St. Mark Ji Tianxiang

 I am so excited to tell you about today's Saint for the letter 'M.' This Saint has a lot to teach us about perseverance and hope in the midst of despair and unanswered prayers. His name is St. Mark Ji Tianxiang. 

Mark Ji was born in 1834 in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern  Zhili, China. He was raised in a Christian family and grew up to become a physician. He was a respected member of his community. As a doctor, he served the poor for free. However, in his 30's, he was afflicted with a severe stomach ailment. He treated himself with opium, which was a common remedy for pain, but was also highly addictive. 

Mark Ji soon became addicted. In the 19th century, addiction was not understood to be a disease as it is today. Opium addicts were scorned and addiction was considered to be a weakness of character. Mark Ji continued to fight his addiction and frequently went to confession. However, since he continued to confess the same sin, the priest thought that that was evidence that there was no firm purpose of amendment - no desire to do better. Without the resolve to repent and sin no more, confession is invalid. After a few years, the priest told Mark Ji not to return until he could meet the requirements for confession. 

For most people, this would have been a real challenge to their faith and probably a death knell for their relationship with the Church. But Mark Ji knew himself to be loved by the Father. He could not overcome his addiction, but he could keep showing up. And show up he did - for 30 years. For 30 years, he was unable to receive the sacraments and for 30 years he prayed to become a martyr because he felt that was his only path to heaven. It seemed to him that he could only be saved through a martyr's crown. 

The Boxer Rebellion was an anti-imperialist, anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China from 1899-1901. As the rebels turned against Christians, both native Chinese and foreign missionaries, Mark Ji got his prayer for martyrdom answered. He was rounded up with other dozens of other Christians, including his son, six grandchildren and two daughters-in-law. During his trial, Mark Ji was given the opportunity to apostatize, but he stood firm in his faith. He was lead to his execution, along with other members of his family, on July 7, 1900. He asked his captors to kill him last so that none of his family would have to die alone. This was granted and as he waited for his own death he sang the litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

Mark Ji's feast day is July 7 and he is the patron saint for all who struggle with addiction. 

St. Livinus

 Today's letter is 'L', and I have chosen St. Livinus as our Saint of the day - partly because today is his Feast Day.

Livinus was born in Ireland in the late sixth century (exact date is unknown). Legend says that his father was a Scottish Noble and his mother an Irish Princess. He studied in England, where he visited St. Augustine of Canterbury. He then returned to Ireland. Later he went on pilgrimage in Ghent (Belgium) and Zeeland (Netherlands) where he preached. During one of his sermons, Livinus was attacked by a group of pagans who cut off his tongue and head. 

The villages of Sint-Lievens-Esse, where he was martyred, and Sint-Lievens-Houtem, where he was buried, are named in his honor. 

St. Katharine Drexel

 For the letter 'K', I have chosen a Saint that I know is a favorite of many, St. Katharine Drexel. 

Katharine, who was born as Catherine Mary Drexel in Philadelphia in 1858, was the first person who was born in the United States to be canonized as a Saint. (Note: St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton was canonized earlier, but she was born before the U.S. was a country). Katharine was canonized in 2000 by Pope St. John Paul II. 

Katharine's father was an investment banker. She and her sisters were brought up in the lap of luxury. They were taken on tours of the United States an Europe, and Katharine made her social debut in 1878. Katharine's parents also taught them about the obligation of wealth. Three times a week the family gave out food, clothing and rent assistance from their family home. When widows or single women were too proud to come to the house, the family quietly sought them out.

Katharine was appalled by what she read about the plight of Native Americans. When her family visited the western states, she observed their destitution first hand. She wanted to do something specific to hel - thus began her life-long support of numerous missions in the United States.

When their father died, the Drexel sisters were left with a large inheritance. In 1887, the sisters were received in a private audience with Pope Leo XIII. They asked him for some missionaries to staff some Indian missions that they had been financing. The Pope suggested instead that Katharine become a missionary herself. After consulting with her Spiritual Director, she entered the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Pittsburg in 1889. In 1891, she professed her first vows, dedicating herself to work among the Native Americans and African-Americans. She took the name Mother Katharine and, with thirteen other women, established a new congregation called the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. 

Mother Katharine received requests for help and advise from various parts of the U.S. All told, Mother Katharine and her sisters established 145 missions, 50 schools for African-Americans, 12 schools for Native Americans and Xavier University of Louisiana, the only historically black Catholic college in the U.S. Much of this was financed by the income from Katharine's fortune. Unfortunately, because of the terms of her father's will, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament no longer had the Drexel fortune available to support their mission after Katherine's death. However, the order is still active and pursuing their original apostolate with Native-Americans and African Americans in 21 states and Haiti.

Mother Katharine Drexel died in 1955 at the age of 96. Her feast day is celebrated on March 3. She is patron of philanthropy and racial justice.

St. John Grande

 At the request of my cousin Jill, for the letter 'J' we will feature St. John. The hard part about this is choosing which St. John. According to https://www.catholic.org/saints/stindex (one of my primary sources), there are more than 70 Saints named John -- that does not count Blesseds or Saints whose names are other forms of the name John (Juan, Jean, Johan, etc.). I could have spent several days reading about these men - but I don't have that kind of time. So I picked St. John Grande kind of at random.

John Grande was born near Seville, Spain in 1546. He learned the merchant's trade and then opened a linen shop, but that work did not satisfy him. At the age of 19, he gave up the business, gave his property away and became a hermit. From that moment on, he called himself John Grande Pecador (Great Sinner). However, life in seclusion was not his ultimate calling. 

He went to the city of   Jerez de la Fronter, where he took care of prisoners, providing them with food, clothes, medical care and humane treatment. Due to his good relationships with those leaving prison, he was also assigned supervision of a care facility for people expelled from hospitals and shelters. He also helped women of the streets, helping them to obtain dowries so that they could leave their lives of sin and start families of their own. A wealthy couple provided him with funds to open his own hospital, which became famous for good care of the sick and a deeply religious atmosphere. 

John died on June 3, 1600, a victim of the plague. His feast day is June 3. 

St. Irenaeus

 Day 9 of our November Saints and for the letter 'I' we have St. Irenaeus. Irenaeus was born about 125-130 AD probably in Smyrna in Asia Minor (now Turkey). He was brought up in a Christian family in an area where Christians were numerous and the memory of the Apostles was still cherished. He was a disciple of St. Polycarp, who is thought to have known and learned from John the Apostle. 

Irenaeus went to Gaul (present day France) to serve as a priest in the city of Lyon. During his time there, there was a terrible persecution and many of the clergy were imprisoned for the faith. They sent Irenaeus to Rome with a letter to the Pope concerning the heresy of Montanism. While he was in Rome, the Bishop of Lyon was martyred. He returned to Lyon to become the second Bishop of that city. As Bishop, he divided his energies between the duties of a Pastor and those of a Missionary. 

What Irenaeus is known for his writings against Gnosticism, the most famous is his book Against Heresies. In this treatise, he puts forth the doctrines of various sects and contrasts them with the teaching of the Apostles. Irenaeus wrote in Greek, but his work was quickly translated into Latin and widely circulated. 

The date of his death is unknown, but it was likely close to the end of the second century or the beginning of the third. He was buried in a crypt under the altar of the church of St. John in Lyon, which was later renamed St. Irenaeus in his honor. Unfortunately, his tomb was destroyed in 1562 by the Huguenots and his relics were either destroyed or lost. 

In the Roman Church and the Anglican Communion, his feast is celebrated on June 28. In the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church, it is celebrated on August 23.

Venerable Henriette DeLille

 With my saint posts, I prefer to stick with those who have been canonized (Saints) or beatified (Blesseds) because there are so many of these that I will never run out of material. However, there are some who are on their way to that point that are worthy of mention and whose story I feel the desire to share. Our 'H' saint is one of these.

In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI declared Henriette DeLille to be Venerable, meaning that the person has demonstrated heroic virtue in their life and can be considered for the next step in the process toward canonization. 

Henriette was born on March 11, 1813, in New Orleans, LA. Her mother was a free woman of color and her father was French. Their union was a common law marriage such as was common type of union (called the placage system) between ethnic European men and women of African, Native American or mixed-race descent. Henriette was raised to enter into the same type of union by being taught, French literature, music and dancing. Her mother also taught her nursing skills and herbal medicine. 

Raised a Roman Catholic in the French tradition, Henriette was drawn to the teachings of the Church. She resisted the life she was raised to, becoming a strong opponent to the placage system which she believed went against the Church's teaching on the sacrament of marriage. Henriette was influenced by Sister Marthe Fontier who had opened a school for girls of color in New Orleans. In 1827, at the age of 14, Henriette began teaching as well. 

In 1835, Henriette's mother suffered a nervous breakdown and was declared incompetent. Henriette was granted her mother's assets. After providing for her mother's care, she sold all the property and used the proceeds to found a small, unrecognized religious order which she called the Sisters of the Presentation. This small congregation of nine women cared for the sick, helped the poor and educated free and enslaved children and adults. They took into their home some elderly women who needed more than visitation and thereby opened the first Catholic home for the elderly in America. 

In 1837, Fr. Etienne Rousselon of New Orleans obtained formal recognition of the congregation from the Holy See. The congregation changed its name to Sisters of the Holy Family and continued their work for the sick and the poor. Henriette died at the age of 49 on November, 17, 1862, during the Union occupation of New Orleans in the American Civil War. Her friends attributed her death to a life of service, poverty and hard work. The Sisters of the Holy Family remain active today. 

Since Henriette DeLille has not yet been beatified, she has not been assigned a feast day, but she is recognized as patron of racial equality, gender equality, social equality, educational equality, health equality and equanimity. 

St. Gorgonia

 For my Saint posts every November, I aim to offer a variety of Saints that will reflect the universality of the Catholic Church. Today, for the letter 'G', we have a married lay-woman from the early centuries of the Church. 

St. Gorgonia was from a very saintly family. Her parents were St. Gregory  Nazianzus  the Elder and St. Nonna; her brothers were St. Gregory of  Nazianzus, also known as Gregory the Theologian, and St. Caesarius. Raised in such a prestigious family, she was given a great example for establishing her own family. She married a man of some influence named Vitalian. Gorgonia was quite influential herself, helping her husband grow in the faith. 

The couple had several children (the sources I researched differed on the number). St. Gorgonia is called the "pattern of a married saint" for her dedication to her Vocation as a wife and mother. She was also known for her hospitality. Upon her death in 375, her brother, Gregory, gave her eulogy in which he called her a model Christian spouse and mother, the "paragon of women" and "the diamond of her sex."

St. Gorgonia is patroness of people afflicted by bodily ills or sickness. Her feast day is February 23 in the Eastern Orthodox Church and December 9 in the Roman Catholic Church.