August 14 St. Maximilian Kolbe

 

St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe (1894-1941)

August 14

            Raymund Kolbe was born in Poland. He and his brother Francis went to the Conventual Franciscan seminary in the city of Lwow. Raymond entered the order of little friars and took the name Maximilian. He was then sent to Rome where he studied philosophy and theology. While there, Maximilian established an organization dedicated to recognizing Mary as the Queen and Mother of human society called the "Army of the Immaculate One."  Maximilian was then ordained a priest in 1918.

            He was not in the best of health, but in 1927 near Warsaw, he established the "City of the Immaculate." (In Polish: Niepokalanów.) This grew to be a large Franciscan community of 738 members engaged in printing religious publications.  Their magazine called Knight of Mary Immaculate had a circulation of almost one million. The fantastic growth of this apostolate occurred during the worst years of the worldwide depression of the 1930’s. During most of that decade, Maximilian was establishing another City of the Immaculate near Nagasaki, Japan.

            From the writings of Father Maximilian: “Dear brother, see the greatness of human dignity conferred by God’s mercy. By obedience we surmount, so to speak, the limits imposed upon us by our weakness; we are made conformable to God’s will which in God’s infinite wisdom and prudence guides us to act correctly. As a matter of fact, by clinging to God’s will which no creature can resist, we surpass everything in power. This is the way of wisdom and prudence; this is the only way we can render the greatest glory to God.  If there were another and more suitable way, Christ surely would have shown it to us by his own words and example.”

            Before World War II began, he returned to Poland. The German Nazis who were occupying Poland soon restricted his activities and then halted publication of the Knight completely. He was arrested in February 1941 and sent to Auschwitz in May. Though very sick himself, he encouraged his fellow prisoners not to let the Nazis lead them to despair of God.

            One Franciscan source recounts that another prisoner, Dr. Joseph Stemler, wrote in his memoirs: “Like many others, I crawled at night in the infirmary on the bare floor to the bed of Father Maximilian. The greeting was moving. We exchanged some impressions of the frightful crematorium. He encouraged me, and I confessed. Discouragement and doubt threatened to overwhelm me; but I still wanted to love. He helped me to strengthen my belief in the final victory of good. ‘Hatred is not creative,’ he whispered to me. ‘Our sorrow is necessary that those who live after us may be happy.’ His reflections on the mercy of God went straight to my heart. His words to forgive the persecutors and to overcome evil with good kept me from collapsing into despair.”

            On July 30, 1941, a prisoner escaped from Auschwitz, and the Nazis retaliated by randomly choosing ten men to be executed by starvation. Father Maximilian offered to take the place of one of those ten, a Sergeant Francis Gajowniczek, who was a father and family man.  Maximilian led the men in prayer in their starvation bunker. During the third week of the ordeal, Maximilian and the other remaining survivors were killed with injections of carbolic acid.

Maximilian was beatified in 1971 and canonized in 1982. He is venerated as the patron saint of amateur radio operators, drug addicts, political prisoners, and journalists. His cell at Auschwitz is a place of pilgrimage. Saint Edith Stein, who was also killed at Auschwitz in 1942, is commemorated a few days prior on August 9^th. As a Discalced Carmelite nun, she took the religious name of Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Together, these two Catholic saints stand as witnesses against the atrocities and horror of Nazism.

August 11 St. Clare of Assisi -CA Mission

 

St. Clare of Assisi (1193-1253)

August 11

             The Foundress of the Franciscan Second Order was born into nobility.  Clare’s parents, Favarone and Ortolana, were part of Assisi’s "upper class." They and their three daughters once had to flee to nearby Perugia when the merchants & artisans of Assisi expelled the nobles and destroyed their homes. They remained there between 1198 and 1202.

            Even as a young girl, Clare showed a love of prayer and of the poor. She was also fascinated by Francis Bernardone, who by 1209 already had eleven followers. She felt called to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a nun. On the evening of March 18, 1212, she stole away to the Portiuncula, the church of the "Little Portion" which had become the headquarters for the Franciscan friars. There she exchanged her beautiful golden hair for a nun’s veil.  Her noble gown was set aside for a common dress and cord belt. She was soon joined by her sister Agnes, who is also a saint honored on November 19th. They lived temporarily with the Benedictine sisters.

            In May of that same year, Clare and Agnes moved to San Damiano, which soon became the birthplace of the Poor Clare movement. They were known as the “Poor Ladies of San Damiano.” The work of their hands and the begging of the friars supplied their very modest needs.

            In 1216, Clare reluctantly accepted the title of abbess in accord with the Fourth Lateran Council. However, she was always ready to perform the humblest duties at San Damiano. After 1225 she was almost constantly sick and confined to bed. As an excellent seamstress and embroiderer and with great devotion, she made corporals, altar linens, and albs for nearby churches. Although Clare considered herself the “little plant” of St. Francis and was always grateful for whatever direction he could give the San Damiano nuns, it would be a mistake to think of Clare as a pale reflection of Francis or to underestimate her uniqueness and her determination to live the gospel simply and courageously within a cloistered setting. Popes, cardinals, and bishops sought her advice.

            In the thirteenth century, contemplative life was the only form of religious life for women that was officially recognized by the Church. Women religious would not run schools and hospitals until the 14^th and 15^th centuries. Even though Clare established a contemplative group, she did break with tradition—not without a fight—by rejecting a fixed income for its support. Contemplative nuns like the Benedictines had always been supported by revenues from lands owned by their communities and dowries they brought with them. This “privilege of poverty,” as Clare called it, was not easy to secure in writing. Several popes worried that such a life would be too difficult for women. Two days before she died, Clare at last gained this “privilege” from the Pope at that time, Innocent IV. Her exemplary life and the witness of the other Franciscan women prompted rich and poor women throughout Europe to join Poor Clare monasteries, wanting to also be brides of Jesus. 

            As Clare lay dying, her confessor urged her to be patient amid her sufferings. Clare answered, “Dearest brother, ever since I have known the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ through his servant Francis, no suffering has troubled me, no penance has been hard, no sickness too arduous” (Legend and Writings of St. Clare of Assisi, p. 49). She was canonized by Pope Alexander IV in 1255, two years after her death. She is the patron of goldsmiths, laundry, television, and against eye disease.

(Click on the image to enlarge for reading)

July 30 St. Leopold Mandic, patron against cancer

 

St. Leopold Mandic of Castelnova, OFM Capuchin (1887-1942)

July 30

            A native of Croatia, Leopold joined the Capuchins and was ordained a priest several years later despite several health problems. He could not speak loudly enough to preach publicly. For many years he suffered from severe arthritis, poor eyesight and a stomach ailment.

            Leopold taught patrology, the study of the Church Fathers, to the clerics of his province for several years, but he is best known for his work in the confessional, where he sometimes spent long hours each day. Several bishops sought out his spiritual advice.

            Leopold’s dream was to go to the Orthodox Christians and work for the reunion of Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. His health never permitted it. Leopold often renewed his vow to go to the Eastern Christians; the cause of unity was constantly in his prayers. The saint used to repeat to himself, “Remember that you have been sent for the salvation of people, not because of your own merits, since it is the Lord Jesus and not you who died for the salvation of souls…I must cooperate with the divine goodness of our Lord who has deigned to choose me so that by my ministry, the divine promise would be fulfilled: ‘There will be only one flock and one shepherd’ (John 10:16).”

            Leopold, who lived most of his life in Padua, died on July 30, 1942, and was beatified on May 2, 1976. When the Capuchin minister general wrote his friars on the occasion of Leopold’s beatification, he said that this friar’s life showed “the priority of that which is essential.” He was canonized by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1983. Because he suffered from esophageal cancer from which he died, he is a patron against cancer.

Fray Luis Jaime, OFM, California protomartyr

 

“Jaime/Jayme/Jaume” translates as JAMES in Spanish, thus I am posting about this martyr of the Solemn Feast of James: Santiago de Compostela!

Father Luis Jayme OFM (1740-1775)

"Melchor Jayme was born in the farming village of San Juan, Majorca on October 18, 1740. When he was 15, he enrolled in the St. Bernadine School where Father Serra had studied as a youth.  He became a Franciscan five years later.  Father Jayme was ordained to the priesthood and taught philosophy for five years at the Convento de Francisco, which was the motherhouse for all the Franciscans in Majorca.

Like Fr. Serra, Fr. Jayme dreamed of becoming a missionary in the New World.  In 1770, he arrived in New Spain after a long and difficult journey.  He attended a special training course that taught survival on the frontier and conditioned them for living a life of hardship and deprivation. In October of 1770, Fr. Jayme set out for Alta California to begin his ten-year commitment to the California Missions. He assumed his post as pastor of the Mission San Diego de Alcalá and eagerly looked forward to working with the Native Americans.

The priests and neophytes on Presidio Hill (the first location of Mission San Diego) tried to establish a successful mission at that site, but in 1774, Fr. Jayme recommended that the Mission site be moved inland.  The crops were failing, the water was scarce and hard to get, and the soldiers were a bad influence on the Native Americans.  Fr. Serra approved the move.  The padres and neophytes moved to the present site in August of 1774 and built temporary huts out of wood, tule, manure, and thatch.  Eleven adobe structures were built during the first year. Crops were planted, Native Americans from the Nipaguay village were being baptized, and everything was going well – until November 5, 1775.  In the early morning hours of that day, Fr. Jayme was awakened from his sleep and heard a commotion outside his quarters. Indians were raiding the mission.  Approximately 800 Native Americans from the Yuma area, together with several neophytes, looted the church. As an open fire erupted, the Kumeyaay natives shot flaming arrows into the buildings, burning the huts down.  Instead of running or hiding, Fr. Jayme went out to greet them and, with his arms outstretched, said, “Love God, my children.”  He was subsequently dragged down to the river and murdered.  Because of Fr. Jayme’s self-sacrifice, dedication, faith, and love, he became California’s first Christian martyr.  The large white cross out front of the Mission on the east side is dedicated to his memory and is located near the spot where he was martyred.  His remains are buried in the sanctuary of the church. Surviving residents of the mission went to the Presidio to live until things settled down and it was safe to return to the Mission."

Written by Msgr. I.B. Eagen, former pastor of Mission San Diego  

https://www.missionsandiegohistory.org/father-luis-jayme

(Click on the image to enlarge for reading)

July 25 St. James the Greater in Spain

 

Saint James (and St. Christopher) with Fray Luis Jayme, OFM, CA protomartyr

July 25

St. James the Greater in Spain

1.       Yes, we have St. James traveling all the way to Spain on an evangelical mission.

2.       While there, he receives a mystical visit from Mary, the mother of Jesus.

3.       The Bible records his death in Jerusalem in the book of Acts.  King Herod Agrippa had James executed "by the sword," most likely indicating beheading.

4.       Somehow his remains or relics made their way back to Spain!

“Santiago” is derived from the Latin Sancti Iacobi, with Jacob being the equivalent of James.  Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica is the reputed Spanish burial place of Saint James the Great, one of the apostles and among the most intimate circle of Jesus Christ (Peter, James & John). This James is the brother of John, with “greater” or “older” to distinguish from the other apostle James (the Less). The basilica has historically been a place of Christian pilgrimage on the Way of St. James since the Early Middle Ages. The scallop or "cockle” shell is the primary symbol of St. James and the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. It is also a symbol of baptism, used in decoration. Although there is no California Mission named after St. James, his importance to Spanish national spirituality should be noted, and the scallop shell can be found in mission artwork.

Santiago Matamoros or St. James the Moor-slayer is another Spanish title of Saint James the Great/Santiago de Compostela. As a patron saint of Spain, he plays a role in the Reconquista or reclaiming of territory within España after Islamic occupation. (See for example, St. Ferdinand, May 30!)  The iconography of James Matamoros was used in the Spanish colonization of the Americas as a rival force to the indigenous gods, and protector of Spaniards from the indigenous peoples of the Americas. He was depicted as a conquistador. ¡Santiago! or ¡Santiago y cierra España! has been the historical battle cry of Spanish armies.

Note that Our Lady of the Pillar (Spanish: Nuestra Señora del Pilar) is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of the traditional belief that Mary, while living in Jerusalem, supernaturally appeared to the Apostle James the Greater in AD 40 while he was preaching in what is now Spain. Those who adhere to this belief consider this appearance to be the only recorded instance of Mary exhibiting the mystical phenomenon of bilocation. Among Catholics, it is also considered the first Marian apparition and is unique because it occurred while Mary was still living on Earth.

The apparition is enshrined in Zaragoza, Spain, with a statue of the Madonna and Child that sits atop a pillar. The feast of Our Lady is celebrated on October 12^th, the day that Christopher Columbus's expedition arrived in the Americas. He went ashore at Guanahaní, an island in the Bahamas, on October 12, 1492.

I also take this occasion to highlight Fray Luis Jaime, OFM, protomartyr of California, who died at Mission San Diego on November 5, 1775. Jaime is a form of the name James. 

July 23 St. Bridget of Sweden

 

Saint Bridget of Sweden (c. 1303 – July 23, 1373)

July 23

From age 7 on, Bridget had visions of Christ crucified. Her visions formed the basis for her activity—always with the emphasis on charity rather than spiritual favors.

A member of the Third Order, she lived her married life in the court of the Swedish king Magnus II Eriksson. In 1341, she and her husband Ulf went on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Mother of eight children—the second eldest was Saint Catherine of Sweden—Bridget lived the strict life of a penitent after her husband’s death.

Bridget of Sweden constantly strove to exert her good influence over the Swedish King; while never fully reforming, he did give her land and buildings to found a monastery for men and women. This group eventually expanded into an Order of the Most Holy Saviour also known as the Bridgettines. In 1350, a year of jubilee, Bridget braved a plague-stricken Europe to make a pilgrimage to Rome. Although she never returned to Sweden, her years in Rome were far from happy, being hounded by debts and by opposition to her work against Church abuses.

A final pilgrimage to the Holy Land, marred by shipwreck and the death of her son, Charles, eventually led to her death in 1373. Bridget was canonized in the year 1391 by Pope Boniface IX, which was confirmed by the Council of Constance in 1415. Because of new discussions about her works, the Council of Basel confirmed the orthodoxy of her revelations in 1436. In 1999, Bridget of Sweden, Saint Catherine of Siena, and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, were named co-patronesses of Europe, alongside the male patrons Saints Benedict of Nursia, Cyril, and Methodius.

Bridget’s visions, rather than isolating her from the affairs of the world, involved her in many contemporary issues, whether they be royal policy or the years that the legitimate Bishop of Rome lived in Avignon, France. She saw no contradiction between mystical experience and secular activity, and her life is a testimony to the possibility of a holy life in the marketplace.

July 21 St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor of the Church

 

St. Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619)

July 21

            Saint Francis wanted his followers to preach what they had learned in prayer.  Lawrence was an excellent example of this. He was born "Caesare de Rossi" to devout middle-class parents in Brindisi of southern Italy. He entered the Capuchins at the age of sixteen and proved an able scholar with a gift for languages.  His ability to preach in multiple languages was put to good use after his ordination in 1582. Lawrence used Scripture extensively in his preaching. His sermons fill eight large volumes.

            His time as a Franciscan falls into three main categories: teaching theology to the friars, serving as an occasional papal nuncio, and holding various leadership positions within the Capuchins. In the last role, he sought to balance the rigors of the Capuchin observance with the needs of the apostolate. A quote from one of his sermons, Sermo Quadragesimalis: “The Word of God is a light to the mind and fire to the will. It enables humanity to know God and to love God. And for the interior person who lives by the Spirit of God through grace, it is bread and water, but a bread sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, a water better than wine and milk.” 

            During his lifetime, Lawrence was the provincial of three different Italian provinces.  He was general counsellor twice and vicar general once. In 1598 he and thirteen other friars went to Germany to establish the Capuchins there; a mission that grew into three provinces. In 1601, Lawrence accompanied the imperial troops which repelled the Turkish advance in Hungary. On returning to Italy, Lawrence learned of a cruel viceroy in Naples, which was ruled by Spain. When Lawrence journeyed to Lisbon to explain the situation to Philip III of Spain, the viceroy was dismissed. Lawrence died in Lisbon on that journey.

            After Lawrence’s death, a preacher said of him: “Heroically virtuous, he was humble without littleness, magnanimous without ostentation, courageous without pride. His faith would have moved mountains, his hope defied every trial, and his charity knew no bounds. He united the life of action with the life of contemplation, so that he gave himself up to incessant labors for the defense of the Church and the salvation of his neighbor, and yet never lost sight of the holy presence of the Divine majesty.”

            Part of what is known as the Counter-Reformation, Lawrence was canonized in 1881 and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John 23rd in 1959.