Jmj

On July 1, we members of the Catholic Church family honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- "saints" and "blesseds" whose souls are now in heaven:

Bl. Juniper Serra y Abram of Petra [Junípero] [baptized Miguel José (Michael Joseph)] (Spanish, Franciscan priest, university professor, missionary in North American West, established 21 California missions, died at age 70 in 1784 [beatified 1988])

St. Aaron (Israelite, brother of patriarch Moses, high priest, 13th century B.C.)
Sts. Anron, Julius, and companions, of Caerlon (English, martyred c. 305)
St. Arnulf of Mainz (German, archbishop, martyred in 1160)
St. Carilefus of Auvergne (French, monk, hermit, abbot, d. 536)
St. Castus of Sinussa (Italian? bishop, martyred in 305)
St. Cewydd of Anglesey (Welsh, 6th century)
St. Domitian of Rome (Italian, orphan, monk in France, d. 440)
St. Eparchius of Perigord (French, duke, hermit, abbot, d. 581)
St. Esther [Hadassah] (Israelite, Jewish queen of Persian king in Old Testament, 5th century B.C.)
St. Felix of Como (Italian, bishop, c. 390)
St. Gall of Clermont (French, courtier, bishop, died at about age 65 c. 554)
Bl. Ignatius Falzon of Valletta [Nazju] (Maltese, layman, founded Congregation of the Rosary, died on his 52nd birthday in 1865 [beatified 2001])
Bl. John Nepomucene Chrzan of Gostyczyn [Jan Nepomucen] (Polish, diocesan priest, martyred by Nazis at Dachau [Germany] at age 57 in 1942 [beatified 1999])
St. Juthware (English, virgin, martyred in 7th century)
St. Martin of Vienne (Italian? missionary bishop in France, 2nd century)
St. Servan ["Apostle of West Fife"] (Irish, bishop, 6th century)
St. Theodoric of Mont d’Or (abbot in France, healer, d. 533)
Bl. Thomas Maxfield of Enville [or Macclesfield] (English, priest, martyred [drawn, hanged, and quartered] under James I at about age 26 in 1616 [beatified 1929])
Bl. Thomas Sprott of Skelsmerg (English, priest, martyred under Elizabeth I at about age 29 in 1600 [beatified 1987])
St. Veep [also called Wennapu] (Welsh? 6th century)

If you have anything to share about these holy people, please reply now -- biographical episodes, prayers through their intercession, the fact that one is your patron -- whatever moves you. If you are interested in one of these saints or blesseds and want to find out more about him/her, please ask. Additional information is sometimes available on the Internet.

All you holy men and women, saints of God, pray for us.
God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), July 01, 2004

Answers

Here is an interesting page about Blessed Junipero Serra.

-- ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), July 01, 2004.

Wow quite alot of Saints for the first day of July,I especially found this interesting>>Bl. Ignatius Falzon of Valletta [Nazju] (Maltese, layman, founded Congregation of the Rosary, died on his 52nd birthday in 1865 [beatified 2001]) .The Servant of God Ignatius Falzon also had a great passion for preaching the Gospel and teaching the Catholic faith. He too put his many talents and his intellectual training at the service of catechetical work. The Apostle Paul wrote that "each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor 9:7). Blessed Nazju was one who gave abundantly and cheerfully; and people saw in him not only boundless energy but also deep peace and joy. He renounced the worldly success for which his background had prepared him, in order to serve the spiritual good of others, including the many British soldiers and sailors stationed in Malta at the time. In his approach to them, few of whom were Catholic, he anticipated the ecumenical spirit of respect and dialogue, which is familiar to us today but which was not always prevalent at that time.

Ignatius Falzon drew his strength and inspiration from the Eucharist, prayer before the Tabernacle, devotion to Mary and the Rosary, and imitation of Saint Joseph. These are fountains of grace from which all Christians may drink. Holiness and zeal for God’s Kingdom flourish especially where parishes and communities encourage prayer and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. I urge you therefore to cherish your Maltese traditions of piety, purifying them where necessary and strengthening them with sound instruction and catechesis. There would be no better way of honouring the memory of Blessed Nazju Falzon.

Peace be with you.....

-- Andrew m Tillcock (drewmeister7@earthlink.net), July 01, 2004.

Excellent, Andrew. Thanks.
I get the impression that those words are from the pope, spoken during the ceremony of beatification. JFG

-- ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), July 02, 2004.

Yes>JFG i'm sure your right ,i just found the peice and thought it was a good bit to share. Pax

-- Andrew m Tillcock (drewmeister7@earthlink.net), July 02, 2004.

[Note: I am copying the following three messages from the old, obsolete "saints" thread for this day of the year, so that the old thread can later be deleted. JFG]

John,
Fill me in on this one. How is it possible for one to be a Saint if he was born long before Christ. You mentioned St Aaron in todays post and I found it odd that one could be a saint before the birth of Christ. Am I missing something here? THANKS.

-- Fred Bishop July 01, 2002.

---

Yes, you're missing something, Fred!

On these saints' threads, I have listed many of the great characters of the Old Testament as "Saint," because the Catholic Church (especially in the East) recognizes them under that title.

The reason is that, although they were sinners like the rest of us, they lived lives of heroic virtue and did not die in a state of mortal sin. Then, when Christ, after his crucifixion, "descended into hell" (i.e., the abode of the souls of the just dead), he preached to them about the salvation he had brought to mankind. Those who accepted him as their savior are believed to have gone to be with God in heaven (and can therefore be called "saints" [from French/Latin for "holy one"]).

God bless you.
John

-- July 01, 2002.

---

Alleluia for all who are now with GOD. makes a lot of sense. Thanks John.

-- Fred Bishop July 01, 2002.

[Fred ... R.I.P.]

-- J. F. Gecik ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), July 22, 2004.