Calendar of Saints

16 March	• yesterday • tomorrow

Daily Bread #80, by Father Richard Waldo Sibthorp

Mary: The Perfect Woman, Rhythm LIII - The School of Suffering

There were saints nearer to our Lord than either martyrs or apostles; but, as if these sacred persons were immersed and lost in the effulgence of His glory, and because they did not manifest themselves, when in the body, in external works separate from Him, it happened that for a long while they were less dwelt upon. As comparatively quiet times succeeded, the religious meditations of holy men and their secret intercourse with Heaven graduallyexerted an influence out of doors, and permeated the Christian populace, by the instrumentality of preaching and by the ceremonial of the Church. Hence, at length, those luminous stars rose in the ecclesiastical heavens, which were of more august dignity than any which had preceded them, and which were late in rising for the very reason that they were so specially glorious. Those names, I say, which at first sight might have been expected to enter soon into the devotions of the faithful, with better reason might have been looked for at a later date, and actually were late in their coming. Saint Joseph furnishes the most striking instance of this remark; here is the clearest of instances of the distinction between doctrine and devotion. Who, from his prerogatives and the testimony on which they come to us, had a greater claim to receive an early recognition among the faithful than he? A Saint of Scripture, the Foster-father of our Lord, he was an object of the universal and absolute faith of the Christian world from the first, yet the devotion to him is comparatively of late date. When once it began, men seemed surprised that it had not been thought of before; and now they hold him next to the Blessed Virgin in their religious affection and veneration. - Saint John Henry Newman

Saint John de Brebeuf

Also known as

Jean

Additional Memorial

19 October as one of the Martyrs of North America

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French Jesuit. He wanted to enter the priesthood from an early age, but his health was so bad there were doubts he could make it. His posting as a missionary to frontier Canada at age 32, however, was a literal god-send. He spent the rest of his life there, and the harsh and hearty climate so agreed with him that the Natives, surprised at his endurance, called him Echon, which meant load bearer, and his massive size made them think twice about sharing a canoe with him for fear it would sink. Brebeuf had great difficulty learning the Huron language. "You may have been a famous professor or theologian in France," he wrote in a letter home, "but here you will merely be a student, and with what teachers! The Huron language will be your Aristla crosse." However, he eventually wrote a catechism in Huron, and a French-Huron dictionary for use by other missionaries.

According to histories of the game, it was John de Brebeuf who named the present day version of the Indian game lacrosse because the stick used reminded him of a bishop's crosier (la crosse).

Saint John was martyred in 1649, tortured to death by the Iroquois. By 1650 the Huron nation was exterminated, and the laboriously built mission was abandoned. But it proved to be "one of the triumphant failures that are commonplace in the Church's history." These martyrdoms created a wave of vocations and missionary fervor in France, and it gave new heart to the missionaries in New France.

Born

1593 at Normandy, France

Died

tortured to death in 1649

Canonized

29 June 1930 by Pope Pius XI

Patronage

Canada

Video

YouTube PlayList

Readings

Brebeuf's Instructions to the Missionaries: In 1637, Father Brebeuf drew up a list of instructions for Jesuit missionaries destined to work among the Huron. They reflect his own experience, and a genuine sensitivity toward the native people.

• You must love these Hurons, ransomed by the blood of the Son of God, as brothers.

• You must never keep the Indians waiting at the time of embarking.

• Carry a tinder-box or a piece of burning-glass, or both, to make fire for them during the day for smoking, and in the evening when it is necessary to camp; these little services win their hearts.

• Try to eat the little food they offer you, and eat all you can, for you may not eat again for hours.

• Eat as soon as day breaks, for Indians when on the road, eat only at the rising and the setting of the sun.

• Be prompt in embarking and disembarking and do not carry any water or sand into the canoe.

• Be the least troublesome to the Indians.

• Do not ask many questions; silence is golden.

• Bear with their imperfections, and you must try always to appear cheerful.

• Carry with you a half-gross of awls, two or three dozen little folding knives, and some plain and fancy beads with which to buy fish or other commodities from the nations you meet, in order to feast your Indian companions, and be sure to tell them from the outset that here is something with which to buy fish.

• Always carry something during the portages.

• Do not be ceremonious with the Indians.

• Do not begin to paddle unless you intend always to paddle.

• The Indians will keep later that opinion of you which they have formed during the trip.

• Always show any other Indians you meet on the way a cheerful face and show that you readily accept the fatigues of the journey.

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-john-de-brebeuf/

Saint Heribert of Cologne

Also known as

Eriberto, Herbert, Bert, Berti, Berto, Heri, Herko

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Son of Duke Hugo of Worms, Germany. Educated at the cathedral school at Worms. Provost of the cathedral. Ordained in 994. Chancellor for Italy under King Otto III in 994. Chancellor for Germany in 997. Archbishop of Cologne, Germany on 9 July 999. Attended the death-bed of King Otto at Paterno. Initially opposed the ascension of King Henry II, and was imprisoned by him. However, when Henry was elected king on 7 June 1002, Heribert immediately acknowledged him as king, and became one of his advisors. Founded and endowed the Benedictine monastery and church of Deutz, Germany. Obtained miracles by prayer, including the end of a drought. Honoured as a saint even during his lifetime.

Born

c.970 at Worms, Germany

Died

• 16 March 1021 at Cologne, Germany of natural causes
• relics in the church at Deutz, Germany (part of modern Cologne

Canonized

1075 by Pope Saint Gregory VII

Patronage

• against drought
• for rain
• Deutz, Germany

Representation

• archbishop calling down rain by his prayers
• man kneeling before Saint Henry II

Video

YouTube PlayList

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-heribert-of-cologne/

Blessed John Sordi of Vincenza

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Born to the imperial Roman nobility, Damian was raised a Christian and was known for his piety from his youth. When his father died, Damian became the ward of his bishop, Saint Valentino who, recognizing the young man’s piety, ordained him a deacon, and encouraged him to study for the priesthood. Damian travelled with Saint Valentino to evangelize the area of modern San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore, Italy, helped to convert people and build churches there, and was murdered by pagan priests fighting the new religion. Martyr.

Born

early 4th century in Terracina, Italy

Died

• beheaded in the forest near modern San Valentino in Abruzzo Cieriore, Italy in the 4th century
• buried at the site of his execution by local Christians
• relics re-discovered and enshrined in the oratory in Castel di Pietra c.1075; they become the site of miracles
• relics later re-enshrined in the cathedral of Saints Valentino and Damiano in San Valentino in Abruzzo Cieriore

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-damian-of-terracina/

Saint Julian of Anazarbus

Also known as

• Julian of Antioch
• Julian of Tarsus
• Julian of Cilicia
• Giuliano...

Additional Memorial

• 21 June (Orthodox calendar)
• 18 April (Armenian calendar

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Prominent citizen of senatorial rank. Arrested for his faith during the persecutions of Diocletian, he was tortured then put on display for abuse for a year in cities all over Cilicia, being led around behind a camel. Martyr. Praised by Saint John Chrysostom in a homily during the enshrinement of his relics.

Born

Anazarbus, Cilicia (in modern Turkey)

Died

• sewn into a sack full of vipers and scorpions, and thrown into the sea to drown c.302
• relics enshrined in Antioch

Representation

• man being thrown into the sea in a sack
• man in a coffin which is floating into shore and on which sits four angels
• man bound on a camel being led through the streets

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-julian-of-anazarbus/

Blessed John Amias

Also known as

John Anne

Additional Memorial

29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai

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Married layman cloth merchant in Wakefield, England. Father of several children. A widower, he divided his property among his children, and studied for the priesthood in Rheims, France. Ordained in 1581. He returned to England as a home missioner to covert Catholics. Arrested at the home of a Mr Murton in Lancashire for the crime of priesthood. Martyred with Blessed Robert Dalby.

Born

at Wakefield, West Riding, England

Died

hanged, drawn, and quartered on 16 March 1589 at York, England

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-john-amias/

Also known as

Allone

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Monk of the Bobbio Abbey. His burial next to Saint Columbanus is evidence of his holiness, but all details of his life have been lost.

Died

• 31 August during an unspecified year in the 7th century Bobbio, Italy of natural causes
• interred next to Saint Colombanus in the church at the abbey of Saint Colombano, Bobbio, Provincia di Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
• relics enshrined in a wooden urn in 1482 in the crypt of the basilica of Saint Colombano built over the site of the old church
• altar, crypt and shrine were refurbished and the re-opened to the public in 1910

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-allo-of-bobbio/

Saint Abban of Kill-Abban

Also known as

• Abban of Magheranoidhe
• Abban of Murneave
• Abban of Murnevin
• Abbán moccu Corbmaic
• Abbanus, Eibbán, Moabba

Additional Memorial

13 May (Orthodox calendar)

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Contemporary of Saint Patrick. Founded Kill-Abban abbey in Leinster, Ireland, and served as its first abbot. Founded the convent for Saint Gobnait of Ballyvourney, Ireland.

Born

Irish

Died

5th century Ireland of natural causes

Patronage

• Cell Abbáin, Ireland
• Killabban, Ireland
• Mag Arnaide, Ireland

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-abban-of-kill-abban/

Blessed Joan Torrents Figueras

Additional Memorial

1 February as one of the 109 Spanish Claretian Martyrs

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Member of the Claretians, making his profession on 8 December 1889. Ordained a priest on 3 April 1897. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.

Born

8 December 1873 in La Secuita, Tarragona, Spain

Died

16 March 1937 in Montcada, Barcelona, Spain

Beatified

• 21 October 2017 by Pope Francis
• beatification celebrated at the Basilica of Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain, presided by Archbishop Angelo Amato

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-joan-torrents-figueras/

Saint Megingaud of Würzburg

Also known as

• Megingaud of Wérzburg
• Megingoz, Mengold, Megingaudus

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Benedictine monk at the monastery of Fritzlar, Germany, in 738. Teacher at the abbey school. Abbot at Fritzlar. Bishop of Würzburg, Germany in February 754. In 769 he retired to Neustadt abbey to spend his last days as a prayerful monk.