I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:14-15)
Lives Of Saints
January 1 : Mary, Mother of God
The Council of Ephesus in 431 confirmed a truth very dear to the Christian people: Mary is the true Mother of God, insofar as she is mother of Jesus, true God and true man: two natures in one Divine person, without confusion, without change, without division.
Read MoreJanuary 2 : Saint Basil the Great
St. Basil the Great was born at Caesarea of Cappadocia in 330. He was one of ten children of St. Basil the Elder and St. Emmelia. Several of his brothers and sisters are honored among the saints. He attended school in Caesarea, as well as Constantinople and Athens, where he became acquainted with St. Gregory... Read More
January 3 : Most Holy Name of Jesus
We give honour to the Name of Jesus, not because we believe that there is any intrinsic power hidden in the letters composing it, but because the Name of Jesus reminds us of all the blessings we receive through our Holy Redeemer. To give thanks for these blessings we revere the Holy Name, as we... Read More
January 4 : Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Mother Seton is one of the keystones of the American Catholic Church. She founded the first American religious community for women, the Sisters of Charity. She opened the first American parish school and established the first American Catholic orphanage. All this she did in the span of 46 years while raising her five children. Elizabeth... Read More
January 5 : Saint John Neumann
Perhaps because the United States got a later start in the history of the world, it has relatively few canonized saints, but their number is increasing. John Neumann was born in what is now the Czech Republic. After studying in Prague, he came to New York at 25 and was ordained a priest. He did... Read More
January 6 : Saint André Bessette
Brother André expressed a saint’s faith by a lifelong devotion to Saint Joseph. Sickness and weakness dogged André from birth. He was the eighth of 12 children born to a French Canadian couple near Montreal. Adopted at 12, when both parents had died, he became a farmhand. Various trades followed: shoemaker, baker, blacksmith—all failures. He... Read More
January 7 : Saint Raymond of Peñafort
Since Raymond lived into his hundredth year, he had a chance to do many things. As a member of the Spanish nobility, he had the resources and the education to get a good start in life. By the time he was 20, he was teaching philosophy. In his early 30s he earned a doctorate in... Read More
January 8 : Saint Angela of Foligno
Some saints show marks of holiness very early. Not Angela! Born of a leading family in Foligno, Italy, she became immersed in the quest for wealth and social position. As a wife and mother, she continued this life of distraction. Around the age of 40, she recognized the emptiness of her life and sought God’s... Read More
January 9 : Saint Adrian of Canterbury
Though Saint Adrian turned down a papal request to become Archbishop of Canterbury, England, Pope Saint Vitalian accepted the rejection on the condition that Adrian serve as the Holy Father’s assistant and adviser. Adrian accepted, but ended up spending most of his life and doing most of his work in Canterbury. Born in Africa, Adrian was serving... Read More
January 10 : Baptism of the Lord
It’s a cliché, but true, that to finish well depends on making a “good beginning.” A month or so ago we heard “the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” proclaimed on the Second Sunday of Advent. Those words sound like a title—and, in a way, they are Mark’s “title” for... Read More