3rd Psalm from todays Morning Pray To you we owe praise, O God, in Zion; to you we will fulfil our vows, in Jerusalem. It is you who answer prayers: to you must all men come, because we are sinners; even if our transgressions overwhelm us, you will blot them out. Blessed is the man you have taken up and chosen: he will live within your halls. We shall be filled with the good things of your house, with the holiness of your temple. Marvellous is the justice with which you listen to us, God of our salvation, hope of all the earth and far-off coasts. You make firm the mountains in their place, clothed in your power and might. You make still the roaring of the sea, the crash of its waves; and the tumult of the peoples. Those who live at the ends of the earth will tremble at your wonders. You will fill the east and the west with joy. You have come to the earth, you have filled it, saturated it with fruitfulness. The river of God is filled with water, as you prepare the harvest: for thus you have prepared the land, watering its furrows, smoothing its roughnesses, softening it with showers, blessing the seeds within it. You have crowned the year with your kindness. Your footsteps will drip with fruitfulness.The desert pastures will be soaked, the hills will be wrapped in rejoicing.The fields will be clothed with flocks, the vales overflow with corn. They will cry out, and sing your praise. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
I see there is no Saint Day for today. At least none that I can see. But I was reading a book the last few days on the life of St Carlo Acutis. One thing strikes me about him is this. His parents were not religious at all. They were wealthy, materialistic and very successful . I think the biggest religious influence on him was his grandmother. If you look at Carlo's spirituality then it is in no sense at all modern but very, very traditional indeed. His devotions read like and index of all that is Traditional in the Church. The Holy Souls. The Choirs of Angels. Our Lady of Lourdes. Our Lady of Fatima. The Eucharist. The Mass. The Rosary. In fact I am a little surprised they canonised him at all he is so Catholic. But this goes along with all we know about young people. They much prefer Traditional Catholicism and reject the False Church of Synodality. St Carlo Acutis, pray for us.
SAINT OF THE DAY WEDNESDAY, 25th NOVEMBER 2025. ST JOHN BERCHMANS RELIGIOUS (1599-1621) John Berchmans was a cobbler’s son, born and reared at Diest, Belgium. Apparently, he was profoundly influenced by the virtuous life of his devout parents. It is recorded that he was pious, gentle, kind, joyful and affectionate by nature. His daily routine included assisting at holy mass as an altar boy, recitation of the holy Rosary and the office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. John would invariably participate at the Stations of the Cross as and when the town organized it. At the age of thirteen, he expressed his dream of becoming a priest. However, John’s father was in two minds as the family income was trivial. Finally, Mr Berchmans allowed John to work as a servant in the household of a priest, so that he could assist at daily mass and attend classes in the seminary without detriment to his duty as an employee. In 1616 John entered the Society of Jesus and two years later, he was sent to Rome to pursue his studies in the Eternal City. During his lifetime, John worked neither miracles nor undertook heroic sacrifices. However, his mind was set on performing ordinary actions with extraordinary perfection. His motto was: “Have great care for little things.” This was the secret of his sanctity. John died in 1621 at the age of twenty-two and was canonized in 1888. Reflection John strived to become a saint from early childhood without leaving his spiritual conversion for an “uncertain tomorrow.” He often repeated: “If I do not become a saint when I am young, I shall never become one.” The fact that he became a popular saint at the early age of twenty-two speaks volumes for his determination to achieve sainthood. Quotation “My penance is to live the common life … I will pay the greatest attention to the least inspiration of God” (St John Berchmans).
Im glad to read of him. So many of the saints even-though human and with faults, I often think I can not attain their level. But this saint is very relatable - an ordinary person just trying his best to listen to God and perform ordinary actions to best of his abilities. I also take note of his urgency to live like this ... we really dont know when God will call us home. A good saint to come to know. Thank you for sharing him with us today!
FEAST OF THE DAY THURSDAY, 27 NOVEMBER, 2025 OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL The Miraculous Medal was made known by Our Lady, who appeared on a number of occasions to Sr. Catherine Laboure, a member of the community of the Daughters of Charity in Paris. The first apparition occured in July 1830. The Blessed Virgin told her that she wanted to give her a mission, one that involved many trials and difficulties. She spoke of the upheavals that would afflict the Church and society in France and even said that the “whole world will be plunged into gloom.” But despite that, people should come to the foot of the altar in the Rue du Bac chapel, because there, “graces will be poured out on all those, small, or great, who ask for them with confidence and fervor. Graces will be poured out especially on those who ask for them.” Her confessor, Father Aladel, was skeptical about all this when Catherine spoke about it to him, but this skepticism quickly vanished when, just over a week later, on July 17, 1830, the prophecies were fulfilled as the revolution began in Paris. Later that same year, on Saturday, Nov. 27, the date which is now the feast of the Miraculous Medal, Catherine was in the chapel in the evening, when a glorious apparition of Our Lady standing on a globe appeared in the sanctuary. The Blessed Virgin, her lips moving silently in prayer, as she turned her eyes to heaven, wore a white silk dress with a white veil that fell to her feet; in her hands she held a golden ball. The young Sister saw rings on Our Lady's fingers encrusted with precious stones, which flashed and glittered. Then she heard an inner voice: “The ball which you see represents the whole world, especially France, and each person in particular. These rays symbolize the graces I shed upon those who ask for them. The gems from which rays do not fall are the graces for which souls forget to ask.” Then, the golden ball vanished, as the third apparition began. The Blessed Virgin stretched out her arms and from her fingers rays of light fell upon the globe at her feet. At this point, an oval frame formed around her which had golden lettering that read: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. The inner voice came again to Catherine: “Have a Medal struck after this model. All who wear it will receive great graces; they should wear it around the neck. Graces will abound for persons who wear it with confidence.” Then this whole tableau revolved to reveal a large “M” surmounted by a bar and cross, with two hearts beneath it, one of which was crowned with thorns and the other pierced with a sword, all of which was encircled by twelve stars. This was the way that Our Lady showed Catherine the design for the new medal, both front and back, and these second and third apparitions express very clearly the idea of Mary as Mediatrix of all graces that, although it has not been solemnly defined, is the general teaching of the Church. Catherine spoke to Father Aladel about submitting this design of the medal to a Paris engraver. He then went to see the Archbishop of Paris, Archbishop de Quélen, who after asking many searching questions, gave permission for the medal to be struck. The result was that the new medal spread very quickly, giving rise to widespread reports of miracles of grace and nature. All of this led to an investigation into the “Medal of the Immaculate Conception,” which in turn led to a canonical inquiry in February 1836 that concluded Catherine was of good character, that her apparitions were to be accepted as reliable and that the Medal was supernaturally inspired and responsible for genuine miracles. By then millions of Miraculous Medals had been produced and were in wide circulation. After all the upheavals caused by the French Revolution, and the more recent revolution in Paris, they helped to restore the traditions of Catholicism among ordinary French people. Thus, the Miraculous Medal became an important sacramental and was responsible for numerous conversions, including that of the Jewish banker, Alphonse Ratisbonne, in 1842. It also prepared the ground, spiritually, for the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. Like the Fatima seers, Catherine's life after the apparitions was no bed of roses, and she was not destined to bask in celebrity status as a recognized seer – in fact she remained completely anonymous as regards what happened in 1830, and settled down into the routine of looking after old men at a hospice. Catherine died on Dec. 31, 1876, but when her body was disinterred in May 1933 at the time of her beatification, it was found to be incorrupt. She was canonized in 1947 and Pope John Paul II visited the Rue du Bac convent in May 1980, to pray before the statue of the Virgin with the globe. A number of saintly Marian figures from the 20th century were great supporters of the Miraculous Medal, including St. Maximilian Kolbe, Frank Duff, the founder of the Legion of Mary, and St. Mother Teresa. St. Maximilian actually had the inspiration for the founding of his organization, the Militia Immaculate, during the 75th anniversary year of the conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne, following a meditation he heard on this conversion experience. This led St. Maximilian to choose the Miraculous Medal as the emblem of his new society, and he was zealous in using it to gain converts. Frank Duff was likewise very enthusiastic about the Miraculous Medal, and encouraged Legionaries to make use of it and explain it to those they came into contact with. St. Mother Teresa, too, had a great love for the Miraculous Medal and used to press medals into the hands of those who flocked to see her. To this day, her Sisters distribute millions of these medals each year. The Miraculous Medal is an important sacramental and the promises attached to it by Our Lady are just as necessary and efficacious today as they were in the 19th century. It would be good if more Catholics handed out Miraculous medals to those they come into contact with, safe in the knowledge that Our Lady will impart copious graces to them. AN ACT OF CONSECRATION TO OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL O Virgin Mother of God, Mary Immaculate, we dedicate and consecrate ourselves to you under the title of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. May this Medal be for each one of us a sure sign of your affection for us and a constant reminder of our duties towards you. Ever while wearing it, may we be blessed by your loving protection and preserved in the grace of your Son. O most powerful Virgin, Mother of our Saviour, keep us close to you every moment of our lives. Obtain for us, your children, the grace of a happy death; so that, in union with you, we may enjoy the bliss of heaven forever. Amen. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you. (3 times.)
I have my Miraculous Medal around my neck, I have for years now. Such a Blessing. One of the biggest surprises about the Apparitions is that because they were so opposed by the Church in Paris and downplayed that Our Lady was forced to move to Lourdes. Paris was meant to be the original Lourdes, a World Pilgrimage site. Not Lourdes.
SAINT OF THE DAY FRIDAY, 28 NOVEMBER, 2025 SAINT CATHERINE LABOURE VIRGIN (2 MAY 1806 - 31 DECEMBER 1876) St. Catherine Labouré was born on the 2nd of May 1806 at Fainles-Moutiers, a picturesque village of Burgundy, France. She was the ninth child in a happy family of eleven. God made known the choice of this soul by marking her at an early age with the seal of suffering, for when she was only nine years old she lost her mother. LIFE St. Catherine Labouré was born on the 2nd of May 1806 at Fainles-Moutiers, a picturesque village of Burgundy, France. She was the ninth child in a happy family of eleven children. Catherine's mother died on October 9, 1815, when Catherine was just nine years old. It is said that after her mother's funeral, Catherine picked up a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and kissed it saying, "Now you will be my mother." Her father's sister offered to care for his two youngest children, Catherine and Tonine. After he agreed, the sisters moved to their aunt's house at Saint-Rémy, a village nine kilometers from their home. She was extremely devout, of a somewhat romantic nature, given to visions and intuitive insights. As a young woman, she became a member of the nursing order founded by Saint Vincent de Paul. She chose the Daughters of Charity after a dream about St. Vincent De Paul. VISIONS Vincent de Paul In April 1830, the remains of St. Vincent de Paul were translated to the Vincentian church in Paris. The solemnities included a novena. On three successive evenings, upon returning from the church to the Rue du Bac, Catherine reportedly experienced in the convent chapel, a vision of what she took to be the heart of St. Vincent above a shrine containing a relic of bone from his right arm. Each time the heart appeared a different color, white, red, and crimson. She interpreted this to mean that the Vincentian communities would prosper, and that there would be a change of government. The convent chaplain advised her to forget the matter. BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Catherine stated that on July 19, 1830, the eve of the feast of St. Vincent, she woke up after hearing the voice of a child calling her to the chapel, where she heard the Virgin Mary say to her, "God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world." On November 27, 1830, Catherine reported that the Blessed Mother returned to her during evening meditations. She displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe, rays of light came out of her hands in the direction of a globe. Around the margin of the frame appeared the words "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." As Catherine watched, the frame seemed to rotate, showing a circle of twelve stars, a large letter M surmounted by a cross, and the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary underneath. Asked why some of the rays of light did not reach the Earth, Mary reportedly replied "Those are the graces for which people forget to ask." Catherine then heard Mary ask her to take these images to her father confessor, telling him that they should be put on medallions. "All who wear them will receive great graces." Catherine did so, and after two years' worth of investigation and observation of Catherine's normal daily behavior, the priest took the information to his archbishop without revealing Catherine's identity. The request was approved and the design of the medallions was commissioned through French goldsmith Adrien Vachette. They proved to be exceedingly popular. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception had not yet been officially promulgated, but the medal with its "conceived without sin" slogan was influential in popular approval of the idea. Pope John Paul II used a slight variation of the reverse image as his coat of arms, a plain cross with an M in the lower right quadrant of the shield. DEATH AND LEGACY Sister Catherine spent the next forty years caring for the aged and infirm. For this she is called the patroness of seniors. She died on December 31, 1876 at the age of seventy. Her body is encased in glass beneath the side altar at 140 Rue du Bac, Paris. Catherine Labouré's cause for sainthood was declared upon discovering her body was incorrupt, which currently lies in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. She was beatified on May 28, 1933 by Pope Pius XI and canonized on July 27, 1947 by Pope Pius XII. Her official feast day is November 25, though her feast day is also celebrated on November 28 or December 31. The simplicity of Saint Catherine's life endears her to everyone. She became a saint by doing her commonplace duties well, for God. This "Saint of Ordinary People" has the secret of sanctity for us all. PATRON: Miraculous Medal, infirmed people, the elderly. PRAYER: O Lord Jesus Christ, Who hast deigned to strengthen the Virgin, blessed Catherine, by a wonderful vision of Thy Immaculate Mother; grant, we beseech Thee, that after the examples of tender devotion shown us by the same blessed Catherine, we may so honor Thy holy Mother as to obtain the joys of eternal life. Who liveth and reigneth with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
I love St Catherine so much for her humility and hiddeness. No one except her Spiritual Director knew she had seen Our Lady, apart from her Spiritual Director until shortly before her death. A great lesson from this is that true seerers can sometimes choose to be anonymous. Some people may have guessed. But it was only a guess. She was the very last soul anyone would have expected.
SAINT OF THE DAY SATURDAY, 29 NOVEMBER, 2025 SAINT SATURNINUS OF TOULOUSE BISHOP AND MARTYR (3rd Century) St. Saturninus went from Rome by the direction of pope Fabian, about the year 245, to preach the faith in Gaul, where St. Trophimus, the first bishop of Arles, had some time before gathered a plentiful harvest. In the year 250, when Decius and Gratus were consuls, St. Saturninus fixed his episcopal see at Toulouse. Fortunatus tells us, that he converted a great number of idolaters by his preaching and miracles. This is all the account we have of him till the time of his holy martyrdom. The author of his acts, who wrote about fifty years after his death, relates, that he assembled his flock in a small church; and that the capitol, which was the chief temple in the city, lay in the way between that church and the saint's habitation. In this temple oracles were given; but the devils were struck dumb by the presence of the saint as he passed that way. The priests spied him one day going by, and seized and dragged him into the temple. declaring that he should either appease the offended deities by offering sacrifice to them, or expiate the crime with his blood. Saturninus boldly replied: "I adore one only God, and to him I am ready to offer a sacrifice of praise. Your gods are devils, and are more delighted with the sacrifice of your souls than with those of your bullocks. How can I fear them who, as you acknowledge, tremble before a Christian?" The infidels, incensed at this reply, abused the saint with all the rage that a mad zeal could inspire, and after a great variety of indignities, tied his feet to a wild bull, which was brought thither to be sacrificed. The beast being driven from the temple, ran violently down the hill, so that the martyr's scull was broken, and his brains dashed out. His happy soul was released from the body by death, and fled to the kingdom of peace and glory, and the bull continued to drag the sacred body, and the limbs and blood were scattered on every side, till, the cord breaking, what remained of the trunk was left in the plain without the gates of the city. Two devout women laid the sacred remains on a bier, and hid them in a deep ditch, to secure them from any further insult, where they lay in "wooden coffin" till the reign of Constantine the Great. Then Hilary, bishop of Toulouse, built a small chapel over this his holy predecessor's body Sylvius, bishop of that city towards the close of the fourth century, began to build a magnificent church in honor of the martyr, which was finished and consecrated by his successor Exuperius, who, with great pomp and piety, translated the venerable relics into it. This precious treasure remains there to this day with due honor. The martyrdom of this saint probably happened in the reign of Valerian, in 257. PATRON: Toulouse, France. PRAYER: O God, Who grantest us to be gladdened by the Heavenly birthday of St. Saturninus, Thy Martyr, vouchsafe that we may be helped by his merits. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
All these wonderful saints I never even heard of before! When I was young my father had several volumes of Butlers Lives of the saints enclosed in lovely green leather and with wonderful colour plates. What a joy to read it. There were the most wonderful stories of saints doing all kinds of amazing miracles and wonders. I never had the least difficulty in believing them everyone of them. I still don't. Saints and miracles go together like ham and eggs. I wish all children could read those old volumes and see the lovely colour prints..
https://www.iberlibro.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31789926885&dest=esp&ref_=ps_ggl_17789899612&cm_mmc=ggl-_-ES_Shopp_RareStd_en-_-product_id=bi: 31789926885-_-keyword=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17789899612&gclid=CjwKCAiAraXJBhBJEiwAjz7MZVisHul-TpESivrK6tsFYr508wuWTSfKmSFY0sUpSXtqv8SCLFInfBoCwtgQAvD_BwE Very good copies in the original gilt-blocked, blind-tooled, decorated, sand-grained cloth. Slight suggestion only of dust-dulling and rubbing to the spine bands and panel edges. Remains particularly well-preserved overall. Physical description: 5 vols. (including the supplement); illus.; 28 cm. Subjects: Christian saints; Saints chrétiens; Saints biographies; Christianity; Saints Calendar. 1 Kg.
SAINT OF THE DAY SUNDAY, 30 NOVEMBER, 2025 SAINT ANDREW APOSTLE AND MARTYR Andrew, Peter's brother, and John were the first disciples to follow the Lord. With tender delicacy the Gospel (John 1:35-42) describes their first meeting with Jesus. Andrew did not belong to the inner circle of the apostles, Peter, James and John, and the evangelists narrate nothing extraordinary about him (John 6:8); but tradition (resting on apocrpyhal Acts) extols his great love of the Cross and of the Savior; and the Church distinguishes him both in the Mass (his name occurs in the Canon and in the Libera since the time of Pope St. Gregory I who had a special devotion to him) and in the Breviary. The story of his martyrdom rests on the apocryphal Acts which lack historical foundation. The pagan judge exhorted him to sacrifice to the gods. Andrew replied: "I sacrifice daily to almighty God, the one and true God. Not the flesh of oxen and the blood of goats do I offer, but the unspotted Lamb upon the altar. All the faithful partake of His flesh, yet the Lamb remains unharmed and living." Angered by the reply, Aegeas commanded him to be thrown into prison. With little difficulty the people would have freed him, but Andrew personally calmed the mob and earnestly entreated them to desist, as he was hastening toward an ardently desired crown of martyrdom. When Andrew was led to the place of martyrdom, on beholding the cross from a distance he cried out: "O good Cross, so long desired and now set up for my longing soul I confident and rejoicing come to you; exultingly receive me, a disciple of Him who hung on you." Forthwith he was nailed to the cross. For two days he hung there alive, unceasingly proclaiming the doctrine of Christ until he passed on to Him whose likeness in death he had so vehemently desired. --The legendary account of our saint's martyrdom has this value: it presents to us the mysticism of the Cross of later times. PATRON: Achaia; Amalfi, Italy; anglers; Burgundy; diocese of Constantinople; fish dealers; fish mongers; fishermen; gout; Greece; Lampertheim; Germany; maidens; old maids; Patras, Greece; Russia; Scotland; singers; sore throats; spinsters; University of Patras; unmarried women; women who wish to become mothers. PRAYER: Lord, in your kindness hear our petitions. You called Andrew the apostle to preach the gospel and guide your Church in faith. May he always be our friend in your presence to help us with his prayers. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 15 TIMES EACH DAY FROM NOVEMBER 30 UNTIL CHRISTMAS The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena is often called simply the "Christmas Novena" or the "Christmas Anticipation Prayer," because it is prayed 15 times every day from the Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle (November 30) until Christmas. Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.
SAINT OF THE DAY MONDAY, 1 DECEMBER, 2025 SAINT EDMUND CAMPION RELIGIOUS, PRIEST AND MARTYR (January 25, 1540 - December 1, 1581) The most famous of the English martyrs, Edmund Campion (1540-1581) gave up a promising career at Oxford and an invitation to enter Queen Elizabeth's service in order to become a Catholic priest and minister to the abandoned Catholics who greatly desired the sacraments. Campion was born in London of Catholic parents who later became Protestant. He attended St. John's College, Oxford, where he gained renown as a lecturer and a following of students who called themselves "Campionites." When he was 26 years old, he gave a speech of welcome in Latin to Queen Elizabeth on her visit to Oxford; he made such an impression on the queen that she and Lords Cecil and Leicester tried to recruit him for her service. He probably took the Oath of Supremacy, and was ordained a deacon for the Established Church. The more he studied to be a priest, the more convinced he became that the Catholic Church had the true faith. He moved to Dublin in 1569 in an effort to find a place to live as a Catholic, but the Irish capital showed an anti-Catholic feeling that drove him back to London. In June 1571 he left England for Douai, Belgium where the recently founded English College trained seminarians for England. Campion finished his degree in 1573 and set out soon after for Rome with the intention of becoming a Jesuit. Within a month of his arrival in Rome, he was accepted into the Society. At that time there was neither an English province nor an English mission, so he was assigned to the Austrian province and went to Prague and Brno to make his novitiate. He remained in Prague after he took vows and was ordained there, expecting to spend the rest of his life teaching in that city. He wrote and directed plays for his students and won renown as an orator. The English Jesuit's life changed course suddenly when the Superior General in Rome decided to open a mission in England. Father Campion was one of the first to be assigned to it. He stopped in Rome on his way back to England and joined Father Rober Persons and Brother Ralph Emerson. They turned north and joined other recruits for the new mission at Saint Omer in Flanders. English spies in Flanders learned of their impending departure and informed the English ports of entry, who awaited their arrival. Campion and Emerson left the Continent on the evening of June 24. Campion disguised himself as a "Mr. Edmonds," a jewelry merchant. Port authorities were suspicious, but Campion answered their questions adequately and they let the merchant enter. It had been eight years since Campion had left England. He briefly remained in London where he wrote a manifesto of the mission which has become known as "Campion's Brag." Its point was that the mission was religious, not political; so well-written and powerful was it, that copies were made and widely distributed to confirm Catholics in their faith. Campion himself moved on to Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire. He would stay at a Catholic house for one or two nights or visit households where Catholics were employed. His pattern was to arrive during the day, preach and hear confessions during the evening, and then celebrate Mass in the morning before moving on to the next location. He continued to write and composed a book addressed to the academic world; entitled Rationes decem ("Ten Reasons"), the book gave arguments to prove the truth of Catholicism and the falsity of Protestantism. It was printed by the end of June 1581. Many of the 400 copies printed were left on the benches of Oxford's University Church of St. Mary. Campion was still well-enough known that the book was eagerly read. Campion's freedom to minister to Catholics soon ended. In July he left London and stopped at the Yate family in Berkshire. The family's Catholic neighbors learned that the Jesuit priest had been there and pressed the Yates to invite him back. Mrs. Yate sent word to Campion who returned, unfortunately at a time when a professional priest-hunter was in the congregation pretending to be Catholic. After Mass the hunter slipped away to notify the authorities who quickly returned to the house but could not find any priests. The guards remained on the grounds, listening for sounds of unusual activity. They alertly heard a group of people leaving a meeting that Campion had addressed. The guards searched the house again, this time finding Campion and two other priests. The three were taken to the Tower of London on July 22, where Campion was put in a cell so small he could neither stand upright nor lie down. After three days there he was brought to Leicester house, where he met Queen Elizabeth for a second time. She offered him the opportunity to renounce his Catholic faith and become a Protestant minister, with the offer of great advancement. He refused and was returned to his cell; five days later he was tortured on the rack. He had four conferences with Anglican divines, something he himself had requested in the book rationes decem, but the disputations were inconclusive, partly because the first one was held shortly after he had been tortured. The government determined that he should be executed, but they needed a stronger charge than the fact that he was a Catholic priest. On Nov. 14, the priests were led to Westminster Hall where charges were raised against them that they had formed a conspiracy against the life of the queen, had exhorted foreigners to invade the country and had entered England with the intent of fomenting rebellion to support the invaders. At his trial six days later, Campion was asked to raise his right hand and take an oath; he was unable to do so because of recent torture, so another one of the priests had to lift his arm for him. Campion attempted to defend all the priests by pointing out their motives were religious, not political; but they were found guilty of high treason and condemned to be hanged, drawn and quartered. The priests joined in singing the Te Deum when they heard the verdict. Campion remained in chains for another 11 days, and then was dragged through the muddy streets of London to Tyburn. With him were Briant, and Father Ralph Sherwin, a diocesan priest. As Campion forgave those who had condemned him, the cart he was standing on was driven from under him and he was left hanging. The executioner then cut him down and tore out his heart and intestines before cutting his body into pieces. Briant had been tried a day after Campion, but was executed soon after the other Jesuit. He was cut down while still alive after being hung so that he could be disemboweled and his body cut into quarters. He was only 25 years old. PATRON: British province of the Society of Jesus. PRAYER: St. Edmund Campion, martyr for the Roman Primacy, obtain for us, but especially for the Church's bishops and priests, such obedient loyalty to the Vicar of Christ that like you, they will not be afraid to proclaim the truth and like you, they will be willing to shed their blood for Jesus Christ. Amen.
Saint Edmund was the boy who had everything. So many natural human gifts. He could have gone anywhere, been anything. But he gave it all up to follow Christ. I am honestly puzzled by Christians who torture other Christians and then give them the most horrific deaths. How can they square this with the Jesus we meet in our hearts? I not only include Protestants who did this on Catholics but Catholics who did it on Protestants.
SAINT OF THE DAY Tuesday, 2nd December 2025. St Gregory Nazianzen (329 - 390) Gregory Nazianzen, “Gregory of Nazianzus”, was the son of Gregory, Bishop of Nazianzus, a Christian convert. (Nazianzus is a small town in Cappadocia, now the village of Nenizi in the Turkish province of Aksaray). The culture of the Hellenic world means that a religion is not merely something to be lived: it also has to make sense. It has to work not only in practice, but in theory as well. Despite the passionate anti-Greek reaction of the Reformation, we are still, in this sense, all Greeks today. Take the doctrine of the Trinity, for example. Some people reject it because it sounds like polytheism. Instead, they make Jesus not God but something created by God – either a supremely favoured man or some kind of intermediate being. The Arians had such a view, and so does the Koran. Or they make Jesus only God, not man, relegating the intense humanity of the Passion to the status of a mere performance, a show put on by God through phantoms and angels rather than something utterly real and of eternal significance. Both these responses show a general feature of heresies, which is that they simplify the richness of orthodoxy and flatten it into a shadow of itself. “Simpler” may well mean “more easily acceptable”, but that is not the same as “true”. One could simplify quantum physics and get rid of its paradoxes until there is no metaphysical weirdness for anyone to object to – that might well make more people happy, but it would not be true. The three men we call “the Cappadocian Fathers” were active after the Council of Nicaea, working to formulate Trinitarian doctrine precisely and, in particular, to pin down the meaning and role of the least humanly comprehensible member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. St Basil of Caesarea, “St Basil the Great”, was the leader and organizer; Gregory of Nazianzus was the thinker, the orator, the poet, pushed into administrative and episcopal roles by circumstances and by Basil; and Gregory of Nyssa, Basil’s younger brother, although not a great stylist, was the most gifted of the three as a philosopher and theologian. Together, the Cappadocian Fathers hammered out the doctrine of the Trinity like blacksmiths forging a piece of metal by hammer-blows into its perfect, destined shape. They were champions and successful champions of orthodoxy against Arianism, a battle that had to be conducted as much on the worldly and political plane as on the philosophical and theological one. The sciences ought not to have to work like this, but all of them, at one time or other in their history, do. It is a relief to us as readers to note, after all this, that St Gregory of Nazianzus, as well as receiving the title of Doctor of the Church, is acknowledged as the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age, and that this “style” does not adopt the over-ripe excesses of some late-imperial rhetoric (Augustine can get carried away in this direction sometimes, and Cassiodorus, in the sixth century, spends altogether too much of his time there). Gregory’s Second Readings do sound almost operatic at times, but the grandeur of the style does not exist for its own sake but comes from the splendour of its subject-matter. It is possible to be carried away by it, and enjoyable, even, to let that happen; but underlying the experience there is always a sense of being carried away in the direction of somewhere definite and somewhere worthwhile.
SAINT OF THE DAY TUESDAY, 2 DECEMBER, 2025 SAINT BIBIANA VIRGIN AND MARTYR (4th Century) Saint Bibiana was a native of Rome, born in the fourth century, the daughter and sister of martyrs. Flavian, her Christian father, was apprehended during the reign of Julian the Apostate, branded on the face as a slave, and banished to Toscany, where he died of his wounds a few days later. Her mother, Dafrosa, was beheaded two weeks later. Their two daughters, Bibiana and Demetria, after the death of their parents were stripped of all they had in the world, and then imprisoned with orders to give them no food. The Roman praetorian offered them rewards if they would abandon their faith, and threatened a cruel death if they would not conform, but they replied courageously that the goods and advantages of this world had no attraction for them, and that they would endure a thousand deaths rather than betray their faith and their Saviour. Demetria, after having pronounced this ardent defense, fell to the ground and expired at her sister's side; she is inscribed in the Roman martyrology on June 21st. The officer gave orders that Bibiana be placed in the custody of a woman named Rufina, who was commanded to corrupt her or mistreat her. But the martyr made prayer her shield and remained invincible. Enraged at the courage and perseverance of the young virgin, the persecutor ordered her to be tied to a pillar and whipped until she expired, with scourges tipped with leaden plummets. The Saint underwent this punishment cheerfully, and died at the hands of the executioners. Her corpse was left out in the open for dogs to eat, but no dogs touched it. She was buried by a holy priest at a site where afterwards a chapel and then a church were built above her tomb. In 1628 the church was splendidly rebuilt by Pope Urban VIII, and in it he placed the relics of the two sisters and of Saint Dafrosa, their mother. St. Bibiana is one of the three virgin martyrs particularly venerated in Rome, the other two being St. Cecilia and St. Agnes. PATRON: Diocese of Los Angeles, California; epilepsy; epileptics; hangovers; headaches; insanity; mental illness; mentally ill people; single laywomen; torture victims. PRAYER: O God, the giver of all good gifts, in Your servant Bibiana You joined the flower of virginity with the palm of martyrdom; be pleased, by her intercession, to join our souls by charity to You, so that all dangers being removed, we may obtain our eternal reward. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
I loved reading this. She is "my " saint as the 2nd is my birthday. I never knew much about her. She was basically stricken from the calendar. I mean to invoke her with great purpose now. What an heroic saint!
SAINT OF THE DAY WEDNESDAY, 3 DECEMBER, 2025 SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER PRIEST (7 April 1506 - 3 December 1552) This saint, one of the Church's most illustrious missionaries, came from a noble Basque family in Spain. He studied at the University of Paris, where he taught philosophy after obtaining his degree of master of arts. Here he met Ignatius of Loyola and was enrolled as one of the first seven Jesuits. They decided to go to the Holy Land, but the war between the Turks and Venice prevented this, so for a time Francis labored at Padua, Bologna, and Rome. In 1540 Ignatius chose him as the first missionary to the Portuguese East Indies. Francis sailed from Lisbon armed with four papal briefs making him nuncio with full powers and recommending him to the Eastern princes. He landed at Goa in India and began a vast apostolate lasting over ten years. Here he instructed the adults, gathered the children by ringing a bell in the streets, catechized them, and also visited the hospitals and prisons. He then turned to the native Indians, teaching the simple folk by versifying Catholic doctrine and fitting the verses to popular tunes. He then went on to Cape Comorin and began the conversion of the Paravas, some days baptizing so many that at night he could not raise his arm from fatigue. Then to Travencore where he founded forty-five churches in various villages. Then to Malacca in Malaya, and for eighteen months from island to island, preaching, instructing, baptizing. On his return to Goa, India he heard of the vast harvest of souls awaiting the laborers in Japan and he set out for this field with several companions, arriving at Kagoshima in 1549. He set himself to learn the language and started to preach and teach with such success that twelve years later his converts were found still retaining their first fervor. In 1551 he returned to Malacca to revisit his converts in India. Now a new goal loomed up before his eyes pagan China, but he was not to reach it. Arriving on the island of Sancian at the mouth of the Canton river, he became ill of a fever and would have died abandoned on the burning sands of the shore if a poor man named Alvarez had not taken him to his hut. Here he lingered for two weeks, praying between spells of delirium, and finally died, his eyes fixed with great tenderness on his crucifix. He was buried in a shallow grave and his body covered with quicklime, but when exhumed three months later it was found fresh and incorrupt. It was taken to Goa where it is still enshrined. St. Francis Xavier was proclaimed patron of foreign missions and of all missionary works by Pope St. Pius X. PATRON: African missions; diocese of Alexandria, Louisiana; Apostleship of Prayer; Australia; black missions; Borneo; China; East Indies; foreign missions; Goa, India; diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin; India; archdiocese of Indianapolis, Indiana; Japan; diocese of Joiliet, Illinois; missionaries; Missioners of the Precious Blood; Navarre, Spain; navigators; New Zealand; parish missions; plague epidemics; Propagation of the Faith. PRAYER: God our Father, by the preaching of Francis Xavier you brought many nations to yourself. Give his zeal for the faith to all who believe in you, that your Church may rejoice in continued growth throughout the world. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
SAINT OF THE DAY THURSDAY, 4 DECEMBER, 2025 SAINT JOHN OF DAMASCENE CONFESSOR, FATHER AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH (c.675 - 749) John of Damascus or Damascene, the last of the Greek Fathers, was one of the principal defenders of the veneration of images against the Iconoclasts, who condemned this practice. When John was born, Damascus was under the jurisdiction of caliphs, but Christians were allowed to hold high offices. John's father was chief revenue officer of the caliph and a sterling Christian. He entrusted his son's education to a monk, Cosmas, who had been brought from Sicily as a slave, and who schooled the young man in theology, the sciences, and poetry. John succeeded his father in office, and while living at the court gave an example of a model Christian. But he had set his sights higher, and after resigning his office he became a monk at St. Sabbas monastery near Jerusalem. Here he spent his time writing books and composing hymns. When Leo the Isaurian issued decrees against the veneration of images, John took up the challenge and wrote treatises defending this ancient practice. At this time the Patriarch of Jerusalem, desirous of having John among his clergy, ordained him priest and brought him to Jerusalem. After some time, however, John returned to the monastery and devoted the rest of his life to writing. His most important work is his Fountain of Wisdom, in which he compiled and collated the teachings of all the great theologians before him; this is the first attempt at a Summa Theologica, a summary of philosophy and theology, that has come down to us. John's writings are a rich treasure of ancient traditions, and are held in high esteem. Pope Leo XIII declared him a Doctor of the Church in 1890. St. John was such a great orator that he was known as Chrysorrhoas ("golden-stream"). He was the last of the Greek Fathers of the Church, and the first of the Christian Aristotleans. He also adapted choral music for use in the liturgy. His eloquent defense of Christian images has given him the title of "Doctor of Christian Art." PATRON: Pharmacists, icon painters, theology students. PRAYER: Lord, may the prayers of St. John Damascene help us, and may the true faith he taught so well always be our light and our strength. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
