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Feast of God the Father

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Born to the nobility, he was a child prodigy, was extremely well-educated, and received his doctorate in law from the University of Naples at age 16. He had his own practice by age 21, and was soon one of the leading lawyers in Naples, though he never attended court without having attended Mass first. He loved music, could play the harpsichord, and often attended the opera, though he frequently listened without bothering to watch the over-done staging. As he matured and learned more and more of the world, he liked it less and less, and finally felt a call to religious life. He declined an arranged marriage, studied theology, and was ordained at age 29.

Preacher and home missioner around Naples. Noted for his simple, clear, direct style of preaching, and his gentle, understanding way in the confessional. Writer on asceticism, theology, and history; master theologian. He was often opposed by Church officials for a perceived laxity toward sinners, and by government officials who opposed anything religious. Founded the Redemptoristines women's order in Scala in 1730. Founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Liguorians; Redemptorists) at Scala, Italy in 1732.

Appointed bishop of Saint Agata dei Gotti by Pope Clement XIII in 1762. Worked to reform the clergy and revitalize the faithful in a diocese with a bad reputation. He was afflicted with severe rheumatism, and often could barely move or raise his chin from his chest. In 1775 he resigned his see due to his health, and went into what he thought was a prayerful retirement.

In 1777 the royal government threatened to disband his Redemptorists, claiming that they were covertly carrying on the work of the Jesuits, who had been suppressed in 1773. Calling on his knowledge of the Congregation, his background in thelogy, and his skills as a lawyer, Alphonsus defended the Redemptorists so well that they obtained the king's approval. However, by this point Alphonsus was nearly blind, and was tricked into giving his approval to a revised Rule for the Congregation, one that suited the king and the anti-clerical government. When Pope Pius VI saw the changes, he condemned it, and removed Alphonsus from his position as leader of the Order. This caused Alphonsus a crisis in confidence and faith that took years to overcome. However, by the time of his death he had returned to faith and peace.

Alphonsus vowed early to never to waste a moment of his life, and lived that way for over 90 years. Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1871.

When he was bishop, one of Alphonsus's priests led a worldly life, and resisted all attempts to change. He was summoned to Alphonsus, and at the entrance to the bishop's study he found a large crucifix laid on the threshold. When the priest hesitated to step in, Alphonsus quietly said, "Come along, and be sure to trample it underfoot. It would not be the first time you have placed Our Lord beneath your feet."
Born
27 September 1696 at Marianelli near Naples, Italy
Died
1 August 1787 at Nocera
Venerated
1796 by Pope Pius VI
Beatified
15 September 1816
Canonized
26 May 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI
Name Meaning
noble ready; battle ready
Patronage
against scrupulosity, arthritis, confessors (1950 by Pope Saint Pius XII), final perseverance, moralists (1950 by Pope Saint Pius XII), scrupulous people, theologians, vocations

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The image of Our Lady of the Angels is only about three inches high, and is carved in a simple fashion on dark stone. She has a round, sweet face, slanted eyes and a delicate mouth. Her coloring is leaden, with scattered golden sparkles. She carries the Christ Child on her left arm. Only the faces of Mary and the Child are visible; the rest is covered by a cloak that is gathered in pleats. The statuette is displayed in a large gold monstrance that surrounds it and enlarges its appearance.

While searching for firewood on 2 August 1635, the feast of the Holy Angels, a poor mestizo woman called Juana Pereira discovered this small image of the Virgin sitting beside the footpath near Cartago, Costa Rica. Juana took it home with her, but it soon disappeared only to be re-discovered at the same place beside the same path. The statue repeated this behavior five more times - taken to homes and then the parish church - and returning on its own to the site where Juana found it. The locals finally took this to mean that Our Lady wanted a shrine built there, and so it was.

The shrine soon became a point of pilgrimage, especially for the poor and outcast. The image was solemnly crowned in 1926. In 1935 Pope Pius XI declared the shrine of the Queen of Angels a basilica. The stone on which the statue was originally sitting is in the basilica, and is being slowly worn away by the touch of the hands of the pilgrims. A spring of water appeared from beneath the stone, and its waters carried away to heal the sick.

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Peter grew up in a poor family during the anti-clerical, anti-Catholic aftermath of the French Revolution. His first attempt at the priesthood, against his family's wishes, ended when he had to withdraw from seminary due to illness; he never completely recovered his health. He returned, however, and was ordained on 20 July 1834 in the diocese of Grenoble, France. Joined the Marist Fathers on 20 August 1839. Friend of Saint John Mary Vianney. Provincial superior of the Society of Mary in 1845.

Peter had a strong Marian devotion, and travelled to the assorted Marian shrines and apparition sites in France. Organized lay societies under the direction of the Marists, preached and taught, and worked for Eucharistic devotion. He felt a call to found a new religious society, and founded the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament in 1856, and the lay Servants of the Blessed Sacrament in 1858. His work encountered a series of setbacks, including have to close his nascent houses and move twice, and the houses not being able to support themselves financially. However, his vision of priests, deacons, sisters, and lay people dedicated to the spiritual values celebrated in the Mass and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament anticipated many of the renewals brought about by Vatican Councils I and II.

Late in life, during a lengthy retreat in Rome, he became more mystical as he came in closer communion with the love of Christ. Six volumes of his personal letters, and nine volumes of his meditations have been printed in English.
Born
4 February 1811 at La Mure, France
Died
1 August 1868 following a stroke
Venerated
11 August 1908
Beatified
1925
Canonized
9 December 1962 by Pope John XXIII

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Member of the Sanhedrin in Israel during the life of Jesus. He was a secret disciple of Christ, meeting him by night to avoid the wrath of the other members of the Sanhedrin, and eventually spoke out to that body to remind them that Jesus had a right to a hearing. With Saint Joseph of Arimathea he prepared Jesus' body and placed him in the tomb. There was an apocryphal "gospel" that was purported to have been written by him; it is sometimes entitled the Acts of Pilate. Tradition says he was a martyr, though no details have survived.

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Farm hand who in his youth taught other children their prayers and catechism. Ordained in 1815, though it took several years study as he had little education, was not a very good student, and his Latin was terrible. Assigned for a while to Ecully. In 1818 he was assigned to the parish of Ars, a tiny village near Lyons, which suffered from very lax attendance; he began visiting his parishioners, especially the sick and poor. Spent days in prayer, doing penance for his parishioners. Gifted with discernment of spirits, prophecy, hidden knowledge, and working miracles. Tormented by evil spirits, especially when he tried to get his 2-3 hours of sleep each night. Crowds came to hear him preach, and to make their reconciliation because of his reputation with penitents; by 1855 there were 20,000 pilgrims a year to Ars. Spent 40 years as the parish priest.
Born
8 May 1786 at Dardilly, Lyons, France
Died
4 August 1859 at Ars, France of natural causes
Name Meaning
God is gracious; gift of God
Venerated
26 July 1896
Beatified
8 January 1905
Canonized
31 May 1925
Patronage
archdiocese of Dubuque Iowa; confessors; archdiocese of Kansas City Kansas; priests

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A feast that commemorates the dedication of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. The church was originally built by Pope Liberius, and was called after him Basilica Liberii or Liberiana. It was restored by Pope Sixtus III, and dedicated to Our Lady. From that time on it was known as Basilica S. Mariæ or Mariæ Majoris. Since the seventh century it was known also as Maria ad Præsepe.

The appellation ad Nives (of the snow) originated a few hundred years later, as did also the legend which gave this name to the church. The legend says that during the pontificate of Liberius, the Roman patrician John and his wife, who were without heirs, made a vow to donate their possessions to Our Lady. They prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of their property in her honour. On 5 August, during the night, snow fell on the summit of the Esquiline Hill. In obedience to a vision which they had the same night, the couple built a basilica in honour of Our Lady on the spot which was covered with snow. From the fact that no mention whatever is made of this alleged miracle until a few hundred years later, not even by Sixtus III in his eight-lined dedicatory inscription, it would seem that the legend has no historical basis.

Originally the feast was celebrated only at Sta Maria Maggiore. In the fourteenth century it was extended to all the churches of Rome, and finally it was made a universal feast by Pope Pius V. Pope Clement VIII raised it from a feast of double rite to double major. The mass is the common one for feasts of the Blessed Virgin; the office is also the common one of the Blessed Virgin, with the exception of the second Nocturn, which is an account of the alleged miracle. The congregation, which Pope Benedict XIV instituted for the reform of the Breviary in 1741, proposed that the reading of the legend be struck from the Office, and that the feast should again receive its original name, Dedicatio Sanctæ Mariæ.

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Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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Brother of Pope Saint Callixtus II. Educated by Benedictines. Benedictine monk at Saint Peter's abbey at Pavia, Italy. Bishop of Savona in 1129.
Born
c.1060 at Quingey, diocese of Besancon, France
Died
1132 of natural causes

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Transfiguration of the Lord

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Dedicated to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary

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Venetian nobility. Studied law in Padua, and was offered governing posts, but turned them down for a religious vocation. Ordained at age 36. In 1522, Cajetan founded a hospital in Venice for victims of incurable illness. Cajetan was aware of the need of reformation in the Church, and felt called to enter a religous community to serve the sick and poor. On 3 May 1524, with three others, including John Peter Caraffa who later became Pope Paul IV, he formed the Congregation of Clerks Regular (Theatines) at Rome with the mission of fostering the Church's mission and reviving the spirit and zeal of the clergy. Founded a bank to help the poor and offer an alternative to usurers (loan sharks); it later became the Bank of Naples. Known for a gentle game he played with parishioners where he would bet prayers, rosaries or devotional candles on whether he would perform some service for them; he always did, and they always had to "pay" by saying the prayers.
Born
October 1480 at Vicenza, Italy as Gaetano dei Conti di Tiene
Died
1547 at Naples, Italy
Beatified
8 October 1629 by Pope Urban VIII
Canonized
12 April 1671 by Pope Clement X
Patronage
job seekers; unemployed people

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Philosopher and adult convert to Christianity. Deacon in Rome. Pope for less than a year.

He dealt with the controversy concerning Baptism by heretics. He believed that anyone who was baptised with a desire to be a Christian, even if the Baptism was performed by a heretic, was truly baptised into the faith, and that the validity of his faith was based on his own desire and actions, not the errors of the person who performed the sacrament.

While celebrating Mass at the tomb of Saint Callistus, he was arrested as part of the persecutions of Valerian. He was beheaded with six deacons and sub-deacons, and was buried in the same catacomb where he had been celebrating Mass when he was arrested; his name occurs in the prayer Communicantes in the Canon of the Mass. Martyr.
Born
Greek
Papal Ascension
30 August 257
Died
beheaded on 6 August 258 in a cemetery on the Appian Way, Rome, Italy

	Sun August 1	Mon August 2	Tue August 3	Wed August 4	Thu August 5	Fri August 6	Sat August 7
	Feast of God the Father St. Alphonsus Liguori	Our Lady of the Angels St. Peter Julian Eymard	St. Nicodemus	St. John Mary Vianney	Our Lady of the Snow	First Friday St. Octavian Transfiguration of the Lord	First Saturday St. Cajetan Pope St. Sixtus II
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