DVRodriguez

St. Valentine (3rd century), Roman priest and martyr ROMAN PRIEST St. Valentine was a holy priest who lived in Rome. Along with St. Marius and his family, he helped the martyrs to die a good and holy death during the persecution of Claudius II (268-270). He gave the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Extreme Unction to help them on their journey to Heaven. In the picture depicted above, St. Valentine is baptizing St. Lucilla (also known as Julia). She was a noblewoman blind from birth who was miraculously cured by St. Valentine. St. Valentine was well known for also helping the [...]

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Our Lady of Lourdes, the Immaculate Conception (1858) It was on 11 February 1858 that the Blessed Mother first appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, a young girl at Lourdes, France. Bernadette was a sickly little girl whose family was so poor they lived in a cellar that had once been a jail. Even though she was fourteen years old, Bernadette could not read or write. She had difficulties remembering her catechism lessons, but she was a good holy girl who loved God very much. And if her memory was weak for doctrine, she tried hard to learn all she could about God. [...]

San Pedro de Jesús Maldonado (1892-1937), Mexican priest and martyr for the Holy Eucharist. A NIGHTTIME PASCHAL AMBUSH It was Holy Saturday and Fr. Pedro de Jesús Maldonado had just finished preaching a sermon on the sympathy that should be given to Our Lady in her sorrows. A person came looking for him, begging, "Please, Padre, come and hear the confessions of some sick people." Always eager to help souls, Father agreed to go to the little town nearby, and took with him a friend, Professor Urbina. Fr. Maldonado's enemies had gotten wind of his journey and were lying in wait [...]

St. Margaret of Hungary (1242 -1271) was a Dominican nun and related by blood to numerous other Hungarian saints. MIRACULOUS BIRTH AND CONSECRATION Margaret was the daughter of King Béla IV and Queen Maria Laskarina. She was the eighth of ten children and the youngest daugther. She was born at Klis Fortress in the Kingdom of Croatia. At the time her conception, Hungary was under imminent threat of destruction from the terrible scourge of the pagan Tartars. Thus her royal parents consecrated her to God, even before her birth, in petition that their country would be delivered from the Mongols. Their [...]

St. Marcarius, the Elder, of Egypt (+390 AD) The name Macarius derives from macha, skillfulness, and ares, virtue, meaning “one skilled in virtue.” St. Macarius the Elder is often confused with St. Macarius of Alexandria. Both lived in the same part of the world around the same time and supervised monks, thus the confusion is understandable. It is particularly difficult for scholars to agree on how to assign authorship of extant writings attributed to Macarius. However, the life and works of St. Macarius the Elder were handed on to us by the original authors of the lives of the fathers and [...]

St. Paul of Thebes is known as the First Christian Hermit. St. Paul of Thebes (lower Egypt), also known as St. Paul the Anchorite, is considered by many to be the very first Christian Hermit. May often attribute this honor mistakenly to St. Antony, but it was this great desert Father himself who gave the Christian world knowledge of St. Paul. Much of our saint’s life has been preserved by the great Church Doctor, Hermit and Biblical Scholar, St. Jerome in his Vitæ Patrum. At an early age (~15 years), Paul lost both his parents. He was well learned, well-off and [...]

St. Veronica, Virgin of Milan and Augustinian Nun (1445 - 13 Jan 1497) A MOST PIOUS YOUTH St. Veronica was born in the small village of Binasco, ten miles southwest from Milan, Italy. Her parents were extremely poor but they were hard-working and very pious. Her father worked in the fields and was known to be incredibly honest. For example, he would never sell an animal without disclosing all of its faults or imperfections to the buyer. Because she was so poor, she never had the chance to learn how to read or write. But she learned from her devout parents [...]

St. Theodosius the Cenobiarch (423-529) HEARING THE CALL St Theodosius was born in Mogarissos, a village in Cappadocia, in 423 (modern day central Turkey). St. Basil the Great had lived and governed this land. His parents were both very pious. Meditating upon the Sacred Scriptures, he was inspired by the example of Abraham, our Father in Faith. The Holy Ghost urged him to leave his family, his country and everything he knew. In total trust he abandoned himself to the providence by God. He traveled to the Holy Land to visit all the places which had been sanctified by Our Lord [...]

St. William, Confessor Cistercian Abbot and Archbishop of Bourges (+ 1209 AD) FORMATION FOR SANCTITY FROM INFANCY St. William Berruyer came from an illustrious and wealthy French family and was a descendant of the counts of Nevers. His pious parents had him receive his formation and education under the tutelage of Peter the Hermit, Archdeacon of Soissons (this saintly man was William’s uncle). Thus, from his infancy, William learned to disdain the vanities of the world and tremble at its danger. As a young boy, he did not care to waste time fooling around or being idle. His only delight came [...]