Bl. Franz Jägerstätter

 As we move through the alphabet the Saint-vember, we come to the letter 'F' and Bl. Franz Jägerstätter. I chose Franz because there was a movie made about his life that my Dad shared with me not too long ago and I wanted to know more about him.

Franz was born in Austria in 1907. Since his parents could not afford to marry, he was initially raised by his grandmother. His biological father was killed in WWI and his mother then married Heinrich Jägerstätter, who adopted the boy and gave him his name. Franz' life was much like that of any other Austrian peasant. He worked as a farmhand and a miner until he inherited his adoptive father's farmstead in 1933.  In 1936, he married  Franziska Schwaninger, who was deeply religious. Their honeymoon was spent in pilgimage to Rome, where they received a Papal blessing. Inspired by his wife, Franz began to study the Bible and the lives of the Saints. 

When German troops moved into Germany in 1938, he was the only person in his village to vote against the unification of Austria to Germany. His vote was suppressed and local authorities announced unanimous approval. He was dismayed to see many Catholics in his town supporting the Nazis. Franz underwent military training, but he refused to take the Hitler oath. His military service was deferred several times as he had exemption as a farmer. He was finally called to active duty on February 23, 1943. By this time, he had begun questioning the morality of the war and declared his status as a conscientious objector. His offer to serve as a medic was ignored and he was arrested and put in prison. A priest from his village visited him and tried to convince him to serve, but he stood firm on his convictions.

Accused of undermining military morale, Franz was sentenced to death in a military trial. He was executed by guillotine on August 9, 1943 at the age of 36. In June 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued an apostolic exhortation declaring  Franz Jägerstätter to be a martyr. He was beatified later that same year. His feast day is the date of his baptism, May 21. He is the patron of contentious objectors.

St. Edmund Arrowsmith

 Good Evening!  For today's Saint of the Day we are featuring the letter 'E' and St. Edmund Arrowsmith. Fr. Arrowsmith is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. 

St. Edmund was born Brian Arrowsmith in 1585 in Lancashire, England. His father was a yeoman farmer and his mothers family boasted of priests and martyrs. Although he was baptized Brian, he always used his confirmation name, Edmund, in honor of an uncle who trained English priests  in France. During his childhood, is family was frequently harassed for adherence to the Roman Church. 

At the age of 21, he left England to attend the English Colege, Douai, in France to study for the priesthood. He shortly had to return to England due to ill health, but he recovered and returned to school in 1607. He was ordained in 1612 and sent on the English mission a year later. He ministered to the Catholics of Lancashire without incident until 1622, when he was arrested and questioned by the Anglican Bishop of Chester. 

In 1628, after being betrayed, he was arrested again. This time he was convicted of being a Roman Catholic priest and sentenced to death. His final confession was heard by St. John Southworth, who was imprisoned with him. He was hanged, drawn and quartered on August 28, 1628. 

Edmund Arrowsmith was canonized as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales by Pope Paul VI in 1970. His feast days are August 28 alone and October 25 with the other martyrs. 

Bl. Dina Belanger

 Today's Saint of the Day for the letter 'D' is a tribute to our friends in Canada, as we will feature one of their own. 

Blessed Dina Belanger, also known by her religious name Marie of Saint Cecilia of Rome, was born in Quebec in 1897. The full name given to her at baptism was Marie-Marguerite-Dina-Adelaide. Her parents raised her in the faith, teaching her her prayers and taking her to Mass. At the age of 14, she entered a convent boarding school. At first, she was very homesick and her parents offered to take her home again. However she persevered and was soon moved to make a private act of consecration to God.

In 1913 she asked her parents and two priests for permission to enter the Notre-Dame order's novitiate. The priests counseled her to wait. Dina was a talented musician and had been learning piano and music from the nuns from the time she was eight until 1914. She went to New York in 1916 to study music. She returned to Canada upon her graduation in 1918. 

During this time, Dina's spiritual life was not dormant. She became a Third Order Dominican, taking the name of St. Catherine of Sienna. She then entered the  Religieuses de Jésus-Marie  at Niagara Falls in 1921where she assumed the religious name of Marie de St. Cecilia de Rome. She made monastic vows two years later. During her first mission in 1923, where she taught piano, she contracted Scarlet Fever. She recovered enough to be able to resume her teaching duties. However, the fever degenerated into tuberculosis. She said that her illness allowed her to further deepen her relationship with Jesus. 

She was asked by her Superior to write her biography in 1924 soon after falling ill. In a vision, she heard Jesus tell her, "You will do good by your writings." She continued her writing until just a few months before her death. She recovered and fell ill again a couple times before she dies of her illness on September 4, 1929.

Her feast day is Sept. 4.

Bl. Carlo Acutis

 For the letter 'C', I have chosen a Blessed that has fielded a lot of my prayers recently. He is the patron of computer programmers; I have been seeking his intercession for help with the ministries I am doing online - I just got off a Zoom Bible Study meeting and I have an Alpha on Zoom tomorrow, on both of which I am the designated "tech" person (LOL!!). 

So let me introduce you to my new friend, Blessed Carol Acutis. Bl. Carlo is the newest Catholic Blessed in a couple ways. Firstly, he was just beatified on October 10, 2020. Also, he was born in 1991 - yes, that is NINETEEN Ninety-one! Most of my readers will remember 1991; I do.

Carlo was born in London to a wealthy Italian family. The family moved to Milan shortly after Carlo's birth. His parents were not especially religious and when the young boy showed an interest in religious practices, his questions were answered by the family's Polish baby-sitter. He requested to receive his First Communion early at the age of seven. Thereafter he made the effort, either before or after Mass, to spend time in reflection before the Tabernacle. 

At school, Carlo would worry about his friends whose parents were divorcing and he would invite them to his home to support them. He would also defend peers who were bullied and mocked by bullies. Those around him considered him a "computer geek" on account of his skill with computers and the internet. At the age of 11 he started compiling a catalog of each Eucharistic Miracle around the world. He turned this catalog into a website which he completed in 2005. He wanted to use his gifts with the computer to evangelize the world. 

He had asked for his parents to take him on pilgrimage to the locations of all the known Eucharistic Miracles, but he contracted leukemia and his declining health prevented this. He died on October 12, 2006 at the age of 15. He was buried in Assisi according to his wishes. His feast day is October 12.

St.Babylas

 Blessed Dia de los Muertos!

For Day 2 of Saint-vember, we take the letter 'B' and learn about St. Babylas. Babylas was the twelfth Bishop of Antioch. The story is told that he once refused a visiting emperor admission to the church on account of his sinful ways. The Bishop told the emperor to take his place among the penitents. (No political comments, please.)  During the Decian persecution in the year 250, Babylas made an unwavering confession of faith and was thrown into prison. He is venerated as a martyr because he died in prison 3 years later. 

St. Babylas died in 253. He has the distinction of being the first Saint recorded to have had his remains moved (or "translated") for religious purposes. This practice was extremely common in later centuries. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byantine Rite, his feast day is celebrated on September 4. In the Roman Rite, his feast day is January 24.

Bl. Alan de la Roche

 Today, I will start my November Saints with the letter 'A' and Blessed Alan (or Alain) de le Roche (also known as Alanus de Rupe). I chose Bl. Alan for my brother-in-law and my nephew who share the middle name of Alan.

Alan was born around 1428. Various sources put his birthplace in Germany or Belgium, but the most reliable source says he was born in Brittany. He entered the Dominican Order in 1459. He was well known for his teaching in philosophy and theology and he was a renowned preacher. His special passion, and what he is most remembered for, was the preaching and re-establishment of the rosary. 

Pious tradition says that the Rosary was given to St. Dominic in the thirteenth century, but the devotion was nearly lost by Bl. Alan's time two centuries later. Alan supposedly heard the Lord and His Blessed Mother speaking to him telling him to preach this devotion. He is also said to have heard St. Dominic speak to him. Whether or not these "visions" were real (there is some doubt), Alan's preaching bore much fruit and devotion to the Holy Rosary spread. 

Alan died in 1475. His feast day is October 26.

All Hallows Eve

 Happy All Hallows Eve!

In addition to all the tricks or treats, tonight and tomorrow, we celebrate all the Saints in heaven. We not only celebrate the well known Saints like Patrick, Francis and Joan of Arc. We also honor the "unnamed" Saints - those people who are in Heaven but have not been recognized by the church. But what is a Saint?

In his book Mother Teresa's Secret Fire, Joseph Langford says: The saints reflect the beauty of God and his plan for us, a beauty they make concrete and tangible -- and inviting. . . . . . The saints illumine us with God's own light, granting us a glimpse of who both he and we truly are. They are a mirror of our own God-given dignity, of who we were created to be, and of what we can yet become. 

We are all created to be Saints. God loves each of us just as we are, but he loves us enough to desire us to be better than we are and as we draw closer to Him we grow closer to becoming the Saints we were made to be. I love to read, and tell, the stories of the Saints. They have reached the goal that we are aiming for. Each Saint has gotten there by their own God-guided path. Their diverse stories show us that we can get there, too. 

Tomorrow I will start once again to share my November "Saint of the Day" posts. I'm going to try an alphabetical approach this year - not sure how that will work. May all the Saints in Heaven pray for us!!