Archive for April, 2012

Today on April 24 we celebrate St. Adalbert of Prague. St. Adalbert of Prague was born to a noble family in Bohemia, he received part of his education from St. Adalbert of Magdeburg. At the age of 27 he was chosen as bishop of Prague. Those who resisted his program of clerical reform forced him into exile eight years later.

Today on April 23rd we celebrate the life of St. George. George is the object of a vast amount of imagination. There is every reason to believe that he was a real martyr who suffered at Lydda in Palestine, probably before the time of Constantine. The Church adheres to his memory, but not to the legends surrounding his life. God Bless!

Today on April 22nd we celebrate  St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen. St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen was born in 1577, Mark Rey became a lawyer who constantly upheld the causes of the poor and oppressed people. Fidelis soon grew disgusted with the corruption and injustice he saw among his colleagues. He left his law career to become a priest, joining his brother George as a member of the Capuchin Order. His wealth was divided between needy seminarians and the poor. God Bless!

Just wanted to remind some of you what being a saint means. Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God’s invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint. God Bless!

Today on April 20th we celebrate the life of St. Pedro de San José Betancur. Central America claimed its first saint with the canonization of Pedro de San José Betancur by Pope John Paul II in Guatemala City on July 30, 2002. Known as the “St. Francis of the Americas,” Pedro de Betancur is the first saint to have worked and died in Guatemala. God Bless!

Today on April 19th we celebrate St. Louis Mary de Montfort. Born in the Breton village of Montfort, close to Rennes, as an adult Louis identified himself by the place of his Baptism instead of his family name, Grignion. After being educated by the Jesuits and the Sulpicians, he was ordained as a diocesan priest in 1700. God Bless!

Today on April 18, we talk about Catholic musicians have emerged over the last few years who have a similar feel through their melody, voice and overall sound. The difference is in the lyrics. While not every song is explicitly Catholic, it is a beautiful addition for Catholics who enjoy contemporary Christian music but would appreciate a Catholic touch. God Bless!

Faith after tremendous hardship is common in our society. Iraqi-native Mother Olga Yaqob survived four wars, converted to Catholicism from the Assyrian Church of the East, and founded the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth religious order in the Archdiocese of Boston. May we all have her strength. God Bless!

Today, April 16th, I’d like you to think about the extraordinary people God brought him into contact with in a Catholic nursing home. Although I have only read three of the stories thus far, they have shown the depths of God’s tenderness in granting each one the ‘perfect end’ that they ardently desired. God Bless!

Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:  it renders our bond with the Church more perfect, and 5) it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witness of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.” That is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about Confirmation. Let us take today to reflect on our own Confirmation and look for ways to aid young Catholics in keeping the reverence of this sacrament. God Bless!