Merry Christmas!

December 24, 2015

 

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December 25 – On Christmas Day, He Died

December 24, 2015

St. Peter Nolasco Born at Mas-des-Saintes-Puelles, near Castelnaudary, France, in 1189 (or 1182); died at Barcelona, on Christmas Day, 1256 (or 1259). He was of a noble family and from his youth was noted for his piety, almsgiving, and charity. Having given all his possessions to the poor, he took a vow of virginity and, […]

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The Christmas of a Chouan

December 24, 2015

From 1793 to 1800, the region of Fougères, in Northeast France, was the scene of the epic struggle of the Chouans (pronounced “Shwan”). The Chouans were peasants who rose up against the French Revolution in defense of the Monarchy and the Church. One winter’s night in 1795, a column of soldiers of the revolutionary Republic […]

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Christmas in Italy, Germany, and Brazil

December 24, 2015

Three different ways of commemorating Christmas; three varieties of contemplation Saint of the Day,  December 21, 1973 If we imagine an elaborate nativity scene in certain regions of Italy, we can see all the figures taking very emphatic attitudes: the Child Jesus lying in the manger, reaching out to Our Lady; She bent over her […]

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Did Jesus wish to be born noble?

December 24, 2015

From the Allocution of Leo XIII to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility on January 24, 1903: And Jesus Christ, although He chose to spend His private life in the obscurity of a lowly dwelling, passing for the son of a laborer, and although in public life He so loved to associate with the common people, […]

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December 26 – He had the face of an angel

December 24, 2015

St. Stephen One of the first deacons and the first Christian martyr; feast on 26 December. In the Acts of the Apostles the name of St. Stephen occurs for the first time on the occasion of the appointment of the first deacons (Acts, vi, 5). Dissatisfaction concerning the distribution of alms from the community’s fund […]

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Excerpt from Pope Pius XII’s Allocution to the Pontifical Noble Guard on December 26, 1942

December 24, 2015

“None can be envious upon seeing that We bear you such special affection. To whom, in truth, is the immediate protection of Our person entrusted, if not to you? And are you not the first of Our guards? “Guard! What lofty resonance there is in this word: the soul trembles therewith; thoughts take wing. An […]

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December 27 – The divorced saint

December 24, 2015

St. Fabiola of Rome A Roman matron of rank, died 27 December, 399 or 400. She was one of the company of noble Roman women who, under the influence of St. Jerome, gave up all earthly pleasures and devoted themselves to the practice of Christian asceticism and to charitable work. At the time of St. […]

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December 27 – Son of Thunder

December 24, 2015

St. John the Apostle and Evangelist Styled in the gospel, The beloved disciple of Christ, and called by the Greeks The Divine, he was a Galilean, the son of Zebedee and Salome, and younger brother to St. James the Great, with whom he was brought up to the trade of fishing. From his acquaintance with […]

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December 28 – Ordered to swear allegiance to Napoleon, he replied “I cannot. I ought not. I will not!”

December 24, 2015

Bl. Gaspare del Bufalo Founder of the Missionaries of the most Precious Blood (C.P.P.S.); born at Rome on the feast of the Epiphany, 1786; died 28 December, 1837. His parents were Antonio del Bufalo, chief cook of the princely family of Altieri, and his wife Annunziata Quartieroni. Because of his delicate health, his pious mother […]

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December 22 – “I swear by St. Eimhin’s bell…”

December 21, 2015

St. Eimhin Abbot and Bishop of Ros-mic-Truin (Ireland), probably in the sixth century. He came of the royal race of Munster, and was brother of two other saints, Culain and Dairmid. Of the early part of his religious life little is known. When he became abbot of the monastery of Ros-mic-Truin, in succession to its […]

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December 23 – The Knights of Aviz and Their Cistercian Founder

December 21, 2015

Saint John of Cirita Memorial: 23 December Benedictine monk, also known as John Ziritu. Hermit in Galacia. Monk at Toronca, Portugal, which he helped turn into a Cistercian house. Wrote the Rule of the Knights of Aviz (Portuguese: Ordem Militar de Avis).  Died, c. 1164. The Military Order of St. Benedict of Aviz A military […]

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December 23 – He Always Held His Soul in His Hands

December 21, 2015

Saint Antônio de Sant’Anna Galvão Born 1739, in the village of Santo Antonio da Vila de Guaratinguetá, Brazil; died 23 December, 1822, at the Convent of Light, São Paulo, Brazil. His father, also named Anthony, belonged to an illustrious Portuguese family and was well educated, as evidenced by his writings. He excelled in business, the […]

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December 23 – Duke of Guise

December 21, 2015

HENRI I DE LORRAINE Prince de Joinville, and in 1563 third Duke of Guise, born 31 Dec. 1550, the son of François de Guise and Anne d’Este; died at Blois, 23 Dec., 1588. The rumours which attributed to Coligny a share in the murder of François de Guise hailed in the young Henri de Guise, […]

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December 24 – Sts. Trasilla and Emiliana

December 21, 2015

Aunts of St. Gregory the Great, virgins in the sixth century, given in the Roman Martyrology, the former on 24 December, the latter on 5 January. St. Gregory (Hom. XXXVIII, 15, on the Gospel of St. Matthew, and Lib. Dial., IV, 16) relates that his father, the Senator Gordian, had three sisters who vowed themselves […]

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December 24 – Adam and Eve

December 21, 2015

Adam The first man and the father of the human race. ETYMOLOGY AND USE OF WORD There is not a little divergence of opinion among Semitic scholars when they attempt to explain the etymological signification of the Hebrew word adam (which in all probability was originally used as a common rather than a proper name), […]

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The Spirit of Chivalry Is a Way of Being

December 17, 2015

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira What is chivalry precisely? Is it only courage during battle? Or is it something beyond that? The spirit of chivalry is first of all a way of being, a mentality which is manifested mainly in combat but also throughout a man’s life and outlook, in everything. For example, today when […]

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Barbados Government wants to replace Queen next year

December 17, 2015

According to Caribbean News Service (CNS): Prime Minister Freundel Stuart announced that the plan is to make Barbados a republic by November, 2016… The republican debate has raged for years in Barbados between older islanders who see the queen as a symbol of stability, and mostly younger nationalists who call her an anachronism. It echoes […]

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St. Thomas More Proclaims His Fidelity To The Papacy

December 17, 2015

In the course of his trial he was asked in court what he thought of the law—enacted after his imprisonment—by which the whole authority of the Pope was set aside, and by which the supreme power over the Church was vested in the king…. Sir Thomas More framed his answers in this way on purpose, […]

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December 19 – How Tumultuous Times Reveal Noble Souls

December 17, 2015

Pope Blessed Urban V Guillaume de Grimoard, born at Grisac in Languedoc, 1310; died at Avignon, 19 December, 1370. Born of a knightly family, he was educated at Montpellier and Toulouse, and became a Benedictine monk at the little priory of Chirac near his home. A Bull of 1363 informs us that he was professed […]

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December 19 – Pope St. Anastasius I

December 17, 2015

Pope St. Anastasius I A pontiff who is remembered chiefly for his condemnation of Origenism. A Roman by birth, he became Pope in 399, and died within a little less than four years. Among his friends were Augustine, and Jerome, and Paulinus, Jerome speaks of him as a man or great holiness who was rich […]

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December 20 – Abraham

December 17, 2015

Abraham The original form of the name, Abram, is apparently the Assyrian Abu-ramu. It is doubtful if the usual meaning attached to that word “lofty father”, is correct. The meaning given to Abraham in Genesis 17:5 is popular word play, and the real meaning is unknown. The Assyriologist, Hommel suggests that in the Minnean dialect, […]

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December 20 – Isaac

December 17, 2015

Isaac The son of Abraham and Sara. The incidents of his life are told in Genesis 15-35, in a narrative the principal parts of which are traced back by many scholars to three several documents (J, E, P) utilized in the composition of the Book of Genesis (see ABRAHAM). According to Genesis 17:17; 18:12; 21:6, […]

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December 20 – Jacob

December 17, 2015

Jacob The son of Isaac and Rebecca, third great patriarch of the chosen people, and the immediate ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel. The incidents of his life are given in parts of Gen., xxv, 21-1, 13, wherein the documents (J, E, P) are distinguished by modern scholars (see ABRAHAM, I, 52). His name— […]

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December 20 – Her church ranks third in Rome

December 17, 2015

St. Anastasia This martyr enjoys the distinction, unique in the Roman liturgy, of having a special commemoration in the second Mass on Christmas day. This Mass was originally celebrated not in honour of the birth of Christ, but in commemoration of this martyr, and towards the end of the fifth century her name was also […]

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December 21 – Doctor of the Church & Second Apostle of Germany

December 17, 2015

St. Peter Canisius Born at Nimwegen in the Netherlands, 8 May, 1521; died in Fribourg, 21 November, 1597. His father was the wealthy burgomaster, Jacob Canisius; his mother, Ægidia van Houweningen, died shortly after Peter’s birth. In 1536 Peter was sent to Cologne, where he studied arts, civil law, and theology at the university; he […]

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December 16 – St. Adelaide: Most Important Woman of Her Century

December 14, 2015

St. Adelaide (ADELHEID). Born 931; died 16 December, 999, one of the conspicuous characters in the struggle of Otho the Great to obtain the imperial crown from the Roman Pontiffs. She was the daughter of Rudolph II, King of Burgundy, who was at war with Hugh of Provence for the crown of Italy. The rivals […]

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December 16 – Saint Judicael ap Hoel

December 14, 2015

Saint Judicael ap Hoel (c. 590 – 16 or 17 December 658) was the King of Domnonée and a Breton high king in the mid-seventh century. According to Gregory of Tours, the Bretons were divided into various regna (subkingdoms) during the sixth century, of which Domnonée, Cornouaille, and Broweroch are the best known; they had […]

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December 16 – Can Whistleblowers Be Saints? This One Was…

December 14, 2015

St. Ado, Archbishop of Vienne, Confessor Born about 800, in the diocese of Sens; died 16 December, 875. He was brought up at the Benedictine Abbey of Ferrières, and had as one of his masters the Abbot Lupus Servatus, one of the most celebrated humanists of those times. By his brilliant talents and assiduous application […]

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December 17 – St. Olympias

December 14, 2015

Born 360-5; died 25 July, 408, probably at Nicomedia. This pious, charitable, and wealthy disciple of St. John Chrysostom came from an illustrious family in Constantinople. Her father (called by the sources Secundus or Selencus) was a “Count” of the empire; one of her ancestors, Ablabius, filled in 331 the consular office, and was also […]

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December 17 – St. Begga, Widow and Abbess

December 14, 2015

This saint was daughter of Pepin of Landen, eldest sister to St. Gertrude of Nivelle, and married Ansegise, son to St. Arnoul, who was some time mayor of the palace, and afterwards bishop of Metz. Her husband being killed in hunting, she dedicated herself to a penitential state of retirement, and, after performing a pilgrimage […]

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December 17 – St. Sturmius and the diocese of Fulda

December 14, 2015

To systematize the work of evangelizing Germany, St. Boniface organized a hierarchy on the usual ecclesiastical basis; in Bavaria the Dioceses of Salzburg, Freising, Ratisbon, and Passau; in Franconia and Thuringia, Würzburg, Eichstätt, Buraburg near Fritzlar, and Erfurt. To facilitate missionary work farther north, especially among the Saxons, he sought a suitable spot for the […]

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“March for Jesus 2015” organized by group chaired by Queen

December 10, 2015

According to the Matangi Tonga: ‘March for Jesus 2015’ in central Nuku’alofa…was organised by a Pray for Tonga Group, chaired by HM Queen Nanasipau’u, and marked 170 years since Tonga had its first Christian king, King George Tupou I, who was crowned on 4 December 1845. Tonga’s first Christian monarch…brought peace to the country, which […]

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Prince Harry to teenagers: ‘don’t follow the bad things I do, just the good’

December 10, 2015

According to British Telecommunications: …Harry [took] part in a leadership and life skills programme where leading figures visit institutions to inspire youngsters. In a wide ranging conversation the prince told them: “I would never want anyone to follow me in the bad things I do, only the good things I do.” He added: “It’s very […]

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Some Canadians hope for less ‘loyalty to royalty’

December 10, 2015

According to The Guardian: There is little chance that the future of the monarchy in Canada will come up this Friday when the new Liberal government…outlines its legislative program in the “speech from the throne” delivered by the governor general… Republicans took heart soon after the election when the Trudeau government removed a portrait of […]

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Du Guesclin is Knighted on the Field of Battle

December 10, 2015

The commander of Bécherel was Sir Hugh Calveley, a Cheshire knight of renown, whose reputation for surprise and ambuscade must have been near to that of du Guesclin’s for the latter warned [the Marshal] d’Audreham that it would be perfectly within the pattern of Calveley’s operations for him to try a raid on Montmuran to […]

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What Is the Fire of Chivalry?

December 10, 2015

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira It is to have the resolution of soul to wage any battle, at any cost, in any way, facing every sacrifice, to attain the victory of Our Lady over the devil. Now, we cannot say that this spirit is as pure and unstained in us as what I am describing, […]

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December 11 – Pope Falsely Accused of Adultery

December 10, 2015

Pope St. Damasus I Born about 304; died 11 December, 384. His father, Antonius, was probably a Spaniard; the name of his mother, Laurentia, was not known until quite recently. Damasus seems to have been born at Rome; it is certain that he grew up there in the service of the church of the martyr […]

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December 11 – Her Name Was “Mother Marvelous”

December 10, 2015

St. María de las Maravillas de Jesús Pidal y Chico de Guzmán was born in Madrid, Spain, on 4 November 1891. She was the daughter of Luis Pidal y Mon, Marquis of Pidal, and Cristina Chico de Guzmán y Munoz. At the time her father was the Spanish ambassador to the Holy See and she grew […]

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December 12 – Guadalupe: She Who Smashes the Serpent

December 10, 2015

by Cesar Franco Pope Pius XII gave Our Lady of Guadalupe the title of “Empress of the Americas” in 1945. Since December 12 is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, this is a propitious moment to recall how She reigns over our nation from Heaven, protecting and guiding us with Motherly solicitude and tenderness. […]

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December 13 – Elected Pope to Fight the Emperor

December 10, 2015

Pope Callistus II Date of birth unknown; died 13 December, 1124. His reign, beginning 1 February, 1119, is signalized by the termination of the Investiture controversy which, begun in the time of Gregory VII, had raged with almost unabated bitterness during the last quarter of the eleventh century and the opening years of the twelfth. […]

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December 13 – “The eyes which I must please are a hundred miles from here”

December 10, 2015

St. Jane Frances de Chantal Born at Dijon, France, 28 January, 1572; died at the Visitation Convent Moulins, 13 December, 1641. Her father was president of the Parliament of Burgundy, and leader of the royalist party during the League that brought about the triumph of the cause of Henry IV. In 1592 she married Baron […]

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December 13 – St. Odilia

December 10, 2015

St. Odilia Patroness of Alsace, born at the end of the seventh century; died about 720. According to a trustworthy statement, apparently taken from an earlier life, she was the daughter of the Frankish lord Adalrich (Aticus, Etik) and his wife Bereswinda, who had large estates in Alsace. She founded the convent of Hohenburg (Odilienberg) […]

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December 13 – The girl named Lucy, opposite of Lucifer

December 10, 2015

St. Lucy A virgin and martyr of Syracuse in Sicily, whose feast is celebrated by Latins and Greeks alike on 13 Dec. According to the traditional story, she was born of rich and noble parents about the year 283. Her father was of Roman origin, but his early death left her dependent upon her mother, […]

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December 14 – Son of a disinherited noble

December 10, 2015

St. John of the Cross Founder (with St. Teresa) of the Discalced Carmelites, doctor of mystic theology, born at Hontoveros, Old Castile, 24 June, 1542; died at Ubeda, Andalusia, 14 Dec., 1591. John de Yepes, youngest child of Gonzalo de Yepes and Catherine Alvarez, poor silk weavers of Toledo, knew from his earliest years the […]

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December 8 – The Immaculate Conception: The Celebration of Privilege

December 7, 2015

Wherefore, in humility and fasting, we unceasingly offered our private prayers as well as the public prayers of the Church to God the Father through his Son, that he would deign to direct and strengthen our mind by the power of the Holy Spirit. In like manner did we implore the help of the entire […]

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December 8 – To overcome his repugnance, he bound himself by vow

December 7, 2015

St. Noel Chabanel A Jesuit missionary among the Huron Indians, born in Southern France, 2 February, 1613; slain by a renegade Huron, 8 December, 1649. Chabanel entered the Jesuit novitiate at Toulouse at the age of seventeen, and was professor of rhetoric in several colleges of the society in the province of Toulouse. He was […]

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December 9 – Banker and Saint

December 7, 2015

St. Peter Fourier Known as LE BON PÈRE DE MATTAINCOURT (Good Father of Mattaincourt), born at Mirecourt, Lorraine, 30 Nov., 1565 died at Gray, Haute-Saône, 9 Dec., 1640. At fifteen he was sent to the University of Pont-à-Mousson. His piety and learning led many noble families to ask him to educate their sons. He became […]

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December 10 – To protest the emperor, he paid special honor images and relics

December 7, 2015

Pope St. Gregory III (Reigned 731-741.) Pope St. Gregory III was the son of a Syrian named John. The date of his birth is not known. His reputation for learning and virtue was so great that the Romans elected him pope by acclamation, when he was accompanying the funeral procession of his predecessor, 11 February, […]

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December 10 – The First Pope to Live in a Palace

December 7, 2015

Pope St. Miltiades The year of his birth is not known; he was elected pope in either 310 or 311; died 10 or 11 January, 314. After the banishment of Pope Eusebius, the Roman See was vacant for some time, probably because of the complications which has arisen on account of the apostates (lapsi), and […]

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Man to recant oath to Queen after citizenship

December 3, 2015

According to Canadian Press: A soon-to-be Canadian has served notice that he plans to recant the mandatory Oath of Allegiance to the Queen immediately after he becomes a citizen. The Queen is a symbol of entrenched and outdated privilege and the pledge is tantamount to a “hazing” ritual, Bar-Natan said in an interview. “To become […]

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Centuries Elapsed Before Champlain’s Accomplishments Were Acknowledged

December 3, 2015

Many, many years elapsed before either France or Canada fully appreciated the character and exploits of Samuel de Champlain. Not until the nineteenth century did anyone in authority call him the Father of New France, a highly appropriate posthumous title. For he had devoted the last thirty-two years of his life to Canada. He wrote […]

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The Crusading Knight: A Serious Man Who Wages War for the Faith and Races Toward Danger

December 3, 2015

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira Chivalry is the spiritual and psychological attitude of a warrior who takes his condition as a warrior to its final consequences. He is a serious Catholic warrior. He fights first and foremost for the holy Catholic Faith. Secondly, when he wages war he does it seriously, at the risk of […]

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December 4 – Saint Barbara

December 3, 2015

Saint Barbara Virgin and Martyr. There is no reference to St. Barbara contained in the authentic early historical authorities for Christian antiquity, neither does her name appear in the original recension of St. Jerome’s martyrology. Veneration of the saint was common, however, from the seventh century. At about this date there were in existence legendary […]

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December 4 – Saint Osmund, founder of the Cathedral system of Church governance

December 3, 2015

Saint Osmund Bishop of Salisbury, died 1099; his feast is kept on 4 December. Osmund held an exalted position in Normandy, his native land, and according to a late fifteenth-century document was the son of Henry, Count of Séez, and Isabella, daughter of Robert, Duke of Normandy, who was the father of William the Conqueror […]

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December 4 – From a Muslim court, he opposed the Christian Emperor…and won!

December 3, 2015

St. John Damascene Born at Damascus, about 676; died some time between 754 and 787. The only extant life of the saint is that by John, Patriarch of Jerusalem, which dates from the tenth century (P.G. XCIV, 429-90). This life is the single source from which have been drawn the materials of all his biographical […]

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December 5 – Noble matron faithful unto death

December 3, 2015

St. Crispina A martyr of Africa who suffered during the Diocletian persecution; born at Thagara in the Province of Africa; died by beheading at Thebeste in Numidia, 5 December, 304. Crispina belonged to a distinguished family and was a wealthy matron with children. At the time of the persecution she was brought before the proconsul […]

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December 6 – Martyr of the Muslims

December 3, 2015

St. Peter Paschal, Bishop and Martyr This saint was born in Valencia, Spain, in 1227, and descended of the ancient family of the Paschals, which had edified the Church by the triumphs of five glorious martyrs, which it produced under the Moors. Peter’s parents were virtuous and exceedingly charitable; and St. Peter Nolasco often lodged […]

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December 6 – Good St. Nicholas

December 3, 2015

Life of Saint Nicholas from Legenda Aurea by Jacobus de Voragine Here beginneth the Life of Saint Nicholas the Bishop. Nicholas is said of Nichos, which is to say victory, and of laos, people, so Nicholas is as much as to say as victory of people, that is, victory of sins, which befoul people. Or […]

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December 7 – The People Acclaimed Him as Bishop Even Though He Was Unbaptized

December 3, 2015

St. Ambrose Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397; born probably 340, at Trier, Arles, or Lyons; died 4 April, 397. He was one of the most illustrious Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and fitly chosen, together with St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Athanasius, to uphold the venerable Chair of the Prince […]

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