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Saint Junipero Serra’s missionary life was a long battle with cold and hunger, with unsympathetic military commanders and even with danger of death from non-Christian native peoples.
Today the Church celebrates two great men: St. Peter and St. Paul. There are chapters in the lives of most of us of which we are not proud. But Jesus can make something of us all.
Saint Cyril of Alexandria was instrumental in the Church’s doctrinal statement that there is one person but two natures in Christ. The practical implication of this teaching is that we believe that Jesus is truly God and truly human.
A Secular Franciscan, Blessed Raymond Lull spent his life supporting the study of languages necessary for successful work in the missions. It wasn’t until late in life that he saw any fruition of his labors, when language chairs were established in several universities.
Blessed Jutta of Thuringia, a noble woman with children, became a widow at a young age. She used her means to provide for the children, but once they were grown, she disposed of her wealth, became a Secular Franciscan, and lived a life of austerity.
John is one of the few saints who have two feast days. Today we celebrate the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, which Saint Luke narrates in his Gospel. There Luke draws a parallel between the births of Jesus and John, pointing out the important role in the history of salvation that John the Baptist would play.
Saint John Fisher’s name is usually associated with Saint Thomas More and their difficulty with King Henry VIII. A bishop and cardinal, John Fisher refused to agree with Henry’s divorce and remarriage, as well as the idea that the king, rather than the pope, was the head of the Church in England. He was imprisoned and eventually martyred.
Made famous by his own holy life and featured in the movie “A Man for All Seasons,” Saint Thomas More is the patron of those in the legal profession. Husband, father, chancellor, and lawyer, Thomas More was reluctantly martyred by King Henry VIII in 1535.
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga was a precocious child who had a spiritual awakening at the age of 7. As a young adult, and after a prolonged battle with his father, he entered the Jesuits where he had to learn to live and maneuver within community, and give up some of his independent ways of doing things. Aloysius helped nurse patients of the plague which he caught and from which he died.
Saint Paulinus of Nola was a married priest and bishop. In his day, marriage was not an impediment to the priesthood. Though married for many years, Saint Paulinus and his wife were childless. When they finally were blessed with a son, he lived but a few weeks.
