St. Margaret was born in Hungary in 1046 and at the age of 24 married King Malcom III. Together they had six sons and two daughters. Spiritually influencing her husband, she helped him calm his temper and inspired him with good thoughts. She formed her own children to share in her strong faith. They acted out in her example by praying and helping the poor. She died on November 16, 1093.
Monthly Archives: November 2013
St. Gertrude
Born in Germany in 1256 and raised by the Benedictine nuns, St. Gertrude was an intelligent student. She eventually joined the Benedictine order and became a nun. When she was 26 years old, she experienced the first of a series of revelations of Christ. She recorded these revelations and experiences of God’s grace in her book, Book of Extraordinary Grace. Right before she died, she said, “I am certain whether my death be sudden or foreseen, that I shall never be without the mercy of God.” Our Lord told St. Gertrude that the following prayer would release souls from purgatory each time it is said:
“Eternal Father, I offer thee the most precious blood of thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.”
St. Albert the Great
St. Albert was born into a noble family in Swabia, Germany in 1206. At the age of 17 he entered the Dominican Order and received his doctorate from the University of Paris in 1245. St. Albert was one of the great teachers of his time and was named regent of the studia generalia at cologne in 1248. St. Thomas Aquinas was a pupil of his. Known as athe “Universal Doctor” some of his great writings are Summa Theologiae and Summa de Creaturis. He was appointed provincial of the Dominicans in Germany and later Bishop of Regensburg in Germany. He assisted at the Council of Lyons in 1274 and defended the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas at the University of Paris against those who accused the great theologian of heresy. He is the patron of those who study the natural sciences.
All Saints Days
All Saints Day is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honor of all the saints, known and unknown.
In Western Christian theology, the day commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in Heaven. In the Roman Catholic Church, the next day, All Souls’ Day, specifically commemorates the departed faithful who have not yet been purified and reached heaven. Catholics celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day in the fundamental belief that there is a prayerful spiritual communion between those in the state of grace who have died and are either being purified in purgatory or are in heaven (the ‘church penitent’ and the ‘church triumphant’, respectively), and the ‘church militant’ who are the living.
