St. Francis was born in Naples, and he consecrated himself to God at a young age.  He became a priest in Naples where he assisted those condemned to die.  St. Francis, John Augustine Adorno, and Fabricius Caracciolo founded the Order of the Regular Clerics Minors.  His name was Ascanio which he changed to Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi.  With the hope of extending his Order, he traveled to Spain.  He begged for his bread along the way, clad as a pilgrim.  He founded several houses in Spain suffering great hardships along the way.  Philip II and Philip III were of great help to him.  When he arrived in Rome, he lived in a hospice of the poor where he associated with a leper.  He died June 4, 1608 in Argonne.

 FEAST DAY:  June 4

CROSSES & CRUCIFIXES

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

(c) to ask in Jesus’ name

Today’s Question-

According to the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:14), what did the apostles do while they awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit?

(a) cast lots     (b) devoted themselves to prayer    (c) argued about who was the greatest

#SaintoftheDay  #StRaphaelCenter  #IncredibleCatholic

The White Fathers were permitted to preach the Faith in Uganda by King Mtesa where they had some good results.  His successor, King Mwanga, initiated a fierce persecution against “all those who pray,”–that is all Catholics.  The elite Ugandan youths were among the victims.  Charles Lwanga was the chief of the royal pages and had 21 under his charge.  He was the first to be burned alive and 12 others followed him on that same day, June 3, 1886.  The others were killed between May 16, 1886 and January 17, 1887.  They were beatified in 1920.  Pope Paul VI canonized them in 1964.  He said that these martyrs inaugurated a new age.  Bathed in their blood, Christianity has found a ready hearing in Africa. This is a mysterious plan of God.

FEAST DAY:  June 3

MEDALS

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

(a) The coming kingdom

Today’s Question-

Jesus taught us to ask God anything in his name.  What is new about this teaching?

(a) to ask God     (b) to ask for anything     (c) to ask in Jesus’ name

#SaintoftheDay  #StRaphaelCenter  #IncredibleCatholic

During the persecution of Diocletian in 304, Marcellinus, a priest, and Peter, an exorcist, were imprisoned because of their Faith.  They strengthened the faith of those who were Christians and converted many of the other prisoners.  Arthemius, their jailer, together with his wife and daughter were among those converted.  All were condemned to death.  Marcellinus and Peter were taken out in the woods and beheaded in secret so that their place of burial would not be found.  By Divine Providence, their names have been inserted in the Eucharistic Prayer I at Mass.  Pope Damasus learned about them from their executioner, who had become a Christian.

FEAST DAY:  June 2

BOOKS FOR MEN

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

(c) In Solitude

Today’s Question-

What did Jesus teach the crowds when he spoke to them about prayer?

(a) the coming kingdom     (b) political ideas     (c) the Temple precepts

#SaintoftheDay  #StRaphaelCenter  #IncredibleCatholic

St. Justin was born about the year 100 at Nablus, Palestine, to a pagan family.  After years of study, he became converted to Christianity by the way of Platonism.  He spent his life devoted to the propagation and defense of the Faith.  He was the most important Christian Apologist of the second century. His “Apologies” set forth the moral values of Christianity and the “Dialogue” demonstrates its truth.  The information they contain about the Christian Faith and practice at that time is invaluable.  In 165 he was ordered to sacrifice to the gods, and he replied, “No right-minded man forsakes the truth for falsehood”.  He and the six others with him remained steadfast and all suffered martyrdom June 1, 165.

 FEAST DAY:  June 1

PATRON OF:  Lecturers

CROSSES & CRUCIFIXES

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

Jesus, the Word made flesh

Today’s Question-

According to the scriptures, Jesus often prayed

(a) in public     (b) in solitude    (c) before meals    (d) in the Temple

#SaintoftheDay  #StRaphaelCenter  #IncredibleCatholic  #StJustinMartyr

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.

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 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.

BOOK

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.