Tag Archives: saints

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St. Mark the Zealous

By | April 25, 2013

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In those moments, I lamented my lot as St. Mark’s namesake. I mean, my older brothers could claim devil slayers like St. Michael, snake charmers like St. Patrick, or even St. Francis, whom animals spontaneously trusted. And there I was, stuck with good old, unexciting Mark. To my young, sarcastic mind, the only upside was that Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of the four, giving me hope that our school Mass might be shorter whenever Mark was read. (Alas, my liturgical arithmetic was off: a shorter gospel book never meant a shorter gospel proclamation . . . or homily.)

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Modern Martyrdom

By | April 18, 2013

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This is how we can grow in holiness in everyday life. Every day gives us new opportunities for our selfish, superior part to die and for us to grow in love. Maybe we do the dishes without grumbling about it, help someone with school work even if we’d rather be doing something else, or take time to hang out with our siblings.

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St. John Bosco: The Saint Who’s Praying for You

By | January 31, 2013

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John knew what it was like to have a tough childhood. Born to a poor family of farmers in 1815, he lost his father when he was only two. Though very intelligent and quite witty, John was forced to delay his dreams of priesthood while working as a shepherd and farmer, to help support his mother and siblings. At the age of nine, John Bosco had his first vision, one in which a man with a radiant face and flowing robes called him to lead a group of unruly boys behaving like wild animals. Years later John Bosco would fulfill this prophetic vision, feeling called to the missionary field of youth ministry.

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The Immaculate Conception: It’s About Mary.

By | December 8, 2012

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First, we need to be clear here. The Immaculate Conception is not about the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb. It’s about the conception of Mary in her mother’s womb years before. While Mary was conceived in the normal, human way through her parents (Joachim and Anne), the Immaculate Conception speaks to the fact that Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin.

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Do You Believe in Santa?: The Real Story of St. Nicholas

By | December 6, 2012

The Real Story of Saint Nicholas

Nicholas was known for his generosity. As tradition goes, he was so selfless that (although he, too, was poor) he helped his likewise poor neighbor support and pay for his daughters’ weddings. Nicholas snuck up to his neighbor’s house at night and dropped a handful of gold coins through the open window so that the eldest daughter could afford to get married. He would later repeat the generous act two more times. From there, the Santa legend grew into what we now know today – stockings, chimneys, a belly like jelly and all that good stuff.

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What Makes A Saint

By | November 1, 2012

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Let’s be honest, “All Saints Day” does not refer to me. I have more in common with popcorn appreciation day. Or Taylor Swift fan club Mondays.

This feast commemorates all the saints in heaven and I feel like I’m so far away from being a saint. I want to be a saint though! I try really hard to not sin. In fact, I know the Ten Commandments about as well as I know the lyrics to “As Long As You Love Me.” So . . . very well.

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Happy Feast Day: St. Teresa of Avila

By | October 15, 2012

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“You’re out of control! I’m sending you to the convent.” Are those words that you would want to hear? A teenager named Teresa sure didn’t appreciate when her father told her that. As a little girl, born in Avila, Spain in the 1500s, Teresa tried to run off and be a martyr, but by the time she became a teen, all of that enthusiasm for the faith was gone.

Teresa loved attention – especially from boys. She had a passion for fancy clothes and jewelry and was known for being an excellent dancer. One of her favorite pastimes was reading romance novels, and she constantly had a new one. Even when her father sent her away, surprisingly the convent wasn’t a whole lot different…

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The Secret to Sainthood

By | August 8, 2012

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Do you ever feel like there’s some big secret to becoming a saint and you can’t figure out what it is? What did they do to become so awesome? Was there a book they read? A certain prayer they prayed? Does a diet of bread and fish help?

That’s what I was wondering. (Not so much the bread and fish part.) God has been teaching me that you become a saint by . . .

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Fame, Fortune, and Faith

By | July 25, 2012

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Do you ever look around at all the actresses, singers, athletes and reality stars and wonder why you can’t be famous like them? Maybe you pray at night that you’ll get “discovered” on YouTube. Or maybe you want to get famous spreading God’s word. That can’t be bad, can it? After all, can’t you do more for him as a celebrity than as an average person?

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Catholic, Summer Book List

By | July 18, 2012

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Now that it’s well into summer you’re starting to pass from the “Yes! I don’t have to go to school!” phase into the “Wow, I’m really bored” phase. It’s a great time to start digging a bit deeper into the Catholic faith, to start growing more in your knowledge and love of God. So here’s a list of some awesome books to get you started.

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Why Do Catholics Wear Scapulars?

By | July 10, 2012

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According to Catholic tradition, Our Lady gave the scapular to St. Simon Stock, the Father General of the Carmelite order, in the thirteenth century. Mary appeared to St. Simon in a vision, held out a scapular and said to him, “ . . . he who dies in this will not suffer eternal fire.”

Does this mean if you wear the scapular you get into heaven no matter what your actions? Of course not!

The scapular is not a “get out of hell free” card or a magical charm. It is an exterior sign of an interior fidelity to Christ and trust in his Mother’s love and intercession for her children.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Fight Like a Saint

By | June 29, 2012

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My goal in life is to be a saint, and I hope yours in too, so we need to ask ourselves – how do I treat people when I disagree with them?

Look actions 1 – 4 above and replace ‘St. Peter’ with whomever you disagree with. Are you more likely to gossip about the person, tell other people how wrong they are, or even fight with the person? Or are you mature enough to respectfully talk with the person and still give them the honor they deserve?

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Got Joy?: The Story of the Joker Saint

By | June 6, 2012

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Philip Neri’s prayer life is what kept him so joyful. His entire life became a prayer. He only ate once a day and, even then, it was only bread and water. Though he had a bed, he usually opted to sleep on the floor, without a pillow. He had few possessions, endured great spiritual attacks, and daily, during his intense prayers that lasted hours, it was not uncommon for him to experience ecstasies and visions.

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Saint Quotes: St. Louis de Montfort about Mary

By | May 19, 2012

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“We never give more honor to Jesus than when we honor his Mother, and we honor her simply and solely to honor him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek – Jesus, her Son.” – Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

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Dead or Alive?: The Incorrupt Saints

By | April 25, 2012

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Deep in the heart of Paris, there is a Catholic Church that you could walk right past, if you weren’t paying attention. It’s on a cobblestoned road lined with shops and apartments with classic french windows that you half expect the characters of Beauty and the Beast to pop out of, yelling, “Bonjour!” and “I need six eggs!” It was only at the tip of a local that my friends and I ventured down ru de Sèvres and into the Chapel of the Priests of the Congregation of the Mission. We were told that it was the burial place of St. Vincent de Paul and not to be missed.

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The Saint Who Flew: St. Joseph of Cupertino

By | April 17, 2012

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You may be thinking to yourself, “Okay, so this guy had a lot of visions – that only seems mildly crazy in comparison to all the other things God’s done with saints.” But you see, like any good storyteller, we’ve saved the best for last. Joseph of Cupertino happens to be the patron saint of astronauts and pilots – because he flew. Not “LeBron James hovering over people en route to a dunk” flew, but straight- up “hovering above crowds in midair until his superior told him to come down” flew.

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Video

Saintly Minute: Mary the Theotokos

By | March 26, 2012

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You might see the title of this and think, “Theotokos? That’s as hard to read as Greek!” You’d be right, because it is Greek! Find out what it means – and how it applies to Mary – in this Saintly Minute video.

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St. Joseph: The Ultimate Dad

By | March 19, 2012

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In St. Joseph, then, we’re given a glimpse into the heart of God the Father. It would be completely illogical to think, after all the trouble of the incarnation, that he would fail to choose a man who reflected his divine image of paternal love with the highest possible measure of human faithfulness.

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Saint Quotes: St. Augustine on Lust

By | February 18, 2012

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“By Lust I mean that affection of the mind that aims at the enjoyment of one’s self and one’s neighbor without reference to God. Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity. There is no remedy so powerful against the heat of concupiscence as the remembrance of our Savior’s Passion. In all my difficulties I never found anything so efficacious as the wounds of Christ: In them I sleep secure; from them I derive new life.” – Saint Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Read more [...]

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Saint Quotes: St. Paul of the Cross

By | January 7, 2012

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“Celebrate the feast of Christmas every day, even every moment in the interior temple of your spirit, remaining like a baby in the bosom of the heavenly Father, where you will be reborn each moment in the Divine Word, Jesus Christ.”

- St. Paul of the Cross

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