which would have eaten of it, but there came a lamb that kept the fish from harm, and fought against the raven so long that this lady’s nuns of the place, perceived the battle. Some of them came to the fountain and took the fish and brought it with them. The said lamb ever followed them unto the time the fish was before the presence of Saint Aldegonde, and never would depart till the holy virgin said to him: Ye have done right well, go to your herd again.

On a night as Saint Aldegonde, with her sister, together speaking secretly of their spouse our Lord Jesu Christ, their candle fell from the candlestick and was put out. Saint Aldegonde took it, and as God would, it lighted by itself again. Item, on a time they two went together towards the Church of Saint Peter about the hour of sixte, the gates, that as then were shut, suddenly opened before them at the instance of their orisons and prayers. Item, once as she had thirst, was water brought to her which was turned into wine by the grace of him that in Galilee did turn the water into wine. Saint Wautrud saw in a vision, five daya before the death of the holy Aldegonde her sister, the blessed Virgin Mary, both Saint Peter, and Saint Paul, princes of the apostles, accompanied with many saints and a great legion of angels, which led her sister Aldegonde into paradise. She therefore came to the place where her sister lay sick, and was present when she rendered her soul to her spouse, our Lord Jesu Christ, to whom we shall pray that through the merits of the blessed virgin Aldegonde, of which the miracles both in her life and after her death be without number, we may come there as she is, in glory without end. Amen.

⛪ Blessed Sebastian Valfrè - Priest

 Blessed Sebastian Valfrè,
Pray For Us !

⛪ Saint of the Day : January 30

⛪ Born : 

• March 9, 1629 Verduno, Duchy of Savoy

⛪ Died :

• January 30, 1710 (aged 80) Turin, Duchy of Savoy

⛪ Major Shrine : Oratory Church of Turin

Blessed Sebastian Valfrè, C.O. (9 March 1629 – 30 January 1710) was a Catholic priest and a member of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri. He is called the Apostle of Turin for his long years of service to the people of that city, where he served as the provost of the local Oratory for many years.

Valfrè was born in Verduno, then in the Duchy of Savoy, now in the Province of Cuneo in the Piedmont region of Italy. He was born to a poor family but through struggle and effort he managed to attend various universities in the region, until he graduated from the University of Turin.

Valfrè joined the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri in Turin on 26 May 1651, the feast day of their founder, St. Philip Neri, and was ordained a priest on the following 24 February. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Theology in 1656.

In his ministry to the people of Turin, Valfrè gained a reputation for caring for the sick and as a confessor with deep insight. He became the confessor for Duke Victor Amadeus II of the House of Savoy and many of the members of the royal court. He had a strong concern too, though, for the poor and needy of the kingdom, finding help for the widows and orphans and providing comfort to prisoners, whom he would visit. He eventually was offered the office of Archbishop of Turin, but declined the appointment.

Fr. Valfre is known for his service to the poor during the famine of 1678-80 and the 17-week siege of Turin during the war between Piemonte and Louis XIV. He is still invoked as patron of military chaplains for his ministry to soldiers during the war.

Valfrè had a great devotion to the Shroud of Turin, and he can be seen in an illustration from the period supervising some repair work done on it in 1694. He also had a concern for the religious education of the people, personally instructing many in the teachings of the Catholic faith as found in the Catechism of the Council of Trent. Additionally, out his devotion to the Blessed Mother, he inspired the duke to erect the Basilica of Superga.

Valfrè's interests and influence were not limited to the duchy. He helped to found the Pontifical Academy of Ecclesiastical Nobles in Rome in 1701, which was established to train diplomats for the Papal States. Under its current name of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, it still fulfills that function for the Vatican City State.

Valfrè died in Turin on January 30, 1710, and his remains are now preserved in a silver urn in the Oratory Church of Turin. He was beatified by Pope Gregory XVI on 15 July 1834, with his feast day celebrated by the Congregation of the Oratory on 30 January.

Source : Wikipedia

⛪ Saint Adelelmus of Burgos

Saint Adelelmus, Pray For Us !

⛪ Saint of the Day : January 30

⛪ Other Names :

• Adelelm • Adelhelm • Aleaunie • Aleaume • Alleaume • Elesmes • Lesmes

⛪ Born : 11th century at Laudun, Poitou, France

⛪ Died : c.1100 at Burgos, Castilla la Vieja, Spain

⛪ Patronage :

Burgos • Spain • Butlers • Domestic servants • Housemaids • Maids • Man servants • Servants

Manservant. Soldier for France, with a promising career. While on pilgrimage to Rome, he met Saint Robert at Chaise-Dieu monastery, Issoire. Soon after, Adelelmus retired from military life to become a Benedictine monk at Issoire under the spiritual direction of Saint Robert. Known as a miracle worker. 

Adelelmus's reputation for holiness spread. Constance of Burgundy, Queen of Castile, was so impressed by him that 1079 she and King Alphonsus VI of Castile built a monastery in Burgos, Spain on condition that he serve as its first abbot. He soon after added a church and hospital to the house. Joined in the war to drive the Moors from Spain. 

One night, while out on some holy business, abbot Adelemus and his aide were caught in a storm. Adelelmus odered his assistant to light a candle so they could see to finish their journey. Not only was he able to light the exposed candle in the rain, but it stayed lit throughout their whole wet, windy, stormy trip.

⛪ Saint Martina - Martyr

El Greco - Madonna and Child with
Saint Martina and Saint Agnes (NGA)

⛪ Saint of the Day : January 30

⛪ Major Shrine : Santi Luca e Martina

⛪ Died :

• Martyred in 228 • Relics discovered on 25 October 1634 in a crypt near Mamertine prison at the Roman forum during a church construction project ordered by Pope Urban VIII

⛪ Patronage : Rome; Nursing Mothers

Roman virgin, martyred in 226, according to some authorities, more probably in 228, under the pontificate of Pope Urban I, according to others. The daughter of an ex-consul and left an orphan at an early age, she so openly testified to her Christian faith that she could not escape the persecutions under Alexander Severus. Arrested and commanded to return to idolatry, she courageously refused, whereupon she was subjected to various tortures and was finally beheaded. The accounts of her martyrdom which we possess belong to a late period and as usual contain many amplifications which have not, as Baronius has already observed, any historical value. The relics of Saint Martina were discovered on 25 Oct., 1634, in a crypt of an ancient church situated near Mamertine prison and dedicated to the saint. Urban VIII, who occupied the Holy See at that time, had the church repaired and, it would seem, composed the hymns which are sung at the office of the noble martyr, 30 January.

⛪ Saint Hyacintha of Mariscotti - Religious

Saint Hyacintha, Pray For Us !

⛪ Saint of the Day : January 30

⛪ Other Names : Giacinta Marescotti, Jacinta Mariscotti

⛪Born : 1585 near Viterbo, Italy

⛪Died : 30 January 1640 at Viterbo,  Italy

Most of the nun-saints written up in this column have had straightforward careers, whatever their setbacks: a pious youth, an early entrance into the convent, a conscientious observance of the holy rule, and a reputation for prayerfulness, good works and mystical favors. Sister Hyacintha Mariscotti, on the other hand, started off as an unlikely vocation. Only gradually did she come around and make up for lost time.

Clarice Mariscotti was the daughter of a noble couple, Marcantonio and Ottavia Orsini Mariscotti. Born in Vignanello, some 50 miles north of Rome, she was educated in the Franciscan convent at nearby Viterbo. An older sister was a nun there, but Clarice showed little patience with pieties, and even her preservation from death at 17 little touched her heart. She looked forward rather to marriage. At age 20 she picked young Marquis Cassizucchi as her choice, but her parents gave him instead to her younger sister. Clarice became downright furious.

According to the then-current (and unwise) policy, she now, as a spinster daughter, was expected to enter the convent. She did receive the veil of the Franciscan order at her school-convent in Viterbo, taking the name Hyacintha (Giacinta). But she warned her father that she intended to live there with all the worldly comforts that she felt entitled to as a noblewoman. She therefore demanded that he furnish her cell elegantly. She wore a habit of the finest fabric, had her own kitchen, and both received guests and went calling at pleasure. While she attended devotions regularly and did not offend against her vow of chastity, her disregard of the Franciscan spirit of obedience, and especially poverty, caused grave scandal in that convent for ten long years.

At length, however, when Sister Hyacintha came down with a slight illness, her Franciscan confessor, visiting her cell, pointed out the inappropriateness of its furnishings. That gave her pause, but no complete healing. Later on, however, during the course of a really serious illness, she experienced a genuine change of heart, and made a public confession of her faults before the whole community of sisters.

From that time on Gacinta was a different woman, a true Franciscan. She discarded her costly habit for an old, used one; she went barefoot; she practiced self-denial rigorously, frequently fasting on bread and water; she intensified her personal devotion to the child Jesus, to the passion of Christ, to the Holy Eucharist, and to the Blessed Mother. Deeply contemplative, she even received miraculous gifts. Towards the needy she showed courageous charity, nursing the plague-ridden, and establishing two lay confraternities to attend to the needs of the needy, especially the homeless, those in jail, and impoverished nobles who were too proud to beg. For all these she herself would beg from door to door. Good deeds of this sort deserved high praise, but she now rejected any commendation, considering herself the unworthiest of mortals.

Despite her almost extreme piety, the reformed Giacinta was noted for her common sense. She might deny herself even necessary food and sleep, but she showed great balance in guiding the novice sisters along prudent lines. Asked once what she thought of a certain nun reputed for union with God, she replied, “First of all I should like to know how far she is detached from creatures, humble and free from self-will, even in good and holy things…. The sort of people who most appeal to me are those who are despised, who are devoid of selflove and who have little sensible (spiritual) consolation…. The cross, to suffer, to persevere bravely in spite of the lack of all sweetness and relish in prayer: This is the true sign of the spirit of God.” How completely Franciscan was that statement!

St. Hyacintha died at 55 in 1640. When she was canonized in 1807, the papal document said that “through her apostolate of charity she won more souls to God than many preachers of her time.” When we see a willful, self-indulgent person somersault into utter selflessness, we are surely witnessing the grace of God powerfully at work. Though she achieved this turnabout three centuries ago, St. Hyacintha is still a parable for our self-centered times. Are we weighted down by worldly possessions, pleasures, a rebellious spirit, sinful addictions? Giacinta’s example, however belated in her own life, reminds us that with God all things are possible, even joyous liberation from our worst enslavements.

–Father Robert F. McNamara

⛪ Saint David Galván-Beremúdez - Priest and Martyr

 Saint David Galván,
Pray For Us !

⛪ Saint of the Day : January 30

⛪ Born :

• 29 January 1881 at Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

⛪ Died :

• Shot by firing squad on 30 January 1915 at Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

David was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and entered seminary in that city at the age of 14.

+ He left the seminary for a period of three years and spent that time working and dating, living, it would seem, a fairly dissolute life. At one point, he was arrested for hitting his girlfriend while drunk.

+ Realizing that the priesthood was, in fact, his true vocation, he entered a period of probation and was allowed to return to seminary. He was ordained on May 20, 1909. He later served as a teacher and superior of the seminary in Amatitán.

+ During a period of anti-Catholic and anti-clerical sentiment, he was arrested for the “crime” of being a priest. After his release, he provided pastoral care for those who were injured in the violence, hearing confessions and binding the wounds of the injured.

+ As he was making his way to Guadalajara to help victims of street fighting there, he was arrested with another priest (who was later ransomed). Father David was shot by a firing squad on January 30, 1915.

+ Saint David Galván-Beremúdez was among a group of Mexican martyrs canonized in 2000.

⛪ Quote :

“The Church in Mexico rejoices at relying on these intercessors in heaven, models of supreme charity who followed in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. They all dedicated their lives to God and their brethren through martyrdom or by generously serving the needy. The firmness of their faith and hope sustained them in the various trials they had to endure.”—Pope Saint John Paul II at the canonization of Saint David and the Martyrs of the Mexican Revolution

⛪ Prayer :

O God, who were pleased to give light to your Church by adorning blessed David with the victory of martyrdom, graciously grant that, as he imitated the Lord’s Passion, so we may, by following in his footsteps, be worthy to attain eternal joys. 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. Amen.

Source :

(from The Roman Missal) Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.

⛪ Blessed Columba Marmion - Irish monk and the third Abbot of Maredsous Abbey

Blessed Columba Marmion,
Pray For Us !

⛪ Saint of the Day : January 30

⛪ Other Names :

• Joseph Marmion •  Joseph Aloysius Marmion

⛪ Memorial :

• 30 January  • 3 October on some calendars

⛪ Born :

• 1 April (Holy Thursday) 1858 at 57 Queen Street, Dublin,  Ireland as Joseph Aloysius Marmion

⛪ Died :

• 30 January 1923 at Maredsous Abbey, Denée, Namur, Belgium of influenza

Bl. Columba Marmion was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 1 April 1858 to an Irish father (William Marmion) and a French mother (Herminie Cordier). Given the name Joseph Aloysius at birth, he entered the Dublin diocesan seminary in 1874 and completed his theological studies at the College of the Propagation of the Faith in Rome. He was ordained a priest at St Agatha of the Goths on 16 June 1881.

He dreamed of becoming a missionary monk in Australia, but was won over by the liturgical atmosphere of the newly founded Abbey of Maredsous in Belgium, which he visited on his return to Ireland in 1881. His Bishop asked him to wait and appointed him curate in Dundrum, then professor at the major seminary in Clonliffe (1882-86). As the chaplain at a convent of Redemptorist nuns and at a women's prison, he learned to guide souls, to hear confessions, to counsel and to help the dying.

In 1886 he received his Bishop's permission to become a monk. He voluntarily renounced a promising ecclesiastical career and was welcomed at Maredsous by Abbot Placidus Wolter. His novitiate, under the iron rule of Dom Benoît D'Hondt and among a group of young novices (when he was almost 30), proved all the more difficult because he had to change habits, culture and language. But saying that he had entered the monastery to learn obedience, he let himself be moulded by monastic discipline, community life and choral prayer until his solemn profession on 10 February 1891.

He received his first "obedience" or mission when he was assigned to the small group of monks sent to found the Abbey of Mont César in Louvain. Although it distressed him, he gave his all to it for the sake of obedience. There he was entrusted with the task of Prior beside Abbot de Kerchove, and served as spiritual director and professor to all the young monks studying philosophy or theology in Louvain.

He started to devote more time to preaching retreats in Belgium and in the United Kingdom, and gave spiritual direction to many communities, particularly those of Carmelite nuns. He become the confessor of Mons. Joseph Mercier, the future Cardinal, and the two formed a lasting friendship.

During this period, Maredsous Abbey was governed by Dom Hildebrand de Hemptinne, its second Abbot, who in 1893 would become, at the request of Leo XIII, the first Primate of the Benedictine Confederation. His frequent stays in Rome required that he be replaced as Abbot of Maredsous, and it is Dom Columba Marmion who was elected the third Abbot of Maredsous on 28 September 1909, receiving the abbatial blessing on 3 October. He was placed at the head of a community of more than 100 monks, with a humanities college, a trade school and a farm to run. He also had to maintain a well-established reputation for research on the sources of the faith and to continue editing various publications, including the Revue Bénédictine.

His ongoing care of the community did not stop Dom Marmion from preaching retreats or giving regular spiritual direction. He was asked to help the Anglican monks of Caldey when they wished to convert to Catholicism. His greatest ordeal was the First World War. His decision to send the young monks to Ireland so that they could complete their education in peace led to additional work, dangerous trips and many anxieties. It also caused misunderstandings and conflicts between the two generations within this community shaken by the war. German lay brothers, who had been present since the monastery's foundation by Beuron Abbey, had to be sent home (despite the Benedictine vow of stability) at the outbreak of hostilities. After the war was over, a small group of monks was urgently dispatched to the Monastery of the Dormition in Jerusalem to replace the German monks expelled by the British authorities. Finally, the Belgian monasteries were separated from the Beuron Congregation, and in 1920 the Belgian Congregation of the Annunciation was set up with Maredsous, Mont César and St André of Zevenkerken.

His sole comfort during this period was preaching and giving spiritual direction. His secretary, Dom Raymond Thibaut, prepared his spiritual conferences for publication: Christ the Life of the Soul (1917), Christ in His Mysteries (1919) and Christ the Ideal of the Monk (1922). He was already considered an outstanding Abbot (Queen Elisabeth of Belgium consulted with him at length) and a great spiritual author.

He died during a flu epidemic on 30 January 1923.

⛪ Principal Works :

Thanks to Dom Raymond Thibaut, his secretary, the central teachings of Columba, delivered orally in French,[87] were memorialized in writing as follows:

Le Christ, vie de l'âme (1917)

Le Christ dans ses Mystères (1919)

Le Christ, idéal du moine (1922)

Le Christ, idéal du prêtre (1951)

These were translated into English, respectively, as follows:

Christ, the Life of the Soul, English translation by "A Nun of Tyburn,"[88] i.e., Mother Mary St. Thomas, 1922

Christ in His Mysteries, English translation by Mother Mary St. Thomas, 1924

Christ the Ideal of the Monk, English translation by Mother Mary St. Thomas, 1926

Christ the Ideal of the Priest, English translation by Dom Matthew Dillon, 1958

Posthumous Works Published in English

Sponsa Verbi: The Virgin Consecrated to Christ, translated by Dom Francis Izard (London: Sands, 1925)

Words of Life on the Margin of the Missal, edited by Dom Raymond Thibaut (St. Louis, Missouri: B. Herder Book Co., 1939)

Union with God According to the Letters of Direction of Dom Marmion, by Dom Raymond Thibaut (London: Sands and Co., 1949)

Suffering with Christ: An Anthology of the Writings of Dom Columba Marmion, compiled by Dom Raymond Thibaut (Westminster, Maryland: The Newman Press, 1952)

The Trinity in Our Spiritual Life: An Anthology of the Writings of Dom Columba Marmion, compiled by Dom Raymond Thibaut (Westminster, Maryland: The Newman Press, 1953)

The English Letters of Abbot Marmion, 1858-1923 (Baltimore, Maryland: Helicon Press, 1962)

Fire of Love: An Anthology of Abbot Marmion's Published Writings on the Holy Spirit, edited by Charles Dollen (St. Louis, Missouri: B. Herder Book Co., 1964)

⛪ Saint Francis of Sales

⛪ Saint of the Day : January 29

FRANCIS was born of noble and pious parents, near Annecy, 1566, and studied with brilliant success at Paris and Padua. On his return from Italy he gave up the grand career which his father had marked out for him in the service of the state, and became a priest. When the Duke of Savoy had resolved to restore the Church in the Chablais, Francis offered himself for the work, and set out on foot with his Bible and breviary and one companion, his cousin Louis of Sales. It was a work of toil, privation, and danger. Every door and every heart was closed against him. He was rejected with insult and threatened with death. But nothing could daunt or resist him, and ere long the Church burst forth into a second spring. It is stated that he converted 72,000 Calvinists. He was then compelled by the Pope to become Coadjutor Bishop of Geneva, and succeeded to the see in 1602. At times the exceeding gentleness with which he received heretics and sinners almost scandalized his friends, and one of them said to him, "Francis of Sales will go to Paradise, of course; but I am not so sure of the Bishop of Geneva: I am almost afraid his gentleness will play him a shrewd turn." "Ah," said the Saint, "I would rather account to God for too great gentleness than for too great severity. Is not God all love? God the Father is the Father of mercy; God the Son is a Lamb; God the Holy Ghost is a Dove—that is, gentleness itself. And are you wiser than God?" In union with St. Jane Frances of Chantal he founded at Annecy the Order of the Visitation, which soon spread over Europe. Though poor, he refused provisions and dignities, and even the great see of Paris. He died at Avignon, 1622.

⛪ Reflection —"You will catch more flies," St. Francis used to say, "with a spoonful of honey than with a hundred barrels of vinegar. Were there anything better or fairer on earth than gentleness, Jesus Christ would have taught it us; and yet He has given us only two lessons to learn of Him—meekness and humility of heart."

Source : Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

⛪ Saint Cyril of Alexandria

⛪ Saint of the Day: January 27

ST. CYRIL became the Patriarch of Alexandria in 412. Having at first thrown himself with ardor into the party politics of the place, God called him to a nobler conflict. In 428, Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, began to deny the unity of Person in Christ, and to refuse to the Blessed Virgin the title of "Mother of God." He was strongly supported by disciples and friends throughout the East. As the assertion of the divine maternity of Our Lady was necessary to the integrity of the doctrine of the Incarnation, so, with St. Cyril, devotion to the Mother was the necessary complement of his devotion to the Son. St. Cyril, after expostulating in vain, accused Nestorius of Pope Celestine. The Pope commanded retraction, under pain of separation from the Church, and intrusted St. Cyril with the conduct of the proceedings. The appointed day, June 7, 431, found Nestorius and Cyril at Ephesus, with over 200 bishops. After waiting twelve days in vain for the Syrian bishops, the council with Cyril tried Nestorius and deposed him from his see. Upon this the Syrians and Nestorians excommunicated St. Cyril and complained of him to the emperor as a peace-breaker. Imprisoned and threatened with banishment, the Saint rejoiced to confess Christ by suffering. In time it was recognized that St. Cyril was right, and with him, the Church triumphed. Forgetting his wrongs, and careless of controversial punctilio, Cyril then reconciled himself with all who would consent to hold the doctrine of the Incarnation intact. He died in 444.

⛪ Reflection —The Incarnation is the mystery of God's dwelling within us, and therefore should be the dearest object of our contemplation. It was the passion of St. Cyril's life; for it he underwent toil and persecution, and willingly sacrificed credit and friends.

Source : Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

⛪ Saint John Chrysostom

⛪ Saint of the Day : January 27

ST. JOHN was born at Antioch in 344. In order to break with a world which admired and courted him, he in 374 retired for six years to a neighboring mountain. Having thus acquired the art of Christian silence, he returned to Antioch, and there labored as priest, until he was ordained Bishop of Constantinople in 398. The effect of his sermons was everywhere marvellous. He was very urgent that his people should frequent the holy sacrifice, and in order to remove all excuse he abbreviated the long Liturgy until then in use. St. Nilus relates that St. John Chrysostom was wont to see, when the priest began the holy sacrifice, "many of the blessed ones coming down from heaven in shining garments, and with bare feet, eyes intent, and bowed heads, in utter stillness and silence, assisting at the consummation of the tremendous mystery." Beloved as he was in Constantinople, his denunciations of vice made him numerous enemies. In 403 these procured his banishment; and although he was almost immediately recalled, it was not more than a reprieve. In 404 he was banished to Cucusus in the deserts of Taurus. In 407 he was wearing out, but his enemies were impatient. They hurried him off to Pytius on the Euxine, a rough journey of nigh 400 miles. He was assiduously exposed to every hardship, cold, wet, and semi-starvation, but nothing could overcome his cheerfulness and his consideration for others. On the journey his sickness increased, and he was warned that his end was nigh. Thereupon, exchanging his travel-stained clothes for white garments, he received Viaticum, and with his customary words, "Glory be to God for all things. Amen," passed to Christ.

⛪ Reflection —We should try to understand that the most productive work in the whole day, both for time and eternity, is that involved in hearing Mass. St. John Chrysostom felt this so keenly that he allowed no consideration of venerable usage to interfere with the easiness of hearing Mass.

Source : Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

⛪ Saint Polycarp - Bishop, Martyr

⛪ Saint of the Day : January 26

ST. POLYCARP, Bishop of Smyrna, was a disciple of St. John. He wrote to the Philippians, exhorting them to mutual love and to hatred of heresy. When the apostate Marcion met St. Polycarp at Rome, he asked the aged Saint if he knew him. "Yes," St. Polycarp answered, "I know you for the first-born of Satan." These were the words of a Saint most loving and most charitable, and specially noted for his compassion to sinners. He hated heresy, because he loved God and man so much. In 167, persecution broke out in Smyrna. When Polycarp heard that his pursuers were at the door, he said, "The will of God be done; " and meeting them, he begged to be left alone for a little time, which he spent in prayer for "the Catholic Church throughout the world." He was brought to Smyrna early on Holy Saturday; and, as he entered, a voice was heard from heaven, "Polycarp, be strong." When the proconsul besought him to curse Christ and go free, Polycarp answered, "Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He never did me wrong; how can I blaspheme my King and Saviour?" When he threatened him with fire, Polycarp told him this fire of his lasted but a little, while the fire prepared for the wicked lasted forever. At the stake he thanked God aloud for letting him drink of Christ's chalice. The fire was lighted, but it did him no hurt; so he was stabbed to the heart, and his dead body was burnt. "Then," say the writers of his acts, "we took up the bones, more precious than the richest jewels or gold, and deposited them in a fitting place, at which may God grant us to assemble with joy to celebrate the birthday of the martyr to his life in heaven!"

⛪ Reflection —If we love Jesus Christ, we shall love the Church and hate heresy, which rends His mystical body, and destroys the souls for which He died. Like St. Polycarp, we shall maintain our constancy in the faith by loves of Jesus Christ, Who is its author and its finisher.

Source : Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

⛪ Saint Paula of Rome - Patroness of the Order of Saint Jerome

Saint Paula with her nuns - 17th century.
Painting of André Reinoso in
Hieronymites Monastery, Lisbon, Portugal.

⛪ Saint of the Day : January 26

⛪ Other Names :

• Paula the Widow •  Paulina • Pauline

⛪ Born :

• 5 May 347 at Rome, Italy

⛪ Died :

• 404 at Bethlehem • Buried under the Church of the Nativity  at Nazareth

⛪ Patronage : Widows

Born in Rome, 347; died at Bethlehem, 404. She belonged to one of the first families of Rome. Left a widow in 379 at the age of 32 she became, through the influence of Saint Marcella and her group, the model of Christian widows. In 382 took place her decisive meeting with Saint Jerome, who had come to Rome with Saint Epiphanius and Paulinus of Antioch. These two bishops inspired her with an invincible desire to follow the monastic life in the East. After their departure from Rome and at the request of Marcella, Jerome gave readings from Holy Scripture before the group of patrician women among whom Saint Paula held a position of honour. Paula was an ardent student. She and her daughter, Eustochium, studied and mastered Hebrew perfectly. By their studies they aimed not so much to acquire knowledge, as a fuller acquaintance with Christian perfection.

She did not, however, neglect her domestic duties. A devoted mother, she married her daughter, Paulina (died 395), to the senator Pammachius; Blesilla soon became a widow and died in 384. Of her two other daughters, Rufina died in 386, and Eustochium accompanied her mother to the Orient where she died in 419. Her son Toxotius, at first a pagan, but baptized in 385, married in 389 Laeta, daughter of the pagan priest Albinus. Of this marriage was born Paula the Younger, who in 404 rejoined Eustochium in the East and in 420 closed the eyes of Saint Jerome. These are the names which recur frequently in the letters of Saint Jerome, where they are inseparable from that of Paula.

The death of Blesilla and that of Pope Damasus in 384 completely changed the manner of life of Paula and Jerome. In September, 385, Paula and Eustochium left Rome to follow the monastic life in the East. Jerome, who had preceded them thither by a month, joined them at Antioch. Paula first made in great detail the pilgrimage of all the famous places of the Holy Land, afterward going to Egypt to be edified by the virtues of the anchorites and cenobites, and finally took up her residence at Bethlehem, as did Saint Jerome. Then began for Paula, Eustochium, and Jerome their definitive manner of life. The intellectual and spiritual intercourse among these holy persons, begun at Rome, continued and developed. Two monasteries were founded, one for men, the other for women. Paula and Eustochium took a larger share in the exegetical labours of Jerome, and conformed themselves more and more to his direction. An example of their manner of thinking and writing may be seen in the letter they wrote from Bethlehem about 386 to Marcella to persuade her to leave Rome and join them; it is Letter XLVI of the correspondence of Jerome. But God was not sparing of trials to His servants. Their peace was disturbed by constant annoyances, first the controversy concerning Origenism which disturbed their relations with John, Bishop of Jerusalem, and later Paula’s need of money, she having been ruined by her generosity. She died in the midst of these trials and good works. The chief and almost the only source of Paula’s life is the correspondence of Saint Jerome. The Life of Saint Paula is in Letter CVIII, which, though somewhat rhetorical, is a wonderful production. The other letters which specially concern Saint Paula and her family are XXII, XXX, XXXI, XXXIII, XXXVIII, XXXIX, LXVI, CVII.