Saint Martin de Porres

1579-1639

 Universal healing and harmony are the themes of Saint Martin de Porres’s life. He was so in tune with the rhythms of nature and the universe that he was able to heal any sickness, read minds, and converse with animals. To Saint Martin, physical health was essential for spiritual growth; thus, he should be called on whenever wholeness in health or personal relationships are required. Multi-racial himself, he is the patron of racial harmony and invoked whenever racial tensions arise.

 Saint Martin was born in Lima, Peru, just thirty-five years after the conquest of Pizarro. His father was a Spanish nobleman and his mother was a free black woman. Since people of mixed race were reviled, Saint Martin might have been just another social outcast in that country’s history. Instead, he became one of Peru’s national idols.  When Martin was twelve he was apprenticed to a barber. In those times, besides being a haircutter, a barber was also a surgeon, doctor and pharmacist. By the time he was eighteen years old, Martin’s reputation as a healer was well established. Rather than pursue his profession, martin kept giving all of his money to the poor. His was a desire to serve God in a state of total childlike humility. He entered the local Dominican monastery as tertiary, the lowest possible level; there he swept the floors and dreamed of being martyred in some foreign mission.  Instead, his undeniable talent as a healer became obvious, and he was put in charge of the infirmary. Tirelessly working, he tended to African slaves, the native population, and the Spanish nobility with the same all-consuming intensity.  His power to heal any sickness was legendary, and he was so intuitive that his patients swore tha the could read their minds. Stories of his wondrous abilities spread and became more and more elaborate: he was seen walking through a locked door; he was seen in two places at one time; and some said that the could fly from one place to another.

 Because of Saint Martin’s attunement to nature and its elements, animals flocked to him. He even set up a makeshift hospital to tend sick dogs and cats. Another story has it that he made a pact with the local rats and mice that he would feed them every day if they promised to stay out of the monastery. Each noon he opened the doors of the monastery and fed the poor. No matter how many hungry people were waiting, he never ran out of food.

 Saint Martin’s holiness and miraculous cures made him famous in his own lifetime. Bishops and learned men routinely consulted him to resolve theological problems. This fame undoubtedly, was the most difficult aspect of his life, since humility and prayer were the most important things to him. Because of his earlier profession, Saint Martin de Porres is also the patron of hairdressers and barbers. In art he is often shown holding a lily for purity and a broom for humility, while standing with small animals at his feet to reflect his closeness to nature. Saint Martin de Porres died of quartan fever in 1639 when he was sixty years old. Immediately upon his burial, miraculous healings were reported all around his tomb site.

Feast Day: November 3, 2010

Patron Saint of: Racial Harmony, the Poor, Barbers, Hairdressers

Novena to Saint Martin de Porres

Saint Martin de Porres, your concern and charity embraced not only your needy brethren, but also the animals of the field. You are a splendid example of charity; we thank and praise you. From above, hear the requests of your needy brethren.

(Mention your request).

By modeling our lives after yours, and imitating your virtues, may we live content knowing that God has looked favorably upon us. Because this is so, we can accept our burdens with strength and courage in order to follow in the footsteps of our Lord and the Blessed Mother. May we reach the Kingdom of Heaven through the intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Say this novena nine times in a row for nine days in a row.

(Excerpted from the book: “Novena: The Power of Prayer” by Barbara Calamari and Sandra DiPasqua.)

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI

1182-1226

Ardent love for everything in the universe so consumed Saint Francis of Assisi that he refused to have a full tonsure shaved into his head so that bugs and vermin, his “more simple brethren”, might still have a home in his hair. He called all animals brother and sister and exhorted every creature to honor its creator. It is said that birds became quiet when he preached and that when he walked through their flocks, they never moved unless he asked it of them. A great poet, Saint Francis himself wrote the first part of this novena. Because of the mystical way he experienced the world, in full possession of and living in divine light, he is invoked to change our view of the world and fill our lives with grace.

 He was born Giovanni Bernadone in the town of Assisi in the year 1182. His father was a wealthy cloth merchant and an upstanding member of the local upper classes. Everyone called him Francesco instead of Giovanni because his mother was Provence and he was given to exclaiming in French. Francis lived a pleasure-filled life as a young man, and it was assumed he would inherit his father’s business and social position. When war broke out with neighboring Perugia, Francis went to fight, viewing it all as a great adventure. He was taken prisoner, however, and eventually returned to his family extremely ill. As he recovered, his old way of life seemed to bore him. It was in the neglected Church of San Damiano that he heard the crucifix speak to him: “go and repair my house, which you see is falling down.” He took these instructions literally, enraging his father. Ultimately, h renounced his inheritance, throwing his clothes into the street. The bishop of Assisi provided Francis with his new garments, the brown robe of a monk.

Living alone, Francis rebuilt San Damiano, sometimes begging for the money for supplies. He was eventually joined by a few other young men of his status, and in 1209 he wrote his first holy rule. He embraced poverty and was intent on living as the original apostles of Christ did, traveling, preaching and begging for alms. When he prayed, the bright light in his raptures caused him to cry, but he could not bear to stop. His followers, worried that he would ruin his eyesight, attempted to intervene, but he replied, “We are the same as the flies, attracted to light.” In 1224, while praying alone on the secluded mountain of La Verna, Francis became the first saint to know the suffering of the crucified Christ by receiving the stigmata. These wounds stayed with him for the remaining two years of his life.

Saint Francis of Assisi is one of the greatest saints of the Catholic Church and is the founder of the Franciscan friars. Yet, so true was his embrace of humility that he himself was never ordained a priest, only a deacon. He lived out his life in the order he founded as a humble member with no official status. He was canonized a saint in 1228. Because of his extensive travels in his native country and his love for its natural beauty, Saint Francis is the Patron Saint of Italy.

 Feast Day: October 4

 Patronage: Italy, Animals, Ecologists, Nature

 Prayer by Saint Francis of Assisi with novena

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O divine master,

Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console,

To be understood as to understand,

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

In pardoning that we are pardoned, and in

Dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen

Saint Francis of Assisi, reflection of Christ

Through your life of poverty and humility,

grant us through your intercession the

graces we so much need for soul and body.

Especially during this novena, we ask for

(mention your request).

We also ask your blessings on all those whom we love.

Amen

Say this novena nine times in a row for nine days in a row.

 (Excerpted from the book: “Novena: The Power of Prayer” by Barbara Calamari and Sandra DiPasqua).

More on Saint Francis of Assisi

Saint Therese of Lisieux

1873-1897

 Also known as Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus and Saint Theresa the Little Flower, Saint Therese’s story offers proof that one need not live a dramatic existence for holiness to be recognized. Cloistered in a Carmelite convent twelve miles from her home, her life was short and she died at the age of twenty four. Pope Pius X called Theresa of Lisieux “The greatest saint of modern times.” Novenas of Saint Therese of Lisieux are particularly effective for dissolving bitter feelings of resentment. Her belief in God was so ardent and loving that a childlike grace and joy extend to all who invoke her. She offers the simplicity, clarity, and innate wisdom of a kindly child. Saint Therese of Lisieux is prayed to by millions every day and her statue stands in thousands of churches. How could this unknown middle-class girl attain such international renown in so short a period of time?

 The youngest of five daughters, Therese Martin was born at Alencon in France. Her mother died when she was four and her father moved the family to Lisieux, where his late wife’s brother and sister-in-law lived. She was a beautiful and pampered child. The household was an extremely devout one, and when her tow older sisters entered the local Carmelite convent, Therese yearned to follow them.

 Upon entering the Carmelite order at the unusually young age of fifteen, Therese Martin declared her intention: “I want to be a saint.” Her life in the order, devoted to prayer, was unremarkable, and she spent her days doing low-level chores and following the regimen of prayer. It was her dream to go to Hanoi as a missionary nun, but this desire was never realized. In 1895 she was instructed to write the story of her childhood by her mother superior. This is a common practice in cloistered convents and monasteries. A year later she became seriously ill with tuberculosis and was bedridden. She finished her book The Story of a Soul, a few weeks before her death. This account of her life presents a very human, moody, middle-class girl with an ardent love for God. Writing with the knowledge that her own death is imminent, she promises that she “wants to spend her time in heaven doing good upon the earth.”

 Published in 1898 with a first printing of two thousand copies, The Story of a Soul became a spectacular success and is one of the best-selling books of the twentieth century, selling millions of copies in twenty eight languages. After the book’s publication, countless miracles were attributed to the heavenly intercession of Therese, and a devout following of this unknown nun sprang up in all parts of the world. Because of this international influence, Saint Therese of Lisieux is patroness of missionaries.

 Her book also presented her cultivating a childlike, loving spirituality, thus making her very sympathetic to the needs and concerns of children. Roses are her symbol and she is always depicted with them. In her book she promises to “let fall from heaven a shower of roses”.  A heavenly sign that novena requests to Saint Therese will be granted is the sight or smell of roses. Saint Therese of Lisiuex was canonized on May 17, 1925, and declared to be the second patron saint of France.

Feast Day: October 1

 Patron Saint of: France, Missionaries, Florists, Concerns of Children

Novena to Saint Therese

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, during your short life on earth

You became a mirror of angelic purity, of love strong as death,

and of wholehearted abandonment to God. Now that you rejoice

in the reward of your virtue, turn your eyes of mercy upon me,

for I put all my confidence in you.

Obtain for me the need to keep my heart and mind pure and clean

Like your own, and to abhor sincerely whatever may in any way

Tarnish the glorious virtue of purity, so dear to our Lord.

Most gracious Little Rose Queen, remember your promises of

Never letting any request made to you go unanswered, of sending

Down a shower of roses, and of coming down to earth to do good.

Full of confidence in your power with the Sacred Heart, I implore

Your intercession on my behalf and beg of you to obtain the request

I so ardently desire.

(Mention your request.)

Holy little Therese, remember your promise to do good upon the

Earth and shower down your roses on those who invoke you.

Obtain for me from God the graces I hope for from his infinite

Goodness. Let me feel the powers of your prayers in every need.

Give me consolation in all the bitterness of this life, and

especially at the hour of death, that I may be worthy to share

eternal happiness with you in heaven. Amen.

Say this novena nine times in a row for nine days in a row.

(Excerpted from the book: “Novena the Power of Prayer”.)

More on Saint Therese

Dining With the Saints in Honor of Saint Therese

Novena to Saint Raphael

Novena to Saint Gabriel

More on Saint Michael

Saint Michael the Archangel

Justice in action and fierce protection are requested when we call on Saint Michael the Archangel. Devotions to him predate Christianity. Three major religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – consider him to be the greatest and most powerful of all angels. He is cited in the Book of Revelation as the angel who defeated Lucifer in his uprising against God. Lucifer, God’s most beautiful and favored angel, insisted he was equal or superior to God. He led a band of angels in a revolt against God and his omnipotence. Michael was the standard bearer against them. He defeated Lucifer and his allies and cast them out of heaven. He then took the name Mi-cha-el, meaning “Who is like God?”

 The ancient Jewish people referred to Michael as “the Viceroy of Heaven” and considered him the protector of Israel. In the New Testament he is cited as the angel that will come at the end of the world to slay the Antichrist on Mount Olivet. Saint Michael was one of the three voices directing Saint Joan of Arc in her campaign to unite France. He is said to take an active role in the world and its protection and is called upon when a group, city, or nation is in danger. Also, it is Michael who meets the soul upon its earthly death and guides it to its afterlife. He is frequently shown with a pair of scales to weigh sins and virtues. This is probably why he is the patron saint of grocers.

 From the earliest Christian times, the cults of devotion to Saint Michael were very popular, particularly in the East, where he was invoked to protect against illnesses. A church was dedicated to him in Constantinople to protect the health of the citizens in the fourth century. As his popularity spread, devotions to Saint Michael supplanted those to many of the pagan gods. In Germany, on the banks of the Rhine, he replaced Wotan, and in Roman Gaul he replaced Mercury. Statues depicting an angel with a battle helmet and sword began to appear in such far-flung places as India and Persia. On May 8, 492, he was sighted in a cave on the summit of Mount Gargano in southern Italy, causing it to become one of the first Christian pilgrimage sites. One hundred years later, as a plague raged in Rome, Pope Gregory I saw Michael sheathing a bloody sword over Emperor Hadrian’s tomb. He took this to mean that the city was now under Michael’s protection, and soon thereafter the plague ended. A church dedicated to Saint Michael was built over the tomb. It is now know as Castel Sant’Angelo (Castle of the Holy Angel). The most famous shrine to Michael is Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy. This Benedictine abbey was found in the tenth century to commemorate an earlier apparition.

 Michael is usually shown holding a banner and a pair of scales and brandishing a sword with his foot on the neck of the devil, who is frequently represented by a dragon. Besides being the patron saint of grocers, Saint Michael is invoked to protect soldiers and policemen as well as to guard against illnesses. Because of the famous visions of Michael, there are local feast days to him on May 8 in Gargano and October 16 in Mont-Saint-Michel. His official feast day, the Feast of the Archangel, is September 29, which he shares with the archangels Gabriel and Raphael.

 Feast Day: September 29

 Patron Saint of: Grocers, Soldiers, Policemen

 Invoked for: Protection against illness

 Novena to Michael the Archangel

 Saint Michael the Archangel, loyal champion of God and his people, I turn to you with confidence and seek your powerful intercession. For the love of God, who made you so glorious in grace and power, and for the love of the Mother of Jesus, the Queen of the Angels, be pleased to hear my prayer. You know the value of my soul in the eyes of God. May no stain of evil ever disfigures its beauty. Help me to conquer the evil spirit who tempts me. I desire to imitate your loyalty to God and Holy Mother Church and your great love for God and men. And since you are God’s messenger for the care of his people, I entrust to you this special request.

(Mention your request.)

Saint Michael, since you are, by the will of the Creator, the powerful intercessor of Christians, I have great confidence in your prayers. I earnestly trust that if it is God’s holy will, my petition will be granted.

Pray for me, Saint Michael, and also for those I love. Protect us in all dangers of body and soul. Help us in our daily needs. Through your powerful intercession, may we live a holy life, die a happy death, and reach heaven, where we may praise and love God with you forever. Amen.

 (Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory Be.)

 Say this novena nine times in arrow for nine days in a row.

Excerpted from the book: “Novena: The Power of Prayer” by Barbara Calamari and Sandra DiPasqua

Novena To Saint Monica

Exemplary Mother of the Great Augustine,
You perserveringly pursued your wayward son
Not with wild threats
But with prayerful cries to heaven.

Intercede for all mothers in our day
So that they may learn
To draw their children to God.

Teach them how to remain
Close to their children,
Even the prodigal sons and daughters
Who have sadly gone astray.

Dear St Monica, troubled wife and mother,
Many sorrows pierced your heart
During your lifetime.
Yet you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence and profound faith,
You prayed daily for the conversion
Of your beloved husband, Patricius
And your beloved son, Augustine.

Grant me that same fortitude,
Patience and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
That God may favorably hear my plea
For

(mention your petition here)

And grant me the grace
To accept his will in all things,
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,

SAINT ANNE

 First Century

Feast Day: July 26

Patron of: Canada, Brittany, Broommakers, Cabinetmakers, Childless people, Grandparents, Miners, Lacemakers, Pregnancy, Housewives, Seafarers, Rain

Invoked for: protection in pregnancy and childbirth, help in raising children, for a good death, finding a husband, protection in thunder storms, protection in sea storms

Symbols: Book, throne, golden gate

             Saint Anne is beloved for being the mother of the Virgin Mary, and grandmother to Jesus and many of his Apostles.  Her story was first told in the second century as part of The Protevangelium of James, a gospel written about the early life of Jesus Christ. Though widely read by early Christians, it was never accepted as part of the New Testament canon. According to that text, Anne and her husband Joachim had a childless marriage for nearly 20 years. During Joachim’s presentation of an offering for the dedication of a new temple, he was shunned by the priest who declared his childlessness a curse from God.  In humiliation, Joachim fled to the wilderness for forty days of prayer. When Anne heard the disturbing news, she begged the Lord to allow her to conceive, promising to dedicate any child she might have to the service of the Lord. An angel appeared to Joachim in the hinterland and said, “Delayed conceptions and infertile childbearing are all the more wonderful! Your wife will bear you a daughter and you will call her Mary. As you have vowed, she will be consecrated to the Lord at infancy and filled with the Holy Spirit from her mother’s womb.  Return to the city and meet your wife at the golden gate of Jerusalem.”  A distraught Anne, with no knowledge of where her husband had gone, was visited by the same angel.  “You will meet your husband at the city gate, and this will be a sign that your prayers are answered.”

            Anne and Joachim were overjoyed to see each other. Mary was conceived. When their precious only child reached the age of three, they honored their pledge to dedicate her to God. Not without tears, they left Mary at the temple to be raised in religious service.

            According to an early account of her life, when Joachim died, Anne married his brother Cleophas with whom she had another daughter named Mary. When he died, she married for a third time and had a third daughter named Mary. The first Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, the second Mary gave birth to James the Lesser, Joseph the Just, Simon and Jude. The third gave birth to James the Greater and John the Evangelist.

            Saint Anne did not live to see the torment and execution of Christ. Because she was spared this sorrow she is invoked for an easy death. Sometime after the resurrection of Christ, Mary Magdalene, her brother Lazarus, and other apostles, were driven from Jerusalem because of their faith. They journeyed by boat carrying the remains of Saint Anne, setting ashore in Marseille, France. Her remains were taken deeper inland to what is now Apt, France, where they were subsequently concealed in a crypt. These events were transcribed in the Martyrology of Apt, dating from the Second Century, which Charlemagne consulted in a vain attempt to locate her remains nearly 700 years later. During a ceremony to re-consecrate the Cathedral of Apt, a 14 year old deaf mute began striking the main altar with his staff, greatly disturbing those in attendance which included the Emperor. Charlemagne was so impressed with the determination of the boy to draw attention to the altar that he gave orders to open its stairs after the mass. An underground door sealed with stones was uncovered. When these were removed an ancient catacomb was revealed. The boy led the group through the underground of the church to a wall which he also struck with his staff. The company eagerly broke through the wall to find a crypt containing a casket of cypress wood. Inscribed on it were the words “Here lies the body of Blessed Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary.” Charlemagne had the recollection of these events recorded, notarized and sent to the pope in Rome. The original papers of this correspondence are still in existence today.

            The Cathedral of Apt became an important pilgrimage site. The cult of Saint Anne spread throughout France becoming particularly strong in Brittany. There are many Breton legends claiming Saint Anne as a Breton queen who had to escape a brutal husband, was led by Angels to a ship which landed in Jerusalem where she gave birth to the Virgin Mary. In the East, her feast was celebrated from the beginning of Christianity. As it spread through Western Europe, her patronage of fertility was extended to farm land. In Italy, agricultural workers referred to rain as “Saint Anne’s gift” and in Germany rain was referred to as “Saint Anne’s dowry”. Martin Luther wrote that he became a monk because of a promise he made to Saint Anne while he was caught in a terrifying thunder storm.  In 1650 a group of sailors were caught in a storm on the Saint Lawrence River. Soon to perish they invoked Saint Anne for help, promising to build a shrine to her wherever they first landed. They washed ashore on the north bank of the river at Beaupre. Today, the Cathedral of Saint Anne de Beaupre, which now stands on that site, attracts millions of pilgrims from around the world. The chapel is filled with ex-votos donated to the church by people who have received miraculous healings.

             Though not a biblical figure, Saint Anne was considered second only to Saint Joseph in importance by the early Eastern Church. Her role as a powerful matriarch and grandmother to Jesus Christ served as a strong example in Western Europe where many communities depended on the wisdom and advice of the aged. Because of her three marriages, young women ask her aid in finding a husband with the prayer, “Saint Anne, find me a man.”  Her patronage of the sea and storms stem from the ocean voyage her remains made with Lazarus and Mary Magdalene. Because her womb held Mary she is the patron of miners who unearth secret treasures. Her womb was also revered as a sort of human tabernacle, normally made only of wood, so she is also the patron of carpenters and cabinet makers.

            The Hebrew name for Anne is Hannah, which means “grace”. A common saying is, “All Anne’s are beautiful” and because of this the name “Anne” became the most popular girl’s name in Central Europe during the 19^th Century. Adding “Anne” after a girl’s name is still common practice, particularly the combination of Mary Anne. Canada and Brittany hold major celebrations in Saint Anne’s honor on her feast day and Canada is still known as the “Land of Saint Anne”.

           As the grandmother of Jesus and many of his Apostles, Saint Anne was a crucial branch on the family tree of Christ and is often depicted as the largest figure seated on a throne holding a miniature Mary who holds an even smaller young Jesus. As the mother of the Virgin Mary, Saint Anne is frequently depicted with her husband Joachim who shares her feast day, or with an open book, instructing her daughter. 

                                                             Prayer to Saint Anne

                        O glorious Saint Anne, you are filled with compassion for

                        those who invoke you and with love for those who suffer!

                        Heavily burdened with the weight of my troubles,

                        I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you to take

                        the present intention which I recommend to you in your

                        special care (state intention).

                        Please recommend it to your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary,

                        and place it before the throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it

                        to a happy issue.

                        Continue to intercede for me until my request is granted.

                        But, above all, obtain for me the grace one-day to see my

                        God face to face, and with you and Mary and all the saints

                        to praise and bless Him for all eternity. Amen.

                        O Jesus, Holy Mary, Saint Anne, help me now and at the hour

                        of my death.

                         Good Saint Anne, intercede for me.

Excerpted from the book “Saints: Ancient and Modern” by Barbara Calamari and Saandra DiPasqua.

SAINT BENEDICT OF NORCIA

Abbot and Founder of the Benedictine Order

 480 – 547

Feast Day: July 11

Patronage: Europe, Chemists, Farmers, Engineers, Architects, Monks, People in Religious Orders, Schoolchildren, Speliologists, Coppersmiths, the Dying

Invoked Against: Poisoning, Gall Stones, Kidney Diseases, Inflammatory Diseases, Gossip, Temptation

Symbols: Pastoral Staff, Miter, Book of the Rule, Raven with bread in its beak, Cup with two serpents, Broken sieve

“Pray and Work.”  A summation of the Rule of Saint Benedict

             Though his sole intention was the moral and spiritual training of individuals seeking a holy life, the followers of Saint Benedict are credited with saving Western Civilization during the dark ages. Benedictine builders and architects created cathedrals, abbeys, castles and churches in every country of Europe. Regions scattered throughout the continent owe their agricultural prosperity to the skills of Benedictine monks in reviving lost farming practices. Because of this Order, ancient literature was preserved, pioneering strides in medicine were made and schools and universities were created that still exist today. After 1500 years, the Benedictine Rule is the basis of all Western Monastic Rules and for this reason Benedict is considered the patriarch of Western religious orders.

            Most of what is known about the life of Saint Benedict comes from the Dialogues of Gregory the Great. Written within a generation of Benedict’s death, among those consulted for these writings were Benedict’s first followers and eyewitnesses to his life. Benedict and his twin sister Scholastica were born in Nursia ( today’s Norcia), a prosperous town in Umbria. His family sent him to Rome along with his servant to complete his higher education. Equipped with enough money to fully enjoy himself, he was instead, appalled at the loose morals of his fellow students. The study of rhetoric had replaced the search for truth and they seemed to squander every one of their advantages in the pursuit of pleasure. Disgusted by the corruption in the government and the schisms in the church, he gave up his inheritance and went off to live 40 miles away in the city of Affile. There he began studying the bible with a small group of like minded young men. When his servant accidentally broke a wheat-sifter, Benedict picked up the pieces to examine them and it was miraculously made whole. The notoriety of his first miracle forced him to go into hiding, this time he moved into a cave on the ridge of Mount Subiaco. Another hermit living nearby, advised him and brought him food. Benedict spent three years there, praying and studying. The devil appeared to him as a blackbird that constantly circled his face. When Benedict made the sign of the cross it disappeared but he was instantly sieged with an attack of lust for a woman he had previously known. He threw off his tunic and rolled himself in the sharp nettles and brambles to stop his thoughts, healing himself of further temptation.

            Benedict’s reputation for holiness spread and the monks of Viscovo asked him to be their leader. He warned them that he would be too strict for them. When this proved true, they tried to put poison in his wine to get rid of him. When he made the sign of the cross over the cup, it shattered and forgiving the monks, he returned to his cave. As his fame spread, many came to Subiaco asking for guidance in living a monastic life. At that time, the first monastic communities had been formed in the East and they included harsh ascetic deprivations that Benedict felt served to hinder a true study of scripture. He set up 12 religious houses of 12 men each, with their own patriarch. He lived in a 13th house, with several other monks in training. When he realized that it was a major problem for his monks to bring fresh water up the mountains on a daily basis, he spent the night in prayer. When dawn came a natural spring appeared which from then on supplied water to all 13 communities. Because of their reputation for higher learning, local people entreated the monks to start a school. While Benedict was meeting with a monk named Maurus he had a vision of one of the students drowning in a lake. He ordered Maurus to save the child. Only after he had safely gotten the boy ashore, did Maurus realize that he had actually ran across the surface of the lake to do so. Benedict’s ability to see multiple things happening at one time would continue over his lifetime. Because of the success of his religious community of laymen, the local priest was overcome with jealousy. As a legitimate member of the clergy it infuriated him that he did not warrant half the respect of Benedict and his followers. When he tried to poison Benedict with a loaf of bread, a raven snatched it out of Benedict’s hands and flew off with it. This raven frequently appears in Benedict’s iconography, along with the cup of poisoned wine wrapped in serpents which symbolize the devil.

            Placidus, the child that Maurus saved came from a wealthy family. In gratitude to Benedict, his father gave the saint the citadel of Monte Cassino. An area high up on a mountain ridge which in earlier times had stood as a shrine to the gods Apollo and Jove, in recent times it had been destroyed by an invasion of the Goths. When the little group of monks moved there in 525, these ancient cults had been revived. After spending 40 days in prayer, Benedict cut down the grove of trees sacred to the gods. On the place of the temple to Jupiter he built a church named for Saint Martin and another named for Saint John the Baptiste, considered the ideal hermit. Instead of having many small houses of monks, Benedict decided to have one large one and in 530 the building of the most famous monastery in the world began.

            The monastery at Monte Cassino was built as a city of God. In order to properly run it Benedict wrote out a Rule which every Western monastery since has based its founding principles on.  It is important to note that Benedict was not a priest and his followers were not educated clergymen but laymen who wanted to live good lives as proscribed in the Gospel. In his belief that idleness was ruin, Benedict defied the prejudices against manual labor. All monks had to work, either in the fields or in the construction of buildings. All monks were equal regardless of what social level they were born into. All monks would spend hours a day reading. Prayer was to consist of the Psalms and Canticles, with the entire Psalter being recited within a week. He did not legislate private prayer, but advised it be short and heartfelt. He did not approve of excessive self deprivation, thinking it to be a form of vanity. His order of monks were encouraged to have enough food and wine as they needed as well as warm blankets and clothing. They ate no meat from four legged creatures and remained celebate. Hospitality was to be granted to all travelers who needed it and as long as any visitor was willing to follow the laws of the monastery, they were welcome to stay as long as they wanted. Included in his Rule is the responsibility of the monastery to help the surrounding community in any way possible. This included sharing food, crops and helping in debt repayment. As his original order of monks transformed the swampy area of Monte Cassino into fertile farms, a community sprang up around them. By having a Rule to follow it became possible for other religious orders to model their communities after the great monastery at Monte Cassino.  Though the Rule is written for men, it proved to be an equally effective model for women’s convents.

            Near the end of his life, Benedict was outdoors in the middle of the night when a single ray of the sun appeared, illuminating the entire universe. He believed he had actually seen God. When his sister Scholastica met him in the little house she kept outside the gates of the monastery for their yearly visit, she asked him to stay the night. He told her it was impossible to leave his duties. She bowed her head in prayer as he was leaving and a fierce thunderstorm erupted forcing Benedict to stay. She later told him that she asked God for that which Benedict refused and God granted her prayer. They spent the night talking and reminiscing and three days later Benedict saw a dove fly into the sky. He realized it was the soul of Scholastica on its way to heaven and knew his own death would soon follow. Having the gift of prophecy, he had his  tomb opened and spent six days in prayer. He fell into a high fever and died surrounded by his followers.

            Though Benedict never traveled out of Monte Cassino, at one time there were over 40,000 monasteries following his rule. His system of constant work and study created great prosperity in the areas surrounding monasteries that employed it. While chaos and instability plunged Europe into the dark ages, the Benedictine monasteries were enlightened places where knowledge was preserved and shared. The immense monastery of Monte Cassino was completely destroyed in one of the fiercest battles of the second world war and the only parts of it not obliterated were the underground cell of Benedict and the tomb of he and his sister.

             In art Benedict is traditionally depicted with an open book of his Rule, usually inscrbed with “Pray and Work”.  At times a cup is near him wrapped in two serpents, symbolizing the attempts to poison him. In many instances the raven who saved him is also with him. The raven is also a symbol of the hermit, since they were credited with dropping food to the original desert fathers. His patronage extends to engineers, architects and farmers because of the advances made in those fields by the early Benedictines. His early schools make him the patron of schoolchildren. He is invoked against kidney ailments and stones because of his powers to heal them and because he was a victim of diabolic temptations, gossip mongers and poisoners he is also called on for protection against these situations. Because he could predict the time of his own and other’s deaths, he is invoked by the dying for a good death.

                                                             Prayer to Saint Benedict

                O glorious Saint Benedict, sublime model of all virtues, pure vessel of God’s grace!

                                                Behold me, humbly kneeling at they feet.

                            I implore they loving heart to pray for me before the throne of God.

                               To thee I have recourse in all dangers which daily surround me.

                           Shield me against my enemies, inspire me to imitate thee in all things.

                   May thy blessing be with thee always, so that I may shun whatever God forbids

                                               and avo  id the occasions of sin.

        Graciously obtain for me from God those favors and graces of which I stand so much in need,

                                               in the trials, miseries and afflictions of life.

                                 Thy heart was always so full of love. compassion and mercy

                                                                      towards those who were afflicted or troubled in any way.

       Thou didst never dismiss without consolation and assistance anyone who had recourse to thee.

                                            I therefore invoke they powerful intercession,

                                      in the confident hope that thou will hear my prayers

                   and obtain for me the special grace and favor I so earnestly implore (mention),

                            and if it be for the greater glory of God and the welfare of my soul.   

                       Help me, O great Saint Benedict, to live and die as a faithful child of God,

                to be ever submissive to His holy will, and to attain the eternal happiness of heaven.

                                                                       Amen.

Excerpted from the book: “Saints: Ancient and Modern” by Barbara Calamari and Sandra DiPasqua.

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Saint Anthony of Padua

1195-1231

Always depicted with the baby Jesus, Saint Anthony of Padua is the most popular saint in the world. The unconditional love and kindness that are the essence of Saint Anthony’s nature are best represented by this story. While walking through his garden, an older relative heard the giggling and laughing of a baby. He looked up to see Anthony with the baby Jesus in his arms, happily carrying him and talking to him. The baby kissed Anthony and disappeared. In his novena, we beg Saint Anthony to whisper our request to the infant. Since babies are not judgmental, this incarnation of Christ will surely grant our petitions. Because of this special relationship, Saint Anthony is approachable by all, for large and small favors alike.

Born in Lisbon, Portugal, to noble parents, he was baptized Fernando. He took the name Anthony upon entering the Franciscan order. He intended to preach in Morocco and, if necessary die a martyr for his faith. Instead, after arriving there, he became very ill and was sent home. His ship was blown off course and he ended up in Messina, Sicily. He then attended the great meeting of all Franciscans, where he was very moved to be seated next to the order’s founder, Saint Francis of Assisi.

Saint Anthony was magnetic and charismatic. Sent by the Franciscans to be a traveling preacher around Lombardy and southern France, and with only prayer as preparation, he gave powerful speeches, overwhelming his audiences with his love for a more spiritual life. Saint Anthony was based in Padua, Italy, but he attracted huge crowds wherever he went. Many swore he radiated a holy aura.

Saint Anthony spent the last few years of his life working to help relieve the burden of debt from the poor of Padua. Saint Anthony’s Bread, devoted to feeding the hungry, is a charity that he started that is still in existence. After their novena prayers are answered, many people make donations to this organization in thanks.

Worn out by his travels, Saint Anthony died at the age of thirty-six. His reputation for compassion was so legendary, that even a few weeks after his death, when a child drowned in the river and his mother cried out to Saint Anthony in anguish, the child miraculously came back to life. Due to the many other miracles and answered prayers that followed his death, his consecration as a saint is the quickest on record, taking only one year.

Saint Anthony, credited with an extraordinary range of intercessionary powers and known as “The Wonder Worker”, is most famous as the saint of lost articles. After a novice borrowed his psalter and failed to return it, Saint Anthony prayed to get the book back. The novice then had a terrifying heavenly vision that forced him to return it. In 1263, when Saint Anthony’s tomb was reopened, it was found that his tongue had never decomposed. His tongue, jawbones, and vocal chords are on display in the cathedral at Padua. He is the patron saint of lost articles, the patron saint of the poor, and the patron saint of Portugal. Saint Anthony is usually depicted with the Infant Jesus, his returned psalter, and lilies to represent his purity.

Feast Day: June 13

Patron Saint of: Lost Articles, the Poor, Portugal

Invoked: against debt, to find what is lost

Novena to Saint Anthony of Padua

O holy Saint Anthony, gentlest of saints, your love for God and charity for his creatures made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Miracles waited on your word, which were ever ready to speak for those in trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought, I implore of you to obtain for me (mention your request here). The answer to my prayer may require a miracle; even so, you are the saint of miracles. O gentle and loving Saint Anthony, whose heart was ever filled with human sympathy. whisper my petition into the ears of the sweet infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms, and the gratitude of my heart will be ever yours.

(Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be).

This novena can be said nine times in a row for nine days in a row.

It can also be said every Tuesday in church. Say this novena nine times in a row in front of a lit votive candle to Saint Anthony, for nine weeks in a row.

Excerpted from the book: “Novena: The Power of Prayer” by Barbara Calamari and Sandra DiPasqua.