Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments.
Lives Of Saints
August 21 : Saint Pius X
Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting liturgical reforms and scholastic theology. Pius X was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Confidence. St. Pius X, original name Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, ordained in 1858 and became a parish priest in the Italian region... Read More
August 22 : Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Pope Pius XII established this feast in 1954. But the Blessed Virgin Mary’s queenship has roots in Scripture. At the Annunciation, Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would receive the throne of David and rule forever. At the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary “mother of my Lord.” As in all the mysteries of Mary’s life, she is... Read More
August 23 : Saint Rose of Lima
The original name of St. Rose of Lima is Isabel Flores de Oliva. Her mother decided that Rose would be her daughter’s name, and later she was given that name at the time of confirmation. From an early age, Rose wanted to become a nun. But her mother wanted her to marry and initially refused... Read More
August 24 : Saint Bartholomew
In the New Testament, Bartholomew is mentioned only in the lists of the apostles. Some scholars identify him with Nathanael, a man of Cana in Galilee who was summoned to Jesus by Philip. Jesus paid him a great compliment: “Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him” (John 1:47b). When Nathanael asked... Read More
August 25 : Saint Louis of France
At his coronation as king of France, Louis IX bound himself by oath to behave as God’s anointed, as the father of his people and feudal lord of the King of Peace. Other kings had done the same, of course. Louis was different in that he actually interpreted his kingly duties in the light of... Read More
August 26 : Saint Joseph Calasanz
From Aragon where he was born in 1556, to Rome where he died 92 years later, fortune alternately smiled and frowned on the work of Joseph Calasanz. A priest with university training in canon law and theology, respected for his wisdom and administrative expertise, he put aside his career because he was deeply concerned with... Read More
August 27 : Saint Monica
The circumstances of St. Monica’s life could have made her a nagging wife, a bitter daughter-in-law, and a despairing parent, yet she did not give way to any of these temptations. Although she was a Christian, her parents gave her in marriage to a pagan, Patricius, who lived in her hometown of Tagaste in North... Read More
August 28 : Saint Augustine of Hippo
A Christian at 33, a priest at 36, a bishop at 41: Many people are familiar with the biographical sketch of Augustine of Hippo, sinner turned saint. But to get to really know the man is a rewarding experience. There quickly surfaces the intensity with which he lived his life, whether his path led away... Read More
August 29 : Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist
The drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist. The greatest of prophets suffered the fate of so many Old Testament prophets before him: rejection and martyrdom. The “voice crying in the... Read More
August 30 : Saint Jeanne Jugan
Born in northern France during the French Revolution—a time when congregations of women and men religious were being suppressed by the national government, Jeanne would eventually be highly praised in the French academy for her community’s compassionate care of elderly poor people. When Jeanne was three and a half years old, her father, a fisherman,... Read More