Neither are the souls of the pious dead separated from the Church which even now is the kingdom of Christ. Otherwise there would be no remembrance of them at the altar of God in the communication of the Body of Christ. -- Saint Augustine of Hippo from “The City of God

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Saturday, March 16, 2013

Doctors of the Church (A List)



The following is an alphabetical list of the 35 "Doctors of the Church" of the Roman Catholic Church.

Before we get to the list, here is the definition of Doctor of the Church from "The Modern Catholic Dictionary" by Father John A. Hardon, S.J.:

DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH. A title given since the Middle Ages to certain saints whose writing or preaching is outstanding for guiding the faithful in all periods of the Church's history. Originally the Western Fathers of the Church, Gregory the Great, Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome, were considered the great doctors of the Church. But the Church has officially added many more names to the original four.

The following are Doctors of the Church
  • Albert the Great
  • Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
  • Ambrose of Milan
  • Anselm of Canterbury
  • Anthony of Padua
  • Athanasius
  • Augustine of Hippo
  • Basil the Great
  • Bede the Venerable
  • Bernard of Clairvaux
  • Bonaventure
  • Catherine of Siena
  • Cyril of Alexandria
  • Cyril of Jerusalem
  • Ephrem of Syria
  • Francis of Sales
  • Gregory Nanzianzen
  • Gregory the Great
  • Hilary of Poitiers
  • Hildegard von Bingen
  • Isidore
  • Jerome
  • John Chrystostom
  • John Damascene
  • John of Avila
  • John of the Cross
  • Lawrence of Brindisi
  • Leo the Great
  • Peter Canisius
  • Peter Chrysologus
  • Peter Damian
  • Robert Bellarmine
  • Teresa of Avila
  • Therese of Lisieux
  • Thomas Aquinas

Friday, March 15, 2013

St. Louise de Marillac



There is some mystery to Louise’s birth, but what we do know is that even though Louise's Mother died soon after giving birth, Louise herself was then raised by her Aristocratic father. It was soon after that Louise’s father remarried, but unfortunately, Louise never enjoyed a close relationship with her step mother, so it was decided to send the young Louise to a Dominican convent.

This was a difficult time for Louise and never an exuberant child, she became even more introverted as she studied her lessons under the guidance of the Sisters of that Order, for Louise did display a curious mind and a propensity for intellectual pursuits. Living among the Nuns also fostered within her soul a deep desire to become a Religious herself, but fate intervened, and her wish was not to be met just yet.

Louise instead embarked on an arranged marriage in 1613 to Antoine LaGras who was also of noble standing and was secretary to Queen Marie de Medici. Their married life was comfortable but Antoine suffered many ailments, and so the shadow of death was not far away from the LaGras family.

During this difficult and worrisome time, Louise was to meet a very holy priest by the name of Francis de Sales, who provided much help to the distraught Louise.

Sadly Antoine LaGras died in the year 1625, leaving Louise a widow, but also leaving her free to work amongst the poor, which she had been doing for quite some time.

It was through her meeting with Francis de Sales that Louise met, Fr. Vincent de Paul, who inquired of her if she wished to help him in his enterprise, the Confraternities of Charity to work within the different parishes around France.

Louise had a great devotion to the poor, and even though born of noble birth, she mixed easily in all social classes, and with her quiet and humble spirit, many felt comfortable in her reassuring presence.

Louise took great delight in her work alongside Fr. Vincent, and with her skills as a homemaker, she was able to take charge of the day to day finances, so that everything ran smoothly, and the poor would receive the greatest benefits.

It was in 1633 that Louise decided to train a small group of women to serve the poor, and trained them to show respect and compassion, but also common sense when dealing with the destitute of France. And it was from these humble beginnings that the Daughters of Charity began.

Louise along side Fr. de Paul worked hard to establish this Order of Religious who were not confined to Convents, but, instead worked amongst the poorest of the poor. Louise was to teach all her sisters to have a deep respect for the poor, lonely and the widowed and to serve the poor as if they were serving Jesus Himself.

And as Louise de Marillac and Fr. Vincent worked side by side in this endeavour, so too, did they die within months of each other.

Louise de Marillac died in 1660. St. Vincent de Paul died six months later.

Louise was canonized on 11th March 1934 by Pope Pius XI.

Some Quotes

Prudence consists in speaking about important matters only and not relating a lot of trifles that are not worth saying.

How good it is to trust God! Turn to Him often, as children look to their father and mother in their needs.

One of the most powerful reasons to induce us to love God is the conviction we enjoy that He loves us.
And from these two great Saints, Vincent and Louise, yet another Frenchman would step forward to fulfill their vision of 'serving the poor'.




Monday, February 04, 2013

Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr



Saint Agatha (also known as: Agatha of Sicily; Agatha of Palermo; Agatha of Catania) has been honored since ancient times, and her name is included in the canon of the Mass. We have little reliable information about her, except that she was a martyr. The following is according to her Latin Acts which is from around the sixth century.

Saint Agatha was a young, wealthy and beautiful woman who lived a life consecrated to God. When the Roman Emperor Decius (Caius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius 249-251) announced his edicts against Christians, the Roman magistrate Quinctianus tried to profit by Agatha's sanctity; he planned to blackmail her into sex in exchange for not charging her. Saint Agatha was handed over to a brothel, but she refused to accept customers. After rejecting Quinctianus' advances, she was beaten, imprisoned, tortured, her breasts were crushed and cut off. One version says that Saint Peter appeared to her and healed her. She was imprisoned further and rolled onto live coals. She was near death when an earthquake struck. In the earthquake the magistrate's friend was crushed, and the magistrate fled. Agatha thanked God for an end to her pain, and died. Her death occurred around 250 A.D.

Legend says that carrying her veil, taken from her tomb in Catania, in procession has averted eruptions of Mount Etna. Her intercession is also reported to have saved Malta from Turkish invasion in 1551.

Her popular veneration is of a very early date; her name occurs in the prayer, "Nobis quoque peccatoribus," in the Canon of the Mass, and in some places bread is blessed after the Consecration of the Mass on her feast and called Agatha bread.