Very few people
know about St. Jane Valois. She was a deformed and sickly young daughter of
King Louis XI of France. The Catholic Church has given her February 4th
as a feast day and many turn to her intercession when in a difficult, loveless
marriage for she was in an arranged marriage that was without love and still
she prayed for her husband for decades.
She is just one
of the many interesting saints in the Catholic Church.
The following
excerpts are taken, with permission, from the daily devotional Tending
the Temple by Kevin
Vost, Peggy Bowes, and Shane Kapler. Kevin, Peggy and Shane are regular guests on such popular shows as Sonrise Morning Show on EWTN among others where they talk about health and fitness, Catholic style.
January 26 is
the feast day of St. Paula (347-404), the Patroness of Widows.
Paula was a
devout Christian widow who had five children. After her husband’s death, St.
Paula embraced a life of devotion to the poor, to learning, and to ascetic
self-denial under St. Jerome’s spiritual direction. She founded a hospice with
her daughter, Eustochium; and she herself headed a convent. She assisted St.
Jerome in his great Scriptural and theological works. The death of her children
would grieve St. Paula in the last years of her life, though she persevered in
her sanctity until she embarked on eternal life.
April 8 is the
feast day of St. Julie Billiart (1751-1816), the Patron of the Sick and
Impoverished
As a little girl of seven, Julie had already memorized her catechism and
was eagerly teaching and explaining it to other children in her hometown of
Cuvilly, France. Her parents lost their fortune during her teenage years, and
she labored in the fields to help support her familyIn her early 20’s, she was
paralyzed but refused to change her habits of daily prayer and of teaching the
local children, gathering them around her bed each day to continue their
education in the catechism. When the French Revolution broke out, she used her
home as a hiding place for priests. Julie was miraculously cured of her
paralysis and spent the rest of her life in service to God and the poor.
May 28 is the
feast day of St. Bernard of Menthon (923-1008), the Patron of Skiing,
Snowboarding, Hiking, Backpacking and Mountaineering!
Did you ever
see those old cartoons where a traveler stuck on a snowy mountain is rescued by
a huge, courageous St. Bernard dog, complete with mini-keg of medicinal brandy
attached underneath his collar? Those cartoons bear witness to one of the many
acts of corporal mercy brought forth by St. Bernard! A Benedictine priest, St.
Bernard and his monks offered hospitality to the pilgrims who travelled the
dangerous Alps and also ventured out, accompanied by their herding dogs (now
known to all as St. Bernard’s) to find and save victims trapped in the snows of
the mountains.
August 18 is
the feast day of St. Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641), the Patron Saint of
In-Law Problems
September 18 is
the feast day of St. Joseph Cupertino (1603-1633), the Patron Saint of Pilots
Although
he was not a pilot, Joseph frequently levitated during prayer and was known as
“The Flying Saint.” Unfortunately, many people viewed his levitation as a
circus stunt and would gather to watch the saint fly around while deeply
absorbed in prayer, making him uncomfortable. Joseph wanted to be a monk and
eventually found a spot in the Franciscan order where he went on to become ordained
a priest. During the investigation for his cause for canonization, over 70
people were found to levitate through his intercession. His life is the topic
of a DVD called The Reluctant Saint.
These are but a
few amazing men and women who have come to be known as Saints and whose lives
are able to still touch us today!
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