St. Peter of Luxembourg

SAINT PETER of LUXEMBURG
Bishop and Cardinal
(1369-1387)

Saint Peter of Luxemburg, descended both by his father and mother from the noblest families in Europe, was born in Lorraine in the year 1369. When still a schoolboy twelve years of age, he went to London as a hostage for his brother, who had been taken prisoner. The English were so won by Peter’s holy example that they released him at the end of the year, taking his word the ransom would be paid. King Richard II of England invited him to remain at his court, but Peter returned to Paris, determined to have no master but Christ.

Because of his prudence and sanctity, at the early age of fifteen he was appointed bishop of Metz. He made his public entry into his see barefoot and riding on a donkey. He governed his diocese with all the zeal and prudence of maturity, and divided his revenues in three parts — for the Church, the poor, and lastly, his household. His charities often left him personally destitute; only twenty pence would remain to him when he died.

Created Cardinal of Saint George, his austerities in the midst of court life were so severe that he was ordered to moderate them. Peter replied, “I shall always be an unprofitable servant, but I can at least obey.” Ten months after this last promotion he fell ill with a fever; he lingered for some time in a sinking condition, his holiness increasing as he drew near his end. Saint Peter, it was believed, never stained his soul by mortal sin; yet as he grew in grace his holy contempt for self became more and more intense. When he had received the last sacraments, he forced his attendants each in turn to scourge him for his faults, and then lay silent until he died. The year was 1387, and the Cardinal-Saint was only 18 years old.

God was pleased to glorify His servant after his death. Among other miracles attributed to him the following one is related. On July 5, 1432, a child about twelve years old was killed when he fell from a high tower in the palace of Avignon, upon a sharp rock. The father, distraught with grief, picked up the scattered pieces of the skull and brains and carried them in a sack, with the mutilated body of his son, to Saint Peter’s shrine. There, with many tears, he besought the Saint’s intercession. After a time the child returned to life, and he was set upon the altar for all to see. In honor of this miracle the city of Avignon chose Saint Peter as its patron Saint.

Reflection: Saint Peter teaches us how, when there is self-denial, the highest dignities and all this world can give, may serve to make a Saint.

St. Francesco Antonio Fasani

Born in Lucera (southeast Italy), Francesco entered the Conventual Franciscans in 1695. After his ordination 10 years later, he taught philosophy to younger friars, served as guardian of his friary and later became provincial. When his term of office ended, Francesco became master of novices and finally pastor in his hometown. In his various ministries, he was loving, devout and penitential. He was a sought-after confessor and preacher. One witness at the canonical hearings regarding Francesco's holiness testified, "In his preaching he spoke in a familiar way, filled as he was with the love of God and neighbor; fired by the Spirit, he made use of the words and deed of Holy Scripture, stirring his listeners and moving them to do penance." Francesco showed himself a loyal friend of the poor, never hesitating to seek from benefactors what was needed. At his death in Lucera, children ran through the streets and cried out, "The saint is dead! The saint is dead!" Francesco was canonized in 1986. Comment: Eventually we become what we choose. If we choose stinginess, we become stingy. If we choose compassion, we become compassionate. The holiness of Francesco Antonio Fasani resulted from his many small decisions to cooperate with God's grace. Quote: During his homily at the canonization of Francesco, Pope John Paul II reflected on John 21:15 in which Jesus asks Peter if he loves Jesus more than the other apostles and then tells Peter, "Feed my lambs." The pope observed that in the final analysis human holiness is decided by love. "He [Francesco] made the love taught us by Christ the fundamental characteristic of his existence, the basic criterion of his thought and activity, the supreme summit of his aspirations" (L'Osservatore Romano, vol. 16, number 3, 1986).

St. Catherine of Alexandria

According to the Legend of St. Catherine, this young woman converted to Christianity after receiving a vision. At the age of 18, she debated 50 pagan philosophers. Amazed at her wisdom and debating skills, they became Christians—as did about 200 soldiers and members of the emperor's family. All of them were martyred. Sentenced to be executed on a spiked wheel, Catherine touched the wheel and it shattered. She was beheaded. Centuries later, angels are said to have carried the body of St. Catherine to a monastery at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Devotion to her spread as a result of the Crusades. She was invoked as the patroness of students, teachers, librarians and lawyers. Catherine is one of the 14 Holy Helpers, venerated especially in Germany and Hungary. Comment: The pursuit of God's wisdom may not lead to riches or earthly honors. In Catherine's case, this pursuit contributed to her martyrdom. She was not, however, foolish in preferring to die for Jesus rather than live only by denying him. All the rewards that her tormenters offered her would rust, lose their beauty or in some other way become a poor exchange for Catherine's honesty and integrity in following Jesus Christ. Quote: "Therefore I [King Solomon] prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her, nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;/ Because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire. Beyond health and comeliness I loved her, and I chose to have her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep. Yet all good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands; and I rejoiced in them all, because Wisdom is their leader, though I had not known that she is the mother of these" (Wisdom 7:7-12).

St. Ann

Saint of The Day for


July 26

Saint Anne (3 B.C.)

"Good Saint Anne" is the loving way many Catholics address the mother of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Mary, the child of Saint Anne, was born fifteen years, three months and seventeen days before the birth of Jesus. Fifty years after Saint Anne's death, Saint Anne's body
was brought to France by Saint Mary Magdalen and her companions in the year 47. Countless churches have been dedicated to Saint Anne all over the world. Canada is particularly devoted to her, and has a beautiful shrine named for her there, called "Saint Anne de Beaupre," to which people come from everywhere.

Simplicity is the secret by which we gain Saint Anne's love, her intercession and her protection. Saint Anne taught her little daughter to read the Holy Scriptures. Mary was the fulfillment of all its prophecies. Sensing her daughter's immaculate and incomparable holiness, beauty and brilliance, Saint Anne and Saint Joachim presented Mary in the Temple when she was three years old, and gave her to God and to us forever. The feast of this Presentation is November 21.

St. Benedict

July 11, 2010  St. Benedict  (480?-543)

It is unfortunate that no contemporary biography was written of a man who has exercised measureless influence on monasticism in the West. Benedict is well recognized in the later Dialogues of St. Gregory, but these are sketches to illustrate miraculous elements of his career. Benedict was born of a distinguished family in central Italy, studied at Rome and early in life was drawn to the monastic life. At first he became a hermit, leaving a depressing world—pagan armies on the march, the Church torn by schism, people suffering from war, morality at a low ebb. He soon realized that he could not live a hidden life in a small town any better than in a large city, so he withdrew to a cave high in the mountains for three years. Some monks chose him as their leader for a while, but found his strictness not to their taste. Still, the shift from hermit to community life had begun for him. He had an idea of gathering various families of monks into one “Grand Monastery” to give them the benefit of unity, fraternity, permanent worship in one house. Finally he began to build what was to become one of the most famous monasteries in the world—Monte Cassino, commanding three narrow valleys running toward the mountain. The Rule that gradually developed prescribed a life of liturgical prayer, study, manual labor and living together in community under a common father (abbot). Benedictine asceticism is known for its moderation, and Benedictine charity has always shown concern for the people in the surrounding countryside. In the course of the Middle Ages, all monasticism in the West was gradually brought under the Rule of St. Benedict. Today the Benedictine family is represented by two branches: the Benedictine Federation and the Cistercians.  Comment: The Church has been blessed through Benedictine devotion to the liturgy, not only in its actual celebration with rich and proper ceremony in the great abbeys, but also through the scholarly studies of many of its members. Liturgy is sometimes confused with guitars or choirs, Latin or Bach. We should be grateful to those who both preserve and adapt the genuine tradition of worship in the Church. Quote: “Rightly, then, the liturgy is considered as an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. In the liturgy the sanctification of man is manifested by signs perceptible to the senses...; in the liturgy full public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and his members. “From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of his Body the Church, is a sacred action, surpassing all others”