DVRodriguez

The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste (320 AD) THE PERSECUTION OF LICINUS The worst Roman persecution against Catholics was launched by Emperors Diocletian and Galerius in 303 AD. The danger threatening Christians did not end until Constantine’s famous Edict of Milan (313 AD) which he signed along with the other new emperors. However, the peace between the emperors did not last long and soon Constantine found himself fighting (and defeating) the others. Licinius, Emperor in the East, had signed the Edict of Milan and married Constantine’s sister. Yet Licinius and Constantine now became bitter foes for sole mastery over the Roman Empire. [...]

St. Frances of Rome (1384-1440), widow and foundress of the Collatines A GRACE FILLED YOUTH St. Frances was born in Rome at 1384 into nobility; both her parents came from illustrious families. From a tender age she was extraordinarily pious, modest, and discreet. She had an aversion to the frivolous activities and games which engaged her peers, and instead sought solitude and prayer. When she was filled with too much ‘noise’ she could not hear God and was not at peace. (The silence she longed for was not just auditory, but also a silence of the eyes and an internal silence [...]

St. John of God (1495-1550), lay brother, mystic, and founder of an order A LIFE OF SIN John of God was born of poor but pious Catholic parents in the town of Montemor o Novo in Portugal in 1495. He was chosen for a special destiny by the Lord but this remained hidden under mounds of sin for many years. John spent his youth in innocence and virtue as the chief shepherd for the Count of Oropeusa in Castille. However, in 1522, he enlisted in the Count’s foot soldiers and served in various battles: against the French and later against the [...]

St. Thomas Aquinas, Dominican friar and Doctor of the Church (1225-1274 AD) VOCATION OF GOLD TRIED BY FIRE St. Thomas was born of noble parents at Aquino in Italy, AD 1226. At the age of nineteen, he received the Dominican habit at Naples, where he was studying. His family was very opposed to having him join the recently founded mendicant order. They would have accepted his choosing the path of the secular priesthood, of being counted among the canons, or any other ecclesiastic office with a benefice and worldly dignity. Yet Thomas desired to serve God as perfectly as possible and [...]

St. Casimir, Prince and Patron of Poland and Lithuania (1458-1485) St. Casimir Jagiellon was the son of Casimir IV, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Queen Elizabeth Hapsburg of Hungary. He was the crown prince of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was their third child (of thirteen) and second boy and was born in modern day Krakow. When still just a boy, he was placed under the tutelage of the best masters and priests, who trained him in piety and learning. His most famed teacher was Fr. John Dulgosz, a very holy and [...]

St. Eudocia, Penitent and Martyr (c. 110 A.D.) Eudocia was a very beautiful and rich Samaritan woman, always decked in rich cloth and fine jewels. Some people even called her the most beautiful woman of her times. She led a care-free, sinful life in her wealthy mansion in Syria. She amassed a considerable fortune by being a woman of ill-repute. FEAR OF HELL One night she awoke to hear somebody singing nearby outside. She did not realize the holy psalter was being chanted. Then the same melodious voice began to read from a book on the Dread Judgment, explaining how sinners [...]

St. Tarasius was Patriarch of Constantinople and died on 25 Feb 806. His life is a fascinating narrative of a white martyrdom from which we can learn much for our times. He suffered great persecution from secular powers as well as those within the Church, both from heterodox liberal and extreme "orthodox" attacks. Nevertheless, he guided the Church with great mercy, sought union with the Holy Father and defeated heretics. Tarasius was born into the aristocracy of Constantinople. He was the son of the Prefect of the city and followed his father's footsteps by entering into civil service. His reputation for [...]

St. Peter Damian (1007-1072) was a great Doctor of the Church and Cardinal-Archbishop. He served as a papal legate and counselor to three consecutive popes. He helped lead the Church during some extremely difficult times, when she was truly in need of great reform, and he defeated several anti pope claimants who unjustly sought to usurp the Throne of St. Peter. (There is much more to his biography than this small excerpt. Our hope is that simply this brief reading will inspire you to read more about him.) St. Peter Damian was the youngest of a very large family and nearly [...]

St. Barbatus, holy Confessor and Bishop of Benevento (+682 AD) St. Barbatus was born in the region surrounding Benevento (to the east of Naples, in Southern Italy) toward the end of the pontificate of St. Gregory the Great. At this time, nearly the entirety of Southern Italy was held by the Lombards, a tribe of Barbarians, and Benevento was their royal governing city. His parents gave him a Christian education and from an early age he displayed an eminent sanctity. Devout mental prayer and daily meditation on the Holy Scriptures occupied the majority of his youth and led to his great [...]

St. Simeon of Jerusalem was a cousin of Our Lord and one of the greatest leaders of the Apostolic Church in Jerusalem. He suffered the same cruel martyrdom as our Lord, being crucified outside Jerusalem. WHO WAS ST. SIMEON St. Simeon was the son of Cleophas (also called Alpheus). Celophas was the brother of St. Joseph and he was married to a woman named Mary who was one of the women at the foot of the Cross (cf. Jn 19:25). We know that Cleophas and Mary had at least four sons (and probably some daughters too), since the holy evangelists provide [...]