St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Parish
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Saint Peter Damian | February 21
St. Peter Damian is one of those stern figures who seem specially raised up, like St. John Baptist, to recall men in a lax age from the error of their ways and to bring them back into the narrow path of virtue. He was born at Ravenna and, having lost his parents when very young, he was left in the charge of a brother in whose house he was treated more like a slave than a kinsman.
As soon as he was old enough he was sent to tend swine. Another brother, who was archpriest of Ravenna, took pity on the neglected lad and undertook to have him educated. Having found a father in this brother, Peter appears to have adopted from him the surname of Damian.
Damian sent the boy to school, first at Faenza and then at Parma. He proved an apt pupil and became in time a master and a professor of great ability. He had early begun to inure himself to fasting, watching and prayer, and wore a hairshirt under his clothes to arm himself against the alurements of pleasure and the wiles of the devil. Not only did he give away much in alms, but he was seldom without some poor persons at his table, and took pleasure in serving them with his own hands.
Saint Valentine | February 14
Sts. Cyril & Methodius
These brothers by birth became brothers in mission. Cyril and Methodius were born to a Greek diplomat in the 800s. The two brothers served in local governmental posts before each withdrew to a monastery. Their lives changed when the political leadership in Eastern Europe — what is now Ukraine — requested priests who spoke the native Slavic languages. Cyril and Methodius had proven themselves as able administrators and holy men, so they were sent as missionaries. First, Cyril invented an alphabet. This became the foundation for what is now used today and is still called the Cyrillic alphabet! Next, the brothers translated the Gospels, the Psalms, and other liturgical books into the native language of the people. Their work spread across Eastern Europe. God indeed raises up saints for their times!
Saint Scholastica | February 10
On Feb. 10, the Catholic Church remembers St. Scholastica, a nun who was the twin sister of St. Benedict, the "father of monasticism" in Western Europe.
The siblings were born around 480 to a Roman noble family in Nursia, Italy. Scholastica seems to have devoted herself to God from her earliest youth, as the account of Benedict's life by Pope Gregory the Great mentions that his sister was "dedicated from her infancy to Our Lord."
St. Agatha | February 5th |
Patron St. of Nurses
St. Josephine Bakhita | February 8th
The story of St. Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947) is a story that many people taken into slavery have experienced. Born in the Darfur region of Sudan, she was kidnapped at the age of 8 and sold into slavery many times. As she passed from owner to owner, she experienced the moral and physical humiliations associated with slavery. It was only at the age of 13 that her suffering was alleviated after she was bought for the Italian Consul in Sudan. It was here that she was fortunate to receive kindness, respect, and peace from her new master.
She was later handed over to the Canossian Sisters when she made the case that slavery had been outlawed in Italy for years. She was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church in 1890, where she took the name Josephine. She later entered the Institute of St. Magdalene of Canossa in 1893 and made her profession three years later.
St. Josephine Bakhita’s next 50 years were spent serving people through cooking, sewing, embroidery, and housekeeping. She was a source of encouragement and her constant smile won people’s hearts, as did her humility and simplicity. Today she is known as the patron saint of victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.
The saints are more than lovely pictures on a holy card. If we dig a little deeper, their lives can challenge and transform our own. On February 8th, the Church celebrates St. Josephine Bakhita. As a young girl, St. Josephine was kidnapped from her family in Darfur and sold into slavery at age nine. She was introduced to Catholicism as an adolescent and experienced a profound love for Jesus Christ. St. Josephine eventually gained legal freedom and entered religious life. Though she bore over one hundred scars beneath her habit, St. Josephine forgave her enemies and became known in the convent for her humility and joyful spirit.
Author Fr. Jeff Kirby writes, "Saint Josephine gives us all a scarred and human face to the evils of human trafficking, racial tension, and of the brutality found in the peripheries. Her life demands a response." As we approach the season of Lent, let us recall our own call to conversion and an active concern for those who suffer.
St. Blaise | February 3
You may be familiar with the annual “blessing of throats” that many parishes in the United States use to commemorate the beloved bishop and martyr. St. Blaise lived in the fourth century in Turkey and Armenia. Due to religious persecution, he was forced to flee and hide in a cave in the back country in order to save his life.
History has it that one day a group of hunters stumbled upon where St. Blaise was living. They found the bishop kneeling in prayer, surrounded by wolves, lions, and bears that he had tamed. The legend has it that as the hunters dragged Blaise off to prison, a mother came with her young son who had a fish bone lodged in his throat. At Blaise’s command, the child was able to cough up the bone and thus lived.
Today we remember the saint on his feast day by taking two candles, crossing them against the throat, and saying the following prayer:
Through the intercession of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from ailments of the throat and from every other evil. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
St. Thomas Aquinas | January 28
One of the most famous members of the Dominican Order, St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274) is well-known by many for his theological work, “The Summa Theologiae.” Born in Italy, his mother wanted him to become a Benedictine and had high hopes that he would eventually become abbot of Monte Cassino, where he spent much of his youth. To change his vocation, she had him kidnapped by his brothers on his way to Paris at the age of 19. He spent two years in their captivity. Despite this, nothing could shake him from his vocation to become a Dominican priest and he was eventually released. Once free, he went to Paris and then to Cologne, where he finished his studies with Albert the Great.
His greatest contribution to the Catholic Church is his writings. The unity, harmony, and continuity of faith and reason, of revealed and natural human knowledge, encompasses his writings. The Summa Theologiae, his last and, unfortunately, uncompleted work, deals with the whole of Catholic theology.
The patron saint of teachers, theologians and students, St. Thomas Aquinas died in 1274. His life and the impact he had on the whole Church, however, remains alive today.
St. Sebastian | January 20
Not much is known about the life of St. Sebastian (256 – 287), except that he was a Roman martyr whose name has been mentioned throughout history since early 350.
We see St. Sebastian many times in art, especially from iconic paintings from Guido Reni, Andrea Mantegna and Hendrick
ter Brugghen. Historical scholars now agree that a spiritual
story has the beloved saint entering the Roman army because only there could he assist Christian martyrs without arousing suspicion on himself. Eventually he was found out, brought
before Emperor Diocletian and delivered to Mauritanian
archers to be shot to death. Pierced with arrows, he was
left for dead, but managed to survive. He recovered from
his wounds but still refused to leave.
One day, St. Sebastian took up a position near where the emperor was to pass. He confronted the emperor, condemning him for his cruelty to Christians. This time the sentence of death was carried out, and St. Sebastian was beaten to death with clubs. Today he is the patron saint of athletes.
St. Vincent de Paul
St. Vincent de Paul is much more than a patron saint of thrift shops! Young Vincent became a priest hoping to advance and rise above his modest upbringing. His early ambition amounted to little when he was assigned to a poor rural parish. Here he experienced a new joy in his vocation. Hearing the profound deathbed confession of a dying servant, Vincent became more convinced of the special attention that must be given to the poor. In 1625, Vincent founded the Congregation of the Mission for the purpose of caring for the poor. Originally priests only, the mission expanded to include groups of laity who provided for spiritual and material needs of the poor in each parish. Nearly 400 hundred years later, his legacy lives on!
St. Marianne Cope | January 23
Biography
Barbara Koop, later Mother Marianne Cope, was born in Germany on January 23, 1838, and immigrated with her parents to New York when she was 2 years old. In August of 1862 she went to the sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York and took her vows the next year. Her early religious life saw her working as a teacher and administrator for local Catholic schools until she was called upon by the bishop to use her administrative skills as superior of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, New York. She devoted herself to the care of the sick and infirm and the hospital flourished under her leadership. As the Provincial Mother of her order in Syracuse, Cope, along with six other sisters, she answered a call made by the Hawaiian government to run the Kaka'ako Branch Hospital on Oahu that served as a receiving station for people suspected of having leprosy.
Of the more than 50 religious communities in the United States and Canada who were asked by the government to help the suffering communities and hospitals for those with leprosy (Hansen’s disease) in Hawaii, Mother Marianne and her sisters were the only ones to answer the call. They immediately got to work transforming the hospital environment for those with leprosy and their families. Of this mission, she said —
“I am hungry for the work and I wish with all my heart to be one of the chosen ones, whose privilege it will be to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of the souls of the poor Islanders.... I am not afraid of any disease, hence, it would be my greatest delight even to minister to the abandoned ‘lepers’.”
In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters took on an even more challenging assignment and went to the Hawaiian island of Molokaʻi, a leper colony, to open a new home devoted to the protection of girls and women with leprosy as well as to take charge of the home that her friend, Saint Damien de Veuster, had established for men and boys. She helped improve life on the island by introducing pride, cleanliness, and a little fun to the colony. She often provided bright scarves and dresses for the women she served and cheerfully carried out her mission until she died on August 9, 1918. While in service, she was awarded the Royal Order of Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government for her selfless love and care of those in need and never contracted leprosy. She was canonized in 2012.
(Prayer Source: https://www.saintmarianne.org/prayer---novena2.html)
Prayer
Prayer for St. Marianne Cope’s intercession
Lord Jesus, you who gave us your commandment of love of God and neighbor, and identified yourself in a special way with the most needy of your people, hear our prayer. Faithful to your teaching, St. Marianne Cope loved and served her neighbor, especially the most desolate outcast, giving herself generously and heroically for those afflicted by leprosy. She alleviated their physical and spiritual sufferings, thus helping them to accept their afflictions with patience.
Her care and concern for others manifested the great love you have for us. Through her merits and intercession, grant us the favor which we confidently ask of you so that the people of God, following the inspiration of her life and apostolate, may practice charity towards all according to your word and example.
Amen.
St. Paul the Apostle | January 25
Short Bio
— Great for social media or in your bulletin
St. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, was the most prolific Christian missionary of all time. Due to a miraculous experience that he had on the road to Damascus, he went from persecuting early Christians to traveling all over the region preaching the Gospel of Jesus.
Biography
St. Paul the Apostle (c.4-c.64) was named Saul of Tarsus before his conversion. He was born to a devout Jewish family who followed strict Pharisaic traditions for generations. He spoke Greek and was formally educated in Jewish culture, scripture, and traditions. As an adult he worked as a tentmaker as well as an enforcer for the Jewish leadership in their efforts against new Christian converts. He is known to have taken an active part in the stoning of St. Stephen, the first martyr, and considered himself to be a shining example of Judaism.
Saul’s conversation to Christianity took place while he was traveling to Damascus to persecute Christians there. According to Scripture, “a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’” (Acts 9:3-4). Stricken blind by the vision, Saul continued to Damascus where he was healed and immediately began meeting with other disciples in the area and preaching that Jesus is Lord. He changed his name to the Roman version of Saul, Paul, after his conversation because it was more common among the Gentiles.
For years he traveled all over the region starting churches and preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles. Paul’s letters to the communities he served make up thirteen of the books of the New Testament today. His writings encourage new believers to learn about Jesus through Scripture and prayer, partaking in the Eucharist, and serving those in need. He was eventually beheaded as part of systematic executions of Christian leaders in Rome. St. Paul is known as the Apostle to the Gentiles, and the most prolific Christian missionary of all time. St. Paul, pray for us!