Kerala, a part of India with so many Blessed Saints .. and 6 Clubfeet miracles, nowhere else to be found the world.
I feel embarrased nearly all these saints I never heard of before, But it is wonderful to discover them.
How did this woman transcend the obscurity of her geography and genealogy to receive beatification at the hands of the Pope in the Jubilee Year 2000, only the fourth Indian ever to have been beatified? The story of Mariam Thresia is a remarkable one. Born in 1876 into a family in straitened circumstances — the result of a grandfather having had to sell off all his property to get seven daughters married — Mariam Thresia was one of three daughters. https://shashitharoor.in/writings_essays_details/164 CARRYING KERALA TO THE VATICAN To hear Malayalam recited in St Peter’s alongside half a dozen European language is in its own way, satisfying. I am not a Christian but I rejoice in the magic an Indian woman has brought to Christianity. https://shashitharoor.in/writings_my_essays_details/13
SAINT OF THE DAY TUESDAY, 9 JUNE, 2026 SAINT EPHREM OF SYRIA DEACON AND DOCTOR Ephrem was of Syrian descent and son of a citizen of Nisibis. While yet a young man be betook himself to the Holy Bishop James, by whom he was baptized, and he soon made such progress in holiness and learning as to be appointed master in the school of Nisibis in Mesopotamia. After the death of the Bishop James, Nisibis was captured by the Persians, and Ephrem went to Edessa, where he settled first among the monks in the mountains. Later, to avoid the company of those who flocked to him, he adopted the eremitical life. He was made deacon of the church of Edessa, but refused the priesthood out of humility. He was rich in all virtues and strove to acquire piety and religion by the following of true wisdom. He placed all his hope in God, despised all human and transitory things, and was ever filled with the earnest desire of those which are divine and eternal. He was led by the Spirit of God to Caesarea in Cappadocia, where he saw Basil, the mouthpiece of the Church, and they obtained benefit from their mutual intercourse. In order to refute the many errors which troubled the Church at that time, and to expound the mysteries of Jesus Christ, he wrote many books in the Syrian tongue, almost all of which have been translated into Greek. St. Jerome bears witness that he attained such fame that his writings were read publicly in the churches after the reading from the Holy Scriptures. On account of his works, so full of the light of heavenly doctrine, he was greatly honored even during his lifetime as a Doctor of the Church. He composed a poem in praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints for which he was called by the Syrians "the Harp of the Holy Ghost." He was noted for his great and tender devotion towards the immaculate Virgin. He died, rich in merits, at Edessa in Mesopotamia, on the fourteenth of the Kalends of July, in the reign of Valens. Pope Benedict XV, at the instance of many Cardinals of the holy Roman Church, patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, abbots and religious communities, declared him by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites to be a Doctor of the Universal Church. PATRON: Spiritual directors; spiritual leaders. SYMBOLS: cowl with small cross; pillar of light; scourge. OFTEN PORTRAYED: In monastic habit; lying on a funeral slab; with a scroll and vine, as a deacon. PRAYER: Pour into our hearts O Lord, we pray, the Holy Spirit, at whose prompting the Deacon Saint Ephrem exulted in singing of your mysteries and from whom he received the strength to serve you alone. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
One of the wonderful thing about these men was not that they were great theologians but that they put their theology into practice in their lives. That they bore fruit in holiness. The devil is a superb theologian but it doesn't do himself or anyone much good in fact it only ever did great harm. The same thing in the Church today . We have many, many theologians telling us many different things. But we should ask if these people are showing signs of holiness in their own lives. If they are not doing so how will anything they say be worth listening to or even be trusted.? St Ephrem does both. He teaches wisdom and assists us too to walk in the Path of Holiness he walked himself. Someone to be both trusted and emulated.
Another Saint for today Saint Louise de Marillac, 1591–1660 Connection to the date: Feast day May 9 (beatification date—May 9, 1920; her death anniversary is March 15, 1660, but her feast was transferred to May 9 in 2017). Canonized March 11, 1934, by Pope Pius XI. Patronage: Social workers; widows; sick people; the poor; Christian charity; Daughters of Charity; rejected children; people disappointed in life. Life: Born August 12, 1591, in Ferrières-en-Brie, France, as the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman. Raised by relatives in the Dominican monastery at Poissy. Desired religious life but was denied entry to the Capuchins due to her illegitimate birth. Married at age 22 to Antoine Le Gras (secretary to Queen Marie de Médicis); widowed in 1625. Made vow of widowhood and chose Saint Vincent de Paul as her spiritual director. Cofounded the Daughters of Charity in 1633 (unenclosed community dedicated to serving the poor, sick, and orphaned). By her death, the Daughters of Charity operated more than forty houses throughout France. Died March 15, 1660, at age 68. ◾Beatification Miracle: Young girl named Louise Labouré, born with severe congenital heart condition, was medically predicted to die before her second birthday. Her family prayed to Louise de Marillac for intercession. The child experienced miraculous recovery, her heart condition resolved, and she went on to live a full, healthy life. The healing was recognized as inexplicable and attributed to Louise de Marillac's intercession. CAVEAT: Beatified and canonized pre-Consulta Medica (beatification 1920, canonization 1934); miracle examined through earlier canonical process. Prayer: Saint Louise de Marillac, mother to the poor and advocate of the widowed, intercede for all who serve the sick and suffering.
SAINT OF THE DAY WEDNESDAY, 10 JUNE, 2026 SAINT LANDERICUS OF PARIS BISHOP AND CONFESSOR c.661 St. Landericus was a sincere and dedicated servant of God who, like his Lord Jesus Christ, had great love for the poor and the lowly. He became bishop of Paris in 650 A.D., in the Frankish kingdom (formally Gaul) during the reign of Clovis II and served as bishop until 656 A.D. (some records show until his death in 661). He was a very earnest and devout man, and distinguished especially by his great love of the poor and by his charity during the famine of 651 A.D. To relieve them, during a time of famine he sold not only his personal possessions but also some of the vessels and furniture of the church. He became increasingly aware that the sick and poor of disease were not really cared for by the custom then in vogue of housing them in little hotels dependent on the casual aims of charitable persons. For this, it was attributed to him was the foundation of the city's first real hospital, dedicated to St. Christopher, erected near Notre-Dame on the site of the dwelling place of Erchinoaldus, mayor of the palace In time, this became the famous Hotel-Dieu. He was also responsible for the Benedictines' setup of the Abbey of Denis and in 653 AD, he signed along with 23 other bishops the foundation charter granted by King Clovis to the Abbey. He was buried in the church of Saint-Germain-des-Pres, then called Saint Vincent's, where his relics, except two bones given to the parish of Saint Landry in 1408, are kept in a silver shrine. He is honored with an office in the new Paris Breviary. There is a statue of St. Landry, behind the alter of the Church of St. Landry in Opelousas, Louisiana. It appears to be that of a bishop, holding or distributing some bread or food. His feast day is June 10th. PATRON: Paris and Opelousas. PRAYER: O God, You made St. Landericus an outstanding exemplar of Divine love and the Faith that conquers the world, and added him to the roll of saintly pastors. Grand by his intercession that we may persevere in Faith and love, and become shares of his glory. Amen.
SAINT OF THE DAY THURSDAY, 11 JUNE, 2026 SAINT BARNABAS - APOSTLE Strictly speaking, Barnabas was not an apostle, but the title has been bestowed upon him since very early times. His first name was Joseph; Barnabas (etymology: "son of consolation") was a surname. He belonged to the tribe of Levi. He was a Hellenist, that is, a Jew who lived outside of Palestine and spoke the Greek tongue. Born in Cyprus, he embraced the faith soon after the death of Christ, becoming a member of the original Jerusalem community. His first noteworthy deed was to sell his belongings and place the money at the feet of the apostles. It is to his lasting credit that he befriended the neo-convert Paul and introduced him to the apostles when everyone was still distrusting the former persecutor. More noteworthy still was his service to the universal Church by being the first to recognize Paul's potential for the cause of Christ; it was Barnabas who brought him from Tarsus to teach at Antioch. The first missionary journey (about 45-48 A.D.) the two made together, and Barnabas seems to have been the leader, at least at the beginning (Acts 13-14). Barnabas' appearance must have been dignified and impressive, otherwise the inhabitants of Lystra would not have regarded him as Jupiter. He was present with Paul at the Council of Jerusalem (ca. 50). While they were preparing for the second missionary journey, there arose a difference of opinion regarding Mark; as a result each continued his labors separately. Barnabas went to Cyprus with Mark and thereafter is not referred to again in the Acts of the Apostles or in any other authentic source. From a remark in one of Paul's letters we know that he lived from the work of his own hands (1 Cor. 9:5-6). The time and place of his death have not been recorded. It is claimed that his body was found at Salamina in 488 A.D. His name is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass since ancient times. PATRON: Antioch; Cyprus; against hailstorms; invoked as peacemaker. SYMBOLS: Dalmatic; three stones; book and staff; St. Matthew's Gospel; pilgrim's staff and wallet; burning pyre; cross; hatchet; ax; lance; Often portrayed as: middle-aged bearded apostle, often bearing a book or olive branch; standing on or near a pile of stones while holding a book; stones; with Saint Paul. PRAYER: O God, who decreed that Saint Barnabas, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, should be set apart to convert the nations, grant that the Gospel of Christ, which he strenuously preached, may be faithfully proclaimed by word and by deed. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Church has always revered the Apostles, the Founding stones on which the Church rests. Just ordinary working people like you and me yet the finger of God rested in them. I envy them but on the other hand they all died for the Faith and knew the most intense sufferings and persecutions. Our Spiritual Fathers in the Faith. We have so much to be grateful to them for.
FEAST OF THE DAY FRIDAY, 12 JUNE, 2026 SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS. The Church, in this month of June, giving us the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, wishes us to understand the consequential devotion to Our Lady traditionally lived in the Marian month par excellence: the month of May. The Heart of Jesus is the See and Throne of Divine Mercy, revealed to the world in the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. The Church always countered this view with the infinite love of our Savior who died on the cross for all men. The first Office and Mass of the Sacred Heart were composed by St. John Eudes, but the feast was instituted as a result of the Lord's appearances to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. The feast was extended to the Church's general calendar by Pius IX in 1856. Pope Benedict XVI speaking of the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus a few years ago said: “In biblical language, "heart" indicates the centre of the person where his sentiments and intentions dwell. In the Heart of the Redeemer we adore God's love for humanity, his will for universal salvation, his infinite mercy. Practising devotion to the Sacred Heart of Christ therefore means adoring that Heart which, after having loved us to the end, was pierced by a spear and from high on the Cross poured out blood and water, an inexhaustible source of new life” (Benedict XVI, Angelus 5 June 2005). The call on this feast day is chiefly to Eucharistic adoration, because in the Sacred Host the Lord Jesus is truly present and He offers each of us His Heart, His Merciful Love. To spend time in the Presence of the Eucharistic Lord, to adore Him, is the best expression of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which, as we know, spread all over the world thanks to Jesus' revelations to Saint Margaret M. Alacoque in the 17th century: “Behold the Heart which so loved mankind”! As a prolongation and accomplishment of this message, the Lord appeared to another Sister in the 20th century revealing the abyss of His unfathomable mercy; she was Saint Faustina Kowalska who wrote in her Diary these words of Jesus: “I have opened my Heart as a living source of Mercy, from it all souls draw life, all approach with deep confidence this sea of Mercy. Sinners will obtain justification and the just will be strengthened in goodness. I will fill the souls of those who put their trust in My Mercy with My divine peace at the hour of their death. My daughter, continue to spread devotion to My Mercy, in doing so you will refresh My Heart which burns with the fire of compassion for sinners. Tell my priests that hardened sinners will be softened by their words if they speak of my boundless Mercy and of the compassion which My Heart feels for them. I will give priests who proclaim and exalt My Mercy wondrous power, unction to their words and I will move all the hearts to which they speak” (Book 5, 21 January 1938). "I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment" (Jesus to St. Margaret Mary). The deepest longing of Christ's Heart is that we discover how much he loves us, the extent of his tender love for creatures who, cooled by their selfishness, look only inwards at themselves, as if they were afraid to let themselves be loved unconditionally by their Creator, who asks nothing and gives all! THE PROMISES OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS TO ST. MARGARET MARY (1) I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life. (2) I will establish peace in their homes. (3) I will comfort them in all their afflictions. (4) I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death. (5) I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings. (6) Sinners will find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy. (7) Lukewarm souls shall become fervent. (8) Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection. (9) I will bless every place in which an image of my Heart is exposed and honored. (10) I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts. (11) Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart. (12) I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment. PRAYER: Grant, we pray, Almighty God, that we, who glory in the Heart of your beloved Son and recall the wonders of his love for us, may be made worthy to receive an overflowing measure of grace from that fount of heavenly gifts. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
I have my Sacred Heart Picture behind me as I speak. We always had one at home as I grew up. It is I think the Spiritual Fire or Heart of any Catholic home. It just brings huge, huge blessings with it.
Another Saint for today Saint Laura Montoya, 1874–1949 Connection to the date: Canonized May 12, 2013, by Pope Francis. Her primary feast day is October 21 (death anniversary). Patronage: Colombia; orphans; indigenous peoples; victims of discrimination; missionaries; victims of racial prejudice. Life: Born María Laura de Jesús Montoya Upegui, May 26, 1874, in Jericó, Antioquia, Colombia. Against family opposition, pursued religious vocation. Founded the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and Saint Catherine of Siena in 1914 to evangelize indigenous peoples of Colombia and Central America. Spent final nine years of her life in a wheelchair, continuing her missionary work despite severe illness. Died October 21, 1949, at age 75, in Medellín. Beatified April 25, 2004, by Pope John Paul II. Canonized May 12, 2013, by Pope Francis. First Colombian-born saint. ◾Beatification Miracle: An 86-year-old woman in 1994 suffering from uterine cancer was cured. Vatican Medical Commission approved the miracle on October 17, 2002; theological consultors confirmed on April 1, 2003. Pope John Paul II decreed the healing miraculous and inexplicable on July 7, 2003. ◾Canonization Miracle: Doctor Carlos Eduardo Restrepo suffered from systemic lupus erythematosus with progressive kidney damage and muscular degeneration. After prayers seeking Laura Montoya's intercession, he experienced complete and lasting recovery. Medical board declared the cure scientifically inexplicable. Pope Benedict XVI approved the miracle on December 20, 2012. Saint Laura Montoya, pray for us.
