✠ புனிதர் லாரா ✠(St. Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena)அக்டோபர் 21

† இன்றைய புனிதர் †

(அக்டோபர் 21)

✠ புனிதர் லாரா ✠

(St. Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena)

மறைப்பணியாளர்/ நிறுவனர்:

(Religious and Founder)

பிறப்பு: மே 26, 1874

ஜெரிகோ, அன்டியோகுயியா, ஐக்கிய கொலம்பியாவின் மாகாணங்கள்

(Jericó, Antioquía, United States of Colombia)

இறப்பு: அக்டோபர் 21, 1949 (வயது 75)

பெலென்சிடோ, மெடெல்லின், அன்டியோகுயியா, கொலம்பியா

(Belencito, Medellín, Antioquía, Colombia)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

முக்திபேறு பட்டம்: ஏப்ரல் 25, 2004

திருத்தந்தை ஜான் பவுல்

(Pope John Paul II)

புனிதர் பட்டம்: மே 12, 2013

திருத்தந்தை ஃபிரான்சிஸ்

(Pope Francis)

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: அக்டோபர் 21

பாதுகாவல்:

இன பாகுபாடு காரணமாக பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்கள்

அனாதைகள்

மரியாவின் மாசற்ற இருதயம் சபை (Congregation of Missionary Sisters of Immaculate Mary)

புனித சியன்னா நகர கேதரீனாவின் மறைபணியாளர் சகோதரிகள் சபை (Congregation of  Saint Catherine of Siena)

புனிதர் சியன்னா நகர கத்ரீனாவின் லாரா, ஒரு கத்தோலிக்க அருட்சகோதரி ஆவார். 1914ம் ஆண்டு, இவர் மரியாவின் மாசற்ற இதயம் (Congregation of Missionary Sisters of Immaculate Mary), மற்றும் புனித சியன்னா நகர கேதரீனாவின் மறைபணியாளர் சகோதரிகள் (Congregation of  Saint Catherine of Siena) என்னும் துறவற சபைகளை நிறுவினார். இவர் பழங்குடி இனத்தவர்களின் உரிமைக்காக பாடுபட்டார். தென் அமெரிக்க பெண்களுக்கு இவர் ஒரு சிறந்த எடுத்துக்காட்டாக கருதப்படுகின்றார். 

“மரிய லாரா டி ஜீசஸ் மொன்டோயா யி உபெகுயி” (María Laura de Jesús Montoya Upegui) எனும் இயற்பெயர் கொண்ட இவர், கொலொம்பியாவின் (Colombia) “ஜெரிகோ” (Jericó) நகரில் பிறந்தார். இவரது தந்தையாரின் பெயர், "ஜுவான் டி லா க்ரூஸ் மோன்டோயா" (Juan de la Cruz Montoya) ஆகும். தாயாரின் பெயர், "டோலோரெஸ் ஊபேகுய்" (Dolores Upegui) ஆகும். இவரது பெற்றோருக்குப் பிறந்த மூன்று குழந்தைகளில் இவர் இரண்டாம் குழந்தை ஆவார்.

கி.பி. 1876ம் ஆண்டு நடந்த கொலம்பிய உள்நாட்டுப் (Colombian Civil War) போரின்போது, அவரது தந்தை கொல்லப்பட்டார். அதன் விளைவாக குடும்பத்தினர் ஏழ்மை நிலைக்குத் தள்ளப்பட்டனர். இதன் காரணமாக அவர் தாய்வழி தாத்தா பாட்டியுடன் வாழ அனுப்பப்பட்டார். கி.பி. 1881ம் ஆண்டு, நிலையற்ற பொருளாதார நிலை காரணமாக, அருட்சகோதரியான அவருடைய சித்தி "மரியா டி ஜீஸஸ் உபேகுய்" (María de Jesús Upegui) நிர்வகித்து வந்த அனாதை இல்லத்திற்கு அனுப்பப்பட்டார்.

கி.பி. 1890ம் ஆண்டு, தமது பதினாறு வயதில், ஆசிரியர் பயிற்சி பள்ளியில் சேர்த்து விடப்பட்டார். "அமால்ஃபி" (Amalfi) மற்றும் "மெடேல்லின்" (Medellín) ஆகிய நகரங்களில் கல்வி கற்றார். கி.பி. 1886ம் ஆண்டு, நோயுற்ற அத்தை ஒருவரைப் பராமரிப்பதற்காக அவரது பண்ணையொன்றில் வந்து வசிக்க ஆரம்பித்தார். அங்கேதான், தாம் ஒரு மறைப்பணியாளராக வேண்டிய விருப்பம் இவருக்கு தோன்ற ஆரம்பித்தது. கி.பி. 1893ம் ஆண்டு, மொண்டோயோ, ஆசிரியர் பயிற்சி பட்டம் பெற்றார்.

கி.பி. 1908ம் ஆண்டு, அவர் “உராபா” (Uraba) மற்றும் “சரார்” (Sarare) பிராந்தியங்களில் உள்ள மக்களுடன் இணைந்து பணியாற்றினார், அங்கே, "இந்தியர்களின் படைப்புகள்" (Works of the Indians) எனும் அமைப்பு நிறுவப்பட்டது. மொண்டோயோ, கார்மேல் சபை கன்னியாஸ்திரியாக ஆக விரும்பினார். ஆனால், கிறிஸ்துவின் அன்பை இதுவரை சந்தித்திராத மக்களுக்கு கிறிஸ்துவின் நற்செய்தியை அறிவிக்கும் ஆசையும் ஆர்வமும் அவருள் எழுந்ததை உணர்ந்தார். மொண்டோயோ, தற்போதுள்ள இனப் பாகுபாடுகளை நீக்கி, கிறிஸ்துவின் அன்பையும் போதனைகளையும் அவர்களிடம் கொண்டு வர தம்மையே அர்ப்பணிக்க விரும்பினார்.

கி.பி. 1917ம் ஆண்டு, மே மாதம், 14ம் நாளன்று, “மரியாளின் மாசற்ற இருதயம் சபை” (Congregation of Missionary Sisters of Immaculate Mary) மற்றும் “புனித சியன்னா நகர கேதரீனாவின் மறைபணியாளர் சகோதரிகள் சபை” (Congregation of  Saint Catherine of Siena) ஆகிய இரண்டு சபைகளை நிறுவினார். நான்கு சக பெண்களுடன் “மெடல்லின்” (Medellín) நகரை விட்டு கிளம்பி, “டபெய்பா” (Dabeiba) நகரில் ஆதிவாசி இந்தியர்களுடன் வாழ சென்றார்.

இவர்களது புதிய சபைகளுக்கு “சாண்டா ஃபே டி அன்டோனியா” (Bishop of Santa Fe de Antioquia) மறைமாவட்ட ஆயரின் ஆதரவு இருந்தபோதிலும் பிற கிறிஸ்தவ குழுக்களின் விமர்சனங்களுக்கு உள்ளானது.

நீண்டகாலம் நோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருந்த மோண்டோயா, 1949ம் ஆண்டு, அக்டோபர் மாதம், 21ம் தேதியன்று, கொலம்பியாவில் உள்ள “மெடல்லின்” (Medellín) நகரில் இறந்தார். நோய் காரணமாக, இவரது வாழ்க்கையின் கடைசி பத்து வருடங்கள், சக்கர நாற்காலியிலேயே கழிந்தது. தற்போது அவரது சபைகள், மொத்தம் பத்தொன்பது அமெரிக்கா, ஆப்பிரிக்கா, ஐரோப்பிய நாடுகளில் செயல்படுகிறது.

திருத்தந்தை இரண்டாம் ஜான் பவுல் 2004ம் ஆண்டு, இவருக்கு அருளாளர் பட்டம் அளித்தார். 2013ம் ஆண்டு, மே மாதம், 12ம் நாளன்று, திருத்தந்தை ஃபிரான்சிஸ் இவருக்கு புனிதர் பட்டம் அளித்தார்.

† Saint of the Day †

(October 21)

✠ St. Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena ✠

Religious and Founder:

Born: May 26, 1874

Jericó, Antioquía, United States of Colombia

Died: October 21, 1949 (Aged 75)

Belencito, Medellín, Antioquía, Colombia

Venerated in: Roman Catholic Church

Beatified: April 25, 2004

Pope John Paul II

Canonized: May 12, 2013

Pope Francis

Feast: October 21

Patronage:

People suffering from racial discrimination

Orphans

Congregation of Missionary Sisters of Immaculate Mary and Saint Catherine of Siena

Saint Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena born María Laura de Jesús Montoya Upegui - was a Colombian Roman Catholic professed religious and the founder of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and Saint Catherine of Siena (1914). She was well known for her work with Indigenous peoples and for acting as a strong role model for South American girls.

Laura Montoya Upegui was born on 26 May 1874 in Jericó, Antioquia, Colombia, the second of three children to Juan de la Crux Montoya and Dolores Upegui.

When Laura was only 2 years old, her father was killed defending his Country, and the family was left in extreme poverty after all their goods were confiscated. At such a time of deep misery and loss, Laura's mother gave an example of Christian forgiveness and fortitude that would remain impressed in her young daughter's mind and heart forever.

Childhood suffering, divine help:

Following her father's death, Laura was sent to live with her grandmother. She suffered greatly from misunderstandings and the lack of affection, feeling she had been left "orphaned". However, she accepted with love the sacrifices and loneliness she experienced and sought refuge in God.

As she grew older, she was especially sustained by meditation on Sacred Scripture and the strength she received from the Eucharist.

When Laura was 16, her mother decided that her daughter needed to help the family in its financial difficulties and told her to apply to become a teacher. Although Laura was culturally and academically "ignorant", having grown up without a formal education, she asked to enter the "Normale de Institutoras" of Medellín to receive training to become an elementary school teacher. She was accepted and stood out for her high marks among the students.

Called to "teach Christ':

Laura began teaching in different parts of Antioquia. She did not limit herself to educating the students simply in academic knowledge but sought to diffuse Gospel teaching and values. She also felt called to the religious life, her heart set on God alone, and dreamed of one day becoming a cloistered Carmelite nun; at the same time, though, she felt growing within her the desire to spread the Gospel to the farthest corners of the earth, to those who had never met Jesus Christ. She was ready to renounce her own "dream" of Carmel to be open to God's project if his will was otherwise.

"An Indian with the Indians':

At one time during her teaching career, Laura felt decidedly drawn to helping the Indian population in South America and wished to insert herself into their culture, to "become an Indian with the Indians to win them all for Christ". Recognizing their dignity as human beings in an epoch when they were considered by many as "wild beasts", Laura wanted to destroy this racial discrimination and to personally sacrifice herself in order to bring them Christ's love and teaching.

On 14 May 1914, she left Medellín together with four other young women and headed to Dabeiba to live among the native Indians. This new religious family, assisted by the Bishop of Santa Fe de Antioquia and known as the "Missionaries of Mary Immaculate and St Catherine of Siena", was thought by some to be nothing more than a family of "religious goats", who were heading off into the wilderness to give the "beasts" a living Gospel catechism.

Laura, however, cared little for public opinion, even if some of the comments made came right from within the Christian community itself.

Pedagogy of love:

Mother Laura composed for her "daughters" a directory and other writings (her Autobiography among them) to help them understand better their call to serve God among the Indians and to live a balance between apostolic and contemplative life. She taught by example the "pedagogy of love" as the only way to teach the Indians, the way which allowed access into their heart and culture to bring them, Jesus Christ.

Mother Laura died on 21 October 1949 in Medellín, after a long and painful illness. The last nine years of her life were lived in a wheelchair, where she continued to teach by example, word and writing.

Today her Missionary Sisters work in 19 countries throughout America, Africa and Europe.

St. Acca October 20

 St. Acca

Feastday: October 20

Birth: 660

Death: 742

Bishop and scholar, a companion of early English saints and missionaries. Acca was born in Northumbria, England, and was educated in the company of St. Bosa, a Benedictine apostle of great courage. He also met St. Wilfrid, who appointed him the abbot of St. Andrew's Monastery in Hexham, England. Acca joined St. Wilfrid as early as 678 and accompanied him to Rome in 692. When Wilfred died in 709, Acca succeeded him as the bishop of Hexham. He spent his monastic and episcopal years erecting parish churches in the area. He also introduced Christian arts and promoted learning. Acca brought a famous cantor, a man named Maban, to Hexham, and with him introduced the Roman Chants. St. Bede dedicated several of his works to Acca, who also promoted other Christian writers. For reasons undocumented, Acca was driven out of Hexham in 732. He retired to a hermitage in Withern, in Galloway. Just before his death in 742 he returned to Hexham and was unanimously revered. When he was buried, two Celtic crosses were recreated at his gravesite. One still stands in Hexham. When his body was moved sometime later, his vestments were found intact. The accounts of Acca's miracles were drawn up by St. Aelred and by the historian Simeon of Durham.

Acca of Hexham (c. 660 – 740/742) was a Northumbrian saint and Bishop of Hexham from 709 until 732.

Remnant of cross that stood at Acca's grave, Hexham Abbey

Born in Northumbria, Acca first served in the household of Bosa, the future Bishop of York, but later attached himself to Wilfrid, possibly as early as 678, and accompanied him on his travels. Later he told his friend Bede of their stay at Utrecht with the archbishop Willibrord, Wilfrid's old pupil who was carrying on his work of converting continental heathens. On the return from their second journey to Rome in 692, Wilfrid was reinstated at Hexham and made Acca abbot of St Andrew's monastery there. During Wilfrid's later years, Acca was the older man's loyal companion, eventually succeeding him in 709 as abbot and bishop.[1]

Acca tackled his duties with much energy, in ruling the diocese and in conducting the services of the church. He also carried on the work of church building and decorating started by Wilfrid. Acca was both an accomplished musician and a learned theologian. Bede describes Acca as "...a most experienced cantor, most learned in sacred writings, ...and thoroughly familiar with the rules of ecclesiastical custom."[2]

Acca once brought to the North a famous cantor named Maban, who had learned in Kent the Roman traditions of psalmody handed down from Gregory the Great through Augustine of Canterbury.[3]

Acca was also famous for his theological learning; his theological library was praised by Bede. He was known also for his encouragement of students by every means in his power. It was Acca who persuaded Stephen of Ripon (Eddius) to take on the Life of Saint Wilfrid, and he lent many materials for the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum to Bede, who dedicated several of his most important works, especially those dealing with Holy Scripture, to him.[3]

For reasons now unknown, Acca either withdrew, or was driven from, his diocese in 732. Hexham tradition says he became bishop of Whithorn in Galloway, Scotland,[4] while others claim he founded a see on the site of St Andrews, bringing with him relics collected on his Roman tour, including those of St Andrews.[5] Yet a third account states that having fallen out with the Northumbrian king, Acca went to live in exile in Ireland on a remote coast before returning to Hexham. St Andrew's Church in Aycliffe is said to have been once dedicated to Acca.[6]

Acca was buried at Hexham near the east wall of the abbey. Two finely carved crosses, fragments of one of which still remain, were erected at the head and foot of his grave.[4] He was revered as a saint immediately after his death. His body was translated at least three times: in the early 11th century, by Alfred of Westow, sacrist of Durham;[4] in 1154, at the restoration of the church, when the relics of all the Hexham saints were put together in a single shrine; and again in 1240. His feast day is 20 October. The translation of his relics is commemorated on 19 February.

The only surviving writing of Acca's is a letter addressed to Bede and printed in his works (see also Raine below).

St. Adelina October 20

 St. Adelina

Feastday: October 20

Death: 1125

An abbess, the sister of St. Vitalis, and a noblewoman of Normandy. She was a granddaughter of William the Conqueror and a dame of that Norman family. Adelina became the abbess of the Benedictine Convent of La Blanche in Normandy, a religious community founded by her brother.

Bl. Adeline October 20

 Bl. Adeline

Feastday: October 20

Death: 1125

Adeline was the sister of Blessed Vitale, Abbot of Savigny and was introduced to the religious life by him or her. She rose to become the first Abbess of the monastery founded at Mortain in 1105 or 1115 by Count William of Mortain. The Rule followed by this religious house was that of St. Benedict together with a few observances drawn from the Cistercian tradition.

Because of the color of their habit the religious came to be called the "White Ladies." After a life dedicated to prayer, mortification, and charitable works, Blessed Adeline was called to her reward in 1125. Such was her reputation for sanctity that shortly afterward she began to be honored as one of the Blessed and her remains were solemnly transferred (together with those of her brother and other religious) to Savigny.

St. Aderald October 20

 St. Aderald

Feastday: October 20

Death: 1004

 

Archdeacon and confessor. Aderald was archdeacon at Troyes when he led a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He brought back a considerable number of holy relics. In order to house them, Aderald built the Benedictine Abbey of St. Sepulchre at Sambličres.

St. Artemius October 20

 St. Artemius

Feastday: October 20

Patron: 363

Cardinal Baronius inserted the name of St. Artemius in the Roman Martyrology, following the example of the Eastern church which had venerated him in spite of the fact that he was a supporter of the Arians. We are told that he was a veteran of the army of Constantine the Great who was made imperial prefect of Egypt. In discharging this office he had to be a persecutor as well as a heretic. George the Cappadocian had been intruded upon the episcopal throne of Alexandria by the Arian emperor Constantius, St. Athanasius had fled, and it was the duty of Artemius to find him, which he endeavored to do with great zeal among the monasteries and hermitages of the Egyptian desert; he also persecuted the orthodox in general. But Artemius was no less zealous against paganism, destroying temples and images, so that when Julian the Apostate became emperor the persecutor was in turn, persecuted. Many accusations against Artemius were made to the emperor, among others, that of breaking up idols; he was accordingly deprived of his property, and beheaded. Whether the Artemius whose healing shrine was a great center of devotion at Constantinople, was identical with this Artemius, the prefect of Alexandria put to death by Julian the Apostate, does not seem to be entirely clear. But the Greek life printed in the Acta Sanctorum, which is based ultimately upon the Arian chronicler Philostorgius, quite definitely assumes this. It also states that the emperor Constantius II commissioned Artemius to convey the refuted relics of St. Andrew the Apostle and St. Luke the Evangelist, from Achaia to Constantinople. His feast day is October 20th.

Artemius (Flavius Artemius, St. Artemios) (d. in Antioch, 362[1]), known as Challita in the Maronite tradition, was a general of the Roman Empire, dux Aegypti (imperial prefect of Roman Egypt). He is considered a saint by the Catholic and the Orthodox Churches, with the name of Artemius of Antioch.

Contents

1 Biography

2 Hagiography

3 References

4 External links

Biography

Few details are known of the life and death of Artemius, and many of those details are contradictory, or at least inconsistent, between Christian and pagan early sources. His place or year of birth are not indicated in any historical sources, although at least one tradition quoted in a contemporary source indicates that Artemius was an Egyptian by birth.[2]  According to the 8th century compilation, Artemii Passio,[3] he was a Senator and “a notable participant in the highest affairs of [Constantine]”.[4] However, the author of the Passio attributes this information to Eusebius, who does not in fact mention Artemius in any of his writings, and this information cannot be confirmed by any other known historical records. Furthermore, stories that place Artemius with Constantine at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge[5] would make Artemius at least eighty years old when martyred by Julian, which would seem doubtful given his activity at the time.[6][7] The assertion that Artemius was a friend and companion of Constantius II seems reliable.[8][9] Given the fact that Artemius held the position of dux Aegypti in the final years of Constantinus’ reign, as is asserted by a number of early sources, both pagan and Christian, it is clear that it is Constantius who must have awarded Artemius this position.[10][11][12][13] In 360 CE, he was listed in a minute of the Oxyrhyncian Senate, under the name of Flavius Artemius, as holding the rank of dux Aegypti.[14] The Artemii Passio attributes Artemius’ ascension to this high position to his successful completion of Constantius’ orders to recover the relics of the Apostles Andrew, Luke and Timothy.[15] According to this narrative, Constantius sent Artemius to Achaea to claim the body of Andrew from Patras and the body of Luke from Boeotia.[16] Artemius is also credited there with translating the relics of Timothy from Ionian Ephesus to Constantinople.[17] Apparently in return for these tasks, Constantius awarded Artemius with the administration of Roman Egypt.[18] However, this attribution is not certain, given that other Christian sources that refer to the translation of St. Andrew’s remains, including the Chronicon Paschale, written a century earlier, do not refer to Artemius in this regard.[19]

While serving as the military governor of Egypt, Artemius supported the Arian bishop of Alexandria, George the Cappadocian, and took part in the latter’s campaign against both the pagan and Orthodox Christian populations. Documented examples of this support include the sacking of the Temple of Serapis in Alexandria,[20][21] as well as the pursuit of the former, Orthodox, bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius.[22][23]

In 361 CE, Constantius was succeeded by his cousin Julian, who, on becoming Emperor, broke with his Christian upbringing and took up traditional Roman pagan pantheism. Shortly thereafter, Artemius met his death, in circumstances that are not entirely clear. The Artemii Passio places his death at the hands of Julian, in Antioch, because upon being summoned by Julian from Alexandria, he supported Eugenius and Macarius, two Christian priests from Antioch, against the tortures to which they were subjected by Julian. Artemius is further accused by Julian of murdering Julian's half-brother, Gallus.[24] Despite Artemius' denials, Julian proceeds to have Artemius tortured in various fashions while exhorting Artemius to renounce his Christianity. Artemius repeatedly confirms his faith, and ultimately has his head cut off.[25] According to the Chronicon Paschale, Artemius dies in Alexandria.[26] Ammianus describes Artemius’ death as occurring after Artemius is no longer dux Aegypti, when he is executed for the crimes he was accused of committing against the people of Alexandria.[27] Julian himself provides a similar reason.[28] While Ammianus does not provide the location of Artemius’ death, his language indicates that it was not at Alexandria,[29] thus perhaps strengthening the contention that it was indeed at Antioch.[30]

Hagiography

Artemius is considered a martyr and Saint in both the Catholic and Orthodox churches, despite his apparent adherence to Arianism during his life. His acceptance as a martyr is based on the tradition found in Christian sources that he was tortured and executed by Julian for speaking on behalf of Christianity in the face of the apostate Emperor Julian, and his unwillingness to renounce his Christianity despite Julian’s promises to allow him to live and restore him to his offices.[31]

His cannonization as St. Artemios is based on the anonymous late 7th century compilation of 45 miracles with which he is attributed.[32] As described in the 45 miracles attributed to him, St. Artemios specializes in miracles dealing with medicine and healing, and in particular with hernias, and testicular and genital maladies in men. One miracle dealing with the healing of a woman is attributed to St. Artemios through his sending St. Febronia, who occupies a parallel construct for women.[33]

His feast day was set as 20 October.[34] His cult site was the Church of Saint John the Forerunning (St John the Baptist) in Constantinople.[35] St. Artemius is invoked by those suffering from hernias.[36]

St. Barsabas October 20

St. Barsabas

Feastday: October 20

Death: 4th century

Persian martyr, an abbot who died with eleven of his monks during the persecution conducted by the Sassanid King Shapur II. Tortured and beheaded near the ruins of Persepolis, in modern Iran, these martyrs brought about the conversion of a pagan Persian who joined them in death.

St. Bernard of Bagnorea October 20

St. Bernard of Bagnorea

Feastday: October 20

Death: 800

Author and Publisher - Catholic Online

The bishop of Vulcia in the Tuscany region of Italy, who moved his see to Ischia di Castro. He was a native of Bagnorea.

Bl. Francis Serrano October 20

 Bl. Francis Serrano

Feastday: October 20

Death: 1748

Dominican martyr of China. A Spaniard, Francis entered the Dominicans and was sent to Fukien, China. Arrested with Blessed Peter Sanze in 1746, Francis was elected titular bishop of Tipasa while in prison. He and his Dominican companions, including Francis Diaz, were strangled. He was beatified in 1893.

This article is about the Catholic martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion. For the Protestant martyrs, see China Martyrs of 1900. For other martyrs, see Chinese Martyrs.

The Martyr Saints of China, or Augustine Zhao Rong and his 119 companions, are saints of the Catholic Church. The 87 Chinese Catholics and 33 Western missionaries[1] from the mid-17th century to 1930 were martyred because of their ministry and, in some cases, for their refusal to apostatize.

Many died in the Boxer Rebellion, in which anti-colonial peasant rebels slaughtered 30,000 Chinese converts to Christianity along with missionaries and other foreigners.

In the ordinary form of the Latin Rite, they are remembered with an optional memorial on July 9.

St. Irene of Tomar October 20

 St. Irene of Tomar

Feastday: October 20

Patron: of Tomar, Portugal; Santar�m; Santa Iria de Az�ia, Loures

Birth: 635

Death: 653

A nun of Portugal who is especially revered in Santarem. She is considered by scholars to be identical to Irene.

Saint Irene of Tomar (in Portuguese: Santa Iria) (c.635 – c.653) was a Christian who was martyred for her faith in Visigothic Portugal. Her parents, wishing to protect her, sent her to a convent school and a private tutor. The only times she left her house was to attend Mass or pray at the sanctuary of Saint Peter. The legend of her life is possibly little more than that.[1]

The murder of Irene, lithography by Manuel Macedo and Alfredo Roque Gameiro, 1904.

Contents

1 Legend

2 Veneration

3 See also

4 References

5 Bibliography

6 External links

Legend

Legend says that Irene was born in Nabância, present-day Tomar, Portugal. She was born into an influential family, and her parents, wishing to protect her, sent her to a convent school and a private tutor. The only times she left her house was to attend Mass or pray at the sanctuary of Saint Peter. A young nobleman named Britald saw her once and fell in love with her. Every time she left to go to church, he would follow her. Eventually he came forward with his proposal to court her; however, Irene made it clear that she would never marry him. When Britald became depressed, Irene hastened to make it clear to him that the reason for her celibacy was that she had given herself to God as a nun.[1]

Meanwhile, her tutor, a monk named Remigius (or Remígio) made improper advances to her, and when she declined, quit and spread vicious rumors about her. When asked why he was no longer tutoring the girl, he replied that he had left upon having learned that she was pregnant. In addition, he managed to give her a drink that brought about her belly to inflate. All these news circulated around the town, and eventually Britald learned of her supposed infidelity. Enraged, he hired a mercenary soldier to kill her. So, as Irene was returning home from visiting an elderly disabled man, the assassin approached from behind and killed her with a single stroke of his sword.[1]

Veneration

Her body was thrown into river Nabão, that flows into River Tagus. Later, it was recovered uncorrupted from this river by Benedictines near the town of Scalabis. Legend says that her uncle abbot Celius had received from Christ a revelation about the true story of her niece and the location of her body. The monks gave her a proper burial, and spread her cultus. Eventually, so great was the reverence paid to the virgin saint, that the name of the town of Scalabis was changed to Santarém ("Saint Irene").[1]

Thus, Irene is the patron saint of Tomar and namesake Santarém. Feast Day is October 20th.

Bl. James Kern October 20

 Bl. James Kern

Feastday: October 20

Birth: 1897

Death: 1924

Beatified: Pope John Paul II

The Blessed James Kern was born as Francis Alexander Kern in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, on April 16, 1897. As a young man he expressed a desire to lead a religious life and to become a priest. He was by all accounts a gifted child and at the young age of 11, permitted to enroll in the Minor Seminary in Hollabrunn.

While at seminary, the was known to spend his free time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. At age 14, he made a vow of perpetual chastity.

Kern completed his secondary studies in 1915 and then volunteered for the army. Although he had to adjust to life as a soldier, he still found time to maintain a daily devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. He attended adoration every day.

On January 1, 1916, as war continued to ravage the nations of Europe, Kern attended adoration in the church of St. Blasé in Slazburg. During a forty-hour devotion there, he asked God to allow him to share in the suffering of Christ.

God answered his prayers by sending him to the Italian front as an officer. While serving in combat against Italian troops, Lieutenant Kern was struck through the chest with a bullet which pierced his lung. The wound was permanent; he would never recover.

During his convalescence, he entered a seminary in the Archdiocese of Vienna.

Following the close of the war and the breakup of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, political events in the newly-formed Czech Republic led to a schism in the Roman Catholic Church with the church there forming its own rite, insisting on modernization of the liturgy among other changes. The new church was infused with Protestant thought and remains in existence today with a membership exceeding 100,000 souls.

For Kern, the schism was heart-wrenching and he offered himself as a living atonement for Isidore Bogdan Zaradnik, a Norbertine canon and doctor of philosophy who broke away to lead the schism.

It was Kern's purpose to serve as an atonement for those who broke away from Rome.

On October 18, 1920, he took the name "James" when he received his Norbertine habit.

Kern was a devoted and pious member of his order and he took his religious life seriously. He was also a happy member, despite his poor health. His war wound continued to cause him pain and suffering.

On July 23, 1922, partly in acknowledgement of his lifelong desire, he was ordained as a priest and allowed to celebrate Mass at his abbey and neighboring churches. This portion of his phase lasted just a year when in 1923 doctors concluded that he had to have some of his ribs removed. The procedure was performed using only local anesthetic, so it caused extreme suffering.

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He never fully recovered from the procedure and his physical health continued to deteriorate. Despite his suffering, he refused to take painkillers, and offered his suffering to Christ.

James Kern was scheduled to make his solemn vows in his order on October 20, 1923. Despite the commitment, he underwent another surgery that day. Before his operation, he predicted his passing saying that "Tomorrow I will see the Mother of God and my Guardian Angel." He asked for everything to be made ready for his final Communion, explaining that the last Communion should be as special and solemn as the first.

He died during the ringing of the noontime Angelus bell the same day.

Over the following decades, faithful Catholics came to his grave at Geras to pray for his intercession. Pope John Paul II beatified James Kern on June 21, 1998 during a visit to Vienna. Pope John Paul II referred to Kern and a hero of the Church and encouraged priests to follow his example and to be faithful to their vocation.

St. Martha October 20

 St. Martha

Feastday: October 20

Virgin martyr with Saula and companions in Germany. They are now assigned to the traditional cycle of St. Ursula.

Bl. Oleksa Zaryckyj October 20

 Bl. Oleksa Zaryckyj

Feastday: October 20

Birth: 1912

Death: 1963

Beatified: Pope John Paul II

Oleksa Zaryckyj was born October 17, 1912 in the village of Bilco, region of Ukraine in Lviv (Lvov). In 1931 he entered the seminary in Lviv and five years after he was ordained to the priesthood by Metropolitan Sheptytsky as a diocesan priest of the Archeparchy of Lviv of the Ukrainians. In 1948 he was captured by the Bolsheviks and was sentenced to ten years in prison and deported to Karaganda in Kazakhstan. Released early in 1957, Oleksa Zaryckyj was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Kazakhstan and Siberia, but did not have time to receive episcopal consecration. Shortly after he was re-interned in concentration camp Dolinka near Karaganda, where he died a martyr of the faith October 30, 1963. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II June 27, 2001, along with 24 other victims of the Soviet regime of Ukrainian nationality.

Athanasius Schneider, O.R.C. (born Anton Schneider on 7 April 1961) is a Kazakhstani Roman Catholic bishop, the auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan. He is a member of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra. He is known for championing the traditional pre-Vatican II liturgy and practices of the Church and for protesting certain policies associated with Pope Francis.

Family and early life

Anton Schneider was born in Tokmok, Kirghiz SSR, in the Soviet Union. His parents were Black Sea Germans from Odessa in the Ukraine.[1] After the Second World War they were sent by Stalin to a gulag in Krasnokamsk in the Ural Mountains, where the family was closely involved with the underground church. Schneider's mother Maria was one of several women to shelter the Blessed Oleksa Zaryckyj, a Ukrainian priest later imprisoned at the infamous Karlag and in 1963 martyred by the Soviet regime for his ministry. The family traveled to the Kirghiz SSR after being released from the camps,[2] then left Central Asia for Estonia.[3] As a boy, Schneider and his three siblings would attend clandestine Masses with their parents, often traveling sixty miles from the family's home in Valga to Tartu, taking the first train in the morning under the cover of darkness and returning with the last train at night. Due to the great distance, infrequent visits by the clergy, and crackdowns by the Soviet authorities, they were able to make the trip only once a month.[1] In 1973, shortly after making his first Holy Communion in secret, Schneider emigrated with his family to Rottweil in West Germany.[4]

Training and priesthood

In 1982 in Austria, Schneider joined the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra, a Roman Catholic religious order within the Opus Sanctorum Angelorum, and took the religious name Athanasius. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Manuel Pestana Filho of Anápolis on 25 March 1990, and spent several years as a priest in Brazil before returning to Central Asia.[5] Starting in 1999, he taught Patristics at Mary, Mother of the Church Seminary in Karaganda. On 2 June 2006 he was consecrated a bishop at the Altar of the Chair of Saint Peter in the Vatican by Angelo Cardinal Sodano. In 2011 he was transferred to the position of auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Astana.[6] He is the General Secretary of the Bishops' Conference of Kazakhstan.[7]

Bishop Schneider speaks German, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish, English, French and Italian, and he reads Latin and Ancient Greek.[8]

Views

Schneider is known for his traditionalism. He has criticized clergy members whom he believes do not fully adhere to the faith and instead surrender to what he calls a "cruel pagan world." In 2014, he compared them to "members of the clergy and even bishops who put grains of incense in front of the statue of the emperor or of a pagan idol or who delivered the books of the Holy Scripture to be burned." He alleged that the present Church is beset by "traitors of the Faith."[9]

Schneider has frequently travelled to conferences hosted by conservative and traditional Catholics. In 2018, he was warned by the Holy See to limit his travel outside his diocese, as canon law requires allows a bishop to be absent for no more than a month unless on official duty. This led to him increasingly appearing at conferences via video.[10]

Holy Communion

Schneider passionately supports the liturgical tradition of receiving Holy Communion on the tongue while kneeling, as a sign of love for the body and blood of Jesus.[11] This is the theme of his 2008 book Dominus Est,[12][13] published in Italian, and since translated into English, German, Estonian, Lithuanian, Polish, Hungarian and Chinese. The book contains a foreword written by Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, then the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship, currently Archbishop of Colombo and Metropolitan head of the church in Sri Lanka.[14] In the book, Schneider writes that receiving Holy Communion in this way had become standard practice in the Church by the 5th century, and that Pope Gregory I strongly chastised priests who refused to follow this tradition.[11] He wrote in 2009: "The awareness of the greatness of the eucharistic mystery is demonstrated in a special way by the manner in which the body of the Lord is distributed and received."[15]

Schneider offering Mass in 2009

Schneider has vigorously upheld the traditional teaching of the Church that divorce and remarriage outside of it constitutes the mortal sin of adultery, and thus makes one ineligible to receive Holy Communion.[9][16] In a 2014 interview, Schneider said that calls to change this practice came from "anti-Christian media." He suggested this was "a false concept of mercy," saying: "It is comparable to a doctor who gives a [diabetic] patient sugar, although he knows it will kill him."[9] In 2016, Pope Francis released the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia which seemed to allow divorced and remarried persons to take the Eucharist, and this was put into practice by some bishops, arousing intense controversy. Schneider strongly criticized this, asserting that the perennial teaching is "more powerful and surer than the discordant voice and practice of admitting unrepentant adulterers to Holy Communion, even if this practice is promoted by a single Pope or the diocesan bishops."[16] On April 7, 2018, Schneider, along with conservative cardinals Raymond Leo Burke and Walter Brandmüller, participated in a conference rejecting the outline proposed by German bishops to allow divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive the Eucharist. Schneider spoke of the duty of popes to be "custodians" of authority.[17]

Clergy sex abuse

On August 25, 2018, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former apostolic nuncio to the United States, released an 11-page letter describing a series of warnings to the Vatican regarding sexual misconduct by Theodore McCarrick, accusing Francis of failing to act on these reports and calling on him to resign.[18] Schneider said that there was "no reasonable and plausible cause to doubt the truth content of the document." He demanded "ruthlessness and transparency" in cleansing the Church of evils, particularly "homosexual cliques and networks" in the curia that he and some others have blamed for helping to cause the abuse epidemic. Schneider called on all "cardinals, bishops and priests to renounce any compromise and any flirt with the world."[19]

Interreligious relations

Schneider stated in a January 2013 interview that proselytizing by "false religions and sects" should be restricted in majority-Catholic counties. "When there is (a Catholic majority) then false religions and sects have not the right to make propaganda there," he said. Schneider added that this does not mean that governments can "suppress them, they can live, but (governments) cannot give them the same right to make propaganda to the detriment of Catholics."[20]

Schneider has spoken out against Muslim immigration into Europe. He stated in a 2018 interview that heavy Muslim immigration during the 2010s was orchestrated by "international powerful political organizations...to take away from Europe its Christian and its national identity. It is meant to dilute the Christian and the national character of Europe." Schneider alleged that the Syrian Civil War was orchestrated by international powers with a view to stirring up a migrant crisis to de-Christianize Europe, and that mass immigration into Europe from Northern Africa was likewise "artificially created."[21]

Liturgy

Schneider is a strong promoter of the Tridentine Mass.[22] He has rebuked priests for using "a careless and superficial–almost an entertainment style" of liturgy, adding that liturgy must be conducted with "beauty and reverence." According to Schneider, "You cannot change the liturgy by the tastes of the time. The liturgy is timeless." Schneider has offered Mass in the Byzantine Rite numerous times, praising it as "permeated with respect, with reverence, with a supernatural spirit and adoration."[21]

Schneider criticized the closing of churches during the COVID-19 pandemic, remarking that numerous other establishments remained open, and proposing that churches could safely remain open if sanitary procedures were followed and additional Masses were offered to limit crowding.[23]

Declaration of Truths

At a theological conference in Rome in December 2010, Schneider proposed the need for "a new Syllabus" (recalling the Syllabus of Errors of 1864), in which papal teaching authority would correct erroneous interpretations of the documents of the Second Vatican Council.[24][25][26]

On June 10, 2019, Schneider, along with cardinals Burke and Jānis Pujats, as well as Kazakh archbishops Tomasz Peta of Astana and Jan Paul Lenga, published a 40-point "Declaration of Truths" "[1]" claiming to reaffirm traditional Church teaching. The bishops wrote that such a declaration was necessary in a time of "almost universal doctrinal confusion and disorientation." Specific passages in the declaration implicitly reply to writings of Pope Francis. The declaration states that "the religion born of faith in Jesus Christ" is the "only religion positively willed by God," seemingly alluding to the Document on Human Fraternity signed by Pope Francis which stated that the "diversity of religions" is "willed by God." Following recent changes to the Catechism to oppose capital punishment, the declaration states that the Church "did not err" in teaching that civil authorities may "lawfully exercise capital punishment" when it is "truly necessary" and to preserve the "just order of societies."[27]

Amazon Synod

In September 2019, Schneider and Burke published an 8-page letter denouncing six alleged theological errors in the working document for the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, and asking that Pope Francis "confirm his brethren in the faith by an unambiguous rejection of the errors." Burke and Schneider criticized the Synod document for its "implicit pantheism," support for married clergy, a greater role for women in the liturgy, and excessive openness to Amazonian pagan rituals and practices. They asked the laity and clergy to pray at least one decade of the Rosary and to fast weekly for the rejection of such ideas over a 40-day period from September 17 to October 26.[28]

Second Vatican Council

In an article dated May 31, 2020 Schneider publicly declared that he had adhered to the opinion of many Traditional Catholics regarding the Second Vatican Council. He argued the Council introduced erroneous statements never before taught by the magisterium of the Church. He also states the novelties of the Council are directly responsible for the crisis of faith experienced in the Catholic Church in the second half of the 20th century and in the 21st century.[29]

St. Usthazanes October 20

 St. Usthazanes

Feastday: October 20

St. Usthazanes d.341, martyr. see St. Barsabas, martyr. An abbot in Persia, tortured and beheaded with his twele monks at Ishtar during the persecution of Sapor, he probably is identical with the leader of a group slain at Persepolis c. 342 and honored on October 20th or with St. Simon Barsabae.

புனித விட்டாலிஸ் ( St. Vitalis of Salzburg ) October 20

இன்றைய புனிதர் : 

(20-10-2020)

புனித விட்டாலிஸ் 

( St. Vitalis of Salzburg )

நினைவுத்திருநாள்; அக்டோபர் 20

சால்ஸ்பூர்க் நகர் ஆயர் :

பிறப்பு : 7ம் நூற்றாண்டு

இறப்பு : 20 அக்டோபர் 730 சால்ஸ்பூர்க் Salzburg, ஆஸ்திரியா

பாதுகாவல் : குழந்தைகள், கர்ப்பிணி பெண்கள்

புனித விட்டாலிஸ், தனது இளம் வயதிலிருந்தே மறைப்பணியாளராக வேண்டுமென்று ஆசைக்கொண்டார். இவர் சால்ஸ்பூர்க் ஆயர் ரூபர்ட் (Rubert) என்பவரிடம் கல்வி கற்றார். பிறகு ஆயர் ரூபர்ட் 27ம் நாள் மார்ச் 718ம் ஆண்டு இறந்துவிடவே, அவருக்கு பிறகு, அவரின் ஆசிரியர் பதவியை விட்டாலிஸ் (Vitalis) ஏற்றார்.

12 ஆண்டுகள் தொடர்ந்து அப்பணியை செய்தார். அதன்பிறகு விட்டாலிஸ் சால்ஸ்பூர்க்கில் ஆயர் பதவியை ஏற்றார். ஆயர் ரூபர்ட் பெரிய மறைபரப்பு பணியாளராக வேண்டுமென்று ஆசைக்கொண்டார். ஆனால் விட்டாலிஸ் அவ்விருப்பத்தை தன் பணியின் வழியாக நிறைவேற்றினார். இவர் சால்ஸ்பூர்க்கில் புகழ் வாய்ந்த மறைபரப்பு பணியாளராக திகழ்ந்தார்.

செபம் :

ஆற்றல் மிக்க இறைவா! 

குழந்தை பருவத்திலிருந்தே உம்மீது ஆர்வம் கொண்டு வாழ புனித விட்டாலிசை தூண்டினீர். உமது இறைத்திட்டத்தை அவரில் நிறைவேற்றினீர். இன்று எம்மை நீர் தயையுடன் கண்ணோக்கியருளும். உமது அன்பால் நாங்கள் தூண்டப்பட்டு என்றும் உம்பணியில் ஆர்வம் கொண்டு செயல்பட நீர் அருள்புரிய வேண்டுமென்று இறைவா உம்மை மன்றாடுகின்றோம்.

ஆமென்

---JDH---தெய்வீக குணமளிக்கும் இயேசு /திண்டுக்கல்.

Saint of the Day: (20-10-2020)

Saint Vitalis of Salzburg

Saint Vitalis

He came from the area around Salzburg and was a student of St. Rupertus. He accompanied his master on mission trips to the surrounding area and into the mountains.

Because of his excellent skills and his holy life, Rupertus appointed him Abbot of St. Peter and his successor as Bishop of Salzburg.

His missionary work mainly extended to the largely still pagan mountain regions. In Pinzgau, probably in Zeil am See, he founded a mission station and settled Benedictine monks there. Under the direction of their Bishop Vitalis, they developed a lively missionary activity and converted a great many people to the faith.

Vitalis is called the "Apostle of the Pinzgau".

He died in November 720 in Salzburg and was buried in the rock grave of St. Peter in Salzburg.

Legend has it that when Vitalis was doubted, the tomb was opened - and a lily grew out of his heart.

He is therefore represented with the lily sprouting from his heart, as the epitaph in the Church of St. Peter in Salzburg shows.

The city parish of St. Vitalis therefore chose

the heart with a lily as the motif for the parish seal.

---JDH---Jesus the Divine Healer---