SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE
SAINT PAUL OF THE CROSS
SAINT PETER
SAINT PETER CHANEL
SAINT PHILIP NERI
SAINT PIUS X-Pope
SAINT POLYCARP OF SMYRNA

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SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE-
Outstanding Theologian 
and Indefatigable Apostle of the Gentiles/1st century/Feast: June 29-#06

fr:Dear Saint,you are one of the most honored Saints in the Church and 
a brilliant exemplar of love for Christ and your fellowmen.
After vour conversion on the road to Damascus,you proclaimed Christ 
unceasingly by your words and also by your actions.
*In all your writings this devotion to Christ is clearly visible and even 
more clearly expressed:"I ...speak of nothing but Jesus Christ and 
Him crucified" (1 Cor 2:2).Again:"
The life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me" (Gal 2:20); 
and again:"Imitate me as I imitate Christ" (1 Cor 11:1).

St:I,Even now as I look back on my life,
I am still of the same opinion that 1 expressed in one of my letters to the 
Churches,
I did not deserve to be called an Apostle because I persecuted the 
Church of God (1 Cor 15:9).True,
I did it out of ignorance.But it still was an act to be deplored.
*Yet God in His great goodness bestowed His grace on me and gave me 
the light of His truth.
All that I did and all that I wrote was the result of His grace and 
inspiration.To Him belongs the glory-not to me.

fr:When I think of all the magnificent things you have written for 
Christians of all ages,I find it impossible to even begin setting them 
down.
A host of subjects go through my mind such as the 
Mystical Body of Christ,the bond of love,
the mystery of the Church,and union with Christ.

St:Perhaps the best approach is to concentrate on the idea that God is so 
great and we are so little.This will keep us humble and enable us to see 
ourselves ever in the right perspective,
*We could rightly dwell on the following text forever.

pr:How deep are the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! 
How inscrutable His judgments,how unsearchable His ways! 
For who has known the mind of the Lord? 
Or who has given Him anything as to deserve return? 
For from Him and through Him and for Him all things are.
To Him be glory forever.(Rom.11:33-36)

fr:Dear Saint,thank you for your inspiring words.
Help me to take them to heart and to act on them continuously in my life.
*Obtain for all Christians the grace to follow you in being united with 
Christ and in proclaiming Him to others by word and deed.
And enable us to arrive at His eternal dwellingplace in company with you,
where "eye has not seen,ear has not heard,nor has it so much as dawned 
on man" what great things 
God has waiting for us who love Him (1 Cor 2:9).

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SAINT PAUL OF THE CROSS-
Religious Founder and Mystic/1694-1775/Feast:Oct.19-#66

fr:Dear Saint,your very name is an inspiration to us.
It reminds us of the great convert 
Saint Paul who said:"
I wish to know nothing but Christ and Him Crucified." 
*We also recall the Divine promise to Constantine:"
In this Sign [the Cross] you will conquer." 
But this is especially true when we want to be victorious in our battle 
against the diabolical enemy of our soul.
And did not Christ proclaim:
"When I am lifted up [on the Cross],I will draw all things to Myself!"

St:You are right.
Who is there who will not be moved when prayerfully meditating on,
looking at,or imagining the Divine Savior hanging on the Cross! 
From the Crucified One we learn the overwhelming depths of God's love 
for us sinners,and the infinite character of Christ's spirit of self-sacrifice.
Who will not love such a Lover! 
And by bearing our cross after Jesus,we shall obtain our crown.

fr:The sad thing today is that too few make the "Stations of the Cross" 
or meditate on Christ's sufferings as they recite the Rosary and recall the 
"Sorrowful Mysteries."
*There are even those who fail to realize that the Sacrifice of the Mass is 
the living Memorial of the Sacrifice of the Cross! 
That is why we need the emphasis provided by your holy life.

St:I was born in Ovada,
Italy and lived until a few years before the French Revolution.
After a truly Christian education,
I was favored with a devotion to our Crucified Lord.
*I came to realize ever more clearly that I should found a Congregation 
whose members would particularly honor our Lord in His Passion.
And so there came to be Passionist Fathers and 
Sisters of the Sacred Passion.

fr:You must have been very happy when Pope Benedict XIV approved 
the foundation of your Congregation and Rule.
But you were more than a Founder.
You were a mystic and a self-sacrificing missionary in Italy,
while looking upon yourself as a sinner and a useless servant.

St:At the foot of the Cross,how can anyone remain cold and indifferent 
with respect to our beloved Savior! 
How can anyone remain proud when contemplating the freely chosen 
humiliation of One Who was both God and Man! 
And how can anyone fail to be sorry for offending such a 
Savior by personal sin!

pr:Lord,I give You thanhs for dying on the Cross for my sins!

fr:Dear Saint,many today have lost the "sense of sin" and fail to appreciate 
what Christ has suffered to take away sin.
They see no need for the Cross.
*Teach us to bear our crosses out of loving gratitude to the 
Crucified Christ.
Bring about a great change in Christians,so that they can truly be called 
Followers of the Crucified Lord.

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SAINT PETER-
First Vicar of Christ/1st century/Feast: June 29-#04

fr:Dear Saint,called Rock (Peter) by our Lord Himself to signify that 
you were to be the visible foundation of Christ's Church,
we know more about you than about any of the other eleven Apostles.
*Thongh you were a well-to-do fishernan,you agreed to leave your 
possessions behind and become a fisher of souls for Christ.This was at 
a time when there existed much lukewamness among the Jews and 
great immorality among the Gentiles.
Your success as a leader of the missionary ChuIch is in itself an 
outstanding miracle.

St:I could never understand why Christ did not choose John the beloved 
disciple as His Vicar on earth rather than someone like me.
I was often angry,impetuous,vacillating (even in my faith),and even 
denied at one time that I knew the Divine Master.
*How did I ever manage to guide the infant Church? 
I need not tell you how very much I received from Christ and the 
Holy Spirit,especially at the first Pentecost.

fr:Dear Saint,you did not leave us many writings,but we have plenty of 
your words that have been preserved for us.
I would like to quote some of them now in the form of a prayer which 
is a profession of faith as well as an expression of your great love for 
Christ.

pr:Depart from me,
O Lord,for I am a sinful man.Lord,
You know that I love You,
You know well that I love You.
You have the words of eternal life.We have come to believethat 
You are God's Holy One.
You are the Messiah,the Son of the living God.

fr:How greatly we need such a profession of faith in the 
Divine Savior--a profession expressed not in words only but also in our 
conduct,in our practice of the Faith,
in our obedience to the present Vicar of Christ,your successor,the Pope.
*Obtain for us the grace,dear Saint,to become true followers of 
Christ by imitating your life.
Help us to do all we can by prayer,conduct and any other means to 
spread the Good News among all people,and in the process to be ready 
to give our life,as you did,if need be.

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SAINT PETER CHANEL-
Exemplary Religious and Missionary Martyr/1803-1841/
Feast:Apr.28-#74

fr:Dear Saint,your life is an excellent reminder that we belong to a 
Church that is essentially missionary.
This does not mean that all Christians must go to the foreign missions,
nor that we must be home missionaries.
It does mean that all should pray for missions and missionaries and offer 
financial support if possible.
*Born in France,you were educated by a local Priest and entered the 
Diocesan Seminary.
There both students and professors came to have great esteem for you.
You were an excellent student and a most devout Seminarian.

St:Because of the French Revolution there was much disorder in the 
country and some parishes were in a sad state from the religious 
stand-point.
After my ordination I was sent to a country parish that was completely 
run down.
With God's help,I instituted programs that revitalized it in three years.
But I felt called to the foreign missions.
So I joined the recently formed Society of Mary,known as the"Marists."

fr:But it was not God's plan for you yet.
You were sent instead to teach at the Seminary of Belley.
You spent five years there and did excellent work.
You were a praying professor and had a very beneficial influence 
on the students.

St:I must admit that I was disappointed,humanly speaking,
when I was not sent on mission.
I learned,however,to be resigned,for it is always better to obey a 
Religious Superior than to insist on "doing one's own thing" as is 
said today.
*For eventually I did get my wish and was appointed Superior of a 
small band of missionaries sent to evangelize the New Hebrides in the 
Pacific.
After a ten-month voyage,we arrived and split up.
I went to the island of Futuna with one lay-brother and Thomas Boog,
an English layman.

fr:You were well received by the pagan people and even by their king.
But when your winning ways gained many followers,the king became 
jealous and hostile.He did not care that you were bettering the people's 
condition.
He cared only about removing your rival influence.

St:He sent some of his warriors and they quickly put an end to my 
earthly life by clubs.
It all happened very fast,but I remember uniting myself with Jesus and 
joining my sorrows to His.

fr:It has been said that the blood of Martyrs is the seed of conversions.
In your case,this proved perfectly true.
Within five months after you had attained your wish to go to heaven,
the entire island had become Christian.

pr:Lord God,have mercy on me,for I wish to go to heaven.

fr:Dear Saint,you know that we are immersed in the world and so are 
often tempted by the idols and false gods that have existed in every 
century.
Keep our hearts free of them so that we can be imbued with God and 
proclaim Him to others.
*Let us realize that evangelization,like charity,must begin at home,
in the home of our hearts.Let us ready our hearts to be renewed 
continually and to act as missionaries in our environment.
Remind us also to pray for the missions and for missionaries.

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SAINT PHILIP NERI-
Model of Cheerful Holiness/1515-1595/Feast:May 26-#53

fr:Dear Saint,you must have been a delightful person to know because 
you were a cheerful Christian.
You attracted people to you by a goodhearted temperament,by beautiful 
liturgical services,and by turning your living quarters into a 
"home of Christian mirth."
*You lived as a layman until the age of thirty-five -- tutoring,writing 
poetry,and studying philosophy and theology.
Hence you concentrated on encouraging the Laity to strive for perfection 
just as much as the Religious do.

St:I had learned from my devout Florentine parents and my teachers of 
theology to place great confidence in prayer.
So I fully appreciated the power of cloistered prayer.
*However,with God's help,I came to realize that in my era of turbulent 
change there was urgent need to go out to the people in their everyday 
surroundings.
We needed Priests and Brothers who could be in closer contact with 
people living in the world -- after the manner of Christ Himself and the 
Apostles.

fr:The Holy Spirit worked powerfully in you and you followed His 
inspirations.
You founded a Confraternity in honor of the Holy Trinity whose 
members would serve pilgrims and sick people.
A little later,you experienced an ecstasy of Divine Love that left a 
permanent physical effect on your heart.
*After being ordained in 1551,you gathered around yourself men who 
were called Oraterians,with headquarters at a new Church of 
La Vallicella donated by Pope Gregory XIII.
It is still called the New Church.

St:Remember that it was God who made me mirthful and attractive to 
others.
I merely co-operated with His grace and strove to help the young men 
of Rome.
Our Oratory became a center of glorious worship of God,of reconciliation 
of sinners,and a powerful broadcasting station of spiritual enlightenment 
and charitable service of the poor.

fr:Countless are the Religious,
Priests,and Laity who have been inspired by you who were yourself a 
transmitter of the Holy Spirit.
You remain a model by your humility,charity,and fidelity.

pr:My Lord Jesus,
I want to love You but You cannot trust me.If You do not help me,
I will never do any good.
I do not know You;
I look for You but I do not Find You.Come to me,O Lord.If I knew You,
I would also know myself.If I have never loved You before,
I want to love You truly now.
I want to do Your will alone;Putting no trust in myself,
I hope in You,O Lord.

fr:Dear Saint,I am sure you have realized that our times bear more than 
a cursory resemblance to yours.
Teach us how to remain faithful in spite of the storms around us.
*Obtain also for us a disposition of Christian cheerfulness and good 
humor.
Make us bring natural and supernatural sunshine into our lives and those 
of others--for we bear within us the Sun of Justice,
Jesus the Lord!

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SAINT PIUS X-
Pope of the Blessed Sacrament/1835-1914/Feast:Aug.2l-#77

fr:Dear Saint,you are known -- and with good reason--as the Pope of the 
Blessed Sacrament.
It is very clear that the giant strides taken in devotion to and frequent 
reception of the Eucharist in our day are the natural resuit of your initial 
impetus.
*You allowed children to receive the true Bread that came down from 
heaven,Jesus truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.
You urged frequent reception of Holy Communion-in a devout,
respectful,and grateful way that leads to true Christian conduct.

St:From my very earliest years I had devotion to Jesus in the 
Blessed Sacrament.
Throughout my studies and my priesthood I carried it with me together 
with my other great devotion -- to poverty.
I was born poor,I lived poor,and I died poor.
*When elected to the Papacy I was greatly afraid.
But I put my trust in God and gave myself into Christ's hands -- 
dedicating all my efforts to restore all things in Christ.

fr:Your accomplishments were many and world-shaking.In addition to 
changing the Eucharistic habits of Catholics for the better,you also 
renewed the Liturgy,gave great impetus to Bible studies,and effected 
the codification of Church Law.
*Yet you showed yourself to be a true shepherd of souls:loving,
self-sacrificing,eager to help those who were spiritually and materially 
in need.

St:I was happy as a simple parish priest.
God willed to make me Bishop and then Cardinal,but I never sought 
high honors.
When I attended the conclave after the death of Pope Leo XIII I had a 
return ticket to Venice in my pocket -- although I never had to use it.

fr:Your pontificate was one of the most pivotal for the Church -- setting 
new norms for liturgical music,introducing a revised Catechism,
and establishing the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.

St:The Lord called me to Himself at the beginning of the First World War.
When will human beings decide to follow the Prince of Peace! 
When will they accept to live as creatures of the Heavenly Father 
Who invites them to become forever His children living in His heavenly 
home,where there is everlasting peace!

pr:0 Lord Jesus Christ,let Your Passion be my strength to sustain,guard,
and protect me.
Let Your Wounds be my food and drink to nourish,fill,and invigorate me.
Let the shedding of Your Blood cleanse me of all my sins.
Let Your Death obtain eternal life for me and Your Cross lead me to 
everlasting glory.
Let these constitute for me refreshment and joy,health and uprightness 
of heart.

fr:Dear Saint,guardian of the Catholic Faith,full of sacred wisdom and 
apostolic zeal,inspire our spiritual leaders with similar zeal of working 
and suffering for God's glory and the salvation of souls.
*Intercede for us that we may witness a new Pentecost when many will 
be following the guidance of the Holy Spirit sent by the Father and the Son.

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SAINT POLYCARP OF SMYRNA-
Exemplary Bishop and Defender of the Faith/
c.69-155/Feast:Feb.23-#14

fr:Dear Saint,there is something very attractive in you for many reasons.
You became a convert in the first Christian century at an early age and 
you were instructed by Saint John the Evangelist.
No wonder you had such a strong faith in the Divine Master and so 
ardent a love for Him.
*We are told that Saint John ordained you a Bishop,and you became the 
spiritual Head of Asia from your Church at Smyrna.

St:I certainly will always be most grateful to Jesus for giving me such a 
holy teacher as John,
His own "beloved disciple."
*How forcefully this Apostle brought out that Jesus was not only the 
son of Mary but also the Divine and only Son of God.
And he stressed constantly our obligation to love our neighbor and to 
try to sanctify other human beings.

fr:We know that you conferred with the Pope on the question of the 
date of Easter and combated the errors of Valentinian and Marcion,
bringing many back to the true Faith.
*Then you were ordered to deny Christ by the blind and unbelieving 
Roman authorities,and condemned to death when you refused.

St:How could I have denied my Lord and Savior? 
Naturally,my humanity made me fearful,but God's grace kept me strong.
In the midst of my persecutors,
I found a strength that I never knew I had.
I was even able to compose the followiIlg prayer that comforted me 
inface of death.

pr:Lord God almighty,
Father of Jesus Christ,
Your dear Son through Whom we have come to hnow You,
God of the angels and Powers,
God of all creation,
God of those who live in Your presence,the race of the just,
I bless You.
You have considered me to be worthy of this day and hour,worthy to be 
numbered with the martyrs and to drink the cup of Your Anointed One,
and thus to rise and live forever,body and soul,in the incorruptibility of 
the Holy Spirit.

fr:Dear Saint,we are told that the executioners found it difficult to burn 
you,and that your blood extinguished their fire when you were pierced 
with a sword.
*Inspire more and more Christians to profess and also to spread the 
true Faith and the fire of Divine Love in a world that so greatly needs 
conversion.

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