September 6 -- today's saints and blesseds

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Jmj

On September 6, 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. Arator of Verdun (French, bishop, c. 460)
Sts. Augustine, Sanctian, and Beata (Spanish, martyred in France in 273)
St. Bega (Irish, noblewoman, hermitess, abbess, 7th century)
Bl. Bertrand of Garrigue (France, Dominican priest and provincial, opposed Albigensian heretics, died at about age 35 in 1230 [beatified 1881])
St. Cagnoald of Laon (French, bishop, d. 633)
Sts. Cottidus, Eugene, and companions, of Cappadocia (from Asia Minor [now called Turkey], deacon and others, early martyrs)
Sts. Donatian, Praesidius, Mansuetus, Germanus, Fusculus, and Laetus (North African, exiled by Arian Vandals in 5th century)
St. Eleutherius of Spoleto (Italian, Benedictine abbot, miracle worker, c. 590)
St. Eve of Dreux (French, early martyr)
Sts. Faustus, Macarius and ten companions, of Alexandria (Egyptian, martyred in 250)
St. Faustus of Siracusa (Sicilian, abbot, c. 607)
Sts. Felix and Augebert of Champagne (British, slaves in France, redeemed to become priest and deacon, martyred by pagans in 7th century)
Bl. Liberato of Loro (Italian, Franciscan friar, d. 1258 [beatified 1868])
St. Maccallin of Lusk (Irish, bishop, c. 497)
St. Magnus of Füssen (German, Benedictine priest, c. 666)
Bl. Michael Czartoryski of Pelkinie [Micha³] [baptized Jan (John)] (Polish, Dominican priest, martyred by Nazis at Sluzew at age 47 in 1944 [beatified 1999])
Sts. Onesiphorus and Porphyrius of Ephesus (disciple of St. Paul [2 Tim 1] and his servant, martyred in Asia Minor [tied to horses and torn apart] c. 80)
Bl. Peregrine of Falerone [Pellegrino] (Italian, disciple of St. Francis of Assisi, Franciscan brother, c. 1240)
St. Petronius of Verona (Italian, bishop, c. 450)
St. Zechariah ben Berechiah (Israelite, Old Testament prophet, 6th century B.C.)

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. Additional 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), September 03, 2004

Answers

[Note: I am copying the following two (indented) messages from the old, obsolete "saints" thread for this day of the year, so that the old thread can later be deleted. JFG]


John, I see years ago that, many saints were hermits! Was it harder for them to become saints, since they lived secluded lives? How did news of their good work get around if they were not around many people? David

-- David -- September 06, 2001.

Jmj

Hi, David.
You asked, "Was it harder for them [the hermits] to become saints, since they lived secluded lives?"
Well, I'm not sure if it was harder. I think that it is impossible to be a saint without God's grace. We can never do it on our own, no matter whether we live alone or in a monastery with 100 other people. You could say that the hermits were free of many of the distractions of our crazy world, but I think that they had other or greater temptations and difficulties to overcome that we don't have to face -- including probably many brutal attacks (sometimes physical, sometimes spiritual) from the devil. They were probably tempted, too, to return to a life of greater luxury. Remember how badly Jesus was tempted when he played the part of a hermit for forty days.

You also asked, "How did news of their good work get around if they were not around many people?"
What I have noticed in reading biographies of hermits is that word about their great holiness almost always seemed to leak out. Other men or women came out to their deserts or caves, etc., to learn from them. I have also noticed that some hermit-saints -- such as St. Bega [see above] -- ended up returning to the "normal" world to found abbeys or monasteries. (It was the same even for the famous St. Benedict, who started out as a hermit.) So, in these ways, their holiness became known and they were honored as saints after they died.

God bless you.
John

-- September 07, 2001.



-- ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 03, 2004.

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