Archive for February, 2012

On February 29th the church honors St Hedwig of Poland. Dying in her late twenties in 1399 she gave a luminous example to her whole country of putting God’s will and the needs of Poland before her own desires. Many young girls like to play at being princesses, but they are not normally told how often real princesses rarely get to do what they like in the most important matters of life – where they live and whom they marry. God Bless!

On February 28th the church will honor the memory of Blessed Antonia of Florence, an Italian widow and Poor Clare nun of the 15th century. Because she ardently responded to God’s call in her life many were drawn to follow her in religious life. God Bless!

On February 27th the church celebrates the feast day of St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (a.k.a. St Gabriel Possenti), an Italian Saint of the Passionist Order who died 150 years ago today. He took a long time to dedicate himself completely to God, but once he set a course for Heaven he was totally committed to attaining holiness. God Bless!

On February 25th is the feast day of St Nestor, Bishop and martyr of the early Church. He gave public witness to his faith in the true God in the general persecution conducted in the reign of the Roman emperor Decius. With God’s help he remained steadfast and gave his flock an inspiring example of how to face martyrdom. God Bless!

O February 24th the church celebrates the anniversary of death of Blessed Florentia Nicole Goni a.k.a. Blessed Mother Maria Ascension Nicol y Goni, a woman who faithfully followed God’s call and ended up co-founding a religious order in Peru – the Congregation of Dominican Sisters of the Rosary. In hindsight it can be seen how the good God prepared her for this calling, but each step must have been a surprise for her. God Bless!

On February 21st we celebrate the feast day of St Peter Damian, Benedictine monk, Doctor and Cardinal of the Church. In the 11th century, when he lived, the Church was in need of reform. To get reform happening, the good Lord raised up men like St Peter Damian, men of outstanding holiness and intellect who were not afraid to call people -especially clergy -to repentance. God Bless!

Today on February 20th we celebrate the memorial day for St Amata of Assisi, one of the early members of the Poor Clares. As we look towards the start of Lent on Wednesday, the life of St Amata gives us ideas about how to live these days of grace and renewal. God Bless!

On February 16th we mark the anniversary of death of five Egyptian martyrs a little over 1700 years ago. There names were Elias, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Samuel and Daniel. From their witness we learn what it means to be citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem. We use this day to honor their sacrifice. God Bless!

On February 15th we join together in celebration of the feast day of St Claude de la Colombia, Jesuit priest and apostle of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. During one of the many revelations of Jesus to St Margaret Mary Alacoque, He told her, ‘Father Claude is my perfect friend and servant. His gift is to lead souls to God.’ The good Jesus never leads us astray – each and every time I read St Claude’s writings I receive help. God Bless!

On February 14th we celebrate the feast day of St Maro according to Butler’s Lives of the Saints. St Maro was a holy hermit of the late fourth and early fifth centuries in whom the Maronite Church, an Easter Catholic Church in full communion with Rome, takes it’s name and heritage. Living his whole life radically for God, he became – through the work of his disciples – the spiritual father of a whole branch of Catholic Christianity. God Bless!