It's just called Spicy...

March Madness at Redbox!

2013-03-21T15:01:00.000-04:00

Now that Blockbuster is no where near my house, my husband and I find ourselves running to the nearest Red Box to rent movies. It's been awhile but today, I was given the opportunity to share this awesome news with you via giveaway!

They always have a great selection and we always find something out that we both want to see. Now that we have the little guy, it is hard to get to the movie theater. Our most recent movie rental was Wreck It Ralph! We are kids at heart so we still love the kids movies even though our little guy isn't big enough to understand yet...

I've worked with Red Box before to host a giveaway for some FREE movie codes and it's that time again! This time I'm giving away 5 Red Box Codes so that is 5 FREE Red Box Movies... Each winner will win at least one! Enter on the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post!

And there is more news! Even if you don't win this giveaway, you can get a FREE Red box code with their Movie Match Up!

All you have to do is "Like" the Red Box Facebook Page here, and check out the Terms and Conditions here. This is a March Madness movie contest for FREE rentals. It's pretty simple just vote on you favorite movie and see how your "picks" do. If you complete your "bracket" you get a code for a free rental. The votes are held daily, but you can vote on what you miss if you don't check it daily.

And if you are trying to win, 1 of the 5 FREE movie codes that I am giving away, Please Enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

St. Jude

2013-03-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone! Today I have an awesome guest post about St. Jude by a new blogger friend name Jessa! Jessa blogs over at Shalom Sweet Home. Check out her blog link here and mini bio at the bottom of this post ---

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“Hey, Jude, don’t make it bad, take a sad song and make it better…” – The Beatles

Early in the RCIA Catholic conversion process, back when I was still a Protestant college kid in 2005, I was put in a small “home group” with two other students who were also in the process of discerning their conversions. Like so many other people searching for meaning, we had started to look for it in odd places. One girl had been moved by George Harrison’s death a few years prior to begin to look for a deeper meaning in life, and though it seemed like an odd leap from his Hare-Krishna Eastern mystic spirituality to the Catholic Church, here she was. Meanwhile, I had harbored a long-term fascination with John Lennon in particular and consistently joked that me becoming Catholic was basically a lost cause, so if any saint were going to help me, it would have to be Saint Jude.

So it was only natural that, when pressed to come up with a name for our home group on the spur of the moment, we decided to name the group “Hey Saint Jude.”

As a group, we discussed the beautiful Catholic implications of the Beatles’ song “Let it Be.” (Have you ever actually listened to the lyrics? It is one of the most beautiful Catholic songs I know, and it’s not even officially Catholic.) We bought a German chocolate cake with “Habemus Papam” scrawled across the top in honor of the election of Pope Benedict XVI. We fitted a wire halo around a stuffed penguin so my then-sponsor and now-husband could have a baby Jesus to hold when he dressed up as St. Joseph for the All Saints’ Day RCIA meeting.

Fast forward to the following Easter Vigil, where you will see the priest calling me “Jude” as he basically drowns me in chrism. My perfectly curled hairstyle was ruined by the oil, and yet I was so deliriously happy and sweet-smelling. The impossible cause had come true, and I chose St. Jude as my patron saint and confirmation name.

(Me, Easter Vigil 2006, pre-Chrism bath. I am the blonde one.)

Not much is known about the patron saint of impossible causes. According to tradition, he was a Jewish man born in the Galilee region, near what is now Caesarea Philippi, an archaeological site in the Golan Heights in modern-day Israel (only a few hours north of my current home in Jerusalem), and was most likely a farmer before leaving to follow Christ as one of his twelve disciples. But the New Testament doesn’t give us any vivid conversion story for him. He didn’t dramatically leave his nets and his father to follow Jesus, like James and John did (Matthew 4:21-22). He didn’t follow Jesus after being delivered by Him from possession by seven demons, like Mary Magdalene did (Luke 8:2). It’s not even 100 percent clear whether he is the same Jude that is designated as a relative of Jesus in the Gospels (Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3) and went on to write the last Christian epistle in the New Testament (The Letter of Jude). In fact, according to most Biblical scholars, it’s not the same guy.

So, in fact, the only thing we know for certain about the apostle Jude is that he was an apostle. Real helpful, right?

The only time that Jude speaks at all in the New Testament is in John 14:22, at the Last Supper, when he asks Jesus, “Master, what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” His question is simply a plot device to move Jesus’ story forward. But the story that Jesus is telling is significant: Jude’s only spoken line comes in the middle of the discourse during which Jesus is promising the disciples that he will later send the Holy Spirit (the “Advocate” and “Spirit of truth”) to guide them and be with them always.

Jude himself saw this prophecy come true, because one of the only other two times that he is mentioned in the New Testament is after the Ascension of Jesus, in Acts 1:13, in the list of apostles (the original twelve, minus Judas the Betrayer) staying in the Upper Room and present at Pentecost (see Acts 2). This is why he is often depicted with the tongue of fire on his head; showing the exact moment when he saw this prophecy fulfilled and received the Holy Spirit.

Jude is only mentioned one other time in the New Testament: in the complete list of the twelve apostles of Jesus found in Luke 6:16. But it is interesting to note that, in both these lists of apostles, he is the last one mentioned.

In the first list in particular, this could just be to indicate a very specific contrast between him and the second-to-last name on the list, Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus, who has the exact same given name as Jude in the vast majority of languages (save for English and French), including the original Greek: Ιούδας.

(Me, far right, at a St. Jude shrine in Nuevo León, Mexico, on the way back from a mission trip. Notice that St. Jude’s name in Spanish is actually “Judas,” just like Judas Iscariot. Also, notice the small tongue of fire and the Holy Spirit dove above St. Jude’s head.)

But why does St. Jude remain last on the list in the Upper Room? Judas Iscariot is long gone at this point and the danger of any confusion between the two has past.

But I like to think that his spot as last on the list of disciples is also significant; Jude is upheld as the saint of last resort. The last desperate thing you try when all hope is gone. His help often comes at the 11^th hour, when you are at the point of giving up.

The last shall indeed be first.

According to tradition, after receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the apostle Jude went on to preach the gospel throughout the ancient Middle East until he was martyred in Beirut in the year 65. He is credited as being one of the first missionaries to bring Christianity to Armenia, which, more than 200 years later, became the first country in the world to make Christianity legal. His remains were brought to Rome, where many pilgrims, including Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in the 1100s and Saint Bridget of Sweden in the 1300s, developed steadfast devotions to the power of his intercession in difficult cases.

Widespread devotion to St. Jude as the patron saint of impossible causes spread beginning in the 19^th century from Italy and Spain to Latin America and then to the United States. In addition to being the patron saint of impossible causes, St. Jude is also the patron saint of the Chicago Police Department, a soccer team in Brazil, and a variety of localities in the Philippines.

(Photo: An example of a classified ad in honor of St. Jude from a newspaper in San Angelo, Texas. Someone with the initials A.R. is a fellow devotee.)

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Many people who pray to St. Jude for his intercession, particularly through a novena, promise that they will publicly thank him for his help, and as a result, a quick glance at the classified ads section of any newspaper from a city with a large Catholic population will find a number of classified ads thanking him for his intercession. Thanking him for taking each of our own sad songs and making them better.

“Na, na, na, na-na-na, na, na-na-na, na…” Hey Saint Jude, thanks for everything.

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Mini Bio: Jessa Barniol is an all-American girl and Protestant-to-Catholic convert living in Jerusalem with her husband, the Ecuadorean astrophysicist. She loves surprises, bright colors, snail mail, and tea. She blogs about her adventures in Jerusalem at Shalom Sweet Home.

St. Patrick

2013-03-17T20:00:00.002-04:00

First of all! Happy St. Patrick's Day from my family to yours! How are you celebrating? We did a combination of wearing green, watching Boondock Saints, attending mass, and hanging out all day long!

I have been slacking on #40daysofsaints because I just am beyond busy. So if you are reading a long and interested in writing up about your favorite saint, please message me at itsjustcalledspicy (at) gmail (dot) com. I will try my best to post more this week and get us back on track to have shared 40 by Easter!

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So, today we are celebrating St. Patrick so I thought maybe I should share a little bit about St. Patrick on here! I'm sure many people don't know much about St. Patrick but love his day because it's a reason to celebrate your or even someone else's Irish heritage. When I went to Catholic school in Pre-K through 8th grade, we always watched this movie and this is where I learned about St. Patrick

You know, the kids cartoon. (source)

Anyways, Patrick was actually born in (Kilpatrick, most are not sure about the city,) Scotland in 385. His parents were Romans living in Britain in charge of the colonies. Between the age of fourteen and sixteen years old, Patrick was captured and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd sheep. Ireland was being ruled by the Druids at the time. He lived in Ireland for six years before he returned home.

While in captivity in Ireland, Patrick had a dream from God in which he was told to go to the coast in order to escape. There, he found sailors who helped him return to his family.

He is said to have written this while in captivity: "The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same." "I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain."

(source)

After Patrick was reunited with his family, he had another dream in which the people of Ireland were calling out to him: "We beg of you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more."

Patrick became a priest and then a bishop. He was sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. He preached the Gospel in Ireland and is said to have converted thousands to Christianity. He preached in Ireland for forty years and converted all of Ireland.

Many wonder why a shamrock is associated with St Patrick's Day and Ireland. It is because St. Patrick used a shamrock to explain the trinity (three persons in one God).

St. Patrick passed away on March 17, 461.

Patron of: Ireland

Feast Day: March 17

An Irish Blessing for you:

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In other news, here is our little leprechaun today:

Thanks for stoppin by,

Blessed Elizabeth of Trinity

2013-03-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

Today, we have a guest post about Blessed Elizabeth of Trinity from MamaJ over at Team Orthodoxy. For more about MamaJ read her mini bio at the bottom of this post.

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I was 19 years old when I visited my sister at the convent and she stuffed a book into my hands and told me she had gotten special permission to sign it out of the novitiate library and that I “had to read it”. Although in the middle of university studies, the second I opened those yellowed pages, I hardly set it down until I had read it cover to cover. This book was “The Spiritual Doctrine of Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity” and it changed my life.

There is so much I could write here about the life of Bl.Elizabeth of the Trinity, I honestly don’t even know how I’m going to condense it into a blogpost, but I’m hoping I can share with you the most striking points of the life of this lesser known Carmelite nun. While a contemporary of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and living a mere 500 km from each other (alright, I suppose that isn’t all that “mere”), the two never met or knew each other, but in the Carmel of Dijon, like the Carmel in Lisieux a Saint was being bred.

Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity was born Elizabeth Catez on July 18, 1880 in central France. Born to a military family, as a child she was known to have a fiery temper, or as she described “oversensitiveness”. The priest who prepared her for her First Communion told a friend of her mother’s “With her temperament, Elizabeth Catez will be either a saint or a demon.” Her first confession brought about what she called her conversion, and she fought against those faults of anger and sensitivity.

One day, after Holy Communion, she heard the word “Carmel” spoken to her soul. She understood at once, and at the age of 14 made a private vow of virginity. She lived very near the Carmel in Dijon and longed to go there, but her Mother refused. Being totally obedient, she left it up to God’s time, immersing herself (or so it seemed) in the life around her. She was known as always being a part of everything, whether it was in the parish or social events, being at home with everyone, everywhere. But her soul longed for Carmel, and whenever her “duties” were done, she’d leave immediately for the Carmelite convent, where she could be found at the grille, immersed in prayer. She also kept a little notebook where she kept track, every evening, of her spiritual victories and defeats to be sure she was advancing. Her mother finally consented and she finally entered in 1901.

Indwelling of the Trinity

Prior to entering the Carmel in Dijon, she searched for understanding of the feeling that she was “dwelt in” by the Presence of God. Her Dominican priest explained to her “…most certainly, my child; the Father is there, the Son is there, and the Holy Ghost is there”. She was overcome by this explanation and developed a profound devotion to the indwelling of the Trinity within her soul. In her many letters and writings she strongly encourages us to find Heaven within our soul, for there dwells the Most Holy Trinity, and where the Trinity is, there is Heaven. It was this love of the Trinity, who she called “My Three”, which inspired her Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity.

O my God, Trinity Whom I adore! Help me to become utterly forgetful of self, that I may bury myself in Thee, as changeless and as calm as though my soul were already in eternity. May nothing disturb my peace or draw me out of Thee, O my immutable Lord! But may I at every moment penetrate more deeply into the depths of Thy mystery!

Give peace to my soul; make it Thy heaven, Thy cherished dwelling place, Thy home of rest. Let me never leave Thee there alone, but keep me there, all absorbed in Thee, in living faith, adoring Thee and wholly yielded up to Thy creative action!

O my Christ, Who I love, crucified by love, fain would I be the bride of Thy Heart; fain would I cover Thee with glory and love Thee…until I die of very love! Yet I realize my weakness and beseech Thee to clothe me with Thyself, to identify my soul with all the movements of Thine Own. Immerse me in Thyself; possess me wholly; substitute Thyself for me, that my life may be but a radiance of Thine own. Enter my soul as Adorer, as Restorer, as Savior!

O Eternal Word, Utterance of my God! I long to pass my life in listening to Thee, to become docile, that I may learn all from Thee. Through all darkness, all privations, all helplessness, I crave to keep Thee ever with me and to dwell beneath Thy lustrous beams. O my beloved Star! So hold me that I cannot wander from Thy light!

O Consuming Fire! Spirit of Love! Descend within me and reproduce in me, as it were, an incarnation of thy Word that I may be to Him another humanity wherein He renews His Mystery!

And Thou, O Father, bend down toward thy poor little creature and overshadow her, beholding in her none other than Thy Beloved Son in Whom Thou hast set all Thy pleasure.

O my ‘Three,’ my All, my Beatitude, Infinite Solitude, Immensity wherein I lose myself! I yield myself to Thee as Thy prey. Bury Thyself in me that I may be buried in Thee, until I depart to contemplate in Thy Light the abyss of Thy greatness!

Laudem Gloriae

In the summer of 1905, in conversation with another nun, she received her mission. The nun shared with her a passage from St. Paul which said “God has created us for the praise of His glory.” This verse struck her profoundly, and she ran to look up the Latin text. She wrote in a letter, “I am going to tell you a secret: my dream is to be the ‘praise of His Glory.’ I read that in St. Paul, and my Bridegroom has made me understand that this is my vocation from in exile, while waiting to go and sing the eternal Sanctus in the city of the saints. But this calls for great fidelity since, that in order to be a ‘praise of glory,’ I must be dead to everything that is not He, so that I may be moved only by His touch.” As she began a battle with Addison’s disease, a kidney disease which was fatal at the time, her interior life became simple, to let herself be crucified in order to be the ‘Praise of His Glory’. She no longer referred to herself as ‘Elizabeth’, but Laudem Gloriae (Praise of His Glory), and those sisters close to her, along with her Mother Prioress referred to her as the same.

Elizabeth, after joyfully suffering through her disease, died on November 9, 1906 after only five years in the Carmel of Dijon. Her final words were “I am going to Light, to Love, to Life.” She was beatified in 1984, and her case for Canonization is currently in process.

Laudem Gloriae and Me

I said at the beginning that her book changed my life. When I finished reading it, Carmel resonated in my soul. Her “doctrine” on the Trinity spoke to me in a way that I cannot explain, and in it I found my vocation. It was still a few years until I realized how that would be manifested, but from that point I fell in love with the idea of “alone with God Alone”. She is still the one who leads me by the hand. Whenever I am struggling spiritually, whether it is in my vocation or otherwise, aside from Scripture, it is to her words that I run. She is, and always will be the “best friend of my soul.”

Let us, in the heaven of our soul, be a ‘Praise of Glory’ to the Holy Trinity and a praise of love of our Immaculate Mother. One day the veil will be withdrawn and we shall be brought into the eternal courts; there we shall sing in the bosom of Infinite Love, and God will give us ‘the new name’ promised to him that overcometh. What will that name be? Laudem Gloriae. – Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity
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MamaJ is a 20-something (ok, almost 30) wife and SAHM of two toddlers. When she's not washing dishes, doing laundry, picking up toys and doing conflict management, she blogs about motherhood, faith and being a Carmelite with her fellow Team Orthodoxy friends at orthodoxcatholicism.com

St. Helena

2013-03-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone, Today we have a guest post about St. Helena from Mandi who blogs at Messy wife, Blessed Life. For more info about Mandi, Check out her mini bio at the bottom of this post and her blog here.

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In the lobby of our church, there are several framed pictures of gorgeous stained glass seemingly from the same cathedral. I have gotten to know these pictures quite well, having spent my share of time in the lobby with a loud, grumpy, or otherwise naughty little toddler. I’ll often walk back and forth in front of these pictures, pointing them out to Lucia and telling her a little bit about the Saints they portray. Most of the Saints are instantly identifiable: The Blessed Mother holding Baby Jesus, St. Anne instructing the young Mary, St. Joseph holding his carpenter’s tools, St. Patrick decked out in green bishop’s garb, St. John the Baptist wearing animal skins. And then there is a lovely, regal woman, wearing a crown upon her head. I only knew her name because, thankfully, it’s written in stained glass: St. Helena. We would pause only briefly to look at this lovely Saint, because I knew nothing of her to tell Lucia. I've always been intrigued by royal Saints, since it seems Christianity and sainthood are usually associated with poverty, so after a few weeks of visiting with her in the lobby, I just had to look her up.

St. Helena lived in the third and fourth centuries, when Christianity was still young. Not much is known about her early life or place of origin, and over the years there have been various stories about them without much backing. Most likely she came from humble origins somewhere in Asia Minor. It is suggested that she met her husband, Constantius, while he served as a soldier there. It is also not known whether Helena was officially or only common-law married to Constantius. Sometime after she gave birth to their son, Constantine, Constantius rose in political power and divorced Helena in order to marry the daughter of Emperor Maximinianus.

source

When his father died and he became emperor, Constantine, ever loyal to his mother, had her brought to court and later, toward the end of her life, declared Augusta (empress). As empress, she had coins with her image and cities named in her honor. Aside from the early turmoil caused by her divorce, she lived a life quite different than many of the Saints we revere who lived lives of austerity and obscurity. It is even suggested that Helena was involved in Constantine’s executions of both his wife and son. (Some accounts say that Helena herself told Constantine to execute his wife, Fausta.)

Why do we venerate this Saint with a murky past? Helena represents many of the early Saints in the Church. We do not often know much about their lives, what has survived is more likely legend than it is history. In Helena’s case, it’s possibly a bit of propaganda as well, since her son Constantine would have had anything negative about his beloved mother wiped from the records (hence the absence of details about her humble beginnings). Yet, her life and deeds were instrumental to the early Church.

Helena, despite her suggested involvement in her son’s executions, was known as an extremely pious woman. A convert to the faith, she was encouraged to embrace Christianity by her son. Although this was most likely a political move on Constantine’s part, Helena fully accepted her new religion. Her son was known for extending protection to Christians in the Roman Empire, and she was widely regarded for spreading Christianity - founding monasteries and building new churches throughout the West as well as in Palestine. She is also remembered for her great acts of charity to whole communities of poor. In her old age, she made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to pay homage to the places of Christ’s life and death. When Constantine names his mother empress, he gave her unlimited access to the imperial treasury so that she could find relics important to Christianity. According to tradition, Helena had the pagan temple over Christ’s tomb torn down and the site excavated, uncovering three crosses, one of which is said to be the True Cross, and which can still be seen in Rome today. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built on the site by Constantine, and Helena also had churches built in Bethlehem and the Mount of Olives, among other important Christian sites. Helena died a few years after her return from Palestine, at the age of 80.

I identify strongly with Helena, because she valued the history of Christianity and worked to preserve its Holy sites and relics. As a lover of history, I am grateful to this early Christian empress for dedicating her old age to saving the physical remnants of Christ’s life for the future generations.

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Mandi is a young Catholic wife (of almost three years) and mother to a newly walking toddler. When she's not chasing after Lucia, she teaches Spanish, is obsessed with word games, and blogs at Messy Wife, Blessed Life.

St. Brigid

2013-03-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone! Today, Liz from Tales from Astoria is going to tell you all about St. Brigid. Check out Liz's mini bio at the bottom of this post, and her blog here.

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(St. Brigid’s Cross)

St. Brigid became one of my favorite saints as I prepared for Confirmation in the eighth grade. I was looking for a “different” saint (a.k.a. not one that all of the other girls had picked). I knew I wanted a female saint who had something to do with education and helping those in need. St. Brigid fit the bill perfectly (it didn't hurt that she was Irish either).

St. Brigid lived during the 5^th century. She became a nun and founded her own convent and several schools. Her convents and schools became renowned. She is known as the patroness of students. There are many miracles attributed to St. Brigid. However the most well know is about the conversion of a dying pagan chieftain. He was barely conscious and Brigid came to pray beside him. When he awoke he found, her praying beside him and a Christian Cross on his chest. As a result of the great mercy God had shown him by saving him, St. Brigid baptized him along with the rest of his village.

It is said that St. Brigid converted her father while making a cross out of grass-like plants. During that time, farmers began making similar crosses at the beginning of Spring to help protect their crop and animals. The crosses were placed in prominent places in their barns and homes.

February 1^st is the St. Brigid’s feast day. On this day some people still make or purchase crosses with the hope of receiving a special blessing from St. Brigid.

Here’s a quick pipe cleaner tutorial from CatholicIcing. She also suggests a wonderful picture book and a printable for the feat day.

Maybe you could start a new tradition with your little one?

Prayer to St. Brigid

Saint Brigid,

You were a woman of peace.

You brought harmony where there was conflict.

You brought a light to the darkness.

You brought hope to the downcast.

May the mantle of your peace cover those who are troubled and anxious,
and may peace be firmly rooted in our hearts and in our world.
Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made.

Brigid you were a voice for the wounded and the wear.
Strengthen what is weak within us.
Calm us into a quietness that heals and listens.
May we grow each day into greater wholeness in mind, body and spirit.

Amen
source

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Liz blogs at Tales From Astoria about her life with her wonderful husband and sweet little boy. She is a former math teacher and guidance counselor. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and crafting.

St. Augustine of Hippo

2013-03-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

I thought it would be a good idea to talk about St. Augustine of Hippo today because he was St. Monica's son, and we talked about St. Monica here yesterday.

St Augustine lived from November 354 to August 430. His mother, Monica was faithful and his father was a pagan, who converted to Christianity before his death in 371. Augustine had two siblings who both went into religious life. He was raised Christian from his mother but at the age of 17, he left the church to follow the Manichaean religion. Augustine led a life filled with pleasure of women, to seek out experiences or make up stories in order to gain acceptance. Throughout this time, her urged a popular prayer, "Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet."

St. Monica & St. Augustine (source)

Augustine's mother wanted him to marry a woman of his class. As a young boy, he began a relationship with a young woman of Carthage who birthed his son, Adeodatus. It is said that his son was very intelligent. When Augustine converted in 389, he left the woman and their son.

From Catholic Online: "Through the prayers of his holy mother and the marvelous preaching of St. Ambrose, Augustine finally became convinced that Christianity was the one true religion. Yet he did not become a Christian then, because he thought he could never live a pure life."

St. Augustine underwent three years battling with the Christian faith.

From Catholic Encyclopedia: "At first he turned towards the philosophy of the Academics, with its pessimistic scepticism; then neo-Platonic philosophy inspired him with genuine enthusiasm. At Milan he had scarcely read certain works of Plato and, more especially, of Plotinus, before the hope of finding the truth dawned upon him. Once more he began to dream that he and his friends might lead a life dedicated to the search for it, a life purged of all vulgar aspirations after honors, wealth, or pleasure, and with celibacy for its rule (Confessions VI). But it was only a dream; his passions still enslaved him."

Finally, through reading through holy scriptures, light penetrated his mind. Soon, he understood that Jesus Christ was the only way to truth and salvation. A few days later, Augustine went with his mother and friends to devote his life to philosophy of Christianity, which he could no longer deny himself.

More for Catholic Online: "He was baptized, became a priest, a bishop, a famous Catholic writer, Founder of religious priests, and one of the greatest saints that ever lived. He became very devout and charitable, too. On the wall of his room he had the following sentence written in large letters: "Here we do not speak evil of anyone." St. Augustine overcame strong heresies, practiced great poverty and supported the poor, preached very often and prayed with great fervor right up until his death. "Too late have I loved You!" he once cried to God, but with his holy life he certainly made up for the sins he committed before his conversion."

Feast Day: August 28

Patron of brewers

He is the patron of brewers because his early life included many parties, entertainment and worldly ambitions.

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St. Augustine was such a great saint and so much is known about him that it was pretty difficult to write this post without pulling some paragraphs from other resources. So Thanks to Catholic Online and Catholic Encyclopedia. I would love to read his "Confessions" book that he wrote before he passed away. I might be adding that to my reading list.

St. Augustine, Pray for us.

That's all for today!

St. Monica

2013-03-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm sharing some info that I've looked up about St. Monica. She lived from 333-387. Monica was married by arranged marriage to a pagan man, Patritius, who held a position as an official in Tagaste, North Africa. Monica and Patritius did not have a happy marriage, and her constant prayer annoyed him. Still, he maintained reverence for her. The year before her husband died, he and his mother converted to Christianity.

She and Patritius had three children: Augustine, Navigius, and Perpetua.

Monica's children, Navigius and Perpetua entered religious life and Augustine did not right away. She prayed for Augustine for seventeen years before he repented and sought Jesus. Not much is known about St. Monica, other than what is written from her son, St. Augustine of Hippo. It is said that she would beg the priests for prayers for her son so often that they began to try to avoid her persistence. Finally in 387, Augustine was baptized. St. Monica died that same year on her way back to Africa from Rome.

Feast Day: August 27

Patron Saint of: wives and abuse victims

For prayers to St. Monica, Check out these sites:

Prayer to St. Monica

Prayers to St. Monica

St. Monica's Kneeler

Prayer to St. Monica for Mothers

St. Monica, Pray for us.

That's all for today!

Blessed Chiara Luce Badano

2013-03-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone! Welcome back to another day of our series going on now.. #40daysofsaints

Today, I have a guest post about Blessed Chiara Luce Badano from Amanda over at Worthy of Agape! For more info about Amanda, check out her blog here and her mini bio at the bottom of this post!

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Chiara “Luce” Badano was born on October 29^th, 1971, after her parents had prayed for a child for eleven years. Her parents considered Chiara their greatest blessing. At the age of 16, Chiara’s life was changed forever when she encountered the sufferings of Jesus. She remarked to her parents that it wasn’t easy to embrace His sufferings, but it was through this encounter that she desired to take Jesus as her spouse. Chiara was given the nickname “Luce” because she her face was said to be so luminous that it couldn’t help but show the love of Jesus. Chiara is a common name for an Italian girl meaning “Clear” while “Luce” means light. Even at an early age she was said to have radiated with the love of Christ and she desired to prefer Jesus above all else.

Also at the age of 16, Chiara was diagnosed with a rare and painful bone cancer, osteogenic sarcoma. Upon being diagnosed Chiara simply said, “It’s for you, Jesus; if you want it, I want it too.” Throughout her treatment Chiara refused to take pain medicine, preferring to stay lucid and offer her sufferings up for the sake of Christ. Her desire was to share in Christ’s sufferings on the cross, and if this was where He called her then she didn’t want the pain medicine to diminish her experience of Christ’s suffering. Despite the harsh chemotherapy treatment and loss of her hair, her light continued to shine as she socialized with others in the hospital, often taking walks with them despite the pain the walks caused her. Many people came to comfort Chiara while she was in the hospital, though they all came to realize that it was Chiara who comforted them with her light and her love of Christ.

Even when Chiara was told that she would not walk again and that there was no hope of entering remission her spirits remained high. She said that if she had to choose between walking again and going to heaven, the choice was easy and obvious. Not long before she passed away Cardinal Saldarini came to visit her in the hospital and remarked, “The light in your eyes is splendid. Where does it come from?” Chiara simply responded, “I try to love Jesus as much as I can.”

Before she died she told her mother, “Oh Momma, young people…they are the future…young people have only one life and it’s worthwhile to spend it well.” When Chiara realized that she would not get better she began planning her wedding (her funeral) with her mother, picking out the dress she would wear and the readings for the Mass. She told people not to be sad but to sing at her funeral because it was on that day that she would become the bride of Christ. Chiara died on October 7^th, 1990, a few weeks before her 19^th birthday. The mayor of Sassello, the town where she grew up and where her funeral was held, shut the town down on the day of her funeral. It is estimated that over two thousand people attended her funeral.

In December of 2009 Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged the first miracle of Chiara Badano, the miraculous healing of a young Italian boy who was suffering from meningitis. His doctors had no medical explanation for his healing. Chiara was beatified on September 25, 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. Her feast day is celebrated on her birthday, October 29^th. There are currently a number of cases under review that would qualify as her second miracle, thus elevating her to Saint Chiara Luce Badano.

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A woman after the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, Amanda is also a Colorado native and can hardly imagine living anywhere else. She graduated from Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina in 2009 with a Bachelor’s in Theology, as well as minors in Psychology and Philosophy. Amanda works as a youth minister, and has a heart for women’s ministry. Her personal blog can be found at worthy of Agape

St. Peregrine Laziosi

2013-03-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

I used to work at CatholicPrayercards.org in my last year of college with Kinsi from Anima Kinsi. A lot of these saints that have been shared on this #40daysofsaints blog series, I have definitely heard of but, to be honest, I didn't really know their whole story. Today, I looked up St. Peregrine Laziosi, which I have heard of before but never knew who he was. I didn't even know if he was a he or she.. Well, he is a he, just so you know!

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St. Peregrine's feast day is celebrated on May 1. He is the patron saint of cancer victims.

St. Peregrine Laziosi was born into a wealthy family in Forli, Italy in the year 1260. At the time Peregrine was born, Forli was governed by the Pope as a part of the Papal states. As a young man, he was active in politics and a member of the anti-papal party. At one of the uprisings, the Pope sent St. Philip Benizi (Prior General of the Servants of Mary) to Forli to mediate and preach reconciliation, and Peregrine struck Philip in the face. Then, Philip offered the other cheek. Peregrine felt so bad, he repented and converted to Catholicism. Peregrine had a vision of Mary, where he was told to go to Sienna. While in Sienna he joined the Servants of Mary.

Peregrine had a reputation as a good confessor. He spent his life dedicating himself to the sick, the poor, and those on the fringes of society. It is believed that he never allowed himself to sit for 30 years. This caused varicose veins in his legs, which later progressed to an open sore on his leg diagnosed as Cancer.

His wound on his leg became severe and the local doctor considered amputating Peregrine's leg. He spent the night before his operation, Peregrine prayed before the image of the crucified Christ. When he awoke, the wound on his leg was healed. The miracle caused his reputation to become widespread! He lived another 20 years spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. He died in 1345 at the age of 85 and was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726.

Check out this website here dedicated to St. Peregrine!

Prayer to St. Peregrine

O God, who gave to St. Peregrine an Angel for his companion, the Mother of God for his Teacher, and Jesus as the Physician of his malady, grant we beseech You through his merits that we may on earth intensely love our Holy Angel, the blessed Virgin Mary, and our Savior and in Him bless them forever. Grant that we may receive the favor which we now petition. We ask this through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

(say 7 Our Fathers, 7 Hail Marys and 7 Glory be to the Fathers with
the invocation "St. Peregrine, pray for us.")

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Please pray for one of my husband's students who is battling cancer. His name is Ryan.

St. Peregrine, pray for us.

That's all for today! Thanks for stopping by,

St. Therese of Lisieux

2013-03-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone! Today we have a guest post about St. Therese of Lisieux from Beth at the Catholic Couponer! For more about Beth, check out her blog here and her mini-bio at the bottom of this post!

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St. Therese has always been one of my favorite saints. When I picked her for my confirmation saint I honestly just always liked the name Teresa and started researching different saints with the name. As I started looking at the list of names St. Therese of Lisieux – The Little Flower just stood out. Maybe because her name was spelled differently than I had ever seen (since she is from France). But after I started doing research on her my mom told me that she was one of my Dad’s FAVORITE saints. I didn't even know until after I had already picked her. As I did research on her I LOVED that St. Therese did small things that ended up making a big impact. As a person that has often felt unheard I really liked that idea. Even now 10 years later I still pray and look to her for guidance. I try to do little things that will make a bigger impact on things. When I help at church I am usually found doing mundane tasks that are "behind the scenes," like cooking, setting up, tearing down, gathering supplies, etc. But if someone doesn't do these tasks what would happen? Since last fall one of the things I have been learning to do is to bring technology into our faith lives. I attended a workshop on it last fall and have blogged about a few of the things I learned in a series I call FAITH 2.0. One of the tools is called Glogster. It is a website you can use to make a digital poster. I have made one on St. Therese using quotes and scripture from A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms. I also included a video of the trailer from the movie about St. Therese.

Glogster can be used in a variety of ways. It is an easy way to make a digital poster that can be printed and shared online about saints, sacraments, events, movies, you name it. There are also many already made glogsters that you can share with others. When you make your account you can set your glogsters for public or private. Next year I want to encourage our confirmation students to make their Saint Project reports in Glogster. I hope you will be encouraged to be like St. Therese and help others in the little ways. How do you help your community in the Little Ways now?

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Beth Anne blogs about her two passions: Couponing at The Catholic Couponer and Catholicism, Disney, and just about everything else at Beth Anne's Best. She strives to help her readers learn to save money by couponing so they have extra money to get out of debt, go on a vacation, or give more to the less fortunate. She recently relocated to Florida from Texas and loves exploring her new city, living out her faith, and learning more about Walt Disney World.

St. Clare of Assisi

2013-03-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today, my friend Ryane wrote about St. Clare of Assisi.

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July 16, 1294-August 11, 1253

Patron Saint of: eye disease, goldsmiths, needle workers, good weather, television

Feast Day: August 11

Clare was born into a wealthy family in Assisi, Italy. She was not a worldly person, and from an early age, she was very devoted to prayer. At 18, she heard St. Francis preaching and felt a burning desire within her heart to live more radically and free herself of all material things. Clare admired Francis and his followers, known as the Friars Minors, and was drawn to their way of life in caring for others and leaving all else behind. Clare heard St. Francis speak again, and was further convicted that this was the way she needed to live her life. Despite the opposition she knew that she would face from her family, Clare ran away from home, where she was welcomed by the Friars Minors into their way of life and sent to live with a group of Benedictine Nuns. Clare’s sister, Agnes, soon joined her.

St. Francis rebuilt the chapel of St. Damiani, where he and Clare worked together to form the Contemplative Order of Claretians. Clare was made the head of the group of women, who came to be known as the “Poor Clares.”

In 1241, Assisi was attacked, and the enemy marched in on the convent, which was on the outskirts of the city. Clare took the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament in her hands, displaying it over the walls of the convent. The armies were struck with fear and fled, and Assisi was spared an attack.

Clare spent 41 years as a religious sister with the “Poor Clares” when she passed away. Her body lies incorruptible at the chapel of St. Damiani in Assisi. Clare’s influence and example has led to over 1200 convents with around 18,000 sisters in the Contemplative Order of Claretians. St. Clare serves as a wonderful example of humility, faithfulness, and devotion. Her every breath was given for God’s work, and we can only hope to live our lives as well as she did.

“Rejoice always in the Lord and do not allow yourself to become involved in any darkness or bitterness.”

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Thanks Ryane! That's all for today!

St. Clare of Assisi, Pray for us.

Our Trip to the Zoo

2013-03-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures from our trip to the Zoo. We went about a month ago to Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, FL. It was just a fun thing to do on a Saturday! Although Noland Jr doesn't completely understand, I think he had a blast and loved looking around at all the animals!

Meerkats

The giraffes were about to get it on, which was actually pretty entertaining.

Beautiful Zebra!

My sweet Nolands. One of my favorite pictures of these two from this day.

Noland's favorite animal! Rhino.

My favorite animal, the elephant.

Penguins

Wallaby.

Koala Bear.

Kisseys for Baby Noland.

My sweet Nolands

Baby and Me.

Sloth Bear. Noland always says, "He's like Baloo from the Jungle Book!"

Monkeys monkeying around.

Feeding time for this little man. He's wearing his dad's hat here.

Before we left, we found this area with chair and a net!

Baby loved the net and there were some pretty cool looking birds behind it.

That's all for today,

St. Genevieve

2013-03-02T12:18:00.002-05:00

Well, I haven't written about my patron saint yet. Crazy enough, I didn't really know much about her until college. One night, I was hanging out with some members of the Catholic Student Union at Florida State University and we all started talking about our patron saints. I proceeded to explain, I knew nothing about mine and just chose her because here name was close to mine. Also, my grandmother's middle name was Genevieve. It's a beautiful name. Well, today, I'm actually going to share some of what I've learned about St. Genevieve

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St. Genevieve is the patroness of Paris. Her feast day is celebrated on January 3.

She lived from the year 422-512.

As a young child, she interacted with St. Germain of Auxerre and St. Lupus of Troyes when they were traveling through her town to combat Pelagianism. St. Germain foretold of her future as a life of sanctity.

At the age of seven, Genevieve was eager to devote herself to the service of God and became a consecrated virgin for the Lord. It is unknown when St. Genevieve began wearing a veil but it was sometime in her teen years. When her parents passed away, she moved in with her godmother and began to devote herself to works of charity, abstaining from meat and breaking her fast only twice a week.

According to Catholic Online: When Attila was reported to be marching on Paris, the inhabitants of the city prepared to evacuate, but St. Genevieve persuaded them to avert the scourge by fasting and prayer, assuring them of the protection of Heaven. The event verified the prediction, for the barbarian suddenly changed the course of his march.

Genevieve was the first to come up with the idea to erect a church in Paris in honor of Sts. Peter and Paul. Genevieve died in 512, and when the church was completed, her body was entered into it. Many miracles occurred at her tomb in the church and the church was later renamed St. Genevieve.

That's all for today! St. Genevieve, Pray for us.

PS. Anyone who is reading along with #40daysofsaints and interested in writing up a post about your patron saint or just a saint you love, please feel free to email me at itsjustcalledspicy@gmail.com. I would love to have you share here!

St. Cajetan

2013-03-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today, we have a guest post from Clare about St. Cajetan! Clare blogs at Confessions of an Underground Catholic. For more info about Clare, check out her blog here and her bio at the bottom of this post.

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I was looking for stuff about St. Francis de Sales and I came across this gem of a saint.

The patron saint of job seekers/the unemployed: St. Cajetan.

So here's some info I managed to dig up about St. Cajetan:

Feast day: August 7

Patron of workers, gamblers, job seekers, unemployed people, Albania, Italy, Malta, Argentina, Brazil, El Salavador and Guatemala

1480-1547

In 1523, the Church was in sad shape. People could not get the spiritual nourishment they needed from the large numbers of uneducated and even immoral priests who took their money but returned nothing. When good priests and lay people turned to the hierarchy for help, they found leaders at best apathetic and indifferent to their concerns.

How should a good Catholic respond to this situation? We all know how Luther and others responded-- by splitting ways from the Catholic Church when their pleas went unheard

Cajetan took a different route. Just as concerned as Luther was about what he observed in the Church, he went to Rome in 1523-- not to talk to the pope or the hierarchy but to consult with members of a confraternity called the Oratory of Divine Love. When he had first come to Rome many years before, he had felt called to some unknown great work there. A few years later he returned to his hometown of Vicenza-- his great work seemingly unrealized. He had however studied for the priesthood and been ordained and helped re-establish a faded confraternity whose aims were promoting God's glory and welfare of souls.

In the years he had been gone from Rome, he had founded another Oratory in his home town and Verona where he had promoted spiritual life and care for the poor and sick, not only with words, but with his heroic example. He told his brothers, "In this oratory, we try to serve God by worship; in our hospital we may say that we actually find him." But none of the horrors he saw in the hospitals of the incurables depressed him as much as the wickedness he saw everywhere he looked.

In his former confraternity, he found other clergy who felt the way he did. They didn't want to split off from the Church, they wanted to restore it. So they decided to form an order based on the lives of the apostles in hopes that these lives would inspire them and other to live holy lives devoted to Jesus. In order to accomplish this, they would focus on moral lives, sacred studies, preaching and pastoral care, helping the sick, and other solid foundations of pastoral life. This new order was known as Theatines Clerks Regular because it was an order of the regular clergy and because a bishop known as Theatensis was their first superior general (although Cajetan is considered the founder).

Not surprisingly, they didn't find thousands of formerly greedy and licentious priests flocking to their door. But Cajetan and the others persevered even in the face of open opposition from laity and clergy who didn't want to reform. It was his holy example that converted many as well as his preaching.

Worn out by the troubles he saw in his Church and his home, Cajetan fell ill. When doctors tried to him to rest on a softer bed then the boards he slept on, Cajetan answered, "My savior died on a cross. Let me die on wood at least." He died on August 7, 1547.

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Bio: Clare blogs at Confessions of an Underground Catholic. (http://undergroundconfessions.wordpress.com) Her favorite topics to blog about are discernment and the saints. She is a recent college grad who decided to move someplace warm and monsoon-y after graduation. She is looking forward to riding out her first hurricane and going to a hurricane party since she missed Hurricane Isaac by a week last year.

St. Joseph

2013-02-28T11:44:00.000-05:00

St. Joseph was the foster father of Jesus and husband to Mary.

St. Joseph's feast day is celebrated on March 19 (which is coming up soon). He is the patron saint of the universal church.

Everything known about St. Joseph is from the bible. We know he was a carpenter and a hard working man. He came from royal lineage as the gospel of Matthew and Luke (although they differ some) share that he descends from David, the greatest king of Israel. This can be found in Matthew Chapter 1 and Luke Chapter 3.

St. Joseph was an obedient man and caring man. While Mary and Joseph were betrothed, Joseph discovered that she was pregnant and planned to divorce her quietly and to expose her to shame or cruelty. In his time, women who committed adultery could be stoned to death. An angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him the truth that Mary would bear a son who is the son of God. Joseph was obedient to God. Without question, he took Mary as his wife.

Joseph loved Jesus and truly embraced him as his own son. Soon after Jesus was born, the news that a king of the Jews was born had spread to Herod, a bloody tyrant ruler. An angel appeared to Joseph and told him to take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt. The holy family remained in Egypt until it was safe to travel back to Nazareth.

St. Joseph was a humble Jewish man that supported himself and his family by his work and religious practices. There is not much known about St. Joseph as Jesus grew older and began his public life. Many assume that St. Joseph died before Jesus started his public ministry.

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St. Joseph is one of my favorite saints! He is such a great example of a good and holy man and father. He was obedient to the Lord and a hard worker. He provided for his family and I like to believe that he taught Jesus how to be strong and courageous. Even if those qualities were already knit into Jesus' being, one has to believe that his wonderful parents had some major influences on him, no?

In college, I used to ask for St. Joseph to look after me a lot. I prayed for his intercession that I would find a husband, God willing, that was a good and faithful man. So, I like to think that me and St. Joe are pretty tight. Sure enough, I found a great and holy man who always seeks to do the right thing!

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source

Prayer to St. Joseph

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls - Pray for me.

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History of the prayer: This prayer was found in the fiftieth year of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In 1505, it was sent from the Pope to Emperor Charles when he was going into battle. Whoever shall read this prayer or hear it or keep it about themselves, shall never die a sudden death, or be drowned, not shall poison take effect of them; neither shall they fall into the hands of the enemy; or shall be burned in any fire, or shall be overpowered in battle.

Say for nine mornings for anything you may desire. It has never been known to fail, so be sure you really want what you ask.

St. Joseph, Pray for us.

St. Paula of Rome

2013-02-27T08:26:00.003-05:00

Today, we have a guest post from my friend, Alex. Alex is going to share a little bit about St. Paula!

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At the beginning of this year, at the advice of an amazing Catholic blog http://www.conversiondiary.com/2013/01/a-saint-for-the-year.html

and utilizing a Saint Name Generator from another blog http://jenniferfulwiler.com/saints/#.USwTh4511As

I decided to take on a patron saint for myself for the year 2013. This saint would be my partner in prayer, would intercede for me, and as they grew to know me spiritually, I would take the time to know them - to understand fully God's purpose for putting that name before me.

That saint is Saint Norma NO, Saint Paula.

Saint Paula and I did not get off to a good start, which may be a lesson in and of itself. For the first few times in prayer, I kept accidentally referring to her as Saint Norma.

Where did Norma come from? It's the name of a parishioner from my parish and it ends in an A, and Paula ends in an A, so naturally, I completely found a way to mess things up with St Paula right away.

It's hard to remember someone's name, and it's even harder when you don't have a face to put to it.

Saint Paula, who I sometimes call Saint Norma, was an early Christian saint, and a Roman, which is awesome because the Romans are some of the earliest ancestors of our faith. The Romans completely acted counter-culturally to their country and made their faith their true citizenship. We could learn a lot from them.

Saint Paula was from a wealthy family. She married a rich senator guy named Toxotius and had 5 children - 4 of them daughters, Blaesilla, Paulina, Eustochium, and Rufina. And then a boy named Toxotius.

Also, I love Roman names so naturally, I'm going to probably name my first child Eustochium.

Anyway, after becoming a widow at 32 years old, Paula still played an active role in her children's lives - marrying them off to various rich people and pagans who became Christians later on, and loving them as any mother should. She experienced an increased interest in her faith. Her love for her children consumed her to the degree that she didn't desire another husband; she only desired to grow further in love with her eternal spouse: Christ.

She met her saintly friend, St. Marcella, and became the epitome of a Christian widow fully alive in Christ. After meeting St. Marcella, she met St. Jerome in 382, and became extremely drawn to monastic life. St. Jerome and St. Paula became close friends and ultimately, St. Paula became St. Jerome's number one. She helped him keep his affairs in order and assisted him in compiling his books. When Jerome translated the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin, Paula helped him. She was fluent in Hebrew so she edited his works.

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I HAVE TO POINT OUT that this was one of the most amazing revelations I had about having St. Paula/Norma chosen as my saint for this year. I just graduated in August, and had been looking for a job doing what I love, doing what I studied to do: editing. I had never seen a patron saint of editors, or heard of any female saint that did editing, and here I was presented with probably the first female editor saint in the Church.

Also, very soon after having Paula assigned as my saint, I was BLESSED with an editing job that I love. Not only that, but the person who provided me with the means of obtaining this job is married to Norma the parishioner, which may explain why I keep confusing Paula and Norma. Both played an important role in bringing about my employment which was absolutely necessary for my livelihood. The fruits of my labor have allowed me to serve the Church in an even greater way than before. Back to Paula…

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St. Jerome and St. Paula were so close that their friendship became surrounded by scandal. They appeared to be far too intimate to just be friends. That's the kind of guy St. Jerome was. He was friends with lots of men and lots of women. But they did not let this sour their friendship. They organized monastic groups for men and women in the desert and pursued lives of poverty, virtue, and prayer. Being rich, St. Paula became very free with giving things away. In fact, she donated herself into financial ruin. She was completely impoverished when she died, but she left behind the legacy of their desert monastic groups, as well as her children and even grandchildren that in their marriages and celibate lives pursued religious virtue. They did this because of the example St. Paula set for them.

St. Paula was intelligent, charitable, a loving and devoted mother and wife, a cherished friend, a leader and a servant, and utterly devoted to Christ. She gave up a comfortable life to save her soul. She acted against the conventions of her time in order to pursue holy friendships with women and men. She saw beyond the fabric of this life into the depth of an eternity with Christ. And I'm absolutely honored to be served in prayer by such a saint.

This Lent, consider the people of the early church like St. Paula who quite literally gave up a home and all their belongings simply to pursue holiness. Look around your room and ask if you would do the same. What stops us from making such a bold move when so many before us did and reaped such glory from it? St. Paula went from wearing silks to wearing rags. Imagine taking that shopping money and mailing it off to a charity, or to a struggling Catholic radio station, or a pregnancy clinic.

We ask St. Paula to pray for us that we may desire to sacrifice everything in the pursuit of love for Christ.

St. Giuseppe Moscati

2013-02-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

A few years ago I used to work at Catholic Prayer Cards with my dear friend Kinsi, who blogs over at Anima Kinsi! Please Check out her blog and show her some Spicy Love! Today, Kinsi is sharing about

St. Giuseppe Moscati

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Giuseppe Moscati: “The Holy Physician of Naples”

Patronage: Doctors, bachelors, and persons rejected by religious orders.

Quote: “Remember, that you must treat not only bodies, but also souls, with counsel that appeals to their minds and hearts rather than with cold prescriptions to be sent in to the pharmacist.”

Introduction:

I first heard of St. Giuseppe Moscati when I was working for a prayer card company. As employees, we always got a sneak peek at upcoming cards and products. When I first saw the holy card for Joseph Moscati (Joseph of course, being the English translation of his given name, Giuseppe) I found his photo intriguing. Of course, he had quite the mustache, but beyond that, it is always striking to gaze upon a real photograph of a living Saint, rather than an artistic rendition. This was the first photo that I’d ever seen of Giuseppe:

At the time, my husband was living in a separate city and going through military training. I would send him letters, and in between the folded pages I’d always slip in a few of the newest prayer cards. Though my husband had no connection to the medical field, he immediately felt a connection to Giuseppe, and tried to find more resources on the man.

Biography:

Giuseppe Moscati was born on July 25, 1880 in Benevento, Italy to a noble family. He had eight siblings in all, and soon after his birth the entire Moscati family relocated to Naples, where Giuseppe remained ultimately, until his death. Though Giuseppe greatly admired his pious father, he did not choose to follow in his footsteps and study law. Rather, Giuseppe was inspired by one of his siblings to study medicine. When Giuseppe was 13, his older brother, Alberto fell from a horse during military service and sustained injury. Giuseppe was inspired by the care given to his brother. Giuseppe’s father died during the boy’s youth, and Giuseppe lived to see the passing of his mother and Alberto later in life.

At the age of 17, Giuseppe enrolled in the University of Naples, a secular and unabashedly anti-religion school. While it was an unorthodox choice for the young Saint, Giuseppe successfully avoided pitfalls by disciplined study, earning his doctoral degree, summa cum laude, in 1903. Giuseppe then began work at the Ospedale degli Incurabili (Hospital of Incurables) and quickly moved up in the ranks as an administrator. He continued further study and research however, eager to make discoveries that could help his fellow man. In coming years, Giuseppe was lauded for evacuating elderly and paralytic patients from a highly vulnerable location during the 1906 eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. It is said that patients were evacuated mere moments before the roof collapsed under the weight of Vesuvius’ spewing ash. In 1911, Giuseppe again acted valiantly when Naples was overcome with an outbreak of Cholera. He was known for working night and day, often without pay, and for providing an atmosphere of awe and reverence for the victims of that outbreak. Many were impressed not only by his selflessness in service (it is said that he often paid for medications for his patients out of his own pocket), but also by his uncanny ability to swiftly and accurately treat nearly any disease simply by listening intently to his patients’ symptoms.

In the same year as the cholera outbreak, Giuseppe became a member of the Royal Academy of Surgical Medicine. He received his second doctorate in physiological chemistry. In 1914, both Giuseppe’s chronically ill brother, Alberto, and his mother died. Just months after, Italy became involved in World War I. The government denied Moscati enlistment, believing that he would be most useful as a caregiver to wounded soldiers. He was later honored as the head of a local school, and in 1922, granted the privilege to teach in institutions of higher learning.

Giuseppe Moscati died at the age of 46. On the morning of April 12, 1927, Moscati attended daily Mass, as was his custom. He received Holy Communion and returned to the hospital for the remainder of the day. In the late afternoon, he felt exhausted and decided to rest in his armchair. His sister discovered in there later, dead. It is often speculated that Giuseppe died of sheer exhaustion, as he was well-known for working ceaseless hours without a thought of himself. Though his work was primarily scientific in nature, Giuseppe railed against the nepotism of Naples’ medical system. He made his secular work into a daily act of grace, saying that charity could have a greater impact on the world than science ever could.

Some fun facts:

-One of Giuseppe Moscati’s favorite Bible verses is Hosea 13:14, which reads: “O death, I will be thy death.”

- Between the years 1903-1916, Giuseppe wrote 27 scientific publications.

- Giuseppe’s mother died from complications of diabetes. He therefore became interested in modern treatments of the disease, and was one of the first doctors to administer insulin for this purpose.

- He was rejected by the Jesuits, who insisted that his true calling was medicine. As such, Moscati chose never to marry; instead taking a private vow of celibacy in 1913 so that he could focus entirely on the charitable works of his daily life.

- Not only would Moscati often provide medicine free-of-charge to his patients, but he even convinced his sister Nina (who acted as his secretary and assistant) to sell nearly all of their personal and familial possessions in order to pay for his charitable acts.

Beatification and Canonization:

Giuseppe Moscati was beatified in 1975 and canonized on October 25, 1987. The miracle used for his cause was the cure of a dying man. Giuseppe Fusco was an ironworker, and he was dying of leukemia. His mother was distraught. She had a vision of a doctor in her dreams, but thought little of it until her pastor showed her a photograph of Moscati. She recognized him as the doctor from her dream! She decided to pray for his intercession, and Fusco became inexplicably well again. He even soon returned to his physically demanding work. Many other little miracles in recent years are attributed to the prayers of Giuseppe Moscati.

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Thanks Kinsi! St. Giuseppe Moscati, Pray for us.

St. Maximilian Kolbe

2013-02-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today we're talking about St. Maximilian Kolbe, a great and holy man.

Kolbe was born Raymund Kolbe on January 8, 1894 in Poland. His mother was Polish and his father was German. Kolbe was one of five brothers. For more about Kolbe's early life, you can read here.

Kolbe and his older brother decided to join the Conventual Franciscans in 1907. They illegally crossed the border between Russian and Austria-Hungary to enroll in minor seminary. As a novitiate, Kolbe was given the name Maximilian. In 1918, Kolbe was ordained a preist and soon after returned to Poland. He has a major influence in his own Franciscan Order in the form of the Friars of Mary Immaculate (O.F.M.I), a Franciscan religious institute whose Rule is influenced by the spirituality of St. Maximilian Kolbe.

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(Love his sweet beard here!)

When WWII started and the Nazi's invaded Poland, Kolbe gave shelter to 2000 Jews, which he hid in his friary. On February 17, 1941, he was arrested by German Gestapo and imprisoned. On May 28 of the same year, he was transferred to Auschwitz and became prisoner #16670.

In July, 1941, three prisoners went missing from camp and the deputy camp commander came up with a solution to keep others from trying to escape. He was going to pick ten men to be starved to death in an underground bunker. One of the men that he selected was Franciszek Gajowniczek. Once selected, he cried out, "My wife! My children!", and Maximilian Kolbe volunteered to take his place.

Father Kolbe celebrated mass and sang hymns in his prison cell with the prisoners each day. He lifted up others and encouraged them by telling them that they would soon be with Mary in Heaven. Every time the guards would check on him, he was calmly, standing or kneeling in the middle of the cell. After two weeks of no food or drink, Maximilian Kolbe was the only prisoner left alive. The guards wanted to empty the bunker so they gave Kolbe a lethal injection of carbolic acid. Those who were present at the injection say that he raised his left arm and calmly waited for the injection. His remains were cremated on August 15, the feast day of the Assumption of Mary!

Koble was canonized as a martyr by Pope John Paul II on October 10, 1982 with Franciszek Gajowniczek (the man he offered his life for) in attendance.

One of my favorite things about Maximilian Kolbe is that there are actual pictures of him available. He lived when my grandparents were alive. It's awesome to know that holy individuals can and do exist today. Everyday we can stand up for others and show Christ's love. Anyway, I just love him. He sacrificed his own life so that another man could live, what a true hero.

That's all for today!

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If you are loving this #40daysofsaints, I'm still looking for some guest posters on your favorite saint! Email me at itsjustcalledspicy (at) gmail (dot) com if you are interested! I need your help because I just don't have time to write one of these every day and I'd really love to keep this up until Easter! Thanks!

St. Francis of Assisi

2013-02-23T14:38:00.000-05:00

Hey there everyone! I took a day off #40daysofsaints to bring you a giveaway for Oofos yesterday! Check it out here if you haven't already. Also, I don't know if you noticed but Sundays are not included in Lent so I will not be posting on Sundays and if I do, it will not be a part of #40daysofsaints. Today, we are talking about St. Francis. I figured that we haven't talked about many men and there are plenty holy ones so let's talk about St. Francis of Assisi.

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Francis was born the son of a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi (a town in Italy) around the year 1181. He was wealthy and lived the life of the rich and famous as a young man. He loved showy display and is said to have been a favorite individual amongst young nobles of Assisi. He was such a happy individual and a born leader. People loved him dearly. As a young adult, he was involved in wild parties. He is said by Thomas of Celano (his biographer) that, "he attracted to himself a whole retinue of young people addicted to evil and accustomed to vice" (source).

Francis loved to party but he wanted more. He wanted to be known as a knight and a hero. He knew that battle was the best place to win the glory and prestige in which he desired. Assisi declared war on a near by town of Perugia and Francis finally got his chance. Many of the troops were killed and the wealthy soldiers were taken prisoner to be held for ransom. It is believed from those who were with him that Francis never lost his happy manner while being imprisoned for an entire year. He was chained in a dark dungeon for one year and he remained still unchanged. He continue to party as much as before he went away to war.

He still had the deep desire for glory. The call for knights for the fourth crusade gave him the chance to meet the glory he so strongly wanted. Before Francis left, he put on his suit of armor decorated with gold and his magnificent cloak. Being the son of a wealthy farmer, he also took a horse. Francis left Assisi and one day's ride away, he had a dream. In his dream, he saw a vast hall hung with armour all marked with the cross. He was then told by God that he had it all wrong and was to return home to Assisi. Francis returned home and never made it to battle.

When he returned home, he spent more time in prayer, went to a cave and wept for forgiveness for his sins. One day he came across a leper, instinctively repelled with disgust, he embraced the man and gave him all the money he had. Francis was filled with joy.

Story from Catholic Online: His search for conversion led him to the ancient church at San Damiano. While he was praying there, he heard Christ on the crucifix speak to him, "Francis, repair my church." Francis assumed this meant church with a small c -- the crumbling building he was in. Acting again in his impetuous way, he took fabric from his father's shop and sold it to get money to repair the church. His father saw this as an act of theft -- and put together with Francis' cowardice, waste of money, and his growing disinterest in money made Francis seem more like a madman than his son. Pietro dragged Francis before the bishop and in front of the whole town demanded that Francis return the money and renounce all rights as his heir.

The bishop was very kind to Francis; he told him to return the money and said God would provide. That was all Francis needed to hear. He not only gave back the money but stripped off all his clothes -- the clothes his father had given him -- until he was wearing only a hair shirt. In front of the crowd that had gathered he said, "Pietro Bernardone is no longer my father. From now on I can say with complete freedom, 'Our Father who art in heaven.'" Wearing nothing but castoff rags, he went off into the freezing woods -- singing. And when robbers beat him later and took his clothes, he climbed out of the ditch and went off singing again. From then on Francis had nothing...and everything.

Francis went back and repaired the San Damiano church with his the work of his own hands. Eventually Francis realized that God wanted him to repair his Church --not in the building sense. Francis began to preach. Soon, others wanted to join Francis in the way he lived (sleeping in the open, begging for garbage to eat and loving God). Francis' brotherhood included individuals from all walks of life. There are so many great stories about Francis preaching to birds, another about Francis preaching to a wolf that had been eating human beings. Francis followed the Gospel literally sending his brothers out to preach two by two.

Francis never tried to abolish poverty, he made it holy. Francis and his companions were barefoot beggars wearing sacks and constantly filled with the joy of the Lord, celebrating the gift of life. People began asking themselves, “Could one be happy and own nothing?”

Francis’ order grew to 5000 in ten years. The order experienced a lot of pressure from outside control which made the order conform to the standards of others who believed Francis’ idea of radical poverty was too harsh. Francis gave up authority of the order.

Francis’ final years were filled with suffering as he prayed to share in Christ’s passion. Francis experienced stigmata (marks of the nails and the lance wound that Christ suffered) in his own body. After years of wandering, he became ill and began to go blind. He never recovered from his illness and died on October 4, 1226 at the age of 45. Francis is considered the founder of all Franciscan orders.

Feast Day: October 4

Patron Saint of animals, merchants and ecology

Prayer to St. Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

That's all for today,

OOFOS Giveaway

2013-02-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's just called Spicy has teamed up with Got Giveaways, Xtreme Qpon and a few other awesome bloggers to bring you this Oofos Giveaway! One lucky winner will get their choice of Oofos Shoes! You can read the full Oofos Review at Got Giveaways.

I also wrote my own review here if you would like to check it out!

Simply enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win. You do not have to complete all entries to be chosen, but the more entries you do complete, the better your chances are of being chosen! And remember, Sharing is Caring! Be sure to share with your friends! Good Luck!

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St. Ita

2013-02-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

My mother-in-law has written the guest post for St. Ita today! St. Ita, or Dorothea, is patron saint of my sister-in-law, Kirsten. Also, my grandmother-in-law was named Dorothy after Dorothea.

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Saint Ita is also known as the “Brigid of Munster”, “Foster Mother of the Saints of Ireland” and the patron Saint of Killeedy. St. Ita was born before 484AD in County Waterford, in the Tramore area and died around 570. Her father was Cennfoelad or Confhaola and her mother was Necta. Ita's name was originally Dorothea or Deirdre. She was a member of the Déisí tribe. Ita refused her father's wish that she should marry a local chieftain, as she believed that she had a calling from God and wanted to become a nun. To convince her father to change his mind, she fasted for three days and three nights. On the third night, God gave out to her father in his sleep. The next morning, Cennfoelad agreed that Ita could do as she wished.

(source for picture)

At the age of sixteen, Ita set off on her journey. Bishop (St.) Declan of Ardmore conferred the veil on her. Legend has it that Ita was lead to Killeedy by three heavenly lights. The first was at the top of the Galtee mountains, the second on the Mullaghareirk mountains and the third at Cluain Creadhail, which is nowadays Killeedy. Her sister Fiona also went on to become a nun, settling down at a place known as Killeedy in a church that she set up known as the "Church of St. Ita" in County Limerick. There, she was the head of a community of women. That group seems to have had a school for little boys where they were taught "Faith in God with purity of heart; simplicity of life with religion; generosity with love". Her austerities are told by St. Cuimin of Down, and numerous miracles are recorded of her. She is said to be the originator of an Irish lullaby for the infant Jesus, an English version of which was set for voice and piano by the American composer Samuel Barber. She was said to be endowed with the gift of prophecy and was held in great veneration by a large number of contemporary saints, men as well as women. When she felt her end approaching she sent for her community of nuns, and invoked the blessing of heaven on the clergy and laity of the district around Killeedy. Not alone was St. Ita a saint, but she was the foster-mother of many saints, including St. Brendan the Voyager, St. Pulcherius (Mochoemog), and St. Cummian Fada. At the request of Bishop Butler of Limerick, Pope Pius IX granted a special Office and Mass for the feast of St. Ita, which is kept on 15 January.

St. Ita, Pray for us.

That's all for today! Thanks to my mom-in-law who wrote this!

St. Cecelia

2013-02-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today's #40daysofsaints guest post about St. Cecelia is written by Jenna (great name, BTW). Jenna blogs over at Call Her Happy. For more info about Jenna you can check out her blog and mini bio at the bottom of this post!

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Biography {short and sweet}

Being one of the first Saints, there isn't a ton known about St. Cecilia. Here is what I know: St. Cecilia grew up in Italy and was later forced into marriage with a non-believing man. To put it lightly, she made the best of it, and she was able to convert her new husband as well as his brother. Later, when the men were outed as Catholics, they were put to death, and Cecilia gave them a proper burial. That wasn't looked upon well either, and she was sentenced to death by fire. Cecilia, protected by God, would not succumb to the fire, so they suffocated her. Again protected, they stabbed her in the neck in an attempt to behead her, and she was left to die. Sorry, but it's true. She is considered the patron of musicians because she played the organ on her wedding day as a way of declaring her love for God and asking for His help in the conversion of her husband. Feast Day: November 22 Random Fact: St. Cecilia is my Confirmation namesake. You're welcome.

Ideas for Commemorating

This past November, St. Cecilia's feast day fell on Thanksgiving. I wrote a post at CatholicMom.com on ways you can celebrate her life during the holiday. Bonus: The ideas are good all year round.

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Inspirational Songs

Like most people you ask, I would imagine, I love all kinds of music. Here are a few of my favorite Christian songs in honor of the Patron of Music. You Are More by Tenth Avenue North I can't say that I was always as strong in my faith as I am today. I can't say that I made the best choices in my life. Because I didn't. It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I am a sinner just like everyone else. I confessed my sins of pride (because that's what that is, you know?), and this song is a constant reminder that I am more than the sum of my past mistakes. Lead Me by Sanctus Real Whenever I hear this song, I pray for Mike. I think it is a really cool reminder about the roll that God plays in Mike's life and the roll that Mike plays in ours. A real good hubby song. This is the Stuff by Francesca Battistelli You know those days when your husband is away on business and your toddler refuses to take a nap or go to bed and then you just need coffee so you go to the store and get pulled over on the way and start crying uncontrollably in front of the officer and then eat raisins for dinner because you are out of energy and any sort of motivation? Whew. That may or may not have happened to me. This song puts that day in perspective. Oceans Above Ok, not actually a song. But, honestly, anything by this band I love. But just be careful. There is a death metal band by the same name. Don't download that cd. You've been warned. Anyway, Oceans Above reminds me of a Christian Postal Service. Mucho Love. If I Was Jesus by Paul Coleman Super fun song that always makes me happy when I hear it. It kind of makes Jesus into an even more relate-able person by breaking down his life into really simple terms. I don't know. It's just really fun.

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Jenna is a former high school English teacher turned stay-at-home-mom from the Midwest. She spends her days taking care of her daughter and her uterus baby while freelancing and creating content for her blog, Call Her Happy. She wouldn't mind if you joined her.

St. Edith Stein

2013-02-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

As a part of #40daysofsaints, we have a guest post about St. Edith Stein from Paige. Paige blogs over at S'aint Easy. For more about Paige, check out her blog and mini bio at the bottom of this post.

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I read a book a while back by Fr. James Martin about the Saints. He made the statement in it that he believed that Saints choose us, we don’t choose them.

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This is exactly what happened to me when I chose my confirmation Saint, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. I had already chosen the confirmation name of Theresa because it is a family name: I had a great-great Aunt whose birth name was Theresa who joined the O.Carms, and another who also joined the O.Carms and her religious name was Teresita. So, I knew I wanted to take that name in honor of both of my great-great aunts who chose a religious life and were very pious, faithful women (they never ditched their habits, even after they were allowed to.) So, I figured I should learn more about all the different St. Teresas to see if there was one that I could call my BFF in Heaven. I bought a book called The Four Teresas by Gina Loehr and dug in.

St. Teresa of Avila? Good, but maybe a bit too ambitious. Though I liked her worldly-to-pious conversion story.

St. Therese of Lisieux? Too popular, and a little too saccharine in general, though I could identify with the petulant child part of her personality.

Mother Teresa? Not touching that one with a stick.

And then I got to the fourth Teresa. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. A Saint that, previously, I had never heard of, though I consider myself to be a bit of a Saint nerd.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross is also known as St. Edith Stein. She’s a virgin and martyr, but she’s a modern virgin and martyr, as she died under the Nazi regime in 1942. She was raised Jewish in Poland, but by the time she became a teenager was a full-blown atheist. She was a Truth seeker at heart, though, because her thirst to know things--as many things as she could-- lead her to earn her Doctorate in Philosophy,which was not a common thing for a woman to do in the early 20^th century!! She encountered the Catholic faith after reading St. Teresa of Avila’s The Interior Castle. The story goes that she was visiting some friends and found it on their bookshelf, she stayed up all night reading it, and when she was finished, she set the book down and said “This is Truth.” She finally went to a priest to become Catholic after studying everything she could get her hands on. When the priest asked her if she knew what it meant to be Baptized, she told him some form of “quiz me.” She was received into the Church in 1922. She wanted to join the Discalced Carmelites, but her spiritual director wanted her to stay and teach and help to further the education of women in particular. Edith Stein was a very big advocate of women’s rights and equality saying “One could say that in case of need, every normal and healthy woman is able to hold a position. And there is no profession which cannot be practiced by a woman.” She taught at a Dominican school in Speyer, Germany until she was no longer allowed to do so because of the political climate. She then joined the Carmelites, following her spiritual leader, St. Teresa of Avila. She was moved to Echt, Netherlands to keep her safe, until 1940 when the Nazis invaded. They had been denounced by the Dutch Bishops and so rounded up all Jews who had converted to Christianity and sent them to the concentration camps. Edith Stein died at Auschwitz along with her younger sister, Rosa, who also had converted and joined the convent on August 9, 1942. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1987 and canonized in 2000.

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St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross’ life message was, in my opinion, “seek the Truth and you will find it.” As someone who encounters Faith on a very intellectual level, she is a wonderful patron Saint for me. I was able to identify with her hunger for knowledge and Truth and admired her open willingness to believe when she saw something that made her believe again. As a martyr, she gave everything in order to pursue Truth wherever it took her. I only pray that, in the same situation, I would be able to do the same.

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Paige blogs at S’aint Easy (www.sainteasy.blogspot.com) where she likes to write about her search for Truth, particularly as it relates to the Catholic faith and her daily life. Re-written song lyrics are just a bonus.

St. Felicity

2013-02-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today, we have a guest post about St. Felicity as a part of the "40 days of Saints" series from Stacy who blogs over at Catholic and Crunchy! For more info about Stacy, read her mini bio at the bottom of this post and check out her blog!

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If you don't feel this way about your own confirmation, I bet you have heard it said: "I didn't pick my saint; my saint picked me". For any non-Catholic readers, the sacrament of confirmation is when a Catholic person receives the Holy Spirit. It generally happens around 9th or 10th grade, though in some rites it happens in infancy. During the confirmation process, you are asked to choose a saint whose name you will take when you become confirmed. When the bishop confirms you, he doesn't call you by your birth name, but by your saint's name. If you already have a saint's name (like my husband, Steven), you can use that one if you choose. When I was going through confirmation, the saints were relatively new to me. I didn't know much about them, and it started a frenzy of wanting to know more. I ended up getting a subscription in high school to a saint information card collection. Each month they'd send a few of these big information cards that I would collect in a binder. I would like to say that, through learning more about the saints, I chose one that I felt would guide me and that I could relate to.

Nope, not how it happened. Remember the late 90's tv show Felicity? Yes, I'm sure you can see where this is headed. Though I swore up and down that this was not the reason, I chose the name Felicity because I knew it from that show and thought it was sooo pretty (still do!). Thankfully, our confirmation teachers required us to write a paper and do a presentation on our chosen saint. Had they not done that, I might not have known anything about St. Felicity, besides the fact that someone with awesome curly hair who went and cut it all short and dramatic looking on the WB and who I really wanted to be with Noel and not Ben, shared the same name.

One of my favorite images of saints Perpetua and Felicity:

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I learned that she was the co-martyr of Perpetua, which one of my friends chose as her saint. Each year on our shared feast day, we send each other a little facebook message. Felicty was the slave of Perpetua and was an expectant mother. She was arrested and imprisoned for her faith, and was afraid she would not be able to stand up for her faith because game rules stated that pregnant women could not participate. A few days before the games, she gave birth while the prison guards taunted and tormented her. Her daughter is believed to have been given up and raised by a Christian. She stood by her faith in the games, though the crowd became upset as it was obvious she had just given birth. Instead of being killed by the wild animals, she had her throat cut open. She executed in the games for not renouncing her Christian faith. There are other stories of her having 7 sons, all of whom were martyred for their faith as well. Now initially I thought, "how could you go to your death, knowing you have a days old daughter who needs you?". And then, the more I think about it, I hope and pray that I could be that brave and faithful as to stand up for my faith if I was put to a similar test. I certainly hope I would not renounce my faith for any reason.

But back to St. Felicity choosing me. So years later, after I had let my faith go stale and then a new interest was sparked, I thought about the fact that I had chosen St. Felicity, felt silly for the reasoning, and then wished I could have a 'do over'. I knew she was the patron saint of a few different things, including against death of children, against sterility, martyrs, male children, and widows. I didn't really know how that applied to me and thought it would be cool if I had a saint I felt I could relate to. But then in January of 2010, I was diagnosed with PCOS and told I would probably have trouble conceiving. And then in January of this year, my doctor told me that I am technically infertile and will need medical help conceiving. I don't call it irony that I chose a patron saint of infertility all those years ago when I could have no clue that it would be a battle I would one day face myself. Since 2010, I have had a very strong feeling that St. Felicity chose me, because she knew I would need her intercession, her faith, and her strength. And knowing that I have the intercession and communion of saints in heaven, I have a lot of hope and I am able to look past a medical label and know that our family will one day be what it is meant to be.

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Stacy is a mid 20's Catholic newlywed who blogs about

almost everything, including faith, health, and learning

to be crunchy. Feel free to drop by Catholic and Crunchy

to say hello!