Franciscan Media

Blessed Stanley Rother grew up in Oklahoma on his parents’ farm in what could be described as a normal environment. Life changed radically for him when he was ordained a priest in 1963, and again in 1968, when he volunteered for the missions in Guatemala. But the final change came when civil war reached his parish in 1980. He was assassinated on July 28, 1981.

We believe that Jesus is truly God and truly human, and this feast of his grandparents is a testimony to that faith. While the names Joachim and Anne may be legendary, we know that Jesus had grandparents in the parents of Mary (as well as those of Saint Joseph). Our God truly became human and lived among us.

Apostle Saint James the Greater, brother of Saint John and one of the three who spent time with the Lord on significant occasions, was a fisherman called by Jesus to follow him. Most likely, he was the first to be martyred, and witness to the faith with his blood. He and Saint John were nicknamed “Sons of Thunder” by Jesus.

Saint Sharbel Makhlouf was a Lebanese Maronite Rite monk, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches who follow a slightly different liturgy and canon law. We in the Latin or Roman Rite often forget that we have sisters and brothers in the East. Saint Sharbel is a good reminder of the wider Church.

Saint Bridget of Sweden was married, a mother of eight, and the foundress of a monastery for men and women. She spent her final days in Rome seeking to correct Church abuses for which she received much opposition.