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The Blessed Mother with the Saints

November 1st: All Saints Day

Pray the Litany to All Saints!
What's a litany?
On All Saints' Day, we celebrate the feastday of every saint in Heaven. There are many people in Heaven who have never been canonized, but we still call them saints because they have reached the goal for which they were created: Heaven. Because they have 'won the victory' and gained Heaven, all the saints together form what we call the Church Triumphant. Maybe you knew some of them when they were on earth!

So let's pray to the saints today on this special feastday of theirs, and ask them for their prayers, especially our patron saints (the saints who have the same name as us)! No matter when your patron saint's feastday is, you can celebrate it again today. Read a prayer for your 'nameday' (the feast day of your patron saint).

Holy Saints of God, pray for us that we may, like you, reach the happiness of Heaven!

 
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November 2nd: All Souls Day

Today we remember the Souls in Purgatory. The Souls in Purgatory are the souls of those who died in the state of grace (i.e. as God's friends), but who are not yet cleansed enough from sin to enter Heaven. So God in His mercy allows them to spend time suffering in atonement for their sins before entering Heaven. Find out more. . .

FACTS and FIGURES about All Souls' Day

Did you know that. . .
  • . . .a priest can say an unlimited number of Mass on All Souls' Day?
  • . . .you can gain a plenary indulgence for the Holy Souls every time you go into a church on All Souls' Day? (What's an indulgence?) Now that's worth doing!
  • . . .praying for the souls of the dead was done even in the Old Testament? You can read about how Judas Maccabaeus, the great Jewish warrior, offered alms for the relief of his dead soldiers' souls, in 2 Maccabees 12:39-45.

 
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November 3rd: St. Martin de Porres

St. Martin de Porres, patron of social justice and of people of mixed race, was born in 1579, the son of a Spanish knight and an Indian woman. Although he was poor himself, St. Martin had great concern for those who were even less fortunate, and used to give the family's food money to any beggars he met! At the age of 15, he became a Dominican brother in Lima, Peru, and soon was famous for the miracles he worked. He had a special love for animals: once when the Father Superior told him to get rid of the rats and mice in the convent, Martin, feeling sorry for the little creatures, called one of the rats to him and asked him to tell his fellow-rats and mice to leave the convent and live in the barn instead. Amazingly, the creatures obeyed, and the convent was free of rodents thereafter! Another time, Martin raised one of the dead brothers back to life. When he died, St. Martin was mourned by all the citizens, rich and poor, of Lima.

St. Martin de Porres, pray for us and obtain for us the grace of humility!

 
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November 4th: St. Charles Borromeo

St. Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) was one of the instruments of the 'Counter-Reformation' of the Catholic Church after the Protestant Reformation. This determined Italian saint was named a Cardinal at the age of only 22 by his uncle, Pope Pius IV, and immediately began reforming the clergy of his diocese Milan, some of whom were not adhering to Christian morals. St. Charles himself refused to live in luxury as some of the bishops of the time were doing, and gave away most of his money to the poor.

Despite his overwhelming work load of preaching, teaching, and organizing (he was also Papal Secretary of State), St. Charles still found time to visit the sick and personally catechize the poor, teaching them simple prayers. (For this reason he is known as the patron of catechists.) When the plague struck Milan, the Cardinal nursed many invalids himself and organized Masses in the streets for those who could not leave their houses. Eventually he caught the disease himself and died.

To God all the glory, to my neighbour all the joy, to me all the sacrifice! - St. Charles Borromeo

 
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November 5th: Sts. Elizabeth and Zechariah

Elizabeth and Zechariah were relatives of Our Lady, and the parents of St. John the Baptist.

'In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah. . .and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.' (Luke 1:5-7)

You can find the rest of the fascinating story of Sts. Elizabeth and Zechariah in the Bible at Luke 1:8-80.

 
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November 8th: Bl. Elisabeth of the Holy Trinity

Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity was one of the great Carmelite women given to the Church in the late nineteenth century. A gifted pianist, she entered the Carmelite order at the age of 21, and died only five years later. Bl. Elisabeth had a special awareness of the presence of the Holy Trinity inside her soul, and she realized that her calling was to be a sacrifice of praise to the Trinity. Her writings give a special emphasis on the wonderful grace that it is to have God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit dwelling in our souls.

Bl. Elisabeth of the Holy Trinity, pray for us and obtain for us a perfect awareness of God dwelling in our souls!

 
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November 10th: St. Leo the Great

St. Leo the Great was one of the greatest popes the world has ever known. At the time when he was Pope, the Church was in danger from the Monophysite heresy, which claimed that Jesus was not really a man like us and that His human nature was dissolved in His Divine nature. Against this heresy, Pope Leo wrote a well-known summary of the true Catholic faith called the Tome of Leo.

Another feat which St. Leo performed was negotiating with the terrible Attila the Hun when Attila's army was about to attack Rome. Alone and unarmed, the Pope met the great barbarian leader outside Rome, and convinced Attila to turn his army away from Rome. Later Attila said that he had had to agree to Pope Leo's request because of the great man in shining robes (generally thought to be St. Peter) standing by to protect the Holy Father.

 
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November 11th: St. Martin of Tours

This fourth-century saint began his career as a soldier in the Roman army. Although he was not a Christian, St. Martin had been taught as a child about Jesus by his Christian nurse, and since then he had had a strong desire to serve the one true God. One day, he saw a poor man standing shivering by the roadside. The weather was cold, and Martin, having pity on the poor man, cut his own cloak in half and gave half to the beggar (see the picture on the right). That night, he had a vision of Christ wearing the half-cloak he had given to the beggar.

Following the dream, Martin became a Christian and tried to leave the army, but he was imprisoned and accused of being a coward. After some time he was finally released and became a monk, then Bishop of Tours in France.

St. Martin of Tours, holy soldier and Bishop of the Church, pray for us in our struggle against sin and temptation!

 
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November 15th: St. Albert the Great

St. Albert the Great (1206-1280) is the patron of scientists and students. Having joined the Dominican order despite his wealthy family's objections, St. Albert was renowned for his learning, and was in fact the teacher and friend of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Dominican order's greatest scholar.

St. Albert the Great, help us to understand the Catholic faith as you did, and give us guidance in our studies. Amen.

 
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November 16th: St. Margaret, queen of Scotland

St. Margaret, a twelfth-century English princess, arrived in Scotland at the age of twenty, fleeing with her family from the Norman invaders. King Malcolm of Scotland received the royal family kindly, and soon fell in love with Margaret. They were married and had eight children. As Queen of Scotland, St. Margaret invited missionaries and monks into the country to teach the people the faith. At the same time she worked with the most unfortunate members of her kingdom - the poor, the sick, and prisoners. She died soon after her husband Malcolm was killed in a battle with the English.

Lord, You gave St. Margaret of Scotland a special love for the poor. Let her example and prayers help us to become a living sign of Your goodness.

 
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November 17th: St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Pray the Litany to St. Elizabeth of Hungary
What's a litany?

St. Elizabeth of Hungary was happily married at a young age to Louis IV of Thuringia. Although she was a queen, she used her money and position to help the poor and sick. Once she brought a poor leper into the royal apartment and took care of him, to the fury of her husband. But as Louis was about to scold Elizabeth for bringing a dirty leper into his own chamber, the leper suddenly turned into Jesus and disappeared. After this incident, Louis allowed his holy wife to perform all the charities she wanted! Unfortunately, Louis fell sick and died on a crusade, and his brother, who took the throne, sent the twenty-year-old Elizabeth and her four children out penniless from the castle. Despite her poverty, Elizabeth continued to trust in God, and took care of the sick and poor until she died four years later.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary, holy queen and mother, pray for us!

 
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November 21st: The Presentation of Mary

This feastday commemorates the day on which the three-year-old Mary, according to an old tradition, was brought by her parents to the Temple in Jerusalem to be raised by the holy women there.

The picture on the right, sometimes thought to be an image of the Holy Family, is in fact a picture of the child Mary with her parents Sts. Anne and Joachim, being presented to the Heavenly Father in the Temple.

Mary, most holy Daughter of God the Father, present us to your Son Jesus, that we may belong to Him.

 
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November 22nd: St. Cecilia

St. Cecilia, the patroness of musicians, was an early Roman martyr. Against her will, her parents arranged a marriage for her to a Roman pagan, Valerian, whom Cecilia converted to Christianity on her wedding night. Her husband and brother-in-law later were martyred for their new faith, and Cecilia was captured as well. When she refused to give up her faith, the governor ordered her head cut off.

St. Cecilia, singing martyr, pray for us and for all musicians!

 
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November 23rd: Bl. Miguel Pro

Bl. Miguel Pro was a Mexican Jesuit priest. During the early-twentieth-century persecution of Catholics by the Masonic leaders of the Mexican government, he continued to minister to his people despite the prohibitions of the government. Constantly in danger of his life, Fr. Pro's secret ministry was carried out using several disguises. Once he dressed up as a policeman to get into the prison where condemned Catholic prisoners were awaiting execution, and brought them Holy Communion. Another time he only barely escaped from the police by falling into step with a girl walking down the street and pretending to be her lover.

However, it was only a matter of time before the police finally arrested Fr. Pro. He was sentenced to execution for treason without even having a trial. Bl. Miguel Pro was executed by a firing squad on November 23rd, 1927 - he died crying, 'Long live Christ the King!' The funeral of the young martyr-priest was attended by tens of thousands of mourners, so many that the magistrates feared a revolution. After his death, miracles began to occur, and Fr. Miguel Pro was beatified in 1988.

I am ready to give my life for souls, but I want nothing from anyone for myself. All that I want is to lead them to God. - Bl. Miguel Pro

 
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November 24th: St. Andrew Dung-Lac and companions

This feastday commemorates 117 Vietnamese Catholics martyred during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These holy Catholic heroes, priests and lay people alike, courageously suffered persecution, torture, and death rather than reject their faith. They were all canonized together on June 18th, 1988 by Pope John Paul II.

 
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November 25th: St. Catherine Laboure

St. Catherine Laboure was born into a peasant family in 1806 and entered the convent of the Daughters of Charity, founded by St. Vincent de Paul, at the age of 24. She had a great devotion to Our Lady, and was favoured to receive a vision of Our Lady as she appears on the Miraculous Medal. Our Lady requested that Catherine have a medal made according to the vision. Within two years of the apparition, millions of medals had been distributed, and cures and conversion had been reported. 'The Little Sister who saw Our Lady' became famous - but nobody except Catherine's confessor, Fr. Aladel (who later founded the Sodality of the Children of Mary) knew which of the sisters it was who had received the visions! The humble Catherine kept her identity a secret until just before her death in 1876.

St. Catherine Laboure, humble servant of Mary, pray for us!

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

 
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November 26th: St. John Berchmans

St. John Berchmans, the patron of altar boys, was born in 1599. A faithful daily altar server, he determined at a young age to enter the priesthood despite his family's poverty-stricken circumstances. Eventually John entered the Jesuit order, where he was distinguished by outstanding obedience, kindness to others, and cheerfulness. Like St. Therese of Lisieux, he made it his goal to serve God by doing little things well, for the love of Christ. At the age of only twenty-two, he became ill with a fever and died peacefully soon afterwards.

Pray the Litany to St. John Berchmans!
What's a litany?

St. John Berchmans, model of students and young people, pray for us!

 
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November 27th: Feast of the Miraculous Medal

On November 27th, 1830, St. Catherine Laboure (feastday November 25th), a little French nun in the convent of the Daughters of Charity, saw the Blessed Virgin in a vision, holding out her hands from which brilliant rays streamed onto the earth. The figure of Mary was framed by the words 'O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.' The Virgin asked Catherine to have a medal made according to the vision, and to distribute it. With the approval of her superiors, St. Catherine Laboure obeyed, and the little medal soon became known as the 'Miraculous Medal' because of the miracles which occurred when it was used.

O Mary Immaculate, cover me with your virginal mantle, that I may come forth from it purified, and present me to Jesus, your beloved Son. O Mary Immaculate, the most pure, the most holy, and the most perfect of creatures, lead all your children to Heaven! - prayer given by Our Lady to St. Catherine Laboure

 
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November 30th: St. Andrew the Apostle

'As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, 'Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.' Immediately they left their nets and followed after Him.' Matt. 4:18-20

St. Andrew the Apostle, the brother of St. Peter, was crucified in Greece on a cross in the shape of an X. For this reason, he is always portrayed with an X-shaped cross. He is the patron of Scotland.

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