Saints of the Day: February 1st

Eastern Rite: February 1st
Saint Tiyphon (d. A.D.250)

The Martyr Tryphon was born in one of the districts of Asia Minor -- Phrygia, not far from the city of Apameia in the village of Kampsada. From his early years the Lord granted him the power to cast out devils and to heal various maladies. The inhabitants of his native city were once saved by him from starvation: Saint Tryphon by the power of his prayer forced back a plague of locusts that were devouring the bread grain and devastating the fields. Saint Tryphon gained particular fame by casting out a devil from the daughter of the Roman emperor Gordian (238-244). Helping everyone in distress, he asked but one fee -- faith in Jesus Christ, by Whose grace he healed them.

When the emperor Decius (249-251) entered upon the imperial throne, there was a fierce persecution of Christians. A denunciation was made to the commander Akelinos that Saint Tryphon was bolding preaching faith in Christ and that he led many to Baptism. The saint was arrested and subjected to interrogation, at the time of which he fearlessly confessed his faith. They subjected him to harsh tortures: they beat at him with clubs, lacerated his body with iron hooks, they seared the wounds with fire, and led him through the city, having hammered iron nails into his feet. Saint Tryphon bravely endured all the torments, not giving out a single whimper. Finally, he was condemned to beheading with a sword. The holy martyr prayed before the execution, thanking God for strengthening him in his sufferings, and he besought of the Lord in particular to bless those who should call upon his name for help. Just as the soldiers suspended the sword over the head of the holy martyr, he placed his soul into the hands of God. This event occurred in the city of Nicea in the year 250. Christians wound the holy body of the martyr in a clean shroud and wanted to bury him in the city of Nicea, in which he suffered, but Saint Tryphon in a vision commanded them to take his body to his native land to the village of Kampsada. This was done.

Later on the relics of Saint Tryphon were transferred to Constantinople, and then to Rome. The holy martyr is accorded great veneration in the Russian Orthodox Church.
There exists a legend, that during the reign of tsar Ivan the Terrible at the time of an imperial hunt, a gerfalcon beloved by the tsar flew off. The tsar ordered the falconer Tryphon Patrikeev to find the flown off bird. The falconer Tryphon journeyed about through the surrounding forest, but without luck. On the third day, exhausted by long searching, he returned to Moscow to the place now called Mar'ina Grove, and in weariness he lay down to rest, fervently praying to his patron saint -- the Martyr Tryphon, beseeching him for help. In a dream he saw a youth on a white horse, holding on his hand the imperial gerfalcon, and this youth said: "Take back the lost bird, go with God to the tsar and be not aggrieved about it". Having awakened, the falconer actually spotted the gerfalcon not far off on a pine tree. He then took it to the tsar and told about the miraculous help, received by him from the holy Martyr Tryphon. After a certain while the falconer Tryphon Patrikeev built a chapel on the spot where the saint appeared, and later on also there was a church in the name of the holy Martyr Tryphon.

- Source: www.stlukeorthodox.com



Roman Rite: February 1st
Saint Ansgar (801-865)
Saint Veridians [Franciscan 3rd Order]
Blessed Andrew of Segni [Franciscan Priest 1st Order]

Saint Ansgar: The “apostle of the north” (Scandinavia) had enough frustrations to become a saint—and he did. He became a Benedictine at Corbie, France, where he had been educated. Three years later, when the king of Denmark became a convert, Ansgar went to that country for three years of missionary work, without noticeable success. Sweden asked for Christian missionaries, and he went there, suffering capture by pirates and other hardships on the way. Less than two years later he was recalled, to become abbot of New Corbie (Corvey) and bishop of Hamburg. The pope made him legate for the Scandinavian missions. Funds for the northern apostolate stopped with Emperor Louis’s death. After 13 years’ work in Hamburg, Ansgar saw it burned to the ground by invading Northmen; Sweden and Denmark returned to paganism.

He directed new apostolic activities in the North, traveling to Denmark and being instrumental in the conversion of another king. By the strange device of casting lots, the king of Sweden allowed the Christian missionaries to return.

Ansgar’s biographers remark that he was an extraordinary preacher, a humble and ascetical priest. He was devoted to the poor and the sick, imitating the Lord in washing their feet and waiting on them at table. He died peacefully at Bremen, Germany, without achieving his wish to be a martyr.

Sweden became pagan again after his death, and remained so until the coming of missionaries two centuries later.

- Source: Saint of the Day
Lives, Lessons and Feast
By Leonard Foley, O.F.M.; revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.


St. Veridiana was born at Castelfiorentino in Tuscany, Italy (on the outskirts of Florence) in 1182 to an impoverished noble family. At age 12 she went to live with an uncle. She performed housekeeping duties and admistrative work in his grain business. Later, she abandoned all she had and dedicated her life to religion. Then she went on a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Santiago in Compostela, Spain. After visiting Rome and the tombs of Peter and Paul, she returned home and, thereafter, lived as a recluse in a hermitage near the Vallumbrosan Abbey about 20 miles from Florence. Her cell is said to have been next to a chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony. Here, she led a life of great austerity until her death 34 years later in the year 1242. St. Francis of Assisi visited her in 1211, at which time she is said to have become a Franciscan tertiary. Devotion to Saint Veridiana was approved by Pope Clement VII in 1533.

Blessed Andrew of Segni: Franciscan mystic and hermit. Andrew was a member of a royal family of Anagni, the Contis. He entered the Franciscan Order and became a hermit in the Apennines, Italy. Andrew was visited by terrible demons throughout his life and invoked against such creatures. c. 1302 (Source: Catholic Online)

http://www.franciscan-sfo.org/sts

Franciscan Thought for the Day: January 31st

“In obedience, I say to you, revile me harshly and speak the truth against the lies of these others.” – Saint Francis.

~Thomas of Celano, The First Life of St. Francis of Assisi (Chapter XIX:53)

Saints of the Day: January 31st

Eastern Rite: January 31th
Saints Cyrus, John and Athanasia (d. A.D. 292)

The Holy UnMercenary Cyrus was a noted physician in the city of Alexandria, where he was born and grew up. He was a Christian and he doctored all the sick for free, not only offering help for bodily ills, but healing also infirmities of soul, such as were causes of bodily sickness. Preaching the Gospel teaching, the holy physician converted many pagans to Christ. During the time of the persecution by Diocletian (284-305), Saint Cyrus withdrew into the Arabian wilderness, where he took on the monastic life, and continued there also to doctor people by his prayer, having received from God the gift to heal every sickness.

In the city of Edessa at this time lived the soldier John, a pious Christian. When the persecution started, he went to Jerusalem and there, hearing about Saint Cyrus, he began to search for him, and he went first to Alexandria and then to Arabia. Having finally found Saint Cyrus, John with all his heart became attached to him and became his faithful follower. They learned that in Egypt in the city of Canopis had been arrested the Christian Athanasia and her three young daughters: Theoktista -- age 15, Theodotia -- age 13, and Eudoxia -- age 11. Saints Cyrus and John hastened to go to them in help, worrying that fear in the face of torture might impel them to renounce Christ. They visited them in prison and gave them courage to stand what was before them. Learning of this, the governor of the city arrested Saints Cyrus and John, and convincing himself of their steadfast and fearless confession of faith in Christ, he gave them over to terrible tortures before the very eyes of Athanasia and her daughters, who in turn bravely endured all the tortures and were beheaded. After them at the same place they executed the holy UnMercenaries Cyrus and John (+ 311). Christians buried their bodies in a church of the holy Disciple and Evangelist Mark. In the V Century the relics of Saints Cyrus and John were transferred from Canopis to Manuphin. Later on their relics were transferred to Rome, and from there to Munchen (Munich) (an account further is located under 28 June).

- Source: www.stlukeorthodox.com




Roman Rite: January 31th
Saint John Bosco [Franciscan 3rd Order] (1815-1888)

John Bosco’s theory of education could well be used in today’s schools. It was a preventive system, rejecting corporal punishment and placing students in surroundings removed from the likelihood of committing sin. He advocated frequent reception of the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion. He combined catechetical training and fatherly guidance, seeking to unite the spiritual life with one’s work, study and play.

Encouraged during his youth to become a priest so he could work with young boys, John was ordained in 1841. His service to young people started when he met a poor orphan and instructed him in preparation for receiving Holy Communion. He then gathered young apprentices and taught them catechism.

After serving as chaplain in a hospice for working girls, John opened the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales for boys. Several wealthy and powerful patrons contributed money, enabling him to provide two workshops for the boys, shoemaking and tailoring.
By 1856, the institution had grown to 150 boys and had added a printing press for publication of religious and catechetical pamphlets. His interest in vocational education and publishing justify him as patron of young apprentices and Catholic publishers.

John’s preaching fame spread and by 1850 he had trained his own helpers because of difficulties in retaining young priests. In 1854 he and his followers informally banded together under Francis de Sales.

With Pope Pius IX’s encouragement, John gathered 17 men and founded the Salesians in 1859. Their activity concentrated on education and mission work. Later, he organized a group of Salesian Sisters to assist girls.

- Source: Saint of the Day
Lives, Lessons and Feast
By Leonard Foley, O.F.M.; revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.

St. John Bosco, one of the greatest saints of modern times, was born in a Piedmontese village in 1815. When he was 2 years old, he lost his father, a humble peasant farmer; and he was brought up by his saintly Tertiary mother, Margaret. It was no doubt due to her example and influence that John too joined the Third Order of St. Francis.

Even as a youngster, John recognized that it was his vocation in life to help poor boys; and he began to teach catechism to the boys of his own village and bring them to church. Acrobatic stunts and conjuring tricks were the means he used to get them together.

At 16 he entered the seminary at Chieri. He was so poor at the time, that the mayor contributed a hat, the parish priest a cloak, one parishioner a cassock, and another a pair of shoes. After he was ordained a deacon he passed on to the seminary in Turin; and there, with the approbation of his superiors, he began to gather together on Sundays poor apprentices and waifs of the city.

Not long after his ordination to the priesthood in June, 1841, he established what he called a Festive Oratory, a kind of Sunday school and recreation center for boys, in Turin. His mother came to be his housekeeper and mother of the Oratory. Two more Oratories in the same city followed. When Father John Bosco's mother did in 1856, the Oratories housed 150 resident boys; and there were four Latin classes and four workshops, one of them a printing press. Ten young priests assisted Father John in his work. Father John was also much in demand as a preacher; and he spent half of his nights in writing popular books in order to provide good reading.

Father John's confessor and spiritual director was the saintly Tertiary priest Joseph Cafasso; and Father John too gained the reputation of being a saint. Miracles, mostly of healing, were attributed to him. By his kindness and sympathy and his marvelous power of reading the thoughts of his boys, he exercised a profound influence upon his charges. He was able to rule them with apparent indulgence and absence of punishment, something the educationists of the day could not understand.
In 1854 Father John founded the religious order of Salesians, so called in honor of St. Francis de Sales. Its members devote themselves to the education of poor boys. The new society grew rapidly. Father John lived to see 38 houses established in the Old World and 26 in the New World. Today it is one of the largest orders of men in the Church.

Father John also founded a sisterhood called Daughters of St. Mary Auxiliatrix; and he organized many outside helpers into the Salesian Co-operators, who are pledged to assist in some way the educational labors of the Salesians. In 1930 they totalled 800,000.

Father John's last great work was the building of Sacred Heart Church in Rome, a task which was entrusted to him by Pope Pius IX after it has seemed to be a hopeless project. The holy priest, who was everywhere acclaimed as a saint and wonderworker, gathered funds for the church in Italy and France; and somehow he succeeded where others had failed. But in doing so he wore himself out. and on January 31, 1888, he was called to his reward. Forty thousand persons came to pay their respects as his body lay in state in the church at Turin; and his funeral resembled a triumphal procession.

St. John was canonized in 1934.

ON THINKING KINDLY OF OTHERS
1. What was the secret of St. John Bosco's wholesome influence on the boys who came under his care? Was it not the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi and of St. Francis de Sales, with which he was deeply imbued? A spirit, which made him think kindly of these boys in the first place, and then caused him to do all he could for their temporal and spiritual welfare? Thinking kindly of others, we will have understanding for them, judge them charitably, and show them our esteem. To understand another means to put ourselves in his place and to take into consideration everything which has made and makes him what he is: his character and disposition, his background and environment, his interests and strivings, his problems and needs. To understand another means to go beyond the narrowness of human judgement and to acquire something of the depth and breadth of the vision of God, who has the deepest understanding for every human being. It means to become similar to our divine Saviour, in whom the goodness and love of God became visible, and who during His sojourn on earth showed such deep and loving understanding for His Apostles and all who came to Him with their problems or listened to His word. When there is perfect harmony between two persons, we say that they understand each other; when there is disharmony, it is often due to misunderstandings.
2. He who has understanding for others, will also judge them with charity and mercy, even when their faults are evident and undeniable. He will not be inflexible and harsh in his judgement, for he will discover mitigating circumstances and recognize many good qualities. The all-holy God does not cast off and despise the sinner, even when his sins are grievous ands inexcusable. His love and grace pursues every human soul in order to bring the good in it to victory and perfection. Thinking kindly of others and judging them charitably makes us like God; it is a sign that we are united with God in love. It is an indication of greatness of soul and spiritual maturity. Like St. Francis de Sales, St. John Bosco was criticized for being too kind and indulgent; but he understood his boys and judged them charitably because of his nobility of soul and his constant union with God.

3. He who thinks kindly of others will also show them esteem; and sincere esteem is a source of great pleasure and encouragement to the recipient. It makes him feel that we believe in the good that is in him, or at least that we believe in his final victory. By showing esteem to another we appeal to his sense of honor, and this is a powerful moral force which the Creator Himself has implanted in all men. On the other hand, a culprit who receives only contempt from his fellowmen often loses the last particle of his self-respect and self-confidence and with it all moral support and incentive. St. John Bosco believed in the good that was in his boys; he encouraged them to keep on trying; he had compassion with them in their difficulties; he was solicitous about their temporal and spiritual progress. Always to think kindly of our fellowman, and to prove it by seeking to understand him, to judge him charitably, and to show him our esteem -- that is the Franciscan way of dealing with our neighbor and loving him sincerely.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
O God, who hath raised up in Thy confessor St. John Bosco a father and teacher of youth, and didst will that through him with the help of the Virgin Mary new religious families should flourish in the Church, grant, we beseech Thee, that enkindled by the same fire of charity we may be able to labor in finding souls and serve only Thee. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

from: The Franciscan Book of Saints, ed. by Marion Habig, ofm., © 1959 Franciscan Herald Press

“Let no temptation disturb you, son; let not exasperate you…” – Saint Francis of Assisi.

~Thomas of Celano, The First Life of St. Francis of Assisi (Chapter XVIII:49)

Saints of the Day: January 30th

Eastern Rite: January 30th
Feast of the Three Holy Bishops (Hiearchs)
Saint Hippolytus

"Three Saints" -- the Assemblage (Sobor, Synaxis) of the Holy OEcumenical Teachers of the Church and Sainted-Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostomos: At Constantinople for a long time there raged disputes about which one of the three sainted-hierarchs should be accorded the primacy of honour. One faction of the people preferred Saint Basil (Comm. 1 January), others stood forth for Saint Gregory the Theologian (Comm. 25 January), while a third reverenced Saint John Chrysostomos (Comm. 13 November).

From this arose among church factions amongst Christians: some called themselves Basilians, others -- Gregorians, and the third -- Johannites.

In accord with the will of God, in the year 1084 the three sainted-hierarchs appeared to the Euchantine metropolitan John, and in declaring that they were equal before God, they gave orders that the disputes should stop and that a day in common celebration of their memory should be established.

Saint Hyppolitus, Bishop of Ostia, -- a Roman sea-port at the mouth of the Tiber River, in learning about the suffering of the martyrs, despite his advanced years, showed up at the trial and denounced the torturers for their inhumanity, calling them blood-thirsty. The enraged judge gave the holy bishop over to torture. After long torments they tied him hand and foot and threw him into the sea.

- Source: www.stlukeorthodox.com



Roman Rite: January 30th
Saint Hyacintha of Mariscotti (1585-1640) [Franciscan 3rd Order]

St. Hyacintha, born in 1585, belonged to a wealthy and prominent family. Her father was Count Antonio of Mariscotti, her mother descended from the princely Roman family of the Orsini.

After her younger sister had been given in marriage, the disappointed Clarice, as Hyacintha was then called, entered the convent of the Tertiaries at Viterbo, but apparently only as a secular Tertiary. She permitted herself to be supplied with all sorts of things by way of eatables and articles of dress which enabled her to enjoy quite an agreeable and comfortable existence. Her rooms were furnished with much worldly apparatus. The spirit of mortification and of penance with which every Tertiary ought to be equipped was in no wise discernible to her.

Then it happened that she was afflicted with a strange illness, and her confessor was obliged to go to her rooms to administer the sacraments to her. When he saw the worldly and frivolous objects in her cell, he sharply reproved the sick sister. Following her confessor's advice, she afterwards went to the common refectory and there, with a rope around her neck, begged forgiveness of her fellow sisters for the scandal she had given them.

However, it was only after she had invoked the aid of St. Catherine of Siena, that she dispossessed herself of all frivolous and unnecessary objects, and thereupon resolutely entered upon a life of heroic virtue.

She began to lead a very penitential life, in which she persevered unto the end. She went barefoot, wore an old habit that had been discarded by another sister, and performed the lowliest and most trying tasks. She ate only inferior food with which she mixed bitter herbs. Her bed consisted of a few bare boards, on which there was but a single blanket; a stone served as her pillow. She fostered a special devotion to the sufferings of Christ; and in memory of them, she subjected herself to special austerities on Fridays and in Holy Week. She also entertained a filial love for Mary, the Mother of Mercy, who sometimes appeared to her and comforted her.
Enriched by every virtue and held in great repute by her fellow sisters, she died in the 55th year of her age, in the year of our Lord 1640. Many miracles occurred at her grave for which reason Pope Benedict XIII placed her in the ranks of the blessed.

In the year 1807 she was canonized by Pope Pius VII.

ON ACCEPTING REPRIMANDS IN THE PROPER SPIRIT
1. How fortunate it was for Hyacintha that her confessor rebuked her so severely though he knew of her distinguished descent and saw that she was on her sickbed. It is really a great charity to us if a person points out our faults to us in a becoming manner. Every man has his faults. But often we are unaware of them; self-love hides them from us and, unfortunately, those that call themselves our friends, also try to palliate them and justify them, so that we can truly say, "Those who praise me, do not love me." Thus it is also written in Holy Scripture: "Open rebuke is better than hidden love. Better are the wounds of a friend than the deceitful kisses of an enemy" (Prov 27:5). -- Have you always counted those as your benefactors who have reprimanded you, and do you have the courage to extend this charity to others when it is seasonable?

2. Consider what folly it is to resent a well meant reprimand. What would have happened to Hyacintha if she had not accepted the reprimand given her by her confessor? When a person corrects you, he gives you a mark of his confidence, for evidently he regards you as virtuous enough to accept it in good par, otherwise it would be foolish to reprimand you. If you resent it, he will certainly be very careful not to correct you again; but in the end you will have to hear more severe reproaches when you stand before the judgement seat of God. Therefore do not shut the door of your heart to wholesome admonition, but be grateful to him who administers it. -- Has this been your way in the past? Do you perhaps also have the courage calmly to accept an unmerited reprimand?

3. Because friends that are true enough to correct us are so rare, we should be all the more anxious to profit from admonitions that are given in general. Such admonitions are given in sermons and in spiritual reading. On such occasions one is so readily inclined to refer everything that is faulty to others, or, when a reproof does strike home, to take offense at the author. It is the enemy of the soul who is back of all this and who is endeavoring to prevent our amendment. Do not let yourself be led astray by him, but rather be grateful to God, who so kindly leads us, erring sheep, back to the fold. From now on, strive to apply to yourself all the admonitions you meet with in sermons or in spiritual reading.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
O God, who didst transform the holy virgin Hyacintha into a sacrifice of continual mortification and love, grant through her example and intercession that we may bewail our sins and love Thee at all times. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
from: The Franciscan Book of Saints, ed. by Marion Habig, ofm., © 1959 Franciscan Herald Press

Franciscan Thought for the Day: January 29th

For holy simplicity had so filled them, innocence of life was so instructing them, purity of heart so possessed them, that they knew nothing of duplicity of mind.

~Thomas of Celano, The First Life of St. Francis of Assisi (Chapter XVII:46)

Saints of the Day: January 29th

Eastern Rite: January 29th
The Translation of the Relics of Saint Ignatius (A.D. 109)

The Transfer of the Relics of the PriestMartyr Ignatios the God-Bearer: (the account about him is located under 20 December). After the holy PriestMartyr Ignatios was thrown for devouring by wild beasts at Rome dying in the year 107 -- on orders of the emperor Trajan, Christians gathered up his bones and preserved them at Rome. Later in the year 108 they were transferred to the outskirts of Antioch. A second transfer -- into the city of Antioch itself, was done in the year 438. And after the taking of Antioch by the Persians, the relics of the PriestMartyr Ignatios were returned to Rome and placed into the church in honour of the holy PriestMartyr Pope Clement in the year 540 (but according to other histories, the year was 637). The PriestMartyr introduced antiphonal singing into Church Divine-services. He has left us seven archpastoral epistles in which he provided instruction on faith, love and good works, he urged likewise the preserving of the oneness of the faith and to beware of heretics, and he bid the obeying and honouring of bishops, "looking upon the bishop as upon Christ Himself".

"Hearken ye unto the bishop, so that God in turn might hearken unto you... let Baptism remain with you, like a shield and buckler; faith -- like an helmet; love -- like a spear; patience -- like full armour".

- Source: www.stlukeorthodox.com





Roman Rite: January 29th
Servant of God Brother Juniper (d. A.D. 1258) [Franciscan]
Blessed Roger of Todi (d. A,D, 1237) [Franciscan 1st Order]

"Would to God, my brothers, I had a whole forest of such Junipers," said Francis of this holy friar.

We don’t know much about Juniper before he joined the friars in 1210. Francis sent him to establish "places" for the friars in Gualdo Tadino and Viterbo. When St. Clare was dying, Juniper consoled her. He was devoted to the passion of Jesus and was known for his simplicity.

Several stories about Juniper in the Little Flowers of St. Francis illustrate his exasperating generosity. Once Juniper was taking care of a sick man who had a craving to eat pig’s feet. This helpful friar went to a nearby field, captured a pig and cut off one foot, and then served this meal to the sick man. The owner of the pig was furious and immediately went to Juniper’s superior. When Juniper saw his mistake, he apologized profusely. He also ended up talking this angry man into donating the rest of the pig to the friars!

Another time Juniper had been commanded to quit giving part of his clothing to the half-naked people he met on the road. Desiring to obey his superior, Juniper once told a man in need that he couldn’t give the man his tunic, but he wouldn’t prevent the man from taking it either. In time, the friars learned not to leave anything lying around, for Juniper would probably give it away.

He died in 1258 and is buried at Ara Coeli Church in Rome

- Source: Saint of the Day
Lives, Lessons and Feast
By Leonard Foley, O.F.M.; revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.


Blessed Roger of Todi Died at Todi, Italy, in 1237; cultus confirmed by Pope Benedict XIV. Blessed Roger was one of the early Franciscans who was admitted to the order by the founder himself. St. Francis appointed him spiritual director of the convent of Poor Clares at Rieti.

www.franciscan-sfo.org/sts/saints