The story of Our Lady of Ransom begins with St. Peter of Nolasco.  He established a religious order for the redemption of captives seized by the Moors on the seas and in Spain.  These captives were cruelly tormented in their African prisons to make them deny their faith.  On August 1, 1218, the Our Lady of Ransom appeared to St. Peter, Raymund of Penafort, his confessor, and to King James I.  These three men established a work of the most perfect charity, the redemption of captives.  Its members would undertake to deliver Christian captives and offer themselves as payment.  On August 10, a Mass in the cathedral was celebrated by the bishop of Barcelona.  St. Raymund told of his vision of Our Lady of Ransom.  The king asked the blessing of the bishop for the heaven-sent plan.  The bishop gave St. Peter the habit, and he vowed to give himself as a hostage if necessary.  Our Lady of Ransom is the principal patron of Barcelona and then to all of Spain.

FEAST DAY:  Sepember 24
PARON OF:  Barcelona and Spain

ROSARIES

Responsorial Psalm

Your word, O Lord, is a lamp for my feet.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

a) It is a sign of the covenant

Today’s Question-

Marriage is best understood as a private and personal celebration of love between a man and a woman.

True or false?

Born in 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy, he entered the Capuchin Friars at age 16 and was ordained at age 20.  Illness sent him home for awhile and he went to San Giovanni Rotondo.  He remained there for life.  He was the first priest to receive the stigmata.  Padre Pio could bilocate, read souls, levitate, heal by touch and prayer.  Pio met John Paul II when he was a young priest and foretold his election as Pope.  He died in 1968.

FEAST DAY:  September 23

PATRON OF:  Emergency services

INSPIRATIONAL BOOKS

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

The Wedding feast of Cana.

Today’s Question-

Marriage is a sacrament because _________________.

a) it is a sign of the covenant.     b) it is difficult.     c) it is wonderful.

Born in the Kingdom of Castile, Spain in 1488.  He was called “of  Villanova” after the town where he was educated.  His parents taught him charity for the poor which he practiced in his later life.  At the age of 15 he was sent to the University of Alcala’.  Cardinal Ximenez gave him a place in the College of St. Ildefonso where he obtained the degree of master of arts.  He became a professor of philosophy.  In 1518 he took the habit of the Augustinian Order in Salamanca where he had taught moral  philosophy.  He was ordained a priest in 1520 and devoted himself to the work of the ministry.  He was known as “the Apostle of Spain”  He taught philosophy at the college and filled several honorable positions of his Order.  In 1544 he was made Archbishop of Valencia where he lived as a poor man.  His health prevented him from assisting at the Council of Trent.  He died in 1555.

FEAST DAY:  September 22

PATRON OF: Valencia, the poor, orphans

BIBLE STUDY

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

The just one shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

a) The clergy

Today’s Question-

Where did Jesus work his first miracle according to the Gospel of John?

St. Matthew wrote the first Gospel.  He was a tax collector when Jesus called him to “follow me”.  He immediately arose and followed Him.  Matthew prepared a meal for Jesus and His apostles.  The Pharisees were indignant.  Jesus said, “I didn’t come to call the just but to call sinners.”  As an apostle, Matthew preached far and wide.  It is thought that he died in Parthia.

FEAST DAY:  September 21

PATRON OF:  Accountants, bookkeepers, tax collectors, security guards

JEWELRY

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

True

Today’s Question-

Christ as head of the Church is made visibly present through _________.

a) the clergy     b) the laity and the clergy     c) the religious.

At the beginning of the 17^th century through the efforts of several laypersons, the Christian faith reached Korea, where a strong and vital Christian community flourished under lay leadership until 1836 when, in secret, missionaries from France, members of the Paris Foreign Mission Society entered the country.  One hundred and three members of the Christian community gave their lives as martyrs during the persecutions of 1839, 1846, 1866, 1867.  Leaders of these witnesses were Andrew Kim Taegon, pastor, and the apostle, Paul Chong Hasang.  Among the martyrs were bishops and priests, but mostly they were laity.  All suffered greatly for the faith and consecrated the rich beginnings of the Church of Korea with their blood as martyrs.

FEAST DAY:  September 20

STATUE

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

The Lord upholds my life.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer:

c)  Levites

Today’s Question:

Only Christ is the true “priest” while all the others who are ordained priests are ministers in Christ’s name only.

True or false?

St. Januarius was born about 275.  When he was Bishop of Benevento, the persecution of Diocletian broke out.  Sosius, a deacon and  a very special friend of Januarius, and several other religious and eminent laymen were put into prison for the Faith by order of the Governor of Campania.  Hearing of this, St. Januarius went to pay them a visit in order to encourage them.  Suspicion was aroused and the Governor ordered that Januarius be brought before him at Nola.  Two others of his church were also apprehended and shared in his sufferings.  After harsh treatment, the three of them were thrown into prison where four other martyrs were.  By order of the Emperor, they were to be torn into pieces by wild beasts.  St. Januarius and the others were put in the ampitheater, but none of the animals touched them.  They were then beheaded.  The relics of St. Januarius were sent to Naples about 305.  Some of his blood is in a sealed vial.  It is a dark solid mass.  When held near a relic (believed to be his head), it liquefies.  There is no natural explanation for this well-attested phenomenon.

FEAST DAY:  September 19

PATRON OF:  Blood banks, volcanic eruptions

SPANISH/ESPANOL BOOKS

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

c) Deacon, priest and bishop

Today’s Question-

Which Old Testament tribe was set apart for liturgical service for the priesthood of the old covenant?

a) Pharisees     b) Levites     c) Israelites

St. Joseph was born in 1603 in Cupertino in Naples.  His childhood was one of simplicity and innocence.  He joined the Franciscan Friars Minor Conventual.  After his ordination he lived a life of humiliation, mortification and obedience.  He was devoted to the Blessed Virgin and promoted devotion to her among all classes of people.  He was subject to ecstasies and levitations.  Just the mention of God or a spiritual matter could take him out of his senses.  At Mass he frequently floated in the air in rapture.  He floated to the high altar at Christmastime when Carols were sung and knelt in prayer.  Once he ferried a cross thirty-six feet high through the air to the top of a calvary group as easily as one might carry a straw.  He converted many people who flocked to him seeking advice and in the confessional.  He  endured many severe trials and terrible temptations during his life.  He died September 18, 1663.

FEAST DAY:  September 18

PATRON OF:  Aviators

E-BOOKS

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

c) Peace

Today’s Question-

What are the three levels or degrees of the sacrament of orders.

a) lay, religious and ordained     b) deacon, priest and bishop     c) bishop, archbishop and cardinal

St. Robert was born in Italy, October 4, 1542. The third of ten children.  In 1560, he entered the Society of Jesus and after his ordination went to teach at Louvain.  There he became famous for his Latin sermons.  He was appointed to the chair of controversial theology at the Roman College in 1576.  He became Rector in 1592  and Provincial of Naples in 1594 and Cardinal in 1598.  He defended the Apostolic See against all comers.  He composed apologetic work against prevailing heresies.  He took positions in the field of church-state relations based on principles now regarded as fundamentally democratic – authority originates with God, but is vested in the people, who entrust it to fit rulers.  A host of his important writings and works of devotion and instruction as well as controversy was left to us.  He died in 1621.

FEAST DAY:  September 17

PATRON OF: Canonists

CD/AUDIO

Responsorial Psalm

Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

True

Today’s Question-

A special gift of the Holy Spirit is given in the sacrament of the sick in the form of _____________________,

a) tongues     b)  a dove     c) peach

Novatian claimed the Papacy shortly after St. Cornelius had been elected Pope.  Cornelius convoked a synod in Italy at which he got the support of sixty Bishops and established himself as the lawful Pope.  In his correspondence with St. Cyprian in regard to reception of apostates in the Decian persecution remains as an early witness for the primacy of the Roman See.  He died a martyr in 253.

FEAST DAY:  September 16

PATRON OF:  Earache, animals, epilepsy

Cyprian was born in Carthage in Africa.  He became public professor of rhetoric in Carthage.  He led a dissolute life  and through the influence of a priest named Caecilian he converted to Christianity.  He was known for his retired penitential life and gained renown for his virtue.  He was raised to the priesthood.  In 248 he succeeded Donatus as Bishop of Carthage.  In ten years time he led his flock through a two-year persecution under Decius.   He defended the unity of the Church and was the soul of the city’s morale during a devastating plague.  While he was in exile he kept up the spirits of his people by correspondence.  In 258 he fell victim to the new persecution under Valerian.

FEAST DAY:  September 16

FICTION BOOKS

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

We are his people: the sheep of his flock.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

False

Today’s Question-

Grave sin not only ruptures our relationship with God, but also harms our communion with the Church.

True or false?

The spiritual martyrdom of the Mother of God is the object of this feast and her compassion with the sufferings of Him.  Prophecy of Simeon, Flight into Egypt, Three Days’ Loss of Jesus, Meeting Jesus on the Way to Calvary, Mary at the Foot of the Cross, Jesus Taken Down from the Cross and the Burial of Jesus are the seven great events of the sorrow in her life.  The intense love of Him as her God, added to the love that exists of a fond mother and child, we may say that there could never be a love greater than the love between them.   Mary’s heart was filled with sorrow at the scoffing and blasphemes of her Son as she stood at the foot of His Cross of shame.  “Come, all who pass by the way, look and see whether there is any suffering like my suffering.”(Lamentations 1, 12)

FEAST DAY:  September 15

PIETA STATUE

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

Lent

Today’s Question-

Absolution takes away all the effects of sin.

True or false?