Saint of the day

Saint of the day

1 October: Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, Doctor of the Church

The “Little way” within anyone’s reach

Pope Pius XI described Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Face as “the star of my pontificate”. He beatified her on 29 April 1923 and canonized her on Sunday, 17 May 1925, in the Basilica of Saint Peter, before a crowd of some 50,000 faithful, most of whom could not find room inside the Vatican Basilica. On that occasion, the Pontiff underlined that, “aware of her own frailty, she confidently entrusted herself to divine Providence so that, leaning solely on its help, she could attain perfect holiness of life, even through bitter difficulties, having decided to strive for it with the total and joyful abdication of her own will”.

Domenico Zampieri, detto il Domenichino, (Bologna 1581 - Napoli 1641), Comunione di S. Girolamo, 1614, olio su tela, Musei Vaticani.

30 SEPTEMBER: SAINT JEROME, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

The Bible at the Centre of Life

In his Apostolic Letter Scripturae Sacrae affectus, on 30 September 2020 on the 16th centenary of the death of Saint Jerome, Pope Francis wrote: “The distinctive feature of Saint Jerome’s spirituality was undoubtedly his passionate love for the word of God entrusted to the Church in sacred Scripture. All the Doctors of the Church – particularly those of the early Christian era – drew the content of their teaching explicitly from the Bible. Yet Jerome did so in a more systematic and distinctive way”.

29 SEPTEMBER: ARCHANGELS MICHAEL, GABRIEL AND RAPHAEL

Proclaimers of God’s mysteries

The three Archangels, whom we celebrate on 29 September, were contemplatives of the Glory of God and messengers of the Good News. Their names express their mission, not their nature. They are messengers of the Lord who proclaim his will and “along with the Saints, constitute the immense multitude of worshippers of the living God”.

27 September Saint Vincent de Paul

A life of service to the poor and the least ones

“God loves the poor, consequently, he loves those who love the poor”, Saint Vincent de Paul often said to his collaborators. Born in Pouy, a small town in Landes, France, on 24 April 1581, to a peasant family, he never forgot that as a child he tended pigs and cows. His father sent him to Dax to study at the College of the Cordeliers, directed by the Franciscans, in the hopes that he could receive an education that would help with the family’s expenses.

23 September: Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

Living Image of the Suffering and Risen Christ

“I only want to be a poor friar who prays”, Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, in the world Francesco Forgione, would say as he waved aside the thousands of faithful who followed him. Why was a simple Capuchin from a small village on the Gargano so popular? The secret is that everyone who met him, could glimpse a living image of the Suffering and Risen Christ, in him.

Guido Reni, San Matteo e l'angelo, 1620 - 1622, Musei Vaticani

21 SEPTEMBER SAINT MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST

A sinner saved by God’s Mercy

There is not much historical information on the Apostle Matthew. The origin of his name is an abbreviation of Matthias or Mattaniah, which means “Gift of God”.

According to the Roman Martyrology, he died on 21 September and his body was translated from Ethiopia to Salerno on 6 May, with a stop in Paestum. Tradition says he was killed while he was celebrating Mass.