ST QUENTIN - FEASTDAY 31ST OCTOBER

Quentin was also known as Quintinus. According to legend, he was a Roman, went to Gaul as a missionary with St. Lucian of Beauvais and settled at Amiens in Picardy. 

He was so successful in preaching that he was imprisoned by prefect Rictiovarus, tortured and then on the way to trial he miraculously escaped and continued preaching. Finally he was recaptured, tortured and then beheaded 

THE HOLY MASS

THIS IS WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS DURING MASS.

OFFER IT TO OBTAIN A SHOWER OF GRACES FOR YOU AND THE WORLD.

DO NOT FORGET THAT PARTICPATION IN A  HOLY MASS IS A GREAT MEANS TO ALLEVIATE THE SUFFERINGS OF THE HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY.

MEDICINE TO SIN

JESUS HOLD ME BY YOUR HAND TO KEEP ME AWAY FROM SIN

ST ALPHONSUS RODRIGUEZ - FEASTDAY 30TH OCTOBER

Lay brother, also called Alonso. He was born in Segovia, Spain, on July 25, 1532, the son of a wealthy merchant and was prepared for First Communion by Blessed Peter Favre the Jesuit friend of St Ignatius. While studying with the Jesuits at Alcala, Alphonsus had to return home when his father died. In Segovia he took over the family business, was married, and had a son. That son died, as did two other children and then his wife. Alphonsus sold his business and applied to the Jesuits. His lack of education and his poor health, undermined by his austerities, made him less than desirable as a candidate for the religious life, but he was accepted as a lay brother by the Jesuits on January 31, 1571. He underwent novitiate training and was sent to Montesion College on the island of Majorca. 

There he labored as a hall porter for twenty-four years. Overlooked by some of the Jesuits in the house, Alphonsus exerted a wondrous influence on many. Not only the young students, such as St. Peter Claver, but local people and social leaders came to his porter’s lodge for advice and direction. Obedience and penance were the hallmarks of his life, as well as his devotion to the Immaculate Conception. He experienced many spiritual consolations and he wrote religious treatises, very simple in style but sound in doctrine. Alphonsus died after a long illness on October 31, 1617, and his funeral was attended by Church and government leaders. He was declared Venerable in 1626, and was named a patron of Majorca in 1633. Alphonsus was beatified in 1825 and canonized in September 1888 with St. Peter Claver.

“With those who ………. walk with simplicity, there is nothing small and contemptible, if it be a thing that pleases God; for the pleasure of God is the object at which alone they aim and which is the reason, the measure and the reward of all their occupations, actions and plans……………”

St Alphonsus Rodriguez

REPENTANCE

ST NARCISSUS, BISHOP - FEASTDAY 29TH OCTOBER

St Narcissus lived in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries. Details of his life are sketchy but there are many reports of his miracles. The miracle for which he is most remembered was turning water into oil for use in the church lamps on Holy Saturday when the deacons had forgotten to provide any. We do know that Narcissus became bishop of Jerusalem in the late second century. He was known for his holiness, but there are hints that many people found him harsh and rigid in his efforts to impose church discipline. One of his many detractors accused Narcissus of a serious crime at one point. Though the charges against him did not hold up, he used the occasion to retire from his role as bishop and live in solitude. His disappearance was so sudden and convincing that many people assumed he had actually died. Finally, Narcissus reappeared in Jerusalem and was persuaded to resume his duties. By then, he had reached an advanced age, so a younger bishop was brought in to assist him until his death. 

TRUE WISDOM

“He seems to me a very foolish man and very wretched, who will not increase his understanding while he is in the world and ever wish and long to reach that endless life where all shall be made clear.”

…………………………………. St Alfred the Great 

Let Mary never be far from your lips and from your heart.
Following her, you will never lose your way.
Praying to her, you will never sink into despair.

Contemplating her, you will never go wrong…………………St Bernadine of Siena

ST SIMON THE ZEALOT , ST JUDE TADDEUS, APOSTLES - FEASTDAY 28TH OCTOBER

St. Simon was called “the zealous one” because he had so much devotion to the Jewish law. Once he had been called by the Lord to be an apostle, he gave his heart and his energy to preaching the Gospel. With the other apostles, he received the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost. Then it is believed that he went to Egypt to preach the faith. Afterward he went to Persia with the apostle St. Jude and the two of them were martyred there. 

St Jude was the one who asked Jesus at the Last Supper why He would not manifest Himself to the whole world after His resurrection. Little else is known of his life. Legend claims that he visited Beirut and Edessa and could have been martyred with St. Simon in Persia. He is an author of an epistle to the Churches of the East, particularly the Jewish converts, directed against the heresies of the Simonians, Nicolaites, and Gnostics. There is some debate about where Jude died, though most Biblical scholars agree he was martyred. He is believed to have been martyred either in Armenia or Beirut. Following his death, St. Jude’s body was brought to Rome and left in a crypt in St. Peter’s Basilica. Today his bones can be found in the left transept of St. Peter’s Basilica under the main altar of St. Joseph in a tomb he shares with the remains of the apostle Simon the Zealot. 

THE CROSS

Alas! O my God, if there are so few to bear the Cross, there will only be few to adore Thee in eternity.

—St Jean Vianney, Sermon on the Cross

ST FRUMENTIUS, BISHOP - FEAST DAY 27TH OCTOBER

Called “Abuna” or “the fa­ther’ of Ethiopia, sent to that land by St. Athanasius. Frumentius was born in Tyre, Lebanon. While on a voyage in the Red Sea with St. Aedesius, possibly his brother, only Frumentius and Aedesius survived the shipwreck. Taken to the Ethiopian royal court at Aksum, they soon attained high positions. Aedesius was royal cup bearer, and Fruementius was a secretary. They introduced Christianity to that land. When Abreha and Asbeha inherited the Ethiopian throne from their father, Frumentius went to Alexandria, Egypt, to ask St. Athanasius to send a missionary to Ethiopia. He was consecrated a bishop and converted many more upon his return to Aksum. Frumentius and Aedesius are considered the apostles of Ethiopia. 

OUR MISSION

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.

HENERY FORD

ST ALFRED THE GREAT - FEASTDAY 26TH OCTOBER

King of Wessex, scholar, and renowned Christian monarch. Alfred was born in 849, the fifth son of the Wessex king. During a journey to Rome in 853, he was accepted as a godson by Pope Leo IV . He was a great scholar, translating classics for his people, and early on seemed destined for a career in the Church. Instead, he became king and was forced to spend most of his reign in conflict with the Danes who were then threatening England. 

Alfred successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, and by the time of his death had become the dominant ruler in England. He is one of only two English monarchs to be given the epithet “the Great”. Alfred undertook no systematic reform of ecclesiastical institutions or religious practices in Wessex. For him the key to the kingdom’s spiritual revival was to appoint pious, learned and trustworthy bishops and abbots. As king he saw himself as responsible for both the temporal and spiritual welfare of his subjects. Secular and spiritual authority were not distinct categories for Alfred.

He was equally comfortable distributing his translation of Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Care to his bishops so that they might better train and supervise priests and using those same bishops as royal officials and judges. )

His work as a patron of the arts, literature, and especially the Church made him a beloved figure in England.

JESUS IS THE SURE WAY

ST BONIFACE I, POPE - FEASTDAY 25TH OCTOBER

Though few details are known of Boniface’s early life, he was elected Pope on December 28, 418. He is believed to have been ordained a priest by Pope Damasus I (366-384) and to have served as representative of Innocent I at Constantinople (c. 405). Boniface was highly esteemed for his charitable and learned personality, which were clearly seen and lived through the service of his priestly duties. Boniface’s reign was marked by great zeal and activity in disciplinary organization and control. He worked to reform certain corrupt practices and reduced the privileges granted to certain bishops. He ardently supported St. Augustine in his fight against Pelagianism, and Augustine devoted several works to him. Pope Saint Boniface died in Rome, September 4, 422.

ST ANTHONY MARY CLARET - FEASTDAY 24TH OCTOBER

Anthony was convinced of the power of the printed word. He wrote at least 150 books. His most well-known book, The Right Way, has reached millions of people. Some people did not understand the value of Father Anthony’s initiatives. His success and his zeal threatened them. In 1849, Anthony started a new religious order called the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. They are known as Claretians. Queen Isabella II of Spain thought highly of St. Anthony. She suggested that he was the best person to become archbishop of Santiago, Cuba. His apostolate in Cuba turned out to be an exciting seven years. He was a reformer and had enemies. He received death threats often but did not stop his wonderful work until he was recalled to Spain in 1857. During Anthony’s priesthood he was head of a seminary in Madrid. He established the school of St. Michael to foster arts and literature and even tried to start a school of agriculture. He went to Rome to help prepare for the First Vatican Council in 1869 and died in 1870. St. Anthony Mary Claret was declared a saint by Pope Pius XII in 1950.

AN INSPIRATION BY ST JOHN PAUL THE GREAT

REFLECTION – To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others. ……………………….St John Paul 

LET GOD BE MY FOCUS

ST JOHN OF CAPISTRAN0 - FEASTDAY 23 OCTOBER

St. John was born at Capistrano, Italy in 1385, the son of a former German knight in that city. He practiced as a lawyer in the courts of Naples. King Ladislas of Naples appointed him governor of Perugia. During a war with a neighboring town he was betrayed and imprisoned. Upon his release he entered the Franciscan community at Perugia in 1416. He and St. James of the March were fellow students under St. Bernardine of Siena, who inspired him to institute the devotion to the holy Name of Jesus and His Mother. John began his brilliant preaching apostolate with a deacon in 1420. After his ordination he traveled throughout Italy, Germany, Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Russia preaching penance and establishing numerous communities of Franciscan renewal. When Mohammed II was threatening Vienna and Rome, St. John, at the age of seventy, was commissioned by Pope Callistus III to preach and lead a crusade against the invading Turks. Marching at the head of seventy thousand Christians, he gained victory in the great battle of Belgrade against the Turks in 1456. Three months later he died at Illok, Hungary.

Spread the light!


……………………”a light does not shine for itself, but it spreads its rays and shines upon everything that comes into its view.”
ST JOHN OF CAPISTRANO

ST JOHN PAUL THE GREAT, POPE - FEASTDAY 22ND OCTOBER

In his 27 years of papal ministry, John Paul II wrote 14 encyclicals and five books, canonized 482 saints and beatified 1,338 people. In the last years of his life, he suffered from Parkinson’s disease and was forced to cut back on some of his activities. Pope Benedict XVI beatified John Paul II in 2011, and Pope Francis canonized him in 2014.

“We can be sure that our beloved pope is standing today at the window of the Father’s house, that sees us and blesses us. Yes, bless us, Holy Father. We entrust your dear soul to the Mother of God, your Mother, who guided you each day and who will guide you now to the glory of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.” Pope Benedict XVI.

 He was the second longest reigning Pope

18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005), served as Pope from 1978 to 2005. He was elected by the second Papal conclave of 1978. Then-Cardinal Wojtyła was elected on the third day of the conclave and adopted his predecessor’s name in tribute to him. John Paul II is recognised as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. He significantly improved the Catholic Church’s relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. He upheld the Church’s teachings on such matters as artificial contraception and the ordination of women, but also supported the Church’s Second Vatican Council and its reforms. He was one of the most travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified 1,340 people and canonised 483 saints, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries.

Establishing Divine Mercy Sunday for the Entire Church

When Pope John Paul canonized Sr. Faustina (making her St. Faustina), he also, on the same day, surprised the entire world by establishing Divine Mercy Sunday (the feast day associated with the message) as a feast day for the entire Church. The feast day falls on the Second Sunday of the Easter season. On that day, Pope John Paul II declared, “This is the happiest day of my life.”

In 2002, the Pope entrusted the whole world to Divine Mercy when he consecrated the International Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki, a suburb of Krakow in Poland. This is where St. Faustina’s mortal remains are entombed. The saint lived in a convent nearby. The Pope himself remembers as a young man working in the Solvay Quarry, just a few meters from the present-day Shrine. He also says that he had been thinking about Sr. Faustina for a long time when he wrote his encyclical on Divine Mercy. Further, the Holy Father has frequently quoted from the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska and has prayed The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy at the saint’s tomb.

JESUS AND HUMILTY

ST URSOLA - FEASTDAY 21ST OCTOBER

Saint Ursula (Latin for ‘little female bear’) is a Romano-British saint. Because of the lack of definite information about the anonymous group of holy virgins who on some uncertain date were killed at Cologne, their commemoration was omitted from the General Roman Calendar when it was revised in 1969, but they have been kept in the Roman Martyrology. Her legend, probably not historical, is that she was a princess who, at the request of her father King Dionotus of Dumnonia in south-west Britain, set sail to join her future husband, the pagan governor Conan Meriadoc of Armorica, along with 11,000 virginal handmaidens. After a miraculous storm brought them over the sea in a single day to a Gaulish port, Ursula declared that before her marriage she would undertake a pan-European pilgrimage. She headed for Rome with her followers and persuaded the Pope, Cyriacus (unknown in the pontifical records, though from late 384 there was a Pope Siricius), and Sulpicius, bishop of Ravenna, to join them. After setting out for Cologne, which was being besieged by Huns, all the virgins were beheaded in a massacre in about 383 (the date varies).

WAY TO PARADISE

ST. PAUL OF THE CROSS - FEASTDAY 20TH OCTOBER

The flame of the love of God so burnt in St Paul’s breast, that the garment which was nearest to his heart often seemed to be scorched if by fire and two of his ribs seemed to protrude. He could not restrain his tears, particularly when saying Mass and he was seen to experience frequent ecstasies, during which there was a remarkable elevation of his body and his face shone with light from heaven. Some times when he was preaching, a heavenly voice was heard prompting him; and at other times his words could be heard at the distance of several miles. He was distinguished for gifts of prophecy, languages, reading the heart, power over evil spirits, diseases and the elements. Though even the Supreme Pontiffs regarded him with affection and veneration, he looked upon himself as an unprofitable servant and a worthless sinner. Having persisted in his most austere mode of life until extreme old age, in 1775 he passed to heaven on the very day he had predicted, after he had addressed to his followers some most beautiful exhortations, as it were bequeathing them the heritage of his spirit

St. Paul taught that in the Cross of Jesus we find real wisdom.

When we find ourselves in difficulty or suffering, let us turn to the Cross and pray for this wisdom

VALUE OF LOVE

 Jesus does not consider time, since He is eternal. He considers only love. 
St. Therese of Lisieux 

ST JOHND DE BREBEUF, ISACC JOGUES AND COMPANIONS - FEASTDAY 19TH OCTOBER

Over three hundred years ago, six Jesuit priests and two holy laymen, all from France, died as martyrs here in North America. These eight men were martyred between 1642 and 1649. They were a group of the bravest and most daring missionaries in the New World. They risked everything they had to bring Christ to the native people. After much hard work, they converted many of the Huron tribe. But the Iroquois, bitter enemies of the Hurons, put them all to death.
St. John de Brebeuf had tuberculosis. Yet he became a marvelous, valiant apostle. His courage amazed the fierce Iroquois as they tortured him to death. St. Isaac Jogues was tortured by the Mohawks, but was freed by the Dutch. He went back to France, but as soon as he could, he returned to North America. Father Jogues was killed with a tomahawk by the Bear Clan of the Mohawks. St. Anthony Daniel had just finished celebrating Mass for his Huron converts when the Iroquois attacked the village. The Christian Indians begged him to try to escape. But Father Daniel stayed. He wanted to baptize all those who were crying to him for Baptism before they would be killed. The Iroquois burned him to death in his little chapel. St. Gabriel Lallemont was tortured to death with St. John de Brebeuf. St. Charles Garnier and St. Noel Chabenel were both killed with tomahawks. St. Charles was first shot by an Iroquois musket during a surprise attack, but he still tried to crawl to help a dying man. He was killed by a hatchet blow.

MARRIAGE

ST LUKE EVANGELSIT - FEASTDAY 18TH OCTOBER

Luke as an artist

Christian tradition, starting from the 8th century, states that he was the first icon painter. He is said to have painted pictures of the Virgin Mary and Child, in particular the Hodegetria image in Constantinople (now lost). Starting from the 11th century a number of painted images were venerated as his autograph works, including for example, the Black Madonna of Częstochowa and Our Lady of Vladimir. He was also said to have painted Saints Peter and Paul, and to have illustrated a gospel book with a full cycle of miniatures.

It is generally believed that Luke was a gentile doctor. He was a good, kind man who came to know the Lord from the great apostle Paul. After he had become a Christian, he went everywhere with Paul. The Bible calls Luke “the beloved physician.” St. Luke the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Although he did not meet Jesus while the Lord was on this earth, he wanted to write about him for new converts. So he talked to those who had known Jesus. He wrote down all that they had seen the Lord do and heard him say. It is believed that Luke learned some important information from the Blessed Virgin Mary herself. Mary would have been the person who could describe the details of the angel Gabriel’s appearance to her at the Annunciation. Mary could have best told about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt. Luke also wrote the story of how the apostles began to teach the message of Jesus after he went back to heaven. It is in Luke’s book, The Acts of the Apostles, that we learn how the Church began to grow and spread. We are not sure when or where or how Luke died.

PRAYER

ST INGATIUS OF ANTIOCH - FEASTDAY 17TH OCTOBER

St. Ignatius of Antioch has been well-known since earliest times. He was born in the year 50. St. Jerome and St. John Chrysostom both thought of his tomb as near the city gates of Antioch. Ignatius was the third bishop of Antioch. This is the city where St. Peter labored before he moved to Rome. It is also the city where followers of Jesus were first called Christians. Ignatius was condemned to death during the reign of Emperor Trajan. He was led from Antioch to the center of Roman cruelty-the amphitheater.

Although he journeyed to Rome under military guard, Ignatius stopped in Smyrna and Troas. From each of those cities, he wrote letters to the Christian communities. In this way, he used the same methods of preaching the Good News as the great St. Paul. One of the letters Ignatius wrote from Troas was to St. Polycarp, a fellow bishop, who is also a martyr. When the beloved Ignatius arrived in Rome, he joined the brave Christians who waited in prisons. The day came when the bishop was pushed out into the amphitheater. Two fierce lions devoured him. He left the beautiful witness of Christian life and his letters. St. Ignatius died around 107.

CHRIST NEEDS YOU

ST GERARD MAJELLA - FEASTDAY 16TH OCTOBER

At age of 27, Majella became the subject of a malicious rumor. An acquaintance named Neria accused him of having had relations with a young woman. When confronted by Alphonsus Liguori, the founder, regarding the accusations, the young lay brother remained silent. The girl later recanted and cleared his name.
Some of Majella’s reported miracles include: restoring life to a boy who had fallen from a high cliff; he blessed the scanty supply of wheat belonging to a poor family, and it lasted until the next harvest; several times he multiplied the bread that he was distributing to the poor. One day he walked across the water to lead a boatload of fishermen through stormy waves to the safety of the shore. He was reputed to have had the gift of bilocation and the ability to read souls.
Majella’s last will consisted of a small note on the door of his cell saying, “Here the will of God is done, as God wills, and as long as God wills.” He died on October 16, 1755 in Caposele, Campania, of tuberculosis, aged 29.

STMARGARET MARY ALACOQUE -FEASTDAY 16TH OCTOBER

She is the famous French nun to whom Jesus showed his Sacred Heart. She joined the Visitation sisters and was a kind, humble sister. Often she made others impatient since she was slow and clumsy. But she was dear to Jesus. He began to appear to St. Margaret Mary to show her how much he loves us all. Jesus wanted her to spread devotion to his Sacred Heart. It was a very hard thing to do. Many did not believe her and were angry with her for trying to spread the new devotion. This brought her great suffering. Yet she did her best to carry out the Lord’s wish. Jesus blessed her hard work and pain. Today, this wonderful devotion to the Sacred Heart is practiced all over the world. Our Lord made great promises to those who are devoted to his most Sacred Heart. Some are: “I will comfort them in all their afflictions. I will establish peace in their homes. I will bestow abundant blessings on all their undertakings. I will bless every place where a picture of my Heart shall be displayed and honored. My divine Heart shall be the safe refuge in the last moment to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Friday for nine months in a row.”

ST THERESE OF AVILA - FEASTDAY 15TH OCTOBER

Teresa was born in Avila, Spain, on March 28, 1515. As a little girl in her parents’ rich home, Teresa and her brother Rodrigo loved to read the lives of the saints and martyrs. It seemed to them that the martyrs got to heaven an easy way. The two children set out secretly to go to the land of the Moors. As they walked along, they prayed that they might die for Christ. But they had not gotten far when they met an uncle. He took them back to their worried mother at once. Next the children decided to be hermits in their garden. This didn’t work out either. They could not get enough stones together to build their huts. St. Teresa herself wrote down these amusing stories of her childhood. The fact is that when she grew to be a teenager, however, she changed. Teresa read so many novels and foolish romances that she lost much of her love for prayer. She began to think more of dressing up to look pretty. But after she recovered from a bad illness, Teresa read a book about the great St. Jerome. Then and there, she made up her mind to become a bride of Christ.

Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada (28 March 1515 – 4 October 1582) was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, author during the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer. She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered to be a founder of the Discalced Carmelites along with John of the Cross. In 1622, forty years after her death, she was canonized by Pope Gregory XV, and on 27 September 1970 was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI. Her books, which include her autobiography (The Life of Teresa of Jesus) and her seminal work El Castillo Interior (trans.: The Interior Castle), are an integral part of Spanish Renaissance literature as well as Christian mysticism and Christian meditation practices. She also wrote Camino de Perfección (trans.: The Way of Perfection).

ST CALLISTUS , POPE - REAST DAY 14TH OCTOBER

This great pope and martyr lived in the first part of the third century. He was once a young slave in Rome, who got into serious trouble. His master, a Christian, had put him in charge of a bank. Somehow, Callistus lost the money deposited with him by other Christians. In fear, he ran away from Rome. He was caught, after jumping into the sea to try to get away. His sentence was a terrible one: he was chained and put to hard labor in a mill.

From this punishment Callistus was released, only because his creditors hoped he could get some of their money back. But once again he was arrested, this time for having gotten into a fight. He was sent to the mines of Sardinia. When the emperor freed all the Christians who had been condemned to those mines, Callistus was freed, too. From that time on, things began to go better for him.
Pope St. Zephrinus came to know and trust the freed slave. He placed him in charge of the public Christian cemetery in Rome. This cemetery is now named after St. Callistus himself. Many popes were buried in it. Callistus proved himself worthy of the pope’s confidence in him. St. Zephrinus not only ordained him a priest, but also made him his friend and advisor.

He was loved and hated, (reminding us in many ways in our time of our current Pope) which is the way of a saint and in time St. Callistus himself became pope. Some people complained because he showed too much mercy to sinners. However, the holy pope ruled that even murderers could be admitted to communion after they had done penance for their sin. This great pope always defended the true doctrine of Jesus. He ended his life in 222 with a glorious martyrdom.

THE MEANING OF RELIGION

“Religion is actually not a crutch; it is a cross. It is not an escape, it is a burden; not a flight, but a response. 
We speak here of a religion with teeth in it, the wind that demands self-sacrifice and surrender. 
One leans on a crutch, but a cross rests on us. It takes a hero to embrace a cross.” 
~Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

ST EDWARD THE CONFESSOR - FEASTDAY 13TH OCTOBER

Saint of the Day - October 13 - St Edward the Confessor

King St. Edward was one of the best loved of all the English kings. He lived in the eleventh century. Because of enemies in his own country, he had to live in Normandy, France, from the time he was ten until he was forty. However, when he came back to rule, all the people welcomed him with great joy.

St. Edward was a tall, well-built man, but he was never healthy. Still he was able to rule his country well and keep peace most of the time. This was because he trusted in God and held firm when necessary. King Edward went to daily Mass. He was a gentle, kind man who never spoke sternly. To poor people and foreigners, he showed special charity. He also helped monks in every way he could. It was his justice to everyone and his love for God’s Church that made St. Edward so popular with the English people. They would cheer him as he rode out of the castle.

Although he was a king with great power, St. Edward showed his honesty by the way he kept his word-to God and to people. While he was still living in Normandy, he had made a promise to God. He said that if his family would see better times, he would go on a pilgrimage to St. Peter’s tomb in Rome. After he was made king, he wanted to keep his vow. But the nobles knew that there would be no one to keep the peace among the warlike people in the land. So, although they admired his devotion, they did not want him to go. The whole matter was brought to the pope, St. Leo IX. He decided that the king could stay home. He said that King Edward was to give to the poor the money he would have spent on the trip. He also was to build or repair a monastery in honor of St. Peter. Obediently, the king carried out the pope’s decision. He died in 1066 and was buried in the marvelous monastery he had rebuilt. He was proclaimed a saint by Pope Alexander III in 1161.

Reflection: This holy king tried throughout his life to use the gifts he had been given in order to help others. How do I use the gifts I have to do good?

SAINTS FELIX AND CYPRIAN - FEASTDAY 12TH OCOTBER

Felix and Cyprian were African bishops who lived in the fifth century. They suffered with over 4,900 martyrs in the terrible persecution by the Vandals. Huneric, the Vandal king, drove these Christians into exile in the Libyan desert. They were treated with great cruelty by the Moors.The story is told of Bishop St. Felix. He was so old and so crippled that someone said to the Vandal king: “You might just as well leave him here to die.” But King Huneric cruelly answered, “If he cannot ride a horse, he can be dragged by oxen.” In the end, they decided to tie the brave old bishop to a donkey and he was carried off to die in the desert. Cyprian risked his own life to take care of as many prisoners as he could. He spent all his time and strength, plus everything he owned, to assist them. At last, he, too, was arrested and sent into exile. There he also died a martyr from the cruel treatment reserved for Christians.

OUR VOCATION

DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION TO OUR HOLY MOTHER

He said to the disciple, “there is your mother.”………………Jn 19:27

REFLECTION – The Blessed Virgin directs to us all the acts that every mother lavishes on her children.

She loves us, watches over us, protects us and intercedes for us………….St Pope John XXIII

PRAYER – Lord Jesus, let me have constant recourse to Your holy Mother Mary. Grant that I may be devoted to her who loves me and takes care of me like a true Mother. Amen