Saint of the day and Feast days-Part 2

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Saint Camillus De Lellis
Founder of the Camellians.

Camillus was born on 25 May 1550 at Bocchiavico, Italy. He was born in a respectable family. His father, John de Lellis was a solder as was his own father before him.
One might say he was a solder for hire, a soldier of fortune because he used to fight for whoever would pay him. Consequently, Camillus served in the armies of various monarchs.
He was said to be a spendthrift and a compulsive gambler who was seldom at home.
His mother, Camilla, on the other hand, was a gentle and God fearing woman. The responsibility of brining up their son was hers alone, her husband gave her no help.
As for Camillus, he showed early signs of taking after his father. He was said to be unusually tall for his age, lazy by nature and hated being taught. He was rebellious, disobedient, and obstinate; to cap it all, he had a violent temper. For the sake of peace in the house, the mother tended to let him have his way.
When Camillus was twelve years old, his mother died.
After his mother died, Camillus went to live with relatives who , unfortunately, left him pretty much to himself on account of his difficult personality. He was sent to school but he hated school and only longed for the day when he would leave it all behind him. When not in school, he associated with people of questionable morals. From them, he learnt to gamble and was soon addicted to the vice. All was not, however lost. Camilla had instilled in her son a deep respect for religion. He believed in prayer and he believed in the sacraments, though he seldom prayed nor received the sacraments.
When Camillus was seventeen, he enlisted as a soldier and went to fight for Venice against the Turks. He gradually lost all his inheritance through gambling.
In the course of the battle against the Turks, Camillus contracted a terrible skin disease that caused multiple, apparently incurable, abscesses to develop on his feet. He was compelled to give up soldiering. He sought employment at a hospital. After nine months, however, he was dismissed because of his quarrelsome disposition and uncontrollable passion for gambling.
It was only after several years that he genuinely reformed. He was a sober and penitent young man of 26 when he offered his services to the San Giacomo Hospital for Incurables in Rome. Here he quickly won everyone’s admiration by his selfless nursing of the sick and the dying. Soon, because of his obvious piety, he was made director of the Hospital. His confessor and spiritual director at the time was Saint Philip Neri, from whom he received permission to be ordained. He was ordained priest by the Welsh Bishop Thomas Goldwell of Saint Asaph of England who was at the time living in Rome.
After his ordination, Camillus, together with two companions, decided to found a congregation to nurture the sick. This developed into what came to be variously called Ministers of the Sick, or the Fathers of the Good Death, or, simply, the Camilians.
Camillus and his men cared for men aboard plague-stricken ships in the harbour of Rome. In 1591, Pope Gregory XIV approved the congregation, and Camillus sent members to Hungary and Croatia, There they worked in the first field medical units to care for troops wounded in battle.
He resigned as superior of the congregation in 1607.

He died on 14 July 1614 at Genoa, (Rome according to other sources), Italy of natural causes. He was beatified on 7 April 1742 by Pope Benedict XIV and canonized on 29 June 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV.
He was declared patron of the sick with Saint John of God, by Pope Leo XIII,
He is also patron of nurses and hospital workers.
His relics are in Rome.
The given link has more.

Saint Camillus De Lellis

Saint Camillus De Lellis
Pray for us!
 
“O Lord, I confess I am the most wretched of sinners, most undeserving of your favors; but save me by your infinite mercy”
St Camillus de Lellis.
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From Feast of all Saints
 
July 15
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio
Among many other saints
 
**Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio.
Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church.
Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor
. Doctor of the Universal Church
Writer.
Biographer of Saint Francis.
**

Bonaventure was born Giovanno di Fidanza in1221 at Bagnoregio, (Bagnorea), Italy . He was the son of Giovanni di Fidanza , and Maria la Ritalla but was apparently called John of Fidanza.
When he was still a boy, he became seriously sick and there was no hope that he would survive. His own father, a doctor, had also given up hope. His mother, however, continued to hope that her son would get well. She appealed to Saint Francis of Assisi, who had been canonized not so long before and to everyone’s joy, John got cured.
John went to Paris for his studies and was lucky to study under Alexander of Hales, the first Franciscan professor of theology. After completing his studies, he lectured at the University for seven years.
John became a Franciscan in 1243 and took the name “Bonaventure” which variably means “good venture”, “good attempt” or “happy arrival”
He now embarked on the study of theology and sacred Scriptures at the University of Paris. His graduation was however delayed for several years due to the serious disagreement that took place at the University of Paris between the secular professors and the mendicant orders to which he belonged. Finally in 1257 he received his doctorate together with St Thomas Aquinas who was a close friend of his.
In 1260, at a general chapter of the Franciscans at Narbonne, France, Bonaventure promulgated the constitutions of the Franciscan Order and was elected Minister General of his Order.
In 1263, Bonaventure wrote a new biography of Saint Francis of Assisi. This became the approved, official biography of this great saint and in 1266 it was declared to replace all previous biographies.
In 1273, Blessed Pope Gregory X made Bonaventure a cardinal. He sent several legates to him with the red hat. When the legates arrived with this symbol of great honor, they found our Saint washing dishes. He asked them to hang the red hat on a nearby tree as his hands were wet and dirty.
In 1274, he attending the Council of Lyons, France, and took an active part in the negotiations with the Eastern Church on reunion. He died of natural causes during the proceedings, on 15 July 1274. Saint Bonaventure is called “ the Seraphic Doctor” He is considered one of the great intellect of his era.
Some of his works include the following:
1: Perfection of Life.
2: Soliliquy.
3: Threefold Way.
It is said that he wrote 500 sermons. His biography of Saint Francis of Assisi has been described as beautiful and touching.
He was canonized on14 April 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV
and declared Doctor of the Church in 1588.
He is invoked against intestinal problems., the patron saint
Bagnoregio, Italy, and Saint Bonaventure University, New York.

Saint Bonaventure,
Pray for us!

Ref: Our Sunday Visitor Encyclopedia Of Saints.
By Matthew Bunson, Stephen Bunson, Margaret Bunson:
 
There’s so much truth to that. 😃 It may sound ordinary and unexciting but it’s the real way to make progress.

Doing every little thing with a pure intention and perfect virtue like Christ.
 
I read that Archbishop Sheen once said, “…It does not take much time to make us saints—it only takes much love.”
 
July 16

Today is the Feast of
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Patroness of the Carmelite Order.
 
Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel in Israel is mentioned in the Bible as a holy place. It is there that the great prophet Elijah defended the One True God against the prophets of Baal. Today, there is a statue near Mount Carmel commemorating this Biblical victory.
During the Crusades, holy hermits lived on Mount Carmel, praying and fasting, and contemplating God.
About the year 1150, encouraged by the crusader Berthold, a group of hermits living on Mount Carmel became organized and called their order the Carmelite Order, deriving their name from the Holy Mountain on which they lived
The Order promoted a life of contemplation and dedication to Our Lady.
Because of constant oppression by the Saracens, however, the monks gradually emigrated to Europe. In fact it appears that the Carmelites were driven off of Mount Carmel in 1247.
Simon Stock, the Sixth master general of the Order, said to have become a hermit at the age of twelve, and living in the hollow of a tree trunk, was one of the first Englishmen to join the Order when it came to England.
In 1247, he was elected master general of the Carmelites. He established Carmelite houses in the university centers of Europe and won papal approval to change the Order’s Rule and to abandon the hermitic lifestyle.The Order came under harsh opposition and constant harassment from other clergy. Simon prayed to the Virgin Mary for guidance , pleading with her for some special sign of her protection of the Order.
On July 16, 1251, The Blessed Virgin appeared to him with the scapular of the order in her hand. This scapular she gave him with the words:
“Hoc erit tibi et cunctis Carmelitis privilegium, in hoc habitu moriens salvabitur” (This shall be the privilege for you and for all the Carmelites, that anyone dying in this habit shall be saved).
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This is why today’s feast is also known as the feast of the Scapular.
Mary also told him to appeal to Pope Innocent IV. He did just that and the Pope issued a papal letter of protection for the Order.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
Pray for us?
 
: “Oh how long since would the world have been destroyed, had not Mary sustained it by her powerful intercession”
St Fulgentius.
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Feast of all Saints
 
‘Perfection of life consists in drawing close to God. Heaven is the possession of God. In heaven God is contemplated, adored, loved. But to attain heaven it’s necessary to be detached from what is earthly. What is the life of a Carmelite if not one of contemplating, adoring and loving God incessantly? And she, by being desirous for that heaven, distances herself from the world and tries to detach herself as much as possible from everything earthly.’

St. Teresa of the Andes
 
July 17

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Alexis of Rome
Among many other saints.
 
**Saint Alexis of Rome
Also known as:
Alexius of Rome.
Man of God.
**
Alexius was the only son of Euphemian, a rich, Christian, Roman Senator and his wife Aglae. Even as a child, Alexis was known for his charity. He wanted to dedicate his life to God, but his parents wanted him to marry and they went ahead and arranged a marriage for him to a wealthy Roman girl. To please his parents, Alexis married the girl. On their wedding day, however, the two parted company by mutual consent. He left Rome secretly and went to Syria. For seventeen years, Alexis lived in abject poverty and great holiness in a shack adjoining a church dedicated to Mary in Edessa.
Then, a miracle happened.
A statue of Our Lady spoke revealing him to the people of Edessa as the “Man of God”. Alexis fled back to his home. His own father, not recognizing the bedraggled beggar as his son, gave him a job and a place to live under a staircase in his home.
Humbly, uncomplainingly and completely unrecognized by them all, Alexis lived in his father’s home for another seventeen years.
At his death, his autobiography was found on his body. Then, and only then, was his identity revealed.
He was honored as a saint and his home, such as it was, converted into a church.
Another version of his life has him dying in Edessa.
Saint Alexis is the patron of Alexian Brotherhood, a congregation that serves the sick.
He is also the patron of beggars, pilgrims, and the sick.
In liturgical art, Saint Alexis is represented by a dying man with a letter in his hand, a man lying beneath a staircase or a man lying on a mat.
Saint Alexis of Rome,
Pray for us!
 
“Pride is an illusion, a lie and a theft. And since it is a truth of faith that we are nothing, he who esteems himself and thinks that he is someone is a seducer who deceives himself”
St John Eudes.
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Feast of all Saints
 
Saint Frederick
Bishop, Martyr.
Also known as Saint Frederick of Utrecht, or Frederick of the Netherlands.
Frederick was born the grandson of King Radbon of the Frisians. He was educated by the priests at Utrecht, Holland, and he himself also became a priest. He was known for his holiness and learning.
About the year 825, Frederick was appointed bishop of Utrecht. He worked hard to put the see in order and to reform the clergy. He sent a group of missionaries under the leadership to Saint Odulphus to evangelize the pagans in the northern part of Utrecht. Frederick also opposed incestuous marriages, especially among the nobility. He incurred the enmity of the Empress Judith, when he openly chastised her for her immoral and adulterous lifestyle.
On 18 July 838 the Saint was stabbed to death in a church, during Mass in Maastricht, Flanders by assassins. The crime was blamed on the Empress. It was, however, more than likely that the pagans from Walcheren, were the culprits. Many of them deeply resented his missionary activities in their area.
In liturgical art, he is represented by a bishop pierced by two swords or, a
bishop being stabbed by two men.

Saint Frederick,
Pray for us
 
Saint Justa and Saint Rufina
Martyrs.
Justa is also known as Justin.

Justa and Rufina were sisters who lived during the reign of Emperor Dioclatian, a time of persecution of Christians. The sisters were potters in Hispalis, Hispania. (Modern Seville, Spain). A rich pagan wanted to buy their pots to be used in pagan ceremonies. When the girls learnt how their pots were to be used, they refused to sell them. Their stock was then maliciously desroyed by pagans. The sisters retaliated by destroying the image of a pagan godess. They were then denounced as Christians, tortured and then executed.
Justa died on the rack while Rufina was strangled to death and their bodies burnt. Other sources say they were fed to the lions.
The two sisters are the patron saints of Seville, Spain.
Saint Justa,
Pray for us!
Saint Rufina,
Pray for us!
 
July 20
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Margaret of Antioch
Among many other saints.
 
Saint Margaret of Antioch
virgin and martyr.
Also known as Marina.

According to legend, Margaret was the daughter of a pagan priest at Antioch in Pisidia (Now Turkey). Her mother died when she was still an infant. She was subsequently raised by a Christian woman. When she converted to Christianity, and consecrated herself to God, her pagan father drove her away from home. She was adopted by her nurse. Margaret grew up to be a very beautiful girl. She became a shepherdess.
One day, while attending sheep, Margaret was seen by Olybrius, the local prefect. He became infatuated with her beauty. When she spurned his advances, he denounced her as a Christian. She was imprisoned and cruelly tortured. The legend goes that while she was in prison, she had an encounter with the devil in the form of a dragon. According the legend, she was swallowed by the dragon, but the cross she carried in her hand so irritated his throat that he was forced to disgorge her. The next day, attempts were made to execute her, first by fire, then by drowning; both attempts, however, failed as she was miraculously saved and thousands of spectators witnessing her ordeal, got converted.
Finally, she was beheaded.
My reference has this to say about the biography of the saint.
“That she existed and was martyred is probably true. All else is probably fictitious embroidery added to her story which was immensely popular in the middle ages, spreading from the East all over Western Europe.”.
Saint Margaret is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Her voice was one of the voices heard by Saint Joan of Arc
Saint Margaret of Antioch is the patroness of childbirth, women in labour, among others.
Saint Margaret of Antioch
Pray for us!

Ref:
Dictionary of Saints.
By John J. Delaney
 
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