Memorial of Saints (September 4)

St. Rose of Viterbo had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a young girl. After some years, she began preaching in the streets of her hometown in support of the Pope, and at the same time denounced prophetically the Emperor Frederick II. When the allies of the Emperor sought her death, Rose fled to Soriano. In 1250 A.D., as she had predicted, the Emperor died. When the nuns at Viterbo refused Rose admittance to their convent, Rose returned to her parents' home and passed away at an early age of 17 (died ca. 1252 A.D.).

St. Rosalia dedicated her life to God since her youth. She went to live as a hermitess in a cave and practiced self-discipline and prayer. After some years, she transferred to Mount Pellegrino where she continued her life of austerity, penance and deep prayer. St. Rosalia is the principal patron saint of Palermo, Italy, because of her role in ending a plague that struck the region in 1640 A.D. (died ca. 1160 A.D.).

St. Ida of Herzfeld was raised in the court of Charlemagne. She got married to Egbert, but became a widow early in her marriage. She then spent time helping the poor. When her son Warin became a monk at Herzfeld, she moved out of her estate at Westphalia to be near her son. With her means and influence, she built a convent so that her works of mercy and charity with the poor will be continued. It is in this convent that she spent her last years (died ca. 825 A.D.).

Sts. Marcellus and Valerian were Christians when the persecution against the faith was launched by Marcus Aurelius. Both were imprisoned but managed to escape. Marcellus was sheltered by a pagan whom he had converted to Christianity. Priscus, the governor, had Marcellus arrested and then sentenced to death by burying him in the ground up to his waist. Marcellus died three days after this ordeal. Valerian on the other hand was also recaptured and then martyred like Marcellus by being beheaded at Tournus (died ca. 178 A.D.).

St. Marinus was a Croatian stonemason and worked in the quarries of Rimini. His companion stonemason, St. Leo, became a priest; Marinus became a deacon. Leo then went to Montefeltro while Marinus continued to work on an aqueduct for 12 years. After someone falsely accused him, Marinus fled into the mountains and spent his life as a hermit. A monastery grew up around his little hermitage. Later, a town, which would be named after him (San Marino), grew also around the hermitage and the monastery. St. Marinus is the patron saint of the tiny republic of San Marino near northcentral Italy in the Adriatic coast (died ca. 4th century A.D.).

St. Boniface I was elected Pope in 418 A.D. He was already old at the time. A dissident faction in the Church wanted Eulalius instead as the Pope. But Emperor Honorius settled the dispute by deciding in favor of Boniface I. As Pope, Boniface I opposed Pelagianism. He supported St. Augustine in upholding the orthodoxy of the Christian faith (died ca. 422 A.D.).

St. Ultan of Ardbraccan was a bishop of Ireland. He was known for his evangelizing abilities, knowledge of the faith, and his charity towards the less fortunate. Catholic tradition says that he collected the writings of St. Brigid of Ireland and wrote a biography about her (died ca. 657 century A.D.).

22nd Sunday of the Year (A)

(Edited) Sunday reflections: (From) years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)

August 31, 2014
Liturgical readings
Jeremiah 20:7-9
Psalm 63
Romans 12:1-2
Matthew 16:21-27

"He must deny self, take up his cross, and follow Christ."

Mortification is a term we often hear during the Lenten season. But it's an important element of Christian life, and must be considered even outside of Lent. Its meaning is rooted in Christ's self-sacrifice for all the faithful on the Cross. Mortification need not be external, or something done out of obligation. Rather, it can signify one's desire to purify the heart, and make it more pleasing to the Lord. It can be more time for prayer or more acts of renunciation: like efforts to be kind at work (even if one feels lazy); giving up something as an act of charity; or simply behaving well behind the wheel - despite others' misbehavior and bad conduct on the road.

In this Sunday's gospel, Peter did not yet see the full meaning of following his Master. When the Lord said He would suffer, Peter did not accept it. Yes, he confessed Jesus as the Son of the living God. But, the suffering Christ he could not accept in his understanding of his Master's mission. Of this gospel passage, author Bishop Fulton Sheen writes: Peter "would have a half Christ" - the Divine Christ, but not the suffering, Redeeming Christ. What Jesus therefore called in Peter as "the Rock", had now become a "stumbling stone" for His obedience to His Father. It would not have led to this, had not Peter guarded his heart from Satan's intrusion.

Monastic spirituality also has much to teach today's world about the virtue of mortification and self-denial. St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153 A.D.), whose feast was celebrated last August 20, teaches that there are two enemies of the soul: a misguided love for the world, and an excessive love of self - two realities modern culture does not notice in its ways of work and life. But if the faithful today were to take time to pray and reflect, and notice this direction in specific areas of life and work, it can be resisted. The Lord gave the Church the corrective: to "deny self, take up the cross, and follow Jesus". God gives all life and work as a gift. It is a also a responsibility that has to be worked on with Christ's self-sacrificing example.

Scripture quotes for reflection:
"What profit would a man show if he were to gain the whole world and ruin himself in the process? The Son of Man will come with his Father's glory accompanied by his angels. When he does, he will repay each man according to his conduct." (Matthew 16)

St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor:
540-604 A.D.

Feast day, September 3

Birth, family, education, and early public office


St. Gregory was born of a wealthy patrician, Gordianus, at a time when the Roman Empire was disintegrating. His family, however, owned large estates in Sicily, as well as a magnificent home on the Caelian Hill in Rome. Besides wealth, St. Gregory's family was also known for its piety - having already given to the Church two sixth-century popes - Felix III and Agapitus I.


Amid the turmoil in Rome, Gregory still received a good education. He studied law and prepared to follow his father into public service. Upon reaching thirty years of age, he was appointed as Prefect of Rome, the highest civil office in the city. When his father passed away and his mother then retired to a convent, St. Gregory inherited a vast amount of riches.

Sought a higher calling to serve God

For five years, Gregory served as Prefect of the city. He however decided to abandon his career and devote himself to the service of God. He went to Sicily where he turned the estates of his family into six monasteries. And then he returned to Rome, making his own home into a Benedictine monastery - under the patronage of St. Andrew, and under the spiritual leadership of Valentius. He then lived the life of a monk for three or four years before Pope Pelagius II appointed him a deacon in 578 A.D. - forcing St. Gregory to live a more active life outside his monastery. The Pope then sent St. Gregory as ambassador to the emperor's court in Constantinople.

Elected to the papacy

St. Gregory was recalled to Rome around 586 A.D., and returned to his monastery where he was then elected abbot. In 590 A.D., a terrible plague hit Rome, and among its victims was the pope. St. Gregory was immediately and unanimously voted and chosen to be pope. Gregory however tried to run away from the city, but he was forcibly carried to the Basilica of St. Peter, where he was consecrated to the papacy on September 3, 590 A.D. Gregory was about fifty years old at the time and he was the first monk to be elected pope.

Gregory's work as Pope

As the pope, St. Gregory restored ecclesiastical discipline, removed unworthy clerics from office, abolished clerical fees for burials and ordinations, and was prodigious in his charities. He also administered papal properties wisely and justly; ransomed captives from the Lombards; protected Jews from unjust coercion; and fed the victims of a famine. As pope, Gregory also was a writer - writing a work called Regula Pastoralis, which addresses the office of a bishop. This work was an immediate success, and for hundreds of years provided the guidance for the pastoral mission of a bishop.

A missionary work dear to his papacy

Of all his work as pope, nothing was more dear to St. Gregory than the conversion of England. He turned to his own monastery and chose a band of forty monks, under the leadership of the man that was to become St. Augustine of Canterbury. St. Gregory then instructed the monks to purify rather than to destroy pagan temples and customs, and to convert pagan rites and festivals into Christian feasts. Although St. Augustine of Canterbury passed away eight years after this mission to convert England, the work he and the monks began eventually bore fruit.

Last years, sickness and death

Throughout his life, St. Gregory practiced much asceticism. His health was always precarious. And he suffered from gastric disorders, probably because of the excessive fasts he made. During the last years of his life, he was emaciated almost in the likeness of a skeleton. He suffered also from gout and was unable to walk at the time of his death. He died on March 12, 604 A.D. and was buried in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Writings and liturgical works

St. Gregory wrote treatises, notably his Dialogues - a collection of visions, prophecies, miracles, and lives of Italian saints. He also wrote the Liber regulae pastoralis - on the duties of a bishop, plus hundreds of sermons and letters. The custom of saying thirty successive Masses for a dead person goes back to him and bears his name. And not to forget also is the famous Gregorian Chant that is attributed to him.

Doctor of the Church

St. Gregory is the last of the traditional Latin Doctors of the Church. Despite his prestige and status during his lifetime, St. Gregory called himself Servus Servorum Dei - Servant of the Servants of God - a title still retained by his successors to this day, fourteen centuries later. Because of St. Gregory's tireless works and apostolates, he merited the title "The Great". He was one of the two popes who were titled "The Great", the other being St. Leo the Great.

References of this article

• Dictionary of Saints, by John J. Delaney


• The Doctors of the Church vol 1, by John F. Fink


• A Year With the Saints, by Don Bosco Press, Inc.


• Saints for Our Time, by Ransom