Upon The Feast Of St. John Damascene

“The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God, as John the theologian and evangelist says: ‘But as many as received him, he gave them the power to be made the sons of God….’ Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death, so that we may also share their crowns of glory.”

Patron against iconoclasm, ora pro nobis!

M. Swaim

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

So, did you hear the one about how holiness is only for priests and religious?

Yeah, I haven’t either, and today’s saint proves the point that holiness is open for all.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a princess, queen, wife, mother, widower, and saint.  She died in the year 1231 at the tender age of 23, and was declared a saint a scant 4 years later!

How to achieve such a remarkable run?  Easy!  She was married while still a teenager, which was rather common in those days, to a prince of Thuringia, within modern day Germany.  Her husband was assassinated, leaving her the widowed queen with three small children.  However, she did not let that stop her.  She became a Franciscan Tertiary (a lay person associated with the charisms of a particular order, her poverty.)  In iconography, she is always depicted holding loaves of bread as she gave away large stores of food the poor of her day and age, while she kept to a strict schedule of fasting and prayer.

For her life, she was declared patronness of widows and Catholic Charities.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Pray for us!

- Father Schnippel

St. Robert Bellarmine

In the Chapel of St. Gregory the Great at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West in Cincinnati, there is a mysterious figure clad in red among the windows.  Conventional wisdom holds that the depiction is of today’s most curious saint: Robert Bellarmine; Jesuit, Bishop, Reformer, Theologian, Cardinal, writer; and Secondary Patron of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, hence his inclusion at Mount St. Mary’s.  (He is also a central figure in the raredos above the High Altar in the Chapel.)

An Italian by birth, he was in the early waves of members of the newly formed Jesuits.  His academic prowress showed itself very early on, as he was able to teach Greek as soon as he learned it.  He became well versed in the controversies of his day, mainly centering around the Protestant Reformation, and his magnum opus: “Disputationes de controversiis christianae fidei” remains the primary work in the field to this day.

Canonized in 1930 by Pius XI, he was declared a Doctor of the Church the following year.  His body rests in the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola in Rome, next to his famed student, St. Aloysius Gonzaga.

For more information, see his wikipedia page.

St. Robert Bellarmine, PRAY FOR US!

- Fr. Schnippel

St. Peter Claver

Today is the feast of St. Peter Claver, who shared the faith with some 300,000 recipients who were willing to alter their lives because of it.  As a missionary, yea, the “slave of the slaves,” he traveled from Spain to Colombia to advocate better working conditions and more dignity for the African slaves that were being mistreated by cruel European colonists.  Because of his tireless advocacy of justice, he has been recognized as the patron saint of African-Americans.

Many of our readers probably know that there is actually a St. Peter Claver school in Over the Rhine, founded in part by the late Fr. Al Lauer, the former pastor of Old St. Mary’s who is frequently heard on Sacred Heart Radio.

This being a special day for those students, teachers, and administrators at St. Peter Claver, we offer this prayer, taken from the St. Peter Claver website.:

Heavenly Father, you conferred on St. Peter
Claver a supernatural gift of love. Through
his intercession we pray for the young men
entrusted to St. Peter Claver Latin School to
be transformed by Jesus into strong Christian
leaders, husbands and fathers. May the Holy
Spirit working in and through parents, students
and faculty revitalize the City of Cincinnati and
the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood and beyond.
We give you praise and thanksgiving for
inspiring our many generous benefactors
and volunteers and we ask you to grant
their special intentions.

Grant eternal rest to Fr. Al and Fr. Charles.
Let perpetual light shine upon them.

Glory be to the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.
St. Peter Claver, pray for us.
St. Martin de Porres, pray for us.
St. Juan Diego, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
Fr. Charles, pray for us.
Fr. Al Lauer, pray for us.

Matt Swaim

St. Gregory the Great

Today’s feast marks a saint who is near and dear to most priests in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati: St. Gregory the Great.  Our Minor Seminary was dedicated to this pivotal figure in the history of Western Europe, and upon her closure in 1980, and the relocation of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary to her present Mount Washington campus, the main chapel remains in St. Gregory’s honor.

Who was this man?  In summary, he was a monk, a deacon, a diplomat, composer, theologian, and pope.  Of all of these various titles, he saw himself primarily as a monk, striving to live the ascetic lifestyle even while ascending to the See of Peter.

The primary legacy that has come down to our day is Gregorian Chant, however his political machinations helped to transform Europe from the Classical Period into the Medieval world.

For more information on one of two (currently) ‘Great’ popes, see the wikipedia article here.

St. Gregory the Great, Pray for us!

- Father Schnippel

Feast of St. Monica

For all those mothers out there who have struggled with wayward children, today’s feast gives hope, as St. Monica prayed and prayed for the conversion of her son, only to have it happen just before her death.  Her tears and sacrifices lead to the conversion of one of the greatest saints in Church History.  So, for all those mothers whose sons have gone off the deep end, don’t give up!

As Vocation Director, I know (even from my personal life) the influence that a mother has on her children, there is an inescapable bond between mother and child.  On this patron of mothers, help your children to follow the path that God has set before them.

Image source, and an interesting movement.

Fr. Schnippel

St. Rose of Lima

Today’s feast marks the first canonized saint of the new world: Rose of Lima (d. 1617).  Named Isabel, she was known as ‘Rose’ for her incredible beauty; but she is more remarkable for her strong embrace of suffering and penance as the pathway to grace and union with the Divine.  May she continue to intercede for the Western Hemisphere!

St. Clare

Today’s feast in the Church is of St. Clare of Assisi, foundress of the Poor Clares, friend of St. Francis, and patron of those who work in television.  However, for today’s Daily Reflection, I’m sending you over to Chiara’s blog, as she holds St. Clare as her particular patron.

St. Peter in Chains

While today is the memorial of Alphonsus Liguouri in the Universal Calendar, here at the Cathedral it is our Patronal Feast of St. Peter in Chains.  The picture above is of the actual chains of St. Peter which are now contained in the minor Basilica of St. Peter in Chains in Rome, not far from the ancient Colosseum.  (This is also the location of Michaelangelo’s famous statue of Moses: (Dig the Horns!))

 

As we celebrate those two occassions when St. Peter was imprisoned (and eventually martyred) for his faith in Christ, are we willing to suffer persecutions for our following of Christ?

-Fr. Kyle Schnippel

The Patron Saint of Lost and Found

Today is June 13, when we celebrate the memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, the great Franciscan Doctor of the Church who has devoted his time in heaven to locating good pens whenever some telephone helpdesk operator blindsides us with a surprise confirmation number.  Perhaps you share my own experience in that nearly every time I’ve ransacked my house for a key to something I don’t usually unlock, a brief prayer to St. Anthony seems to locate it in record time.  However, resist in all forms the temptation to treat this devotion to St. Anthony as a magic trick or form of superstition; it’s just plain unfair to take advantage of the Evangelistic Doctor’s services without publicly acknowledging his invaluable assistance to at least one other person during the course of the day.

St. Anthony of Padua, ora pro nobis!

-Matt Swaim