INSPIRATION for our COMMUNITY

 BENEDICT (saint) 

St. Benedict’s intense devotion to the words of Scripture encourages and challenges us to  not merely read the Scriptures, but to repeat them so often that they become the fabric of our lives.

Though born into a wealthy family, St. Benedict compared a privileged life to the life taught by the Gospels and chose the latter.  He retreated to a place of solitude and sought a life of prayer and simplicity. Soon joined by others he established the first of many monastic religious communities in Europe.

 DOROTHY DAY  (venerable)

An American journalist, social activist and devout member of the Catholic Church.

Known for her social justice campaigns in defense of the poor, hungry and homeless, Dorothy was a writer, publisher, pacifist and founder of the Catholic Worker's movement.. Day had a progressive attitude toward social and economic justice and a very orthodox and traditional sense of Catholic morality and piety.

 ELIZABETH ANN SETON  (saint) 

In her desire to serve the needs of the poor: education, housing and their related issues, St. Elizabeth Seton exemplifies the possibilities we have to meet those same needs in our own community.

The first American to be canonized, Elizabeth Ann Seton was a woman whose vision of faith remains relevant for all ages.  A wife, mother, widow and convert to Catholicism, she undertook works of mercy and justice and had a special concern for children who lacked educational opportunities especially for religious instruction.  She is the foundress of the American Sisters of Charity.

 FAUSTINA KOWALSKA  (saint) 

St. Faustina was expressly commanded by Jesus to become His apostle and secretary of God’s mercy and to spread this message of the Lord’s mercy throughout the world.

Christ asked that Faustina deliver this message to the world: Always and everywhere be kind and merciful like our heavenly Father; Bring souls to Christ by the daily recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for souls who have died without committing their souls to Him; Receive the sacraments during the Easter season; Christ is waiting to give the greatest sinners an ocean of mercy if they but ask for it.

FRANCES CABRINI (saint)

She came to New York to work among the Italian immigrants; the first US citizen to be canonized. 

Frances Cabrini had wanted to be a missionary to China.  She began her ministry at an orphanage in Italy, but at the urging of the Pope she came to the US.  Over 35 years of ministry, she founded 67 institutions dedicated to caring for the poor, the abandoned, the uneducated and the sick.  The compassion and dedication of Mother Cabrini is still seen in hundreds of thousands of her fellow Americans who care for the sick in hospitals, nursing homes and state institutions.

FRANCIS OF ASSISI (saint)

 St. Francis’s life of simplicity challenges us to share what we have with the poor, his love of nature to live “green”, and his love of God to follow the Gospel directives.

Born to wealth, Francis wanted more from life than materialism could provide.  He sought to live a simple life of personal poverty and service to the needy.  Founder of the Franciscan Order, his followers minister to the disenfranchised on every continent of the world.   As a lover of nature and all creation he inspires us to care for our environment, replenishing the earth of the resources we take from it. 

FREDERIC BARAGA  (venerable)

 The “Snowshoe Priest,” who loved the Indians of northern Michigan with a deep devotion.  He walked constantly throughout Michigan and Wisconsin to minister to them as priest and bishop.

Frederic Baraga is considered an eminent author of American Indian literature having developed the first Chippewa grammar, Chippewa dictionary and Indian prayer book. Baraga was revered by all as an ideal man; a Christian and a bishop whose life was saintliness in action.  He worked throughout his life to understand the Indians and through that understanding to lead them to Christianity.

FREDERICK OZANAM  (blessed)

A layman and a lawyer who was convinced of the inestimable worth of each human being.

While in law school he spoke on Christianity’s role in civilization and someone asked “What do you do besides talk to prove the faith you claim?”  This question led him to begin working among the poor of Paris and that led him to form the St. Vincent de Paul Society.  This movement of quiet charity has spread throughout the Catholic Church.

POPE JOHN XXIII (blessed)

John XXIII exemplifies the courage to question what is and to risk the possibilities of what could be.

Angelo Roncalli was a humble man. He served as a bishop’s secretary, stretcher-bearer in WWI, a teacher, a papal diplomat to Bulgaria, Turkey, and France, and finally archbishop of Venice.  During WWII Archbishop Roncalli saved 24,000 Jewish people.  Because of his experiences, he gathered the world’s bishops for the Second Vatican Council.  He encouraged a strong outreach to other Christians and the reform of the Church to recover its earlier traditions and Liturgical practices.

JOSEPH, Foster Father of Jesus (saint)

 A carpenter and man of trusting faith who loved and cherished Mary and her son, Jesus.

Joseph, a descendant of King David, was a man of deep faith who was able to recognize God’s guidance in his life.  He encountered an angel twice in his dreams: first reassuring him of Mary’s faithfulness and again when the angel directed him to return to Nazareth with Mary and the child Jesus.  He trusted!!

JUDE THADDEUS (saint)

 St. Jude Thaddeus: apostle and patron of desperate cases.

St. Jude is credited with writing an epistle around 60 AD to persecuted Christian converts.  He warned them against those who spread false ideas about the Christian faith.  Jude encouraged them to persevere in the face of harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their ancestors had done before them. His inspirational support of these early converts led Jude to become patron saint of desperate cases.

KATERI TEKAKWITHA  (blessed)

The ultimate example that the “ideal” conditions for growing in holiness are those which we encounter in everyday life, Blessed Kateri proves that holiness thrives on prayer, fasting and charity

Blessed Kateri was the first native-born American Indian to be elevated to the status of Blessed.  When she was a child, small pox killed her parents and left her with several physical limitations.  As a young woman, she suffered the rejection of her family after her conversion to the faith.  She found strength in the Christian community and great joy and purpose in teaching children about Jesus.  She often fasted and prayed for the conversion of her nation.  Dying at 24, she is known as The Lily of the Mohawks.

KATHERINE DREXEL  (saint)

Saints have always said the same thing: Pray, be humble, accept the cross, love and forgive.

Katherine was born to a wealthy, prominent Philadelphia family.  She often supported the missionary outreach to black and native Americans, but finally gave her whole life to this mission.  By the time of her death in 1955 at the age of 97, she had founded a religious community that staffed 63 schools including a university: all dedicated to the ministry of American missions in 16 states.

MARTIN DE PORRES  (saint)

St. Martin de Porres, called ‘Martin of Charity”, is a superb model of humble servant leadership, who genuinely loved the poor and served them as his only way to serve the Lord. 

Martin understood that the miracle of life and that all creation expresses God.  Born in Panama, disowned by his Spanish father, he was reared in poverty.  He joined the Dominican Order in Lima, Peru where he took care of slaves, founded an orphanage, cared for the poor, and obtained dowries for poor girls.  He often experience racism and opposition to his charity within his own community and religious order; Martin was not bitter, but opened his heart to all those who had less.

  MATT TALBOT (venerable) 

In a culture addicted to alcohol and drugs, pronography and more, Matt Talbot serves as a model for facing the pain of breaking addictions and the peace of forming a new God centered life in its place.

Matt became an active alcoholic by age 15.  At 30, he took ‘the pledge’ and for the next 7 years struggled, prayed, attended daily Mass and obtained the strength to stay sober.  With little education, he worked as a builder’s laborer to pay back those from whom he had borrowed or stolen during his drinking days. He learned to live life one day at a time finding comfort in avidly reading Scripture and the lives of the saints. 

 MICHAEL MCGIVNEY (venerable) 

Father Michael McGivney, a priest, even though he was on the earth only a short time, he made a big impact on the American Catholic community by founding the Knights of Columbus.

He was the son of Irish immigrants, was ordained a priest in 1877.  Seeing a great need for fraternity, charity and mutual support in difficulty, Fr. McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus in Connecticut in 1882.  He died eight years later at the age of 38, but his organization lives on doing charitable works and offering fraternity and mutual support.  Even with his limited years on the earth he was able to start something that continues to give year after year.  He is the “Venerable Servant of God”. 

MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL (saint)

 St. Michael the Archangel was the leader of the forces of Heaven in their triumph over the Devil; patron of soldiers, paratroopers, mariners, and police officers.

Michael the Archangel has long been honored and invoked as patron and protector by the Church.  He rescues faithful souls from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death. Michael’s name was the war-cry of the angels who fought in heaven against Satan and his followers. 

 MONICA  (saint) 

An example of persistent prayer working in “God’s time, not ours”.

Our knowledge of St. Monica comes from the writings of St. Augustine, especially his Confessions.  Today, many have little patience for things that take time and a few even want instant answers to our prayers.  Monica is a model of patience. Her long years of prayer, coupled with a strong, well-disciplined character, finally led to the conversion of her hot-tempered husband, her cantankerous mother-in-law and her brilliant but wayward son, Augustine.

OSCAR ROMERO (venerable) 

Romero was God’s surprise in history and a martyr to the cause of justice.

The poor never expected him to take their side. When he was made a Latin American bishop, he was predictable, an orthodox, pious bookworm. But Romero understood the Church is more than the hierarchy, clerics or theologians -- more than an institution. Archbishop Romero courageously demanded justice for the poor, not just handouts from governments or from the churches.  He was murdered by government soldiers as he celebrated the Eucharist.

PADRE PIO (saint) 

Padre Pio was endowed with an abundance of extraordinary gifts, so many that it is as if God did not want us to miss learning and living the lessons which he taught with his life.  

Padre Pio had the ability to read the hearts of and console the penitents who flocked to him for ten to twelve hours per day. He used the confessional to bring sinners closer to God. Pio received Christ’s stigmata and was known for the ability to heal the body and the spirit.  He warned of evil’s presence, but reminded us that we have the most powerful allies in the protectors assigned to us, our guardian angels.

PAUL of TAURUS (saint) 

St. Paul models the conversion to a life of total dedication to God, challenging his hearers to do the same.

St. Paul’s conversion to Christianity led him to preach so tirelessly that he is called Apostle of the Gentiles.   His preaching and letters had a ripple effect through the centuries, and we are beneficiaries of his zeal. He faced constant danger in his travels, but continued undaunted, inspiring courage to follow Christ’s teachings.

 PEREGRINE LAZIOSI (saint) 

Saint Peregrine exemplifies how forgiveness can turn people to God and that faith and service will bring great rewards.

Peregrine had a powerful experience of genuine charity in his youth which led him to embrace Catholicism and devote his life to God.  Later in his ministry, he was afflicted with cancer of the foot. Having prayed the night before he was scheduled for amputation and woke up the next morning with his foot completely healed.   He is known as the patron of cancer patients. 

PETER CLAVER (saint) 

St. Peter Claver instructed 300,000 souls, baptized them, helped them feel God’s saving love, live as Christians, and sought human dignity for the most abused, rejected & lowly people. 

St. Peter Claver was born in Spain to impoverished but distinguished family.  He was ordained a priest in 1616. In Columbia, Peter tended to the physical needs of newly arrived African slaves and later gave basic instructions in the faith.  Peter followed them to the plantations and prevailed on their masters to treat them humanely. He labored unceasingly for the salvation of African slaves and the abolition of the slave trade in the New World.  Peter died 1654.

 TERESA of CALCUTTA  (venerable) 

Mother Teresa was one of the great servants of humanity.  Her selfless work among the poverty stricken of Calcutta, India, is an inspiration for all of us.

Anyone seeking the meaning of love need not look further than Mother Teresa.  At 18 she became a religious sister and went to India to do missionary work.  She was a teacher to the wealthy but she received a new calling from God. She went to live and work among the poorest of the poor.  She sought to see Jesus in every wound person she bandaged, every dying person she tended.  Teresa lived love.

 SOLANUS CASEY (venerable) 

This Capuchin co-founded the Detroit Soup Kitchen which began feeding the hungry during the depression.

Solanus Casey ministered to the needs of all God’s children of every denomination. Solanus was the monastery doorkeeper and approximately 200 people visited him at the monastery on an average day.  He used his simple, gentle gifts to touch their lives.  He listened to their troubles and promised prayer; and when Solanus prayed for others, his prayers were answered with unexplainable frequency.  His soup kitchen continues, and prayers for healing are still answered through his intercessory prayer.

 THOMAS MORE  (saint) 

A man whose approval counted, a man whose personal integrity no one questioned.

Few saints are more relevant to our century.  Described as “a man for all seasons,”   More was a literary scholar, eminent lawyer, gentleman, father of four children and chancellor of England. An intensely spiritual man, he would not support the king’s divorce or acknowledge the king as supreme head of the Church in England.  He died “as the king’s good servant, but God’s first!”