“The most high and infinitely good God has not granted to angels the power with which He has invested priests.” St. John Chrysostom (4th-5th centuries, Doctor of the Church) “[about the life of a bishop]The turbulent have to be corrected, the faint-hearted cheered up, the weak supported; the Gospel’s opponents...
St. Agnes of Assisi was an abbess, and with her sister, a pioneer in establishing one of the great mendicant women’s religious orders. She was born Caterina Offreduccio c. 1197 to a noble family in Assisi, Italy. Her father was Count Favorino Scifi and her mother was [Bl.] Hortulana of...
“Being obedient, Mary became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.” St. Irenaeus (2nd-3rd centuries) “Obedience is, in a way, the mother of all virtues.” St. Augustine of Hippo (4th-5th centuries, Doctor of the Church) “Obedience unites us so closely to God that in a...
St. Anthony Mary Claret was a missionary archbishop, chaplain to royalty, founder and publisher. Anthony was born in 1807 to Juan and Josefa Claret and the family lived in the town of Sallent in the Catalonia region of Spain. Juan owned a textile/weaving business, and Anthony was the fifth of...
“The sainted martyrs…have inspired aged men to accomplish with much love a long course, and constrained them to support their failing steps by the staff of the Word; and they have stimulated women to finish their course like the young men, and have brought to this, too, those of tender...
St. Just de Bretenières was a missionary priest and a martyr for the Faith in Korea. Just was born in 1838 at Chalons-sur-Saone in eastern France. His father was the Baron of the nearby town of Bretenières. Just had a younger brother named Christian. The family was well-to-do, and the...
“God speaks by the mouth of Malachi, one of the twelve [minor prophets], as I said before, about the sacrifices at that time presented by you: ‘I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord, and I will not accept your sacrifices at your hands; for from the rising of...
St. Caesarius of Arles was a great preacher, bishop and theologian of the early Church in Gaul (modern France). He was born at Châlons in Burgundy c. 470. This city is now known as Chalon-sur-Saône, located in eastern France. His parents were Gallo-Roman and were apparently of minimal Christian faith....
“Let no one lead you astray; the most pernicious kind of sin is the failure to realize one’s own sinfullness.” St. Caesarius of Arles (5th-6th centuries) “Nor did demons crucify Him, it is you who have crucified Him and crucify Him still, when you delight in your vices and sins.”...
St. Elizabeth of Portugal was a wife, mother, and queen; as well as a generous philanthropist and a Franciscan tertiary. Elizabeth was born in 1271 to King Peter III of the House of Aragon, and his wife Constance of Sicily. She was born at the royal Aragon Palace at what...