Saints of the Month -

 

February 2012

Every saint has a past. Every sinner has a future.

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SAINT OF THE MONTH

Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio

The exact place and date of birth of this peasant from the Spanish province of Galicia are unknown. He was born in the early 16th century, probably about 1502. As a child, he minded sheep and later was an agricultural worker. He supported his family with this work since they probably had no land of their own. We don’t know under what circumstances this peasant boy found himself in a big city, but we do know what he did there. He was a butler in a rich man’s house in Salamanca, so most likely he had good manners, basic education and virtues that enabled him to do this job.

These were the first decades after the discovery of America. Sebastian embarked on a ship to Mexico. The New World tempted people with the promise of quick wealth and freedom. Sebastian took part in the colonization of the Aztec empire, which had its bloody episodes.

Yet he did not want to use violence and become rich by plundering. In America, like in Europe, he lived off hard work. He helped build a road leading north from Mexico City to Zacatecas, a town in upland Mexico. Later he organized postal services along the road that serves travelers and exists to this day. For a long time Sebastian was unmarried and frequently moved from place to place. He married for the first time at the age of 60. Soon his wife died and he remarried.

At the age of 72, Sebastian became a widower for the second time and joined a Franciscan monastery in Puebla de los Angeles where he lived as a lay brother for 26 years. Most of this time he collected donations for the monastery. He was beatified in 1787.

Patron saint of drivers, travelers, and road builders

Feast day: February 25th

Reference: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives

Bl. Sebastian worked hard to help develop a region in Mexico. In that country, Frederic C. Cuny started to help people suffering from the consequences of war and natural disasters. In the 1960s he built sewage systems in small town in northern Mexico, improving local sanitary conditions. Later he helped people in Nigeria, Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania. He mainly helped organize water, food and medical supplies for the hungry and sick. During the civil war in Yugoslavia in 1993, he arrived in Sarajevo, at that time surrounded by the Bosnian Serbs. The attackers had cut off water supplies and city residents had to take water from the river, where they were often killed by snipers. Cuny quickly imported all the necessary equipment and a water purification station from the U.S. Soon the residents had running water again and many people’s lives were saved.

Frederic C. Cuny was killed in 1995 in Chechnya on another humanitarian mission.

 

SAINT OF THE MONTH

St. Brigid of Kildare

Soon after Christianity was introduced in Ireland, Brigid was born. Some scholars say her father was a pagan king and her mother was one of his slaves. Even though early accounts of Brigid’s life dwell mostly on her miracles and anecdotes, they still offer insight into her character.

At a young age, Brigid embraced Christianity and was consecrated a nun by Bishop Mel, a pupil of Patrick’s. Brigid’s holiness drew other young women toward her, and with them, she founded a convent on the site of a druid shrine. Brigid adapted some of the Druid rituals and gave them a new Christian meaning. She named her convent Kildare after the sacred oak of the druids and allowed their custom of an eternal flame to continue burning, but she called it the flame of the Gospel.

Even as a child, Brigid was generous and compassionate, especially to the poor and hungry. At times, it is said, she even gave the clothes off her back to the needy.

According to legend, Brigid also performed several miracles. As a child, she made her cows give milk three times a day, and she once changed bath water into beer for a thirsty visitor.

Brigid’s convent, which she served as abbess, was a double monastery for both men and women. Over time, Kildare became known throughout Europe as a respected center for learning, around which a cathedral-city formed. Brigid eventually added a school of art, which produced magnificent illuminated manuscripts. For example, The Book of Kildare has been praised as the finest in Ireland.

A remarkable women of her time, Brigid is called “the Mary of the Gael.” Hundreds of places are named for her throughout Ireland, where she is greatly venerated.

Patroness of Ireland, Scholars, Poets, Infants, Travelers and Others

Feast day: February 1st

Reference: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives

Brigid understood the importance of nurturing the mind and spirit. Kildare was a refuge for prayer and spiritual growth, as well as a center of learning.

Today, we need places, such as these where we can leave our chaotic lives behind and refresh our spirit:

• The Mount Saint Mary House of Prayer in New

Jersey holds private and directed retreats. They offer days of recollection for groups, a grief recovery program and retreats for people in retirement, among others.

• Bethany Retreat House in Indiana has a day of prayer, weekend retreat or 30-day retreat. They also provide a women’s spirituality group and an organized daily prayer program you can do at home, while meeting weekly for nine months for spiritual direction.

• Serra Retreat Center in California has weekend group retreats, individual private retreats, days of recollection and workshops to nurture your faith.

 

St. Joseph Organizations / Parishioners:

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