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On August 18, 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:

St. Jane Frances de Chantal of Dijon [Jeanne Françoise] [nee Fremiot] (French, baroness, mother of four, widow at age 28, founded Order of the Visitation of Our Lady, died at age 59 in 1641 [beatified 1751, canonized 1767]) {memorial transferred from December 12 in U.S. (Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe)}

St. Agapitus of Palestrina (Italian, boy aged 15, martyred c. 274)
Bl. Aimo Taparelli of Savigliano (Italian, Dominican friar, inquisitor, died at about age 100 in 1495 [beatified 1856])
Bl. Albert Hurtado Cruchaga of Viña del Mar [Alberto] (Chilean, Jesuit priest, died at age 51 in 1952 [beatified 1994])
Sts. Crispus and John of Rome (Italian, priests, martyred c. 303)
St. Daig Maccairill of Iniskin (Irish, bishop, c. 560)
St. Evan of Ayrshire (9th century Scottish hermit)
St. Firminus of Metz (Greek or Italian, bishop in France, d. 496)
Sts. Florus and Laurus (Illyrian [from Balkan area], twin brothers, stone-masons, martyred by drowning in 2nd century)
St. Helena of Drepanum (Bithynian [from part of what is now Turkey], found the cross of Jesus in Jerusalem, mother of emperor Constantine, died at about age 80 in 330)
Sts. Hermas, Serapion, and Polyaenus, of Rome (early martyrs)
St. Juliana of Strobylum (early martyr of Asia Minor [now called Turkey])
Bl. Mary, Bl. Thomas, and Bl. James Guengoro (Japanese … husband, wife, and 9-year-old son … martyred by crucifixion in 1620 [beatified 1867])
St. Leo of Myra (early martyr)
Bl. Leonard of Cava [Leonardo] (Italian, Benedictine abbot, d. 1255 [beatified 1928])
Bl. Milo of Fontenelle (French, nobleman, Benedictine monk, hermit, c. 730)
Bl. Rinaldo of Milan (Italian, archbishop of Ravenna, d. 1321 [beatified 1852])

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), August 18, 2004

Answers

[Here are some excerpts from a work by St. Jane Frances called "Wings to the Lord:"]

"Fidelity toward God consists in being perfectly resigned to his holy will, in enduring everything that his goodness allows in our lives, and in carrying out all our duties, especially that of prayer, with love and for love. In prayer we must converse very familiarly with our Lord, concerning our little needs, telling him what they are, and remaining submissive to anything he may wish to do with us...

"We should go to prayer with deep humility and an awareness of our nothingness. We must invoke the help of the Holy Spirit and that of our good angel, and then remain still in God's presence, full of faith that he is more in us than we are in ourselves.

"There is no danger if our prayer is without words or reflection because the good success of prayer depends neither on words nor on study. It depends upon the simple raising of our minds to God, and the more simple and stripped of feeling it is, the surer it is.

"We must never dwell on our sins during prayer. Regarding our offenses, a simple humbling of our soul before God, without a thought of this offense or that, is enough...such thoughts act as distractions."

-- ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), August 18, 2004.

[Notes: (1) The age at martyrdom of Bl. James Guengoro, above, is wrong. He was only two years old!
(2) I am copying the following two (indented) messages from the old, obsolete "saints" thread for this day of the year, so that the old thread can later be deleted. JFG]

John, I was saddened to read that Bl. James Guengoro was crucified at the tender age of 2 years old. I can not imagine the horror that his parents, Blessed Thomas and Mary Guengoro must of had. Our Lord gave them a lot of grace to withstand that. Do know why there is not a "St." before James Guengoro's name? I will pray to all of those holy people tonight! Thank you for taking the time to put the saints on this forum, so we can read about them.

God Bless you! David

-- August 18, 2001.

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Dear David,
You're welcome. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before the Guengoro family is canonized. I found this information for you:
"There are two large groups of martyrs in Japan, representing the thousands of Christians who died for the faith from about 1614 to 1664. The first party of martyrs was headed by St. Paul Miki, who received canonization in 1862 by Pope Pius IX. A second gathering of martyrs was composed of thirty-six Jesuits, twenty-six Franciscans, twenty-one Dominicans, five Augustinians, and one hundred seven lay men, women, and children. They were beatified over the years by several popes, including Pius IX and Leo XIII. Pope John Paul II has also beatified and canonized several individual martyrs in Japan."

God bless you.
John

-- August 18, 2001.

-- J. F. Gecik ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), August 18, 2004.