THE FEAST OF ST. BLAISE– FEB 3RD

What is known about the life of St. Blaise comes from various traditions. His feast day is celebrated in the East on Feb.11 and in the West on Feb.3. All sources agree that St. Blaise was the Bishop of Sebaste in Armenia who suffered martyrdom under Licinius about A.D. 316. He was a physician before being consecrated bishop at a young age. Eventually, he was condemned for upholding his Christian faith. By the sixth century, St. Blaise's intercession was being invoked for diseases of the throat in the East. As early as the eighth century, records attest to the veneration of St. Blaise in Europe, and he became one of the most popular saints in the spiritual life of the Middle Ages. One reason for St. Blaise's popularity was the fact that he was a physician who cured, even performing miraculous cures. Those who were sick especially with throat ailments, invoked his intercession. Eventually the custom of the blessing of throats arose where the priest held two crossed candles over the heads of the faithful or touched their throats with them while he invoked the prayer of the saint and imparted God's blessing While we invoke St. Blaise for his protection against any physical ailment of the throat, we should also ask his protection against any spiritual ailment - profanity, cursing, unkind remarks, detraction or gossip. St. James reminds us, "If a man who does not control his tongue imagines that he is devout, he is selfdeceived; his worship is pointless" (1:26). Therefore, may St. Blaise protect us from all evil, physical and spiritual, which may attack the throat. (excerpt: catholicherald.com)

My eyes have seen Your salvation

 Under Jewish Law a woman was required, after giving birth to a child, to offer to the Lord in sacrifice a lamb or two turtledoves or two young pigeons. Mary and Joseph, in bringing Jesus to the temple, fulfilled the prescribed legal requirement. At the same time they also consecrated Jesus to God: “you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb” (Exod. 13:12). In presenting Jesus, Mary and Joseph were returning to the Lord the very gift that he had given them. Their offering expressed the depth of their devotion and love of God.
 Simeon and Anna also gave God the worship of their hearts. The Spirit rested upon Simeon, preparing his heart for the Lord's coming and causing him to long to set his eyes on the Christ the Lord. Delighting in Jesus, he declared: “mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles”. Similarly Anna was seeking the Lord. She had been in the temple for years, longing and praying for the Lord's coming. Now drawn by the Spirit she blessed Jesus.
 In Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna we see so much desire, longing and love for the Lord. They rejoiced as they recognized that Jesus was the longed-for Christ. It was the Holy Spirit who gave birth to this desire, longing, recognition and delight in their lives. The Spirit wants to give us a similar longing - no longer, of course, for the first coming of the Lord - but for his return. The Spirit wishes to purify our hearts from all dullness, indifference and apathy so that we may desire to see the light of Jesus' face and long to set our eyes on his glory when he comes again. By creating in our hearts this longing for and delight in Jesus, the Holy Spirit consoles and comforts us. St. Joseph the Worker Parish (excerpt: catholic-bible-school.org)

Saint Thomas Aquinas Doctor of the Church Feast Day: January 28

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Symbol: Chalice, Monstrance, Dove or Ox 

He was born toward the end of the year 1226. He was the son of the Count of Aquino, who, when St. Thomas was five years old, placed him under the care of the Benedictines of Monte Casino. His teachers were surprised at the progress he made, for he surpassed all his fellow pupils in learning as well as in the practice of virtue. When he became of age to choose, St. Thomas renounced the things of this world and resolved to enter the Order of St. Dominic in spite of the opposition of his family. In 1243, at the age of seventeen, he joined the Dominicans of Naples. Some members of his family resorted to all means over a two year period to break his constancy, but he persevered in his vocation. St. Thomas not only wrote but he preached often. He left the great monument of his learning, the "Summa Theologica", unfinished, for on his way to the second Council of Lyons, he fell sick and died in 1274. St. Thomas was one of the greatest and most influential theologians of all time. He was canonized in 1323 and declared Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius V.

 (excerpt: catholic.org/saints) “

Three things are necessary for our salvation: to know what we ought to believe; to know what we ought to desire; and to know what we ought to do.” St. Thomas Aquinas.

St. John Bosco Feast Day 31 January

 John Bosco (1815-1888) was an Italian priest, educator and writer. While working in Turin, where the population suffered many of the effects of industrialization and urbanization, he dedicated his life to the betterment and education of street children, and disadvantaged youth. He developed teaching methods based on love rather than punishment, a method that became known as the Salesian Preventive System. 

A follower of the spirituality and philosophy of St. Francis de Sales, St. John dedicated his works to de Sales in founding the Salesians of Don Bosco. With Maria Domenica Mazzarello, he founded the Institute of the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, a congregation of nuns dedicated to the care and education of poor girls.

 In 1876 St. John founded a movement of laity, the Association of Salesian Cooperators, with the same educational mission to the poor. In 1875 he began to publish the Salesian Bulletin. The Bulletin is still in publication, and is currently published in 50 different editions and 30 languages. He was beatified in 1929 and canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1934. 

(excerpt: Catholic.org/saints)

Jesus our Light and our Help.

 God promised to confer glory on the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee, by shining a great light that would dispel the darkness of those living in a land of deep shadow. This light would confer glory upon them, giving them joy in God's presence and freeing them from the burden of the oppression weighing upon their shoulders. This light would be a child, a son, a ruler, who would be called 'Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace'.

 By withdrawing to Galilee and settling 'in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali', Jesus fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy. He is the light that shines on the land of deep shadow. He confers glory on the land. The darkness and shadow over the land is the reign of sin and its wages, death. The fear of death overwhelms and oppresses us, robbing us of joy, of the sense of God's presence.

 This darkness can only be dispelled by Christ, 'the light of the world'. He alone can disarm sin of its seductive hold over us, conquer Satan, and free us from the fear and bondage of death. Jesus, 'the resurrection and the life', shines His light upon us, filling us with gladness, freedom, and the joy of God's presence, and confers glory upon us. 

Christ's light will dispel the darkness of sin and death in our lives as we enter into His kingdom through repentance and then follow Him as His disciples. Repentance is necessary for we have to choose decisively to leave the old kingdom of sin and darkness, and enter into the new kingdom of God's Son, the kingdom of truth and light and holiness. 

We must renounce all the ways of the kingdom of darkness, rejecting sin's allurements and seductions. 

(Excerpt : catholic-bible-school.org

The Conversion of St. Paul

 • After his conversion, Saul changed his name to Paul

. • The conversion of Paul shows that Jesus himself wanted the Gospel to go to the Gentiles

. • The men with Saul did not see the risen Jesus, but Saul did. This miraculous message was meant for one person only, Saul.

 • Saul witnessed the risen Christ, which fulfilled the qualification for an apostle (Acts 1:21-22). Only those who had seen the risen Christ could testify to his resurrection.

 • Jesus did not distinguish between his church, his followers, and Himself. Jesus told Saul he had been persecuting Him. This serves as a warning that anyone who persecutes Christians or the Christian church is persecuting Christ Himself.

 • In one moment of fear, enlightenment, and regret, Saul understood that Jesus was indeed the true Messiah, and that he (Saul) had helped murder and imprison innocent people. Saul realized that despite his previous beliefs as a Pharisee, he now knew the truth about God and was obligated to obey Him.

 • Saul of Tarsus possessed perfect qualifications to be an evangelist for Christ: he was versed in Jewish culture and language, his upbringing in Tarsus made him familiar with the Greek language and culture, his training in Jewish theology helped him connect the Old Testament with the Gospel.

 • When retelling his conversion later to King Agrippa, Paul said Jesus told him, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads." (Acts 26:14, ) A goad was a sharp stick used to control oxen or cattle. Some interpret this as meaning Paul had pangs of conscience when persecuting the Church. Others believe Jesus meant that it was futile to try to oppress the Church. • Paul's life-changing experience on the Damascus Road led to his baptism and instruction in the Christian faith. He became the most determined of the apostles, suffering brutal physical pain, persecution, and finally martyrdom. He revealed his secret of enduring a lifetime of hardship for the Gospel: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

 (Phil.4:13 ) (Excerpt: christianity.about.com)

Behold, the lamb of God.

 A t his baptism the Holy Spirit filled Jesus with the power to be 'a light to the nations'. Living His life in purity, truth, humility, love, faithfulness and obedience to His Father, Jesus reflected God's light into a sinful world, dispelling the darkness of sin, unbelief and ignorance. He brought us the light of faith and true knowledge so we could know the Father and do His will. The Spirit filled Jesus with the power to offer His life in sacrifice for the sins of the world. John1:29 says of Jesus: 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'. As God's Chosen One, faithful and obedient, Jesus 'baptizes with the Holy Spirit' so that the Spirit will give believers the power to be light to the world and to bring God's salvation to the ends of the earth. We are light to the world as we live our lives in 'compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience' (Col. 3:12). These virtues dispel the darkness around us just as a lamp placed on a stand 'gives light to all in the house' (Matt. 5:15). We bring God's salvation to the ends of the earth as we seek to live righteous and holy lives, rejecting the temptations that assail us, repenting of the sins we have committed, 'forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other' (Col.3:13). By being light to the nations and bringing God's salvation to the ends of the earth, Jesus glorified His Father: 'You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified' (Isa. 49:3). Like Jesus, we give glory to the Father by being light to the world and pursuing righteousness and peace. Ask the Spirit to fill you with power so that you may be light to the world and bring God's salvation - mercy, love, peace and forgiveness - to those around you. (excerpt: catholic-bible-school.org)