SAN VICENTE FERRER: Priest

SAN VICENTE FERRER

1350-1419

Priest

Saint Vincent was born at Valencia, Spain in 1350 to William Ferrer and Constancia Miguel, both nobles.  He was educated in Valencia and at the age of 17 received the habit of the Order of Preachers.  He was sent to Barcelona for further studies.  Later, he taught philosophy at Lerida and in three years returned once more to Barcelona.  He proceeded to continue his studies at Toulouse.

          In the troubled times in which he lived, he was an Angel of Peace.  After recovering from a serious illness in 1398, during which he had a vision of Christ accompanied by Saint Dominic de Guzman and Saint Francis of Assisi directing him to teach penance, he devoted himself to preaching.  He traveled throughout Spain, France, and Italy, preaching the Word of God with special stress on penance for sin and preparations for the Last Judgement.  Although he preached in his own native tongue to people who spoke different languages, he was clearly understood by all because of his extraordinary Gift of Tongues.  He was also outstanding for the Gift of Prophecy, worked astonishing miracles and brought back thousands, including Jews and Moors, to the faith.  His authority helped to bring the Great Schism to an end.

            The Saint spent the last three years of his life in France and died at Vannes, Brittany on April 5, 1419.  Pope Calixtus III canonized him in 1455.

                   O God, you sent to the world your priest St. Vincent as a minister of the evangelical preaching; grant, we beseech you, that he whom St. Vincent announced to come as judge on earth, we may joyfully contemplate reigning in Heaven.  This we ask through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

FEASTDAY:  APRIL 5

                        MEMORIAL

SANTO TOMAS DE AQUINO: Priest and Doctor of the Church

SANTO TOMAS DE AQUINO

1225-1274

Priest & Doctor of the Church

            Saint Thomas was born in Rocca Secca, Italy in 1225 of the family of the Counts of Aquino.  At the age of 17 he received the habit of the Order of Preachers at Naples.  After overcoming by heroic patience and steadfastness the opposition of his family, he was sent first to Cologne to study under Saint Albert the Great, then afterwards to Paris, where in 1256, he obtained the title of Master of Theology.

            A great Dominican teacher, he spent his entire religious life teaching and writing, deriving, as he said, “more light from the crucifix than from books”.  His magnum opus the Summa Theologiae, the greatest exposition of theological thought ever written and became the accepted basis for modern Catholic theology, is but one of the more than a hundred others he penned, all of which he dedicated to investigating the sublime truth of God in the light of faith and the human intellect.  His Eucharistic hymns, composed at the request of Pope Urban IV for the Solemnity of the Feast of Corpus Christi, are among the greatest treasures of the Church.

            The Angelic Doctor was renowned, even during his lifetime, for humility, for holiness and for learning, and is said to have experienced visions, ecstasies and revelations.  He is known on the testimony of his confessor to have preserved throughout his life the grace of virginity.

            Acclaimed the greatest and undisputed master of Christian scholastic theology, he surrendered to God at the Cistercian Abbey of Fossa Nuova, near Terracina, Italy on March 7, 1274 and was canonized by Pope John XXII in 1323. Pope Saint Pius V declared him Doctor of the Church.  Pope Leo XIII named him Patron of Catholic Schools and Pope Pius XI added to his other titles that of Doctor of the Most Holy Eucharist.

           

O God, you made St. Thomas outstanding by the zeal for sanctity and in the study of the sacred doctrine; grant, we beseech you, that we may understand what he taught and imitate what he did.  This we ask through Christ our Lord.  Amen

FEASTDAY:  JANUARY 28

                        FEAST.

SAN PEDRO DE VERONA: Priest and Dominican Protomartyr

SAN PEDRO DE VERONA

c.1205-1252

Priest & Dominican Protomartyr

            Saint Peter was born at Verona, Italy, between 1205 and 1206 of Manichean parents.  While a student at Bologna, he entered the Order of Preachers, receiving the habit from the hands of Saint Dominic himself.  Full of zeal for the purity of the Faith, he preached the Word of God with great energy, bringing many back to the way of truth.  He soon became a celebrated preacher and engaged in disputes with the heretics all over northern Italy.  He is also known to have preserved his virginity to the end of his life.

          When fatally stabbed by engaged heretics and dying on the road to Milan, he wrote on the ground with his own blood the Catholic doctrine he has so staunchly defended in his life: CREDO IN UNUM DEUM.

            He died on April 6, 1252 and was canonized the following year by Pope Innocent IV in 1253.

                   O God, Author and Protector of faith, you crowned Blessed Peter, who persevered in the profession of the true faith, with the gift of Martyrdom;  grant that, confessing the same faith with words and deeds, we may become successful in the salvation of souls.  This we ask through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

FEASTDAY:  JUNE 4

                        MEMORIAL

SANTA MARGARITA DE UNGRIA: Virgin and Nun

SANTA MARGARITA DE UNGRIA

1242-1270

Virgin & Nun

            Saint Margaret was born in 1242, the daughter of King Bela IV of Hungary and the Greek princess Maria Lascaris, who had vowed to dedicate her to God if granted victory over their enemies, the invading Tartars.  When 4 years old, she was placed in the Monastery of Veszprin for her education.  She received the Dominican habit, and in fulfillment of a vow, her father founded a monastery for her on an island in the Danube near Budapest.

            At the age of 12, she made her profession in the hands of Humbert of Romans, Fifth Master of the Order.  Shortly afterwards, her parents obtained a papal dispensation for her to marry the King of Bohemia, but Margaret refused to compromise her vocation saying, “I esteem infinitely more the King of Heaven… than the crown offered me by the king of Bohemia”.  To prevent further annoyance, she received the Consecration of Virgins with three other sisters at the foot of the altar dedicated to her aunt, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.  This is the only instance of the Consecration of Virgins in the annals if the Nuns of the Order of Preachers.

         

          Margaret distinguished herself in the monastery for her humility and poverty.  Despite her royal rank, she always chose the last place and loved to tend the sick, serving the most loathsome on her knees.

            Saint Margaret died in 1270 at the age of 28.  She was raised to the honors of the altar when Pope Pius XII canonized her in 1943.

                   O God, lover and guardian of virginity, a virtue to which your servant Margaret added to splendor of good works, grant, we beseech you, that by the spirit of a salutary penance we may restore the integrity of our souls.  This we ask you through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

FEASTDAY:  JANUARY 18

                        MEMORIAL

SANTA INES DE MONTEPULCIANO: Virgin and Nun

SANTA INES DE MONTEPULCIANO

c.1268-1317

Virgin & Nun

           

            Saint Agnes was born around 1268 and embraced the religious life at the tender age of 9.  Because of her precarious wisdom and sanctity, she was soon raised to positions of  responsibility within her community, becoming superior at the age of 15 after a special dispensation was obtained from Pope Martin IV.  Later, due to a divine revelation, she founded a monastery of Dominican nuns in Montepulciano of which she became the first prioress.

Many extraordinary graces were bestowed on Mother Agnes: in a vision she was once permitted to hold the Infant Jesus; several times she was privileged to receive Holy Communion from an angel, and she was often seen in ecstasy levitating from the floor.  One of the most extraordinary occurrences recorded concerning her is the formation of white cross-shaped particles, described as manna, which frequently fell on her and the area where she was kneeling in prayer.  She has the gift of prophecy, performed many miracles and is known to have mysteriously supplied food for the convent.

            Saint Agnes died in 1317, at the age of 49.  Curiously enough the body of the Saint was originally intended to be embalmed but the idea was disregarded when it was found to be in a state of incorruption even after several years.  A precious fluid issues from the extremities of her hands and feet, which was collected in a crystal vial.

          Pope Benedict XIII, a Dominican, canonized his saintly sister in 1726.

                   O God, you adorned your spouse Agnes with the admirable zeal for prayer; grant that, through her imitation, our minds may obtain the abundant fruits of devotion.  This we ask you through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

FEASTDAY:  APRIL 20

                        MEMORIAL

SAN ALBERTO MAGNO: Bishop and Doctor of the Church

SAN ALBERTO MAGNO

1203-1280

Bishop

Doctor of the Church

           

            Saint Albert was born at their family castle at Lauingen, Germany, on the banks of the Danube, about 1203 and studied at the University of Padua.  In 1223, the eldest son of the Count of Bollstadt was received into the Dominican Order by Blessed Jordan of Saxony in 1223.  He attributed his vocation to the Virgin Mary to whom he bore a tender devotion.

            Saint Albert was one of the great intellects of the medieval Church.  He was one of the first and among the greatest natural scientists.  His knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geography (one of his treatises proved the earth to be round) was so encyclopedic.  He wrote profusely on logic, metaphysics, mathematics, the Bible and theology.  He pioneered the Scholastic method, so brilliantly developed by his pupil and disciple, Saint Thomas Aquinas, by applying Aristotelian methods to revealed doctrine.  His brilliance and erudition caused him to be called “The Universal Doctor” by his contemporaries.

            Saint Albert the Great died on November 15, 1280.  Three years after his death, his body was found in a state preservation and exhaling a delightful fragrance.  This condition lasted for over two hundred years.  The relics of the Saint were removed from the damaged Dominican church of Cologne to Saint Andrew’s Church in 1804.

Pope Pius canonized and declared Saint Albert the Great a Doctor of the Church.  In 1941, Pope Pius XII constituted him patron before God of students of the natural sciences.

                        O God, fountain and origin of all wisdom, you made the bishop Blessed Albert great in harmonizing human wisdom with divine faith; grant, we beseech you, that adhering to his magisterial teaching, and through the advance of the sciences, we may come to a deeper knowledge and love of you.  This we ask you through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

FEASTDAY:  NOVEMBER 15

                        FEAST

BEATA JUANA DE AZA: Mother of Saint Dominic de Guzman

BEATA JUANA DE AZA

c.           –c.1190

Mother of Saint Dominic de Guzman

            Beata Juana was born of the d’Aza family, which ranked among the highest nobility in Old Castile.  Married to Felix de Guzman, a man “rich and revered among his people”, was said to have prayed for a son when her two eldest boys were grown and dreamed she bore a dog in her womb, while she was bearing Dominic, which would set the world afire with the torch in its mouth.

            She bore at least three sons who were given over to the service of the Church and became priests: Santo Domingo, Beato Mannes and Antonio.  One died a death of heroic charity and two were raised to the honours of the altar.

          According to the earliest and most reliable source, Beata Juana, who was known for her physical and spiritual beauty, was described as being “virtuous, chaste, prudent, most compassionate to the poor and afflicted” and “of all women in that place she was outstanding of her good reputation.”

          A valiant and a saintly mother and woman, Beata Juana died at Caleruega and was buried at the churchyard there.  Her relics were transferred first to San Pedro de Gumiel, then to Penafiel between 1334 and 1340.  Pope Leo XII confirmed her cult in 1828.

FEASTDAY:  AUGUST 2

                       OPTIONAL MEMORIAL