¤ Saint Of The Day ¤

St. Athanasius, the great champion of the Faith was born in Alexandria, around the year 296. Educated under the eye of Alexander, later Bishop of his native city, he made great progress in learning and virtue. In 311 the saint went to the desert to spend some time in retreat with St. Anthony.

In 319, he became a deacon, and even in this capacity he was called upon to take an active part against the rising heresy of Arius, a priest of the Alexandrian Church who denied the Divinity of Christ. This was to be the life struggle of St. Athanasius.

In 325, he assisted his Bishop at the Council of Nicaea, where his influence began to be felt. Five months later Alexander died. On his death bed he recommended St. Athanasiua as his successor. In consequence of this, Athanasius was unanimously elected Patriarch in 326.

His refusal to tolerate the Arian heresy was the cause of many trials and persecutions for St. Athanasius. He spent seventeen of the forty-six years of his episcopate in exile. After a life of virtue and suffering, this intrepid champion of the Catholic Faith, the greatest man of his time, died in peace on May 2, 373. Because her his both a Bishop and a doctor of the church, St. Athanasius is often depicted holding a scroll.

Father, You gave us St. Athanasius, Your Bishop, to defend the Divinity of Your Son. Grant that we may enjoy his teachinh and protection and grow continually in our knowledge and love of You.
Amen.

Let me begin by extending my hope that you all had a wonderful Easter Week! I know I did.
And off to today’ saint — St. Anselm.

St. Anselm was born of noble parentage in Piedmont about the year 1033. At the age of 27, St. Anselm adopted the monastic state in the monastery of Bec, studied under Lanfranc, was made Prior in 1063, and Abbot in 1078.
In the year 1093, St. Anslem succeeded his old master, Lanfranc, as Archbishop of Canterbury. His resistance to the unjust measures of King William Rufus drew upon him the anger of that monarch.

In the years 1097-98, he made a voyage to Rome, and spent some time in a monastery of Calabria, where he composeda work on the Incarnation. In the same year he assisted at the Council of Bari, and by his prayers prevented the Pope from excommunicating the King of England.

St. Anselm continued traveling, not returning to his See until the death of King Rufus in 1100.
He returned peacefully to our LORD in the year 1109.

LORD God, You endowed St. Anselm with heavenly doctrine. Through his help, may we faithfully keep that teaching and profess it in our daily condect.
Amen.

Born in Szczepanow, Poland, on July 26, 1030, St. Stanislaus was ordained a priest after being educated in the cathedral schools of Gniezno.
He was appointed preacher and archdeacon to the bishop of Kraków, where his example brought about real conversion in many of his penitents, both clergy and laity. He became bishop of Kraków in 1072.

During an expedition against the Grand Duchy of Kiev, St. Stanislaus became involved in the political situation of Poland. Known for his outspokenness, he aimed his attacks at the evils of the peasantry and the king, especially the unjust wars and immoral acts of King Boleslaus II.

The king first excused himself, then made a show of penance, then relapsed into his old ways. St. Stanislaus continued his open opposition in spite of charges of treason and threats of death, excommunicated the king in the year 1709. This decision cost the Saint his life.
When he learned of his excommunication, the king, enraged, ordered soldiers to kill the bishop. When they refused, the king killed him with his own hands.

God, for your honor the holy Bishop Stanislaus fell before the swords of his persecutors. Grant that we may be strong in the Faith and persevere until death.
Amen.

Today’s post was originally posted on EWTN’s saints website. Enjoy!

Born between 952 and 962 in Italy, probably at Rome.
He was of humble parentage and received his education at the school of Reims, where he had as teacher the famous Gerbert who in 999 ascended the papal throne as Sylvester II.
In 990 Fulbert opened a school at Chartres which soon became the most famous seat of learning in France and drew scholars not only from the remotest parts of France, but also from Italy, Germany, and England. Fulbert was also chancellor of the church of Chartres and treasurer of St. Hilary’s at Poitiers. So highly was he esteemed as a teacher that his pupils were wont to style him “venerable Socrates”. He was a strong opponent of the rationalistic tendencies which had infected some dialecticians of his times, and often warned his pupils against such as extol their dialectics above the teachings of the Church and the testimony of the Bible. Still it was one of Fulbert’s pupils, Berengarius of Tours, who went farthest in subjecting faith to reason. In 1007 Fulbert succeeded the deceased Rudolph as Bishop of Chartres and was consecrated by his metropolitan, Archbishop Leutheric of Sens. He owed the episcopal dignity chiefly to the influence of King Robert of France, who had been his fellow student at Reims. As bishop he continued to teach in his school and also retained the treasurership of St. Hilary.

When, about 1020, the cathedral of Chartres burned down, Fulbert at once began to rebuild it in greater splendour. In this undertaking he was financially assisted by King Canute of England, Duke William of Aquitaine, and other European sovereigns. Though Fulbert was neither abbot nor monk, as has been wrongly asserted by some historians, still he stood in friendly relation with Odilo of Cluny, Richard of St. Vannes, Abbo of Fleury, and other monastic celebrities of his times. He advocated a reform of the clergy, severely rebuked those bishops who spent much of their time in warlike expeditions, and inveighed against the practice of granting ecclesiastical benefices to laymen.
He  died April, 10 1029.

St. Isidore was born in Cartagena, Spain, in the year 560 AD.
His parents, Severinus and Theodora, were both very virtues. For this reason, perhaps, they raised four saints – his brothers, St. Leander and St. Fulgentius (both bishops), and his sister, Florentina.

From his youth, St. Isidore consecrated himself to the service of the Churhc, and prepared himself for his future ministry by virtue and learning. He assisted his brother (St. Leander, who was Archbishop of Seville) in the conversion of many, and on his brother’s death, around the year 600, St. Isidore took his place in the seeing of Seville.

St, Isidore was a wonderful writer. He composed a work containing the whole circle of science, which shows his vast range of knowledge. He wrote the earliest encyclopedias!
The saint was versed in Latin, Greek and Hebrew. He governed his church for 37 years, continuing his labors into an advanced age.

Perciving his death approching, he went to church, recived Holy Communion, remitted all debts owed to him, and distributed his money to the poor.
He then returned to his home, and peacefully passed onto our LORD four days later, in the year 636.

This saint is the patron of many things, including computers, computer users, and students.

LORD, hear our prayers, which we offer on the commemoration of St. Isisdore. May Your Church be instructed by his teaching.
Amen.

Links You’ll Like:
http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-isidore-of-seville/
http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saintofday/default.asp?id=1343
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08186a.htm

Today’s saint, who is also known as Richardof Chichester, was born at Wyche, Worcestershire, England. He was orphaned when he was quite young, and found great comfort in the LORD, spending hours in prayer.
Richard refused marriage and went to Oxford, where he spent hours at a time studying, and met Edmund Rich, his lifelong companion and friend. Richard pursued his studies at Paris, received his Master’s Degree from Oxford, and then continued his studies at Bologna, where he received his Doctor’s in Canon Law. After seven years at Bologna, he returned to Oxford, was appointed chancellor of the university in 1235, and then became chancellor to Edmund Rich, now archbishopof Canterbury, whom he accompanied to the Cistercian monastery at Pontigny when the archbishop retired there.
After Rich died at Pontigny, Richard taught at the Dominican House of Studies at Orleans and was ordained there in 1243. After a time as a parish priest at Deal, he became chancellor of Boniface of Savoy, the new archbishop of Canterbury, and when King Henry III named Ralph Neville bishop of Chichester in 1244, Boniface declared his selection invalid and named Richard to the See. Eventually, the matter was brought to Rome and in 1245, Pope Innocent IV declared in Richard’s favor and consecrated him.

When he returned to England, he was still opposed by Henry and was refused admittance to the bishop’s palace; eventually Henry gave in when threatened with excommunication by the Pope. The remaining eight years of Richard’s life were spend in ministering to his flock. He denounced nepotism, insisted on strict clerical discipline, and was ever generous to the poor and the needy. He died at a house for poor priests in Dover, England, while preaching a crusade, and was canonized in 1262.

Saint Richard (From wilsonsalminac)

God, ou made St’ Richard an outstanding examplar of Divine love and the Faith that conquers the world, and dded him to the role of saintly pastors. Grant by his intercession that we may persevere in Faith and love and become sharers of his glory.
Amen.

Today’s post is taken from the book, “Lives of the Saints:, by Alban Butler, published in the late 1800s.
Enjoy!

(A Note – There are two “Saint Hugh, Bishops”s. Today’s saint is Bishop of Grenoble, not Bishop of Lincoln.)

It was the happiness of this Saint to receive from his cradle the strongest impressions of piety by the example and care of his illustrious and holy parents. He was born at Chateau-neuf, in the territory of Valence in Dauphiné, in 1053. His father, Odilo, who served his country in an honorable post in the army, labored by all the means in his power to make his soldiers faithful servants of their Creator, and by severe punishments to restrain vice. By the advice of his son, St. Hugh, he afterwards became a Carthusian monk, and died at the age of a hundred, having received Extreme Unction and Viaticum from the hands of his son. Our Saint likewise assisted, in her last moments, his mother, who had for many years, under his direction, served God in her own house, by prayer, fasting, and plenteous alms-deeds. Hugh, from the cradle, appeared to be a child of benediction. He went through his studies with great applause, and having chosen to serve God in an ecclesiastical state, he accepted a canonry in the cathedral of Valence. His great sanctity and learning rendered him an ornament of that church, and he was finally made Bishop of Grenoble. He set himself at once to reprove vice and to reform abuses, and so plentiful was the benediction of Heaven upon his labors that he had the comfort to see the face of his diocese in a short time exceedingly changed. After two years he privately resigned his bishopric, presuming on the tacit consent of the Holy See, and, putting on the habit of St. Bennet, he entered upon a novitiate in the austere abbey of Casa-Dei in Auvergne. There he lived a year, a perfect model of all virtues to that house of Saints, till Pope Gregory VII. commanded him, in virtue of holy obedience, to resume his pastoral charge.

He earnestly solicited Pope Innocent II. for leave to resign his bishopric, that he might die in solitude, but was never able to obtain his request. God was pleased to purify his soul by a lingering illness before He called him to Himself. Some time before his death he lost his memory for everything but his prayers. He closed his penitential course on the 1st of April in 1132, wanting only two months of being Eighty years old, of which he had been fifty-two years bishop. Miracles attested the sanctity of his happy death, and he was canonized by Innocent II. in 1134.

Reflection—Let us learn from the example of the Saints to shun the tumult of the world as much as our circumstances will allow, and give ourselves up to the exercises of holy solitude, prayer, and pious reading.