DVRodriguez

St. Edward of England, King and Confessor (~1004-1066) King St. Edward was the best loved of all the English kings. He was a tall, well-built man, but he was never too healthy. Nevertheless he was able to rule his country and well and keep peace most of the time because he trusted God and held firm when necessary. He was a gentle, kind man who never spoke excessively, or with an unnecessary harshness, even to the meanest of persons. To poor people and foreigners alike, he showed special charity, and he helped monks in every way he could. It was his [...]

St. Bruno (11th century) was the founder of the Carthusian Order of monks. Yet at first not a hermit at all, but rather a famous priest-teacher. He suffered much, in particular on account of his many talents and great knowledge. HIS YOUTH St. Bruno came from an ancient and honorable family. His parents wished him to receive an excellent education, especially in regards to virtue. Thus, they sent him study with learned priests and monks near his home in Köln, Germany. St. Anno, that city’s bishop, recognized Bruno’s extraordinary talent and sent him to study further at Rheims, the Catholic center [...]

St. Léger, Bishop and Martyr (7th Century) St. Léger (~615 – 2 Oct 679) was a martyred Burgundian Bishop of Autun. He was the son of Saint Sigrada and the brother of Saint Warinus. He was the opponent of Ebroin, the Frankish Mayor of the Place of Neustria and the leader of the Austraisan nobles in the struggle for control over the waning Merovignian dynasty of Frankish kings. The calumny, torture, and death he endured, coupled with his charity and defense of the sacraments, ensured his name in the catalog of martyrs and saints. (He is often also called Leodegar or [...]

A fascinating story of how France became Catholic! St. Remigius is one of those saints who is not very well known by Catholics today, but whom God used to completely alter the course of human history. He is perhaps best known for having baptized King Clovis of the Franks. This in turn led to the entire Frankish Nation becoming Catholic. They were the first barbaric tribe to do so. Every other barbaric tribe that had "converted" had accepted the Arian faith; thus, embraced a heresy that sought to destroy the True Faith. On account of Remigius' efforts, France has come to [...]

St. Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia and Martyr (907-938 AD) EARLY LIFE St. Wenceslaus was the grandson of the first Christian duke of Bohemia and his wife, the Blessed Ludmilla. His father was a valiant and good prince, but his mother, Drahomira, was a pagan with depraved morals and heretical notions. Ludmilla who lived in Prague was able to persuade her son to allow her to educate Wenceslaus, but not so with his younger brother, Boleslas. Along with help from his grandmother Ludmilla and excellent teachers, including a very pious and holy priest named Fr. Paul, Wenceslaus received an excellent intellectual and [...]

St. Joseph of Cupertino is best known as the saint who flew! St. Joseph was born on June 17, 1603 in the small town of Cupertino in the Kingdom of Naples. Although always considered "dumb" by worldly standards and quite unintelligent, he became a great saint and mystic. His family was poor and to make matters worse, his father, a poor carpenter, died shortly before he was born. The family property was seized by creditors and his impoverished mother was forced to give birth to him in a stable. Already in his early youth, Joseph was ridiculed by his peers for [...]

Holy Name of Mary THEOLOGY OF THE FEAST We venerate the name of "MARY" because it belongs to her who is the Mother of God and, as the Holy Ghost Himself inerrantly prophesies in Sacred Scripture, "All generations will call her blessed." She is the holiest, greatest and most beautiful of all God's creatures. Not all the glory offered to Him by all the rest of His creation equals the glory offered to Him by Mary. In the words of that seraphic Doctor of the Church, St. Bonaventure: “Mary is that being than which God cannot make a greater; He can [...]

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary originated in the East, where extant written documents mention it being celebrated very early in the history of the Church. We also have historical proof that Pope Sergius I (+ 701 AD) observed this feast in Rome. "Hail, holy mother! who in thy child-bearing didst bring forth the King Who ruleth heaven and earth, world without end (Ps 44,2). My heart hath uttered a good word: I speak my works to the king. Glory be to the Father... "(From the Introit) As Eve, our first [...]

St. Rose of Viterbo was a most courageous young girl, even challenging Emperor Frederick II. St. Rose of Viterbo was born in the spring of 1234, at a time when Emperor Frederick II was oppressing the Church and many were faithless to the Holy See. [Frederick II had many delusions of grandeur and was perhaps the first of the truly great and evil tyrants of Christendom. He greatly desired to be an absolute monarch. On several occasions, he attempted to destroy the Pope by military force, yet fortunately sufficient lords came to the aid of the pope that he was unsuccessful [...]

Pope St. Pius X, Greatest Pontiff of the Modern Era (1835-1914) On 2 June 1835, Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto saw the light of earth at Riesi, Province of Treviso, in Northeastern Italy. He was ordained a priest on 18 Sept 1858 during the reign of Bl. Pius IX, was consecrated Bishop of Mantua on 16 Nov 1884 at the behest of Pope Leo XII, elevated to Cardinal and Patriarch of Venice on 12 June 1893. He was elected Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church on 4 Aug 1903. On August 20, 1914, he saw the light of heaven; and on May 29, [...]