Category: Saints

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Saints

Blessed Joseph Gérard

Michael R. Heinlein

May 25, 2020 1:55 pm May 25, 2020

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It was said that the young Blessed Joseph Gérard (1831-1914) was so filled with missionary zeal that no pastoral commitment close to home would satisfy the Lord’s calling heard deep…

It was said that the young Blessed Joseph Gérard (1831-1914) was so filled with missionary zeal that no pastoral commitment close to home would satisfy the Lord’s calling heard deep within his soul.

He belonged to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a religious congregation of men founded in France by St. Eugene de Mazenod to bring the Gospel to the poor throughout the world. Ordained a deacon by the founder, the young Gérard immediately set out for his assignment in southern Africa.

Gérard was well-respected by his superiors and colleagues. Known for his piety and holiness, he was not thought to be an academic — although he had a facility for learning new languages.

A brief time after arriving for ministry among the Zulu people in 1854, Gérard was ordained a priest. Because several missions established by the Oblates became too difficult, they moved on to begin other opportunities. Their saintly founder wrote to encourage Gérard, “Victory is promised only to perseverance.”

Interestingly, in addition to the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience, the Oblates take a fourth vow of perseverance. The grace of wholehearted perseverance is exactly what defined Gérard’s missionary heart, and it was what he needed to endure the difficulties that lay ahead. Evangelization among the tribes to which he was assigned brought many challenges. For instance, the people felt they had no need for conversion, and they were not going to readily set aside practices they believed sustained their economy and society, like polygamy.

The first years of Gérard’s work with the Basotho people appeared to bear little fruit. He did not have many catechumens to prepare for entrance to the Christian faith. And others who were friendly with him did not seriously entertain such a prospect. It was two years before he could attract his first catechumen there.

It is said that priestly celibacy gave the missionaries more credibility among the natives, as opposed to Calvinist missionaries. Celibacy showed authenticity in living the Gospel and made Gospel living something tangible and credible.

One of the chief tasks of a missionary is to become accepted and respected. It is only then that the faith they preach can begin to take root in the hearts of the people. Pope St. John Paul II indicated Gérard’s success in this regard at his beatification in 1988: “People wanted to be near to Father Gérard because he always seemed near to God.”

The Roma Valley in Lesotho. Public domain

Ever since his arrival in Africa, Gérard made it a point to live among his people, like his people. Emulating the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom he consecrated himself early in his priesthood, Father Gérard spent his life for his people. As he put it, he and his confreres were called to emulate Jesus through their work: “We are ambassadors for Christ, and like him, we have come for you, to live and die for you.”

Gérard did not care about the obstacles put before him, only desiring to bring Jesus to the people in his charge. In the face of many hardships, he would bring the Eucharist to people on foot or by horseback. He also planted the seeds among his people of his intense Marian devotion.

Caring for those in need until just before his death, his last years were spent at the original mission at which he served. He aptly described his own ethos when describing his spiritual ambition in some retreat notes: “We must love them, love them in spite of everything, love them always.” The apostle of Lesotho died May 29, 1914.

His feast day is May 29.

Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic. Follow him on Twitter at @HeinleinMichael.

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Saints

St. Aloysius Gonzaga: A patron for times of plague

Michael R. Heinlein

May 7, 2020 7:17 am May 7, 2020

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Born into an aristocratic family in 1568, St. Aloysius Gonzaga was destined to succeed his father’s noble position. As such, he was enrolled in a boot camp at age 5…

Born into an aristocratic family in 1568, St. Aloysius Gonzaga was destined to succeed his father’s noble position. As such, he was enrolled in a boot camp at age 5 (where he gained a certain vocabulary much to his mother and tutor’s dismay). In addition to witnessing the political turmoil, depravity and violence of Renaissance society, Gonzaga also lived through the murder of his two brothers.

But Gonzaga’s life began to change when he started to develop a relationship with the Lord after he started to suffer from kidney problems around age 8. Suddenly, he had plenty of time available for spiritual reading and prayer. The following year, Gonzaga took a vow of chastity. He also became greatly inspired by reading about Jesuit missionaries to India and found himself drawn to that vocation.

After Gonzaga made known his calling to serve as a missionary priest, those closest to him tried to dissuade him. Seeing the futility of their attempts to steer him away from priesthood, Gonzaga’s family thought they could convince him to stay away from a religious order with the promise to secure his advancement as a bishop. None of that seemed attractive or tempting to him. Instead, he renounced his inheritance and set out to serve Christ and the Church in the Society of Jesus. Of course, Gonzaga knew there was a greater inheritance awaiting him: “It is better to be a child of God than king of the whole world,” he said.

Interestingly, Gonzaga was encouraged and supported by two great saints: St. Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) — from whom Gonzaga received his first holy Communion — and St. Robert Bellarmine. The latter was Gonzaga’s own Jesuit confrere, but more importantly, an influential spiritual father and confessor.

Gonzaga gradually came to know the connection between love and suffering, which is bound up in Christ’s cross. “He who wishes to love God does not truly love him if he has not an ardent and constant desire to suffer for his sake,” he said. Gonzaga’s ill health worsened not long after he joined the Jesuits in 1585. He was burdened by other ailments, in addition to kidney disease, including recurring headaches and difficulty sleeping. In 1590, he received a vision from St. Gabriel the Archangel, in which he learned he would die within the year ahead.

The next year a plague struck Rome. Despite his own infirmities, Gonzaga was quick to offer help to the epidemic’s victims. Carrying them off the streets and to the hospital established by the Jesuits, Gonzaga brought consolation and comfort to the sick and dying. Not only did he bathe and care for the sick, but he did his best to tend to their spiritual needs as well. He was forbidden by superiors from continuing the work after many of his Jesuit confreres were afflicted by the disease.

Later, Gonzaga was allowed to minister at a hospital for those without infectious diseases, or so it was thought. After serving a man who turned out to be suffering from the plague, Gonzaga took ill himself. Although it appeared he might recover, his fever and cough worsened, and his health steadily deteriorated over the course of several weeks. The Jesuit scholastic Gonzaga lived what St. Robert Bellarmine taught: “The school of Christ is the school of love.”

St. Robert Bellarmine assisted Gonzaga spiritually in his last trial, regularly bringing him the sacraments. He recalled that Gonzaga did not fear death, but that “he longed to be freed from his flesh and to come to Christ.” Gonzaga died on June 21, 1591 with the name of Jesus on his lips.

Bellarmine worked to promote his disciple’s beatification, which came just 14 years after Gonzaga’s death, extolling his virtues, especially his patience and humility. Their bodies rest near each other in the Roman church of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

St. Aloysius Gonzaga is commemorated on June 21.

Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic. Follow him on Twitter @HeinleinMichael.

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Saints

5 ways in which St. John Paul II embodied the Rosary’s fruits

By Gretchen R. Crowe

April 17, 2020 7:34 pm April 17, 2020

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It wasn’t long after his Oct. 16, 1978 election that the new Pope John Paul II — the former Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla — began promoting Mary and the Rosary…

It wasn’t long after his Oct. 16, 1978 election that the new Pope John Paul II — the former Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla — began promoting Mary and the Rosary as one of the best ways to proclaim Christ to the world. In a General Audience on Oct. 28, less than two weeks after his election, Pope John Paul II declared the Rosary to be “my favorite prayer.” He also called it a “marvelous prayer — marvelous in its simplicity and in its depth.”

Throughout his pontificate, Pope John Paul II remained close to the Blessed Mother, signaled in his motto — an adaptation of St. Louis de Montfort’s phrase “Totus Tuus” (“Totally Yours”)— describing his complete devotion to Mary and desire to be closer to her and her Son. He also had a deep love for the spiritual fruits of the mysteries of the Rosary as outlined by St. Louis de Montfort and promoted them in his 2003 apostolic letter on the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae. He wrote: “… it is worthwhile to note that the contemplation of the mysteries could better express their full spiritual fruitfulness if an effort were made to conclude each mystery with a prayer for the fruits specific to that particular mystery. In this way the Rosary would better express its connection with the Christian life” (No. 35, emphasis in original).

Like all saints, we can turn to the example of Pope St. John Paul II, who incorporated vividly the spiritual fruits of each mystery of the Rosary into his life. Here are 5 ways in which Pope St. John Paul II lived these out.

Pope St. John Paul II was humble. From the beginning of his papacy, Pope St. John Paul II habitually kissed the ground upon arriving in every country to which he traveled. This gesture, learned from St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, was a sign of great humility, and it was an action that conveyed respect, affection, and that showed him to be at the faithful service of those he was visiting.
Pope St. John Paul II had a great, lifelong love for the Eucharist. His encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia was dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament, and he directed the Church to dedicate an entire year — October 2004 to October 2005 — to deeper reflection on, and growth in, love of the Eucharist.
Pope St. John Paul II sought conformity to God’s will. When John Paul II was elected pope in 1978, he responded with the greatest obedience, wholeheartedly accepting God’s will for his life. Upon accepting the papal responsibility, he simply stated: “In the obedience of faith before Christ my Lord, abandoning myself to the Mother of Christ and the Church, and conscious of the great difficulties, accepto.”
Pope St. John Paul II showed patience in carrying his cross. Suffering was a significant part of John Paul II’s life, particularly in his final years as he battled Parkinson’s disease. But through infirmity and illness, John Paul II displayed a beautiful perseverance and humility, and he offered a witness to what it looks like to bear one’s cross with patience and purpose.
Pope St. John Paul II had a lively faith. John Paul II was a gifted teacher, and he was especially gifted when it came to teaching on matters of doctrine. His arguments were clear and compelling, and always rooted in Scripture and Tradition. Through his clarity and consistency, despite facing much resistance at times, he helped all who encountered him better know and understand the teachings of Christ and his Church.

Gretchen R. Crowe is editorial director for periodicals at OSV and author of “Praying the Rosary with Pope St. John Paul II.”

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3 min read

Saints

St. Eugene De Mazenod: A saint for troubled families

Thomas Craughwell

April 17, 2020 6:33 am April 17, 2020

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St. Eugene de Mazenod was born into a family that was doomed from the beginning. His father, Charles-Antoine de Mazenod, was a member of the French aristocracy, a man of…

St. Eugene de Mazenod was born into a family that was doomed from the beginning. His father, Charles-Antoine de Mazenod, was a member of the French aristocracy, a man of genteel breeding who had received a superb classical education. Unfortunately, by the time he reached adulthood all he possessed was his distinguished title; Charles-Antoine’s father and grandfather had squandered the Mazenod fortune years earlier.

His mother, Marie-Rose Joannis, on the other hand, came from a family that was solidly bourgeois and very rich. When Charles-Antoine and Marie-Rose announced their engagement, the bride’s family insisted that the traditional dowry remain in Marie-Rose’s name, out of the reach of Charles-Antoine. This was the just the first instance of the Joannis clan’s interference in the life of the Mazenod family.

Although they held Charles-Antoine in contempt, in the interest of seeing Marie-Rose comfortable, the Joannis family did keep a steady stream of money flowing into the couple’s bank account, but such generosity came at a price. Marie-Rose’s mother meddled in every decision the couple tried to make. Her emotionally unbalanced aunt demanded constant attention, and the Joannis women took every opportunity to humiliate Charles-Antoine by reminding him that he had come into their family penniless.

On Aug. 1, 1782, in Provence, Eugene de Mazenod was born into this wretched family. While he was still a little boy, his family’s dysfunction was further complicated by the French Revolution that claimed the lives of thousands of aristocratic families. In 1791, to escape the guillotine, the Mazenods fled to Venice. Four years later Marie-Rose walked out on her husband and her son, returned to France and filed for divorce. Once the divorce had been finalized, she wrote to her ex-husband, “Now you have nothing.”

Eugene found refuge from his miserable home life in the Church. In 1808 he entered the seminary in Paris; in 1811 he was ordained a priest. He asked to be assigned to work among the poor country people in the south of France. His superiors granted his request, in part because this was his home region and he spoke the local dialect.

The French Revolution had caused tremendous disruption to religious life throughout the country. Those bishops, priests, monks and nuns who had not been killed were in exile or had disgraced their vocation. Churches and schools stood abandoned; convents and monasteries lay in ruins. An entire generation had grown up with virtually no religious instruction.

By 1815, Eugene had assembled a band of dedicated priests who worked with him as missionaries in the rural areas of Provence, bringing people who were nominally Christian back to the Faith. In recognition of the group’s success, the pope organized them into a new religious order and gave them their name — the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. An oblate is someone who offers his life and all his efforts to God, or in this case the Blessed Virgin Mary, for the good of others. As for Eugene, his reward was being named bishop of Marseilles, an assignment he held from 1837 until his death in 1861.

St Eugene was never able to reconcile his parents or bring peace to his family, but he and his fellow priests did bring countless thousands back to the Church.

St. Eugene de Mazenod is the patron saint of dysfunctional families. His feast day is May 21.

Craughwell is the author of more than 30 books, including “Saints Behaving Badly” and “This Saint Will Change Your Life.”

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Saints

St. Isidore the Farmer

Father Ray Ryland

April 16, 2020 9:53 pm April 16, 2020

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St. Isidore the Farmer, also known as St. Isidore the Laborer, is celebrated with an optional memorial in the United States on May 15. St. Isidore was a Spanish laboring…

St. Isidore the Farmer, also known as St. Isidore the Laborer, is celebrated with an optional memorial in the United States on May 15.

St. Isidore was a Spanish laboring man. Born near Madrid, around 1070, he lived there until his death, May 15,1130. He served on the farm of a Juan de Vargas. Each morning before going to work he attended Mass in one of the churches in Madrid.

There is a story that once his fellow workers complained that Isidore always came to work late. When his master investigated the charge, he found Isidore at prayer while an angel did his plowing. Another time St. Isidore’s master is reported to have seen two angels plowing with the saint, one angel on either side.

St. Isidore’s wife, Maria Torribia, is also a canonized saint. St. Isidore is the patron of peasants and day laborers, and of the cities of Seville, Madrid, Leon and Saragossa. He was canonized on March 12, 1622, by Pope Gregory XV. He was enrolled among the Church’s saints in very distinguished company. St. Teresa of Avila, St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier and St. Philip Neri were also canonized at the same time.

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Saints

What Does It Mean To Be A Mystic?

Kathryn Jean Lopez

April 12, 2020 7:29 am April 12, 2020

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Have you ever wondered about the Holy Trinity? Have you ever noticed it was Trinity Sunday and hoped to learn more? You may know it is a mystery. Perhaps you…

Have you ever wondered about the Holy Trinity? Have you ever noticed it was Trinity Sunday and hoped to learn more? You may know it is a mystery. Perhaps you have thought that there must be a way to get to know these three Persons of the Trinity.

It’s a beautiful thing to set out to pray by first acknowledging the presence of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Each is a part of our lives, at the heart of our existence as God’s adopted sons and daughters. Give it a try, and you might just feel a little more comfortable reading about some of the great mystic saints and other holy ones of Christianity.

A number of years ago, one friend wrote a foreword to another’s book. Popular Catholic radio show host and author Jennifer Fulwiler said Gary Jansen, the author of a number of practical books on prayer, is a “mystic.” I gave this particular book, “Station to Station: An Ignatian Journey through the Stations of the Cross” (Loyola Press, $9.95), to a few people, and at least one commented: “You said the guy who wrote that book is a friend of yours. But he’s a mystic!”

You can almost hear the exotic music in the background, can’t you? We think of mysticism as something foreign to our experiences. But it needn’t be. It really shouldn’t be.

Intimate union with Christ

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that:

“Spiritual progress tends toward ever more intimate union with Christ. This union is called ‘mystical’ because it participates in the mystery of Christ through the sacraments — ‘the holy mysteries’ — and, in him, in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God calls us all to this intimate union with him, even if the special graces or extraordinary signs of this mystical life are granted only to some for the sake of manifesting the gratuitous gift given to all” (No. 2014).

That’s pretty clear. We’re all called to a deeper union with God. Really, when you think about it, this is the journey of our lives. And so, with each passing year, the liturgical seasons we celebrate should be richer. What that looks like will be different for each of us, but it’s amazing to me, when you are really praying and have some people in your life doing the same, you recognize God’s work more and more in one another and in the world. You see differently. You love differently. The beatitudes become the background music to your lives. It can be contagious. Jesus can truly radiate through you. And you’ll find the Holy Spirit giving you words that people need to hear. This is all possible because you know you are a beloved son or daughter of our heavenly Father, the creator of the world. And you know this miracle is, regardless of what tough servings of suffering you’ve been dealt in life. This is a little bit of what life in the Trinity looks like.

St. Maria Faustina Kowalska

A surefire way to get serious about this path is to invite the saints into your life. One of those saints was a contemporary to most of us. Pope St. John Paul II made it a point to introduce St. Maria Faustina Kowalska to the world. Hers was surely a mystical union with God, which resulted in the Divine Mercy devotion that has landed somewhat at the heart of the Church. So many pray for divine mercy on us and on the whole world. When we look and see the anger and misery all around us, we should see these as pleas to pray so we more and more can be instruments of God’s merciful love in the world.

In my new book, “A Year with the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living” (St. Benedict Press, $44.95), I include this from Sister Faustina’s diary:

“On one occasion, God’s presence pervaded my whole being, and my mind was mysteriously enlightened in respect to His Essence. He allowed me to understand His interior life. In spirit, I saw the Three Divine Persons, but Their Essence was One. He is One, and One only, but in Three Persons; none of Them is either greater or smaller; there is no difference in either beauty or sanctity, for They are One. They are absolutely One. His Love transported me into this knowledge and united me with Himself. When I was united to One, I was equally united with the Second and to the Third in such a way that when we are united with One, by that very fact, we are equally united to the two Persons in the same way as with the One. Their will is One, one God, though in Three Persons. When One of the Three Persons communicates with a soul, by the power of that one will, it finds itself united with the Three Persons and is inundated in the happiness flowing from the Most Holy Trinity, the same happiness that nourishes the saints. This same happiness that streams from the Most Holy Trinity makes all creation happy; from it springs that life which vivifies and bestows all life which takes its beginning from Him” (“Diary of Sister Faustina, paragraph 911).

That may be very different from your prayer. That’s OK! But the depths she plunged are an invitation to give God time and see what he wants to show you, reveal about himself and his presence in your life and in the world.

To stay with Faustina for a moment: There is so much about Divine Mercy with which she can help us, and it’s something that so many need. Here’s the prayer John Paul II prayed on our behalf at Faustina’s canonization Mass in 2000:

And you, Faustina, a gift of God to our time, a gift from the land of Poland to the whole Church, obtain for us an awareness of the depth of divine mercy; help us to have a living experience of it and to bear witness to it among our brothers and sisters. May your message of light and hope spread throughout the world, spurring sinners to conversion, calming rivalries and hatred and opening individuals and nations to the practice of brotherhood. Today, fixing our gaze with you on the face of the risen Christ, let us make our own your prayer of trusting abandonment and say with firm hope: Christ Jesus, I trust in you!

May it be so! Make the Holy Trinity, Mary, and the communion of saints truly a part of your life.

Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review, a regular columnist in Our Sunday Visitor and author of “A Year with the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living.”

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