St. John Neumann C.SS.R (1811-1860)

Feast Day is January 5th

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 St. 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 missionary work in New York until he was 29, when he joined the Redemptorists and became its first member to profess vows in the United States. He continued missionary work in Maryland, Virginia and Ohio, where he became popular with the Germans.

At 41, as bishop of Philadelphia, he organized the parochial school system into a diocesan one, increasing the number of pupils almost twenty fold within a short time.

Well-known for his holiness and learning, spiritual writing and preaching, he started the Forty Hour Devotion in the United States.  He was Canonized in 1977, he is buried in St. Peter the Apostle Church in Philadelphia

"Though God hates sin more than any other thing, He loves us poor miserable sinners.  He ardently desires the welfare of our souls as if His own happiness depended on it." - St. John Neumann

Prayer:

Saint John Neumann, pray that we may know and love the Eucharist as you did.  Give strength and courage to the Vicar of Christ.  Protect our Bishops, priests and religious.  May all peoples be zealous for the Kingdom of God.  Enlighten the minds of people who seek truth.  May your prayers comfort the souls of our departed brothers and sisters.  Saint John Neumann, pray that we may live and die in the state of grace.  Amen.

 "How much I love You, O my Jesus!  I wish to love You with my whole heart; yet I do not love You enough.  My lack of devotion and my negligence still haunt me.  I have one desire, that of being near You in the Blessed  Sacrament.  You are the sweet bridegroom of my soul.  My Jesus, my love, my all, gladly would I endure hunger, thirst, heat and cold to remain always with You in the Blessed Sacrament..." St. John Neumann

 St. John Neumann, pray for us!

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St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

Feast Day is October 15th

The Carmelite kneeling below St. John is St. Teresa of Avila.  She is one of the ones  who started popular devotion to St. Joseph.  She set about a great reform to the Carmelite Order.  She was a mystical writer and wrote the great Spiritual Classic, The Interior Castle in which she describes the steps in the spiritual life.

The gift of God to Teresa in and through which she became holy and left her mark on the Church and the world is threefold: She was a great woman; she was a contemplative; she was an active reformer.

She was canonized on March 12,  1622 by Pope Gregory XV and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on 27 September 1970 by Pope Paul VI. 

"Let nothing trouble you, let nothing make you afraid. All things pass away. God never changes.   Patience obtains everything. God alone is enough..."

                                    - Saint Teresa of Avila

Prayer:

Dear wonderful Saint, model of fidelity to vows, you gladly carried a heavy cross following in the steps of Christ who chose to be crucified for us. You realized that God, like a merciful Father, chastises those whom he loves - which to us seems silly indeed. Grant to {name of sufferer} relief from great pains, if this is God's will. Amen

 "I took for my advocate and lord the glorious Saint Joseph and commended myself earnestly to him; and I found that this my father and lord delivered me both from this trouble and also from other and greater troubles concerning my honor and the loss of my soul, and that he gave me greater blessings than I could ask of him. I do not remember even now that I have ever asked anything of him which he has failed to grant." 

                                    - St. Teresa of Avila

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925)

Feast Day is July 4th

  The next Saint kneeling wearing the green pants is Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.  He worked often with Catholic groups like Apostleship of Prayer and the Company of the Most Blessed Sacrament that ministered to the poor and promoted Eucharistic adoration, Marian devotion, and personal chastity. 

      He was born to a rich and politically influential family and he spent his fortune on the needy and visited the sick; during this ministry he contracted the disease that killed him.  He died at the age of 24, and is the patron of many Young Adult groups throughout the world called Frassati Society.   He was beatified on May 20, 1990 by Pope John Paul II.

"Jesus comes to me everyday by means of Holy Communion. I repay Him in my small way by visiting the poor."

                                                -Blessed Pier Giorgio

Prayer:

Father, you gave to the young Pier Giorgio Frassati the joy of meeting Christ and of living his faith in service of the poor and the sick. Through his intercession may we, too, walk the path of the beatitudes and follow the example of his generosity, spreading the spirit of the Gospel in society. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 "You ask me whether I am in good spirits. How could I not be, so long as my trust in God gives me strength. We must always be cheerful. Sadness should be banished from all Christian souls. For suffering is a far different thing from sadness, which is the worst disease of all. It is almost always caused by lack of Faith." - Pier Giorgio to his sister, Feb 14, 1925

St. Andre Bessette (1845-1937)

Feast Day is January 6h

The next saint was a religious brother of the Congregation of the Holy Cross that runs the University of Notre Dame, IN.  He was the doorkeeper at Notre Dame College, Montreal. He was also the Sacristan, laundry worker and messenger. He would spend  much of each night in prayer. On his window sill, facing Mount Royal, was a small statue of Saint Joseph to whom he had very great devotion.  He built the Largest Shrine in the world dedicated to St. Joseph in Montreal Canada.  Andre had a special ministry to the sick. He would rub the sick person with oil from a lamp in the college chapel, and many were healed. Word of his power spread, and when an epidemic broke out at a nearby college, Andre volunteered to help; no one died. "I do not cure," he always said. "Saint Joseph cures." (It is the same oil that we use every month at our healing service here at our Church during our Novena to St. Joseph.) He was  beatified on May 23, 1982 by Pope John Paul II.

"O Holy angels, make me see God on the altar as you see Him in heaven." Blessed Andre

Prayer:

Blessed Brother Andre, your devotion to Saint Joseph is an inspiration to us. You gave your life selflessly to bring the message of his life to others. Pray that we may learn from Saint Joseph, and from you, what it is like to care for Jesus and do his work in the world. Amen

"I have only my great devotion to St. Joseph to guide me." - Blessed Andre

Blessed Andre, Pray for us!

St. Teresa of Calcutta (1910 - 1997)

Feast Day is September 5th

The next saint in our window is Mother Teresa of Calcutta,  daughter of an Albanian businessman who died when Agnes was nine years old. She was a nun, a missionary and a teacher in Calcutta, India in 1928. In 1948 she left the convent to work alone with the poor, and became an Indian citizen.

     She founded the Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity in 1950. In 1957 the Missionaries of Charity started their work with lepers and in disaster areas.

     She received the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971, the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1972, and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, and the Missionaries today work in 30 countries. She died on September 5, 1997 in Calcutta, India of natural causes and was beatified on October 19, 2003 by Pope John Paul I, and canonized on September 6, 2016 by Pope Francis

"There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives - the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family.
Find them. Love them." - Mother Theresa

 Prayer:

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, you allowed the thirsting love of Jesus on the Cross to become a living flame within you, and so became the light of His love to all. Obtain from the Heart of Jesus (here make your request).  Teach me to allow Jesus to penetrate and possess my whole being so completely that my life, too, may radiate His light and love to others. Amen.

"The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace." - Mother Theresa

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!

St. Martin de Porres (1579 - 1639)

Feast Day is November 3rd

Illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a young freed black slave, he grew up in poverty. He spent part of his youth with a surgeon-barber from whom he learned some medicine and care of the sick. At age 11 he became a servant in the Dominican priory.

     He was placed in charge of the Dominican's infirmary, known for his tender care of the sick and for his spectacular cures. His superiors dropped the stipulation that "no black person may be received to the holy habit or profession of our order" and Martin took vows as a Dominican brother. He established an orphanage and children's hospital for the poor children of the slums. He also set up a shelter for the stray cats and dogs and nursed them back to health. He lived in self-imposed austerity, never ate meat, fasted continuously, and spent much time in prayer and meditation. He had a great devotion to the Eucharist. He was canonized on May 16, 1962 by Pope John XXIII and was the first black American saint.

"He had an exceptional love for the great sacrament of the Eucharist and often spent long hours in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. His desire was to receive the sacrament in Communion as often as he could."

Prayer:

To you Saint Martin de Porres we prayerfully lift up our hearts filled with serene confidence and devotion. Mindful of your unbounded and helpful charity to all levels of society and also of your meekness and humility of heart, we offer our petitions to you. Pour out upon our families the precious gifts of your solicitous and generous intercession; show to the people of every race and every color the paths of unity and of justice; implore from our Father in heaven the coming of his kingdom, so that through mutual benevolence in God men may increase the fruits of grace and merit the rewards of eternal life. Amen

 St. Martin de Porres, Pray for us!

St. Joseph

Feast Days are March 26th and May 1st

To the right of the tabernacle right above our Blessed Mother as if to protect her, is good St. Joseph, foster-father of Jesus Christ. Descendant of the house of David. Layman. Carpenter. Earthly spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Foster and adoptive father of Jesus Christ. Visionary who was visited by angels. Noted for his willingness to immediately get up and do what God told him.  Scripture states that Jesus was "obedient to him" Luke 2:51.

"Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary.  It was of her that Jesus who is called the Messiah was born."  Matthew 1:16

 Dedication to St. Joseph

O blessed Joseph, faithful guardian of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, protector of thy chaste spouse, the virgin Mother of God, I choose thee this day to be my special patron and advocate and I firmly resolve to honor thee all the days of my life. Therefore I humbly beseech thee to receive me as thy client, to instruct me in every doubt, to comfort me in every affliction, to obtain for me and for all the knowledge and love of the Heart of Jesus, and finally to defend and protect me at the hour of my death. Amen

  An Ancient Prayer to Saint Joseph

Prayer:

O ST. JOSEPH, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in thee all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph, assist me by thy powerful intercession and obtain for me all spiritual blessings through thy foster Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, so that, having engaged here below thy heavenly power, I may offer thee my thanksgiving and homage.

O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating thee and Jesus asleep in thine arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near thy heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. Amen.

St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for me.

 "Jesus went down with them then, and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them."  Luke 2:51

 St. Joseph, pray for us!

Blessed Virgin Mary

Feast Days: January 1 - Solemnity of Mary; February 2 - Presentation of the Lord; February 11- Our Lady of Lourdes; March 25 - Annunciation; May 31 - Visitation; June 27 - Our Mother of Perpetual Help; July 16 - Our Lady of Mount Carmel; August 15 - Assumption August 22 - Queenship of Mary; September 8 - Birth of Mary; September 12 - The Most Holy Name of Mary; September 15 - Our Lady of Sorrows; October 7 - Our Lady of the Rosary; November 21 - Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 Mary is the Mother of God and our Mother - need we say more?

"I am the handmaid of the Lord; Let it be done to me as you say." Luke 1:38

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An Act of Dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary

     Most Holy Virgin Mary, perfect disciple of Jesus, I come to dedicate my life to your Immaculate Heart. With Jesus, I desire to abandon myself to the will of the Father, and to walk in faith with you, my Mother. To you I entrust my entire life. I give you every gift I possess of nature and of grace, my body and soul, all that I own and everything I do. Pray for me, that the Holy Spirit may visit me with His many gifts. Pray with me, that by faith I may know the power of Christ and by love make Him present in the world. Amen

 Memorare

                Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to you, O virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

"Do whatever He tells you."  John 2:5

O Mary conceived without sin,  pray for us who have recourse to thee!

St. John Vianney (1786 - 1859)

Feast is August 4th

As we continue on, the next Saint is the Cure of Ars or St. John Vianney.  St. John is the patron of parish priests.  He was assigned to the parish of Ars, a tiny village near Lyons, which suffered from very lax attendance.  He spent days in prayer, doing penance for his parishioners. Gifted with discernment of spirits, prophecy, hidden knowledge, and working miracles. Tormented by evil spirits, especially when he tried to get his 2-3 hours of sleep each night. Crowds came to hear him preach, and to make their reconciliation because of his reputation with penitents.  He is known as "the saint of the confessional."  He was canonized inn 1925 by Pope Pius XI.

"Our Lord is hidden there, waiting for us to come and visit Him, and make our request to Him. See how good He is! He accommodates Himself to our weakness." (St. John Vianney)

 Prayer:

O Holy Priest of Ars, whose only comfort in this world was the real presence of Jesus in the tabernacle, was it not your great joy to distribute the Eucharist to the pilgrims who visited you? You refused Communion to the souls who refused to reform but to souls of goodwill you opened wide the doors of the Eucharistic Feast. You, who each day at Holy Mass received Holy Communion with great love, give me some of your fervor. With freedom from mortal sin, obtain for me a sincere desire to profit from receiving Holy Communion. Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession.  Amen.

 "This is the glorious duty of man: that you pray and that you love." (St. John Vianney)

 St. John Vianney, Pray for us!

St. Padre Pio (1887 - 1968)

Feast Day is September 23rd

    The next saint in the final pane in the kneeling position is St. Padre Pio.  Padre Pio was a Franciscan of our time who had the stigmata (wounds of Christ) of Christ for over 50 years. While praying before a cross, he received the stigmata on 20 September 1918, the first priest ever to be so blessed.

     He would hear confessions by the hour, reportedly able to read the consciences of those who held back. Reportedly able to bilocate, levitate, and heal by touch. He was canonized on June 16,  by Pope John Paul II.

"Pray, hope and don't worry. Anxiety doesn't help at all. Our Merciful Lord will listen to your prayer."  Padre Pio

 Prayer:

Dear God, You generously blessed Your servant, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, with the gifts of the Spirit. You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified, as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of Your Son. Endowed with the gift of discernment, St. Pio labored endlessly in the confessional for the salvation of souls. With reverence and intense devotion in the celebration of Mass, he invited countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

Through the intercession of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, I confidently beseech You to grant me the grace of (here state your petition). Amen.

Glory be to the Father... (three times).

"If we only knew how God regards this Sacrifice, we would risk our lives to be present at a single Mass."- St. Pio of Pietrelcin

St. Padre Pio, Pray for us!

St. Faustina Kowalska (1905 - 1938)

Feast Day is October 5th

Sr. Faustina was a nun of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. She changed her name to Sister Maria Faustina of the Most Blessed Sacrament. She received a message of God's mercy by Jesus and was asked that a picture be painted of him with the inscription: "Jesus, I Trust in You. '  A  copy of this hangs in the back of this chapel.  She was canonized on April 30, by Pope John Paul II.

"Jesus, I trust in thee!" - Sr. Faustina

Prayer:

Dear St. Faustina, I have come to know you as a friend. I ask you to plead to the Lord for me the prayer I ask of you. In times of doubt, dear friend, implore the Lord's Mercy as you did so often here on earth, that I may remember who I am, and to what His mercy has called me.  In times of fear, implore His Mercy that I may ever remember to trust, and trust again, in joy, and in the knowledge that God is preparing me for a beautiful mission. Please pray dear St. Faustina, that I may never forget that the abyss between my Lord and I has been bridged by His tender mercy. He will continue to be faithful and heal me of anything which stands in the way of His Will. My life is in His Hands.  Thank you dear friend. Pray with me the prayer Our Lord taught you to spread throughout the world;  Jesus, I trust in You! Remind all pilgrims of life that if our trust is great, there is no limit to Jesus' generosity. Amen.

"When I steeped myself in prayer, I was transported in spirit to the Chapel, where I saw the Lord Jesus, exposed in the Monstrance. In place of the Monstrance I saw the glorious face of the Lord, and He said to me, "What you see in reality, these souls see through faith. Oh, how pleasing to Me is their great faith! "

                                                -Sr. Faustina and Jesus

St. Faustina, Pray for us!

Pope St. John Paul the Great (1920-2005)

Feast Day is October 22nd

Pope John Paul II was born Karol Wojtyla on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. He was ordained in 1946, became a Bishop in 1958 and Archbishop in 1964. In 1978 he became the first non-Italian pope in more than 400 years. He was pope until his death on April 2, 2005. He was declared a saint on April 27, 2014. 

 Prayer:

O Blessed Trinity, we thank you for having graced the church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of your fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him. Trusting fully in your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you. Grant us, by his intercession, and according to your will, the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among your saints. Amen.

Pope St. John Paul II, Pray for us!