Jmj

Today, May 25, we members of the Catholic Church family honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- saints whose souls are now in heaven:

St. Bede the Venerable (English, Benedictine priest, translator of scripture, Church historian, Doctor of the Church, d. 735)
Pope St. Gregory VII [baptized Hildebrand] (Italian, Benedictine monk, papal advisor, elected to papacy in 1073, reigned until death [exiled by emperor] in 1085)
St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi [baptized Catherine] (Italian, Discalced Carmelite nun, mystic, died at age 41 in 1607)

Holy Martyrs of Mexico (Mexican, 25 covert priests and persecuted laymen, martyred by anticlerical government between 1915 and 1937 [canonized May 21, 2000, during the Jubilee pilgrimage of Mexicans to Rome]) [Photos and Vatican biographies in Spanish are here (at "Saints in the year 2000") Viva Cristo Rey!]
----- St. Agustin Caloca (priest, seminary prefect, shot to death in 1927)
----- St. Atilano Cruz Alvarado (parish priest, shot to death in 1928)
----- St. Cristobal Magallanes Jara (shepherd, parish priest, started secret seminaries, shot to death in 1927)
----- St. David Galvan Bermudez (priest, seminary instructor, shot by firing squad in 1915)
----- St. David Roldan Lara (layman, officer of "Catholic Action" and a religious liberty league, shot to death in 1926)
----- St. David Uribe Velasco (parish priest, shot to death in 1927)
----- St. Jenaro Sanchez Delgadillo (parish priest, hanged from a tree in 1927)
----- St. Jesus Mendez Montoya (parish priest, shot to death in 1928)
----- St. Jose Isabel Flores Varela (parish priest, tortured, throat cut in 1927)
----- St. Jose Maria Robles Hurtado (parish priest, founded women's Congregation of Victims of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, hanged in 1927)
----- St. Julio Alvarez Mendoza (priest, shot to death in 1927)
----- St. Justino Orona Madrigal (parish priest, founded Poor Clare Sisters of the Sacred Heart, shot to death in 1928)
----- St. Luis Batiz Sainz (parish priest, seminary's spiritual director, shot by firing squad in 1926)
----- St. Manuel Morales (layman, father of three, officer of "Catholic Action" and a religious liberty league, shot to death in 1926)
----- St. Margarito Flores Garcia (parish priest, shot to death in 1927)
----- St. Mateo Correa Magallanes (parish priest, gave First Communion to Bl. Miguel Pro, shot to death in 1927)
----- St. Miguel de la Mora (priest, shot by firing squad in 1927)
----- St. Pedro Esqueda Ramirez (parish priest, catechist of children, shot to death in 1927)
----- St. Pedro de Jesus Maldonado Lucero (parish priest, promoter of nocturnal adoracion, blinded and beaten to death in 1937)
----- St. Rodrigo Aguilar Aleman (parish priest, poet, hanged in 1927)
----- St. Roman Adame Rosales (parish priest, founded Daughters of Mary of Nocturnal Adoration, shot to death in 1927)
----- St. Sabas Reyes Salazar (Parish priest, tortured and shot to death in 1927)
----- St. Salvador Lara Puente (layman, officer of "Catholic Action" and a religious liberty league, shot to death at age 21 in 1926)
----- St. Toribio Romo Gonzalez (parish priest, shot to death at age 27 in 1928)
----- St. Tranquilino Ubiarco (parish priest, hanged at age 28 in 1928)

St. Aldhelm of Sherborne (English, hermit, Benedictine abbot, poet, musician, bishop, d. 709)
Bl. Claritus Voglia [Chiarito] (Italian, founder and manservant of a convent of Augustinian nuns, d. 1348)
St. Dionysius of Milan (Italian, bishop, died in exile c. 359)
St. Dunchadh of Iona (Irish, abbot in Scotland, d. 717)
St. Egilhard of Cornelimunster (German, Benedictine abbot, martyred in 881)
St. Gennadius of Astorga (Spanish, Benedictine abbot, bishop, hermit, c. 936)
Bl. Gerbald (monk, martyred in 862)
Sts. Injuriosus and Scholastica (French, husband and wife, c. 550)
St. Leo of Troyes (French, abbot, c. 550)
St. Madeleine Sophie Barat (French, co-founder of Society of the Sacred Heart, teaching nun and superior general from age 23 to 86, founded 105 houses in many countries, d. 1865 [canonized 1925])
St. Mary MacKillop (Australian, governess, co-founder and superior general of a congregation of Josephite sisters, d. 1909 [canonized 1995])
St. Maximus and Victorinus (Italian, biological brothers, bishop and deacon, missionaries in France, martyred by beheading c. 384)
Sts. Pasicrates, Valentio, and two companions (soldiers, martyred in Bulgaria c. 302)
St. Peter Van Van-Doan (Vietnamese, lay catechist, martyred by beheading in 1857 [canonized 1988])
Pope St. Urban I (Roman, elected to papacy c. 222, reigned until martyrdom by beheading in 230)
St. Zenobius of Florence (Italian, adult convert from paganism, bishop, revived five people from death, c. 390)

If you have anything to share about these holy people, please reply now -- biographical episodes, prayers through their intercession, the fact that one is your patron saint -- whatever moves you. If you are interested in one of these saints and want to find out more about him/her, please ask. Information is sometimes available on the Internet.

All you holy men and women, saints of God, pray for us.
God bless you.
John


-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), May 25, 2002

Answers

[Corrected link for Mexican Martyrs:]
Photos and Vatican biographies in Spanish are here (at "Saints in the year 2000") Viva Cristo Rey!

[from St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi:]

"Come, Holy Spirit. Spirit of truth, you are the reward of the saints, the comforter of souls, light in the darkness, riches to the poor, treasure to lovers, food for the hungry, comfort to those who are wandering; to sum up, you are the one in whom all treasures are contained.
Come! As you descended upon Mary that the Word might become flesh, work in us through grace as you worked in her through nature and grace.
Come! Food of every chaste thought, fountain of all mercy, sum of all purity.
Come! Consume in us whatever prevents us from being consumed in you."

"A little drop of simple obedience is worth a million times more than a whole vase of the choicest contemplation."

-- (_@_._), May 25, 2002.

Besides rejoicing for the Mexican Martyrs and giving thanks to God for their courage in the moment of persecution, I want to recall that in the writings of St. Bede the Venerable, the names populary given to the magi appear for the first time in the Early Church.

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), May 26, 2002.

Jmj

On May 25, we members of the Catholic Church family honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- saints and blesseds whose souls are now in heaven:

St. Bede the Venerable of Northumbria (English, Benedictine priest, translator of scripture, Church historian, Doctor of the Church, d. 735)
Pope St. Gregory VII of Ravaco [Gregorio] [baptized Hildebrand] (Italian, Benedictine monk, papal advisor, elected to papacy in 1073, reigned until death [exiled by emperor] in 1085)
St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi of Florence [Maria Maddalena] [baptized Caterina (Catherine)] (Italian, Discalced Carmelite nun, mystic, died at age 41 in 1607)

St. Aldhelm of Sherborne (English, hermit, Benedictine abbot, poet, musician, bishop, d. 709)
Bl. Claritus Voglia of Florence [Chiarito] (Italian, founder and manservant of a convent of Augustinian nuns, d. 1348)
St. Dennis of Milan [also known as Dionysius] (Italian, bishop, died in exile c. 359)
St. Dunchadh of Iona (Irish, abbot in Scotland, d. 717)
St. Egilhard of Cornelimunster (German, Benedictine abbot, martyred in 881)
Bl. Eleanor of Provence [Eleonore] (French, countess, married to English king from age 13 till widowhood at 49, mother of nine, Benedictine nun, d. 1291)
St. Gennadius of Astorga (Spanish, Benedictine abbot, bishop, hermit, c. 936)
Bl. Gerbald (monk, martyred in 862)
Sts. Injuriosus and Scholastica of Auvergne (French, husband and wife, c. 550)
St. Leo of Troyes (French, abbot, c. 550)
St. Madeleine Sophie Barat of Joigny (French, co-founder of Society of the Sacred Heart, teaching nun and superior general from age 23 to 86, founded 105 houses in many countries, d. 1865 [canonized 1925])
St. Maximus and Victorinus of Brescia (Italian, biological brothers, bishop and deacon, missionaries in France, martyred by beheading c. 384)
Holy Martyrs of Mexico (Mexican, 25 covert priests and persecuted laymen, martyred by anticlerical government between 1915 and 1937 [canonized May 21, 2000, during the Jubilee pilgrimage of Mexicans to Rome])
----- St. Augustine Caloca of San Juan Bautista del Teúl [Agustin] (priest, seminary prefect, shot to death at age 29 in 1927)
----- St. Attila Cruz Alvarado of Ahuetita de Abajo [Atilano] (parish priest, shot to death at age 26 in 1928)
----- St. Christopher Magallanes Jara of Totaltiche [Cristobal] (shepherd, parish priest, started secret seminaries, shot to death at age 57 in 1927)
----- St. David Galvan Bermudez of Guadalajara (priest, seminary instructor, shot by firing squad at age 34 in 1915)
----- St. David Roldan Lara of Chalchihuites (layman, officer of "Catholic Action" and a religious liberty league, shot to death at age 24 in 1926)
----- St. David Uribe Velasco of Buenavista de Cuéllar (parish priest, shot to death at age 37 in 1927)
----- St. Emmanuel Morales of Mesillas [Manuel] (layman, father of three, officer of "Catholic Action" and a religious liberty league, shot to death at age 28 in 1926)
----- St. Januarius Sanchez Delgadillo of Zapopan [Jenaro] (parish priest, hanged from a tree at age 40 in 1927)
----- St. Jesus Mendez Montoya of Tarímbaro (parish priest, shot to death at age 47 in 1928)
----- St. Joseph Elizabeth Flores Varela of Santa María de la Paz [Jose Isabel] (parish priest, tortured, throat cut at age 60 in 1927)
----- St. Joseph Mary Robles Hurtado of Mascota [Jose Maria] (parish priest, founded women's Congregation of Victims of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, hanged at age 39 in 1927)
----- St. Julius Alvarez Mendoza of Guadalajara [Julio] (priest, shot to death at age 60 in 1927)
----- St. Justin Orona Madrigal of Atoyac [Justino] (parish priest, founded Poor Clare Sisters of the Sacred Heart, shot to death at age 51 in 1928)
----- St. Louis Batiz Sainz of San Miguel del Mezquital [Luis] (parish priest, seminary's spiritual director, shot by firing squad at age 55 in 1926)
----- St. Margarito Flores Garcia of Taxco (parish priest, shot to death at age 28 in 1927)
----- St. Matthew Correa Magallanes of Tepechitlán [Mateo] (parish priest, gave First Communion to Bl. Miguel Pro, shot to death at age 60 in 1927)
----- St. Michael de la Mora de la Mora of Tecalitlán [Miguel] (priest, shot by firing squad at age 49 in 1927)
----- St. Peter Esqueda Ramirez of San Juan de los Lagos [Pedro] (parish priest, catechist of children, shot to death at age 40 in 1927)
----- St. Peter of Jesus Maldonado Lucero of Chihuahua [Pedro of Jesus] (parish priest, promoter of nocturnal adoracion, blinded and beaten to death at age 44 in 1937)
----- St. Roderick Aguilar Aleman of Sayula [Rodrigo] (parish priest, poet, hanged at age 52 in 1927)
----- St. Roman Adame Rosales of Teocaltiche (parish priest, founded Daughters of Mary of Nocturnal Adoration, shot to death at age 68 in 1927)
----- St. Sabas Reyes Salazar of Cocula (Parish priest, tortured and shot to death at age 43 in 1927)
----- St. Salvador Lara Puente of Berlín (layman, officer of "Catholic Action" and a religious liberty league, shot to death at age 21 in 1926)
----- St. Turibius Romo Gonzalez of Santa Ana de Guadalupe [Toribio] (parish priest, shot to death at age 27 in 1928)
----- St. Tranquilino Ubiarco of Zapotlán el Grande (parish priest, hanged at age 29 in 1928)
Sts. Pasicrates, Valentio, and two companions (soldiers, martyred in Bulgaria c. 302)
St. Peter Doan Van of Son-Tay (Vietnamese, lay catechist, martyred by beheading in 1857 [canonized 1988])
Pope St. Urban I of Rome (Italian, elected to papacy c. 222, reigned until martyrdom by beheading in 230)
St. Zenobius of Florence (Italian, adult convert from paganism, bishop, revived five people from death, c. 390)

If you have anything to share about these holy people, please reply now -- biographical episodes, prayers through their intercession, the fact that one is your patron -- whatever moves you. If you are interested in one of these saints or blesseds and want to find out more about him/her, please ask. Information is sometimes available on the Internet.

All you holy men and women, saints of God, pray for us.
God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), May 20, 2003.