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Saints

- What Catholics Believe About Saints
  
  It's important to remember that saints aren't supernatural beings to be worshiped. In fact, in the New Testament, the term saint often is a synonym for Christian. We are all saints and are called again and again to become saints in our lives. The word "saint" comes from the Latin word sanctus, meaning a holy one.
- Why do Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary, the saints, and the angels?
  
  Praying to Mary, the saints, and the angels can sound like trying to get "friends in high places" to run interference for you. Although people sometimes seek such "friends" in order to get a speeding ticket fixed, buy merchandise at a lower price or have some problem resolved, for Catholics that is not what devotion to the saints represents.
  
  God alone is the source of all grace and blessing. Saints do not "fix" things for us apart from God or convince God to do X rather than Y. At Vatican II, the bishops taught that the holiness of the Church "is shown constantly in the fruits of grace which the Spirit produces in the faithful and so it must be" (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, #39). Those "fruits of grace" are seen in the lives of saintly disciples, whether canonized or not.
  
  Jesus was fully divine and fully human. As a human, Jesus could be only one gender, live at one time in history, grow up in one human culture, etc. Saints help us to see holiness as possible for ourselves because saints include men and women, married and single people who lived at various times in human history and in various cultures. Saints remind us that, no matter what sacrifices we may need to make in order to cooperate with God's grace, we are not the first people to make those sacrifices. If we ask our friends on earth to pray for us, why not ask our friends in heaven to do the same?
  
  -Franciscan Media
Bringing the Saints to Life - A Monthly Celebration
- What is the intention of this program?
  
  The intention is to serve as an apostolate monthly ministry seeking to make the parish more vibrant by sharing inspirational ways to learn about the Catholic faith; to share messages of how to live a faith-filled life geared toward the teachings of Jesus, using the saints as inspiration.
  
  Please read our Informaton Booklet HERE
- Saint Lucy at OLH:
- Background and Upcoming Event:
  
  This is a monthly program that began at Saint James to revive the parish and to bring the saints to “life” in terms of engaging people of all ages in their senses, to want to learn about the teachings of Jesus, using the saints as inspiration.
  
  The saint featured per month is based on that saint’s feast day (scroll down to the calendar below). On December 4th, to conclude the year, we’ll honor Saint Lucy during the 9am Mass at the St. James campus. Please join us to celebrate these Saints!
  
  PROGRAM PAMPHLET
  
  LEARN MORE
  
  VIDEO CLIP FROM THE MASS
- Saint Catherine Labouré
- Celebrated November 27th
  
  PROGRAM PAMPHLET
  
  LEARN MORE
- When the Church keeps the memorials of martyrs and other saints during the annual cycle , she proclaims the Paschal Mystery in those "who have suffered and have been glorified with Christ. She proposes them to the faithful as examples who draw all men to the Father through Christ, and through their merists she begs for God's favors."
  -Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1173

Feast Days of the Saints

March 2023

Sync to my Calendar Print Calendar Print Event List

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1 Month View March 1, 2023	2 Saint Agnes of Bohemia Month View March 2, 2023 Saint Agnes of Bohemia Thursday, March 2 Agnes had no children of her own, but was certainly life-giving for all who knew her. Agnes was the daughter of Queen Constance and King Ottokar I of Bohemia. She was betrothed to the Duke of Silesia, who died three years later. As she grew up, she decided she wanted to enter the religious life. Read More	3 Katharine Drexel Month View March 3, 2023 Katharine Drexel Friday, March 3 If your father is an international banker and you ride in a private railroad car, you are not likely to be drawn into a life of voluntary poverty. But if your mother opens your home to the poor three days each week and your father spends half an hour each evening in prayer, it is not impossible that you will devote your life to the poor and give away millions of dollars. Katharine Drexel did that. Read More	4 Saint Casimir Month View March 4, 2023 Saint Casimir Saturday, March 4 Casimir, born of kings and in line to be a king himself, was filled with exceptional values and learning by a great teacher, John Dlugosz. Even his critics could not say that his conscientious objection indicated softness. As a teenager, Casimir lived a highly disciplined, even severe life, sleeping on the ground, spending a great part of the night in prayer and dedicating himself to lifelong celibacy. Read More
5 Saint John Joseph of the Cross Month View March 5, 2023 Saint John Joseph of the Cross Sunday, March 5 Self-denial is never an end in itself but is only a help toward greater charity—as the life of Saint John Joseph shows. Read More	6 Saint Mary Ann of Jesus of Paredes Month View March 6, 2023 Saint Mary Ann of Jesus of Paredes Monday, March 6 Mary Ann grew close to God and his people during her short life. Read More	7 Saint Colette Month View March 7, 2023 Saint Colette Tuesday, March 7 Colette did not seek the limelight, but in doing God’s will she certainly attracted a lot of attention. Read More	8 Saint John of God Month View March 8, 2023 Saint John of God Wednesday, March 8 Having given up active Christian belief while a soldier, John was 40 before the depth of his sinfulness began to dawn on him. He decided to give the rest of his life to God’s service, and headed at once for Africa where he hoped to free captive Christians and, possibly, be martyred... Read More	9 Saint Frances of Rome Month View March 9, 2023 Saint Frances of Rome Thursday, March 9 Frances’ life combines aspects of secular and religious life. A devoted and loving wife, she longed for a lifestyle of prayer and service, so she organized a group of women to minister to the needs of Rome’s poor. Read More	10 Saint Dominic Savio Month View March 10, 2023 Saint Dominic Savio Friday, March 10 So many holy persons seem to die young. Among them was Dominic Savio, the patron of choirboys. Read More	11 Saint John Ogilvie Month View March 11, 2023 Saint John Ogilvie Saturday, March 11 John Ogilvie’s noble Scottish family was partly Catholic and partly Presbyterian. His father raised him as a Calvinist, sending him to the continent to be educated. There, John became interested in the popular debates going on between Catholic and Calvinist scholars. Read More
12 Blessed Angela Salawa Month View March 12, 2023 Blessed Angela Salawa Sunday, March 12 Angela served Christ and Christ’s little ones with all her strength. Read More	13 Saint Leander of Seville Month View March 13, 2023 Saint Leander of Seville Monday, March 13 The next time you recite the Nicene Creed at Mass, think of today’s saint. For it was Leander of Seville who, as bishop, introduced the practice in the sixth century. Read More	14 Saint Maximilian Month View March 14, 2023 Saint Maximilian Tuesday, March 14 milian’s Story We have an early, almost unembellished account of the martyrdom of Saint Maximilian in modern-day Algeria. Brought before the proconsul Dion, Maximilian refused enlistment in the Roman army saying, “I cannot serve, I cannot do evil. I am a Christian.” Read More	15 Saint Louise de Marillac Month View March 15, 2023 Saint Louise de Marillac Wednesday, March 15 Born near Meux, France, Louise lost her mother when she was still a child, her beloved father when she was but 15. Her desire to become a nun was discouraged by her confessor, and a marriage was arranged... Read More	16 Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer Month View March 16, 2023 Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer Thursday, March 16 Clement might be called the second founder of the Redemptorists, as it was he who carried the congregation of Saint Alphonsus Liguori to the people north of the Alps. Read More	17 Saint Patrick Month View March 17, 2023 Saint Patrick Friday, March 17 Legends about Patrick abound; but truth is best served by our seeing two solid qualities in him: He was humble and he was courageous. The determination to accept suffering and success with equal indifference guided the life of God’s instrument for winning most of Ireland for Christ. Read More	18 Saint Cyril of Jerusalem Month View March 18, 2023 Saint Cyril of Jerusalem Saturday, March 18 The crises that the Church faces today may seem minor when compared with the threat posed by the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ and almost overcame Christianity in the fourth century. Cyril was to be caught up in the controversy, accused of Arianism by Saint Jerome, and ultimately vindicated both by the men of his own time and by being declared a Doctor of the Church in 1822. Read More
19 Saint Joseph Month View March 19, 2023 Saint Joseph Sunday, March 19 The Bible pays Joseph the highest compliment: he was a “just” man. The quality meant a lot more than faithfulness in paying debts. By saying Joseph was “just,” the Bible means that he was one who was completely open to all that God wanted to do for him. He became holy by opening himself totally to God. Read More	20 Saint Salvator of Horta Month View March 20, 2023 Saint Salvator of Horta Monday, March 20 A reputation for holiness does have some drawbacks. Public recognition can be a nuisance at times—as the confreres of Salvator found out. Read More	21 Blessed John of Parma Month View March 21, 2023 Blessed John of Parma Tuesday, March 21 The seventh general minister of the Franciscan Order, John was known for his attempts to bring back the earlier spirit of the Order after the death of Saint Francis of Assisi... Read More	22 Saint Nicholas Owen Month View March 22, 2023 Saint Nicholas Owen Wednesday, March 22 Nicholas, familiarly known as “Little John,” was small in stature, but big in the esteem of his fellow Jesuits. Read More	23 Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo Month View March 23, 2023 Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo Thursday, March 23 Together with Rose of Lima, Turibius is the first known saint of the New World, serving the Lord in Peru, South America, for 26 years. Read More	24 Saint Oscar Romero Month View March 24, 2023 Saint Oscar Romero Friday, March 24 The night before he was murdered while celebrating Mass, Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador said on the radio: “I would like to appeal in a special way to the men of the army, and in particular to the troops of the National Guard, the police, and the garrisons. Brothers, you belong to our own people. You kill your own brother peasants; and in the face of an order to kill that is given by a man, the law of God that says ‘Do not kill!’ should prevail. Read More	25 Annunciation of the Lord Month View March 25, 2023 Annunciation of the Lord Saturday, March 25 The feast of the Annunciation, now recognized as a solemnity, was first celebrated in the fourth or fifth century. Its central focus is the Incarnation: God has become one of us... Read More
26 Saint Catherine of Genoa Month View March 26, 2023 Saint Catherine of Genoa Sunday, March 26 She wrote about purgatory which, she said, begins on earth for souls open to God. Life with God in heaven is a continuation and perfection of the life with God begun on earth. Read More	27 Lazarus Month View March 27, 2023 Lazarus Monday, March 27 Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, the brother of Martha and Mary, was the one of whom the Jews said, “See how much he loved him.” In their sight, Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. Read More	28 Saint Catharine of Bologna Month View March 28, 2023 Saint Catharine of Bologna Tuesday, March 28 Some Franciscan saints led fairly public lives; Catharine represents the saints who served the Lord in obscurity. Read More	29 Saint Ludovico of Casoria Month View March 29, 2023 Saint Ludovico of Casoria Wednesday, March 29 Born in Casoria, near Naples, Arcangelo Palmentieri was a cabinet-maker before entering the Friars Minor in 1832, taking the name Ludovico. After his ordination five years later, he taught chemistry, physics, and mathematics to younger members of his province for several years. Read More	30 Saint Peter Regalado Month View March 30, 2023 Saint Peter Regalado Thursday, March 30 Peter lived at a very busy time in history. The Great Western Schism (1378-1417) was settled at the Council of Constance (1414-1418). France and England were fighting the Hundred Years’ War, and in 1453, the Byzantine Empire was completely wiped out by the loss of Constantinople to the Turks. At Peter’s death, the age of printing had just begun in Germany, and Columbus’s arrival in the New World was less than 40 years away. Read More	31 Saint Stephen of Mar Saba Month View March 31, 2023 Saint Stephen of Mar Saba Friday, March 31 A “do not disturb” sign helped today’s saint find holiness and peace. Read More

- Veneration of the Saints
  
  Many popular devotional practices involve veneration of the saints. The saints have a special place in the Body of Christ, which includes both the living and the dead. Through Christ we on earth remain in communion both with the saints in heaven and with the dead who are still in Purgatory. We can pray for those in Purgatory and ask the saints to pray for us. Through their prayers of intercession, the saints in heaven play an integral role in the life of the Church on earth. "For after they have been received into their heavenly home and are present to the Lord, through Him and with Him and in Him they do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, showing forth the merits which they won on earth through the one Mediator between God and man." The saints, the members of the Church who have arrived at perfect union with Christ, join their wills to the will of God in praying for those in the Church who are still on their pilgrimage of faith.
  
  Besides, what the saints can do for us by their prayers, the very practice of venerating the saints does great good for those who are devoted to the saints. By practicing love of the saints we strengthen the unity of the entire Body of Christ in the Spirit.
  This in turn brings us all closer to Christ. "For just as Christian communion among wayfarers brings us closer to Christ, so our companionship with the saints joins us to Christ, from Whom as from its Fountain and Head issues every grace and the very life of the people of God."
  Love of the saints necessarily includes and leads to love of Christ and to love of the Holy Trinity. "For every genuine testimony of love shown by us to those in heaven, by its very nature tends toward and terminates in Christ who is the 'crown of all saints,' and through Him, in God Who is wonderful in his saints and is magnified in them."
  
  —From Popular Devotional Practices
- Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom you are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.
  Romans 1: 5-7
- Communion of Saints
  
  In the above scripture passage, Paul often referred to the Christian faithful as "saints", with the use of Holy. In common usage, we usually reserve this word for those who have died and have been canonized by a formal process. However, the Church recognizes the "Communion of Saints", which includes the pilgrim Church on earth (those faithful still living), the Church Suffering (those who are in Purgatory), and the rest of the Church who enjoy the direct vision of God (those who are in Heaven). This use of the word "saints" emphasizes the universal call to holiness, which was understood by the early Church.
  -Catechism of the Catholic Church 946-948, 954-962, 2813
  
  Paul refers to Christians as "the holy ones" or "the saints". The Christian community regarded its members as sanctified by baptism (Romans 6:22;15:16, 1 Corinthians6:11; Ephesians 5:26-27). Christians are called to holiness (1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:7), that is, they are called to make their lives conform to the gift they have already received.

Our Lady of Hope Parish

The Catholic Community of Grafton, MA

Saints

What Catholics Believe About Saints

Why do Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary, the saints, and the angels?

Bringing the Saints to Life - A Monthly Celebration

What is the intention of this program?

Saint Lucy at OLH:

Background and Upcoming Event:

Saint Catherine Labouré

Celebrated November 27th

Feast Days of the Saints

Veneration of the Saints

Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom you are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.
Romans 1: 5-7

Communion of Saints

Saints

What Catholics Believe About Saints

Why do Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary, the saints, and the angels?

Veneration of the Saints

Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom you are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Romans 1: 5-7

Communion of Saints

Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom you are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.
Romans 1: 5-7