April
-
St. Isidore of Seville (April 4th)
-
St. Isidore of Seville was born in 560 in Spain during a time of great conflict and growth for the Church in that area. The Roman world was crumbling away as the Visigoths (Western Gothic tribes) invaded Spain. The Visigoths were Arians, heretics who believed that Jesus Christ was not divine and therefore not God. As a result, Spain was split in two: Catholic Romans and Arian Goths.
Isidore reunited Spain after one of the Visigoth kings abandoned Arianism. He succeeded his brother (St. Leander) as Archbishop of Seville. He built up the Church and the nation by calling and guiding Church councils, requiring seminaries to be built in every diocese, writing a Rule for religious orders, and completing the Mozarabic liturgy.
An amazingly learned and knowledgeable man, he was often referred to as “The Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages” because the encyclopedia he wrote, the Etymologies (or Origins), was used as a textbook for 9 centuries. In addition to his encyclopedia, he wrote a dictionary, a history of Goths, a history of the world, and many other books.
In his final days, he prepared for death by increasing his charities for the poor and confessing his faults to his people in church. Isidore died on April 4, 636 in Seville, Spain. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1722. His mind was such a vast storehouse of knowledge that Pope Saint John Paul II named him the Patron Saint of the Internet in 1999. His three siblings are also canonized saints.
St. Isidore of Seville, pray for us!
-
-
St. John Baptist de La Salle (April 7th)
-
St. John Baptist de La Salle, the Father of Modern Education:
- Born on April 30, 1651 in Rheims, France.
- Studied for priesthood in Paris but quit in order to care for his siblings when his parents died.
- Returned to seminary once his siblings were grown.
- Ordained in 1678 and received a Doctor of Theology in 1680.
- Spiritual director of the Sisters of the Holy Infant (nuns devoted to teaching poor girls).
- In 1681, John founded the Brothers of the Christian Schools (also known as the Christian Brothers, De La Salle Brothers, or Lasallian Brothers).
- Gave away his personal fortune to the poor in the form of bread during the great famine of 1683-1684.
- Instituted the process of diving students into grades, established the first teacher’s school, and started high schools and trade schools.
- Died on April 7, 1719 at the age of 67, at Saint-Yon, Rouen, France
- Beatified in 1888, canonized in 1900, and proclaimed the patron of all teachers of all youth by Pope Venerable Pius XII in 1950.
-
-
St. Bernadette (April 16th)
-
April 16th is the feast of St. Bernadette.
In 1858, Mary appeared to 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France.
Our Lady continued appearing to Bernadette (a total of 18 times over 5 months), and eventually identified herself by saying "I am the Immaculate Conception."
This apparition is known as Our Lady of Lourdes.
St. Bernadette is the patron saint against sickness and poverty.
St. Bernadette, pray for us!
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!
-
-
St. Anselm of Canterbury (April 21st)
-
St. Anselm of Canterbury is one of the great philosophers and theologians of the middle ages, and is a Doctor of the Church.
- Anselm was born in 1033.
- Anselm's motto was “faith seeking understanding” (fides quaerens intellectum).
- Indifferent toward religion as a young man, Anselm became one of the Church’s greatest theologians and leaders. He received the title “Father of Scholasticism” for his attempt to analyze and illumine the truths of faith through the aid of reason.
- Considered an original and independent thinker, Anselm was admired for his patience, gentleness, and teaching skill. Under his leadership, the Abbey of Bec became a monastic school, influential in philosophical and theological studies.
- During these years, at the community’s request, Anselm began publishing his theological works, comparable to those of Saint Augustine. His best-known work is the book Cur Deus Homo (“Why God Became Man”).
- Against his will, Anselm was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093, at age 60. His appointment was opposed at first by England’s King William Rufus and later accepted. Rufus persistently refused to cooperate with efforts to reform the Church.
- Anselm finally went into voluntary exile until Rufus died in 1100. He was then recalled to England by Rufus’ brother and successor, Henry I. Disagreeing fearlessly with Henry over the king’s insistence on investing England’s bishops, Anselm spent another three years in exile in Rome.
- His care and concern extended to the very poorest people. Opposing the slave trade, Anselm obtained from the national council at Westminster the passage of a resolution prohibiting the sale of human beings.
- Anselm died on April 21, 1109, was canonized in 1494 (some say he was canonized earlier), and was named a Doctor of the Church in 1720.
Click Here for a Summary and Breakdown of the Works of St. Anselm
Click Here for Franciscan Media's Info on St. Anselm (direct source used)
-
-
St. Louis de Montfort (April 28th)
-
St. Louis de Montfort is known for his great passion and zeal for Mary our Mother. He looked at the devotion to Jesus through Mary as the quickest way to Heaven. He calls us to give everything to Mary for by doing so we will have the gift of Mary on our side. Reflect on the following excerpt from St. Louis de Montfort:
"The most holy Virgin... who never lets herself be outdone in love and liberality, seeing that we give ourselves entirely to her... meets us in the same spirit. She also gives her whole self, and gives it in an unspeakable manner, to him who gives all to her. She causes him to be engulfed in the abyss of her graces. She adorns him with her merits; she supports him with her power; she illuminates him with her light; she inflames him with her love; she communicates to him her virtues: her humility, her faith, her purity, and the rest. ... In a word, as the consecrated person is all Mary's, so Mary is all his."
Let us ask for St. Louis de Montfort's guidance as we draw closer to Jesus through Mary. Let us ask for the same fire and zeal that he had, so that we may more perfectly follow God's will in our lives.
-
