Podcast appearances and mentions of saint damien

Full Text of ReadingsSaturday of the Third Week of Easter Lectionary: 278The Saint of the day is Saint Damien de Veuster of MolokaiSaint Damien de Veuster of Moloka'i's Story When Joseph de Veuster was born in Tremelo, Belgium, in 1840, few people in Europe had any firsthand knowledge of leprosy, Hansen's disease. By the time he died at the age of 49, people all over the world knew about this disease because of him. They knew that human compassion could soften the ravages of this disease. Forced to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm, Joseph entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary six years later, taking the name of a fourth-century physician and martyr. When his brother Pamphile, a priest in the same congregation, fell ill and was unable to go to the Hawaiian Islands as assigned, Damien quickly volunteered in his place. In May 1864, two months after arriving in his new mission, Damien was ordained a priest in Honolulu and assigned to the island of Hawaii. In 1873, he went to the Hawaiian government's leper colony on the island of Moloka'i, set up seven years earlier. Part of a team of four chaplains taking that assignment for three months each year, Damien soon volunteered to remain permanently, caring for the people's physical, medical, and spiritual needs. In time, he became their most effective advocate to obtain promised government support. Soon the settlement had new houses and a new church, school and orphanage. Morale improved considerably. A few years later, he succeeded in getting the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by Mother Marianne Cope, to help staff this colony in Kalaupapa. Damien contracted Hansen's disease and died of its complications. As requested, he was buried in Kalaupapa, but in 1936 the Belgian government succeeded in having his body moved to Belgium. Part of Damien's body was returned to his beloved Hawaiian brothers and sisters after his beatification in 1995. When Hawaii became a state in 1959, it selected Damien as one of its two representatives in the Statuary Hall at the US Capitol. Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. Reflection Some people thought Damien was a hero for going to Moloka'i and others thought he was crazy. When a Protestant clergyman wrote that Damien was guilty of immoral behavior, Robert Louis Stevenson vigorously defended him in an “Open Letter to Dr. Hyde.” Love the saints? Check out these six titles on Catholic saints! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Today is the feast of Saint Damien of Molokai, a priest who served lepers who were not allowed to leave an island. Father explains the source of Saint Damien’s great charity and happiness. Find out that secret in today’s reflection.

Saints du jour 2025-05-10 Saint Jean d'Avila et Saint Damien de Molokaï by Radio Maria France

Saints du jour 2025-04-15 Saint Damien by Radio Maria France

Full Text of ReadingsThursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 314The Saint of the day is Saint Marianne CopeSaint Marianne Cope's Story Though leprosy scared off most people in 19th-century Hawaii, that disease sparked great generosity in the woman who came to be known as Mother Marianne of Molokai. Her courage helped tremendously to improve the lives of its victims in Hawaii, a territory annexed to the United States during her lifetime (1898). Mother Marianne's generosity and courage were celebrated at her May 14, 2005, beatification in Rome. She was a woman who spoke “the language of truth and love” to the world, said Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes. Cardinal Martins, who presided at the beatification Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, called her life “a wonderful work of divine grace.” Speaking of her special love for persons suffering from leprosy, he said, “She saw in them the suffering face of Jesus. Like the Good Samaritan, she became their mother.” On January 23, 1838, a daughter was born to Peter and Barbara Cope of Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany. The girl was named after her mother. Two years later the Cope family emigrated to the United States and settled in Utica, New York. Young Barbara worked in a factory until August 1862, when she went to the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. After profession in November of the next year, she began teaching at Assumption parish school. Marianne held the post of superior in several places and was twice the novice mistress of her congregation. A natural leader, three different times she was superior of St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, where she learned much that would be useful during her years in Hawaii. Elected provincial in 1877, Mother Marianne was unanimously re-elected in 1881. Two years later the Hawaiian government was searching for someone to run the Kakaako Receiving Station for people suspected of having leprosy. More than 50 religious communities in the United States and Canada were asked. When the request was put to the Syracuse sisters, 35 of them volunteered immediately. On October 22, 1883, Mother Marianne and six other sisters left for Hawaii where they took charge of the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu; on the island of Maui they also opened a hospital and a school for girls. In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for “unprotected women and girls” there. The Hawaiian government was quite hesitant to send women for this difficult assignment; they need not have worried about Mother Marianne! On Molokai she took charge of the home that Saint Damien de Veuster had established for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai by introducing cleanliness, pride, and fun to the colony. Bright scarves and pretty dresses for the women were part of her approach. Awarded the Royal Order of Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government and celebrated in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, Mother Marianne continued her work faithfully. Her sisters have attracted vocations among the Hawaiian people and still work on Molokai. Mother Marianne died on August 9, 1918, was beatified in 2005, and canonized seven years later. Reflection The government authorities were reluctant to allow Mother Marianne to be a mother on Molokai. Thirty years of dedication proved their fears unfounded. God grants gifts regardless of human shortsightedness and allows those gifts to flower for the sake of the kingdom. Click here for more on Saint Marianne Cope! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Marianne Cope, 1838-1918; born in Germany; her family migrated and settled in Utica, New York, in 1840; she entered the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York, in 1862; in 1883, she and six sisters left for Hawaii; in 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for “unprotected women and girls” there; she took charge of the home that Saint Damien de Veuster had established for men and boys; Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai by introducing cleanliness, pride, and fun to the colony; her sisters still work on Molokai Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 1/23/25 Gospel: Mark 3:7-12

In today’s readings Jesus touches a leper and heals the man. Father Kubicki reflects on another many who engaged with the lepers, Saint Damien of Molokai Listen to this reflection for inspiration on the gift of touch.

Alors que le nouveau conseil de transition s'installe difficilement à Port-au-Prince, nous évoquons l'impact de la crise sécuritaire, politique et économique sur la santé, dans l'État de la Caraïbe. En mars 2024, avant que l'accord politique ne soit conclu sur place, les Nations unies décrivaient un système de santé « proche de l‘effondrement » : fermeture des structures sanitaires, déplacements massifs de population, absence de personnel soignant et pénuries de médicaments (amplifiée par la fermeture du port et de l'aéroport début mars). Dans l'émission, nous évoquerons aussi l'impact psychologique de cette situation traumatisante. Ronald Jean-Jacques, psychologue et professeur à l'Université d'État d'Haïti. Pr Jean-Hugues Henrys, directeur de l'Équipe de Recherche sur l'Écologie des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales (EREMIT) à la Faculté des Sciences de la Santé de l'Université Quisqueya à Port-au-Prince. Ancien-Doyen de la Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé de l'Université Notre Dame d'Haïti de 2008 à 2017 Dr Jacqueline Gautier, ancienne directrice nationale de Santé de l'Hôpital Saint Damien, Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs dans la commune de Tabarre en Haïti, contrainte à l'exil par la situation politico-sécuritaire et aujourd'hui, responsable de formation pédiatrique, pour Médecins Sans Frontières, en mission en Sierra Leone. Et le témoignage du Dr Jean Geto Dube, directeur exécutif de l'Hôpital Justinien à Cap-Haïtien, recueilli en avril, par les envoyés spéciaux de RFI Vincent Souriau et Boris Vichith. Programmation musicale :► Jah Nesta – Vini Ave M► Re-Mi – Map vibré. 

Alors que le nouveau conseil de transition s'installe difficilement à Port-au-Prince, nous évoquons l'impact de la crise sécuritaire, politique et économique sur la santé, dans l'État de la Caraïbe. En mars 2024, avant que l'accord politique ne soit conclu sur place, les Nations unies décrivaient un système de santé « proche de l‘effondrement » : fermeture des structures sanitaires, déplacements massifs de population, absence de personnel soignant et pénuries de médicaments (amplifiée par la fermeture du port et de l'aéroport début mars). Dans l'émission, nous évoquerons aussi l'impact psychologique de cette situation traumatisante. Ronald Jean-Jacques, psychologue et professeur à l'Université d'État d'Haïti. Pr Jean-Hugues Henrys, directeur de l'Équipe de Recherche sur l'Écologie des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales (EREMIT) à la Faculté des Sciences de la Santé de l'Université Quisqueya à Port-au-Prince. Ancien-Doyen de la Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé de l'Université Notre Dame d'Haïti de 2008 à 2017 Dr Jacqueline Gautier, ancienne directrice nationale de Santé de l'Hôpital Saint Damien, Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs dans la commune de Tabarre en Haïti, contrainte à l'exil par la situation politico-sécuritaire et aujourd'hui, responsable de formation pédiatrique, pour Médecins Sans Frontières, en mission en Sierra Leone. Et le témoignage du Dr Jean Geto Dube, directeur exécutif de l'Hôpital Justinien à Cap-Haïtien, recueilli en avril, par les envoyés spéciaux de RFI Vincent Souriau et Boris Vichith. Programmation musicale :► Jah Nesta – Vini Ave M► Re-Mi – Map vibré. 

Full Text of ReadingsFriday of the Sixth Week of Easter Lectionary: 295The Saint of the day is Saint Damien de Veuster of MolokaiSaint Damien de Veuster of Moloka'i's Story When Joseph de Veuster was born in Tremelo, Belgium, in 1840, few people in Europe had any firsthand knowledge of leprosy, Hansen's disease. By the time he died at the age of 49, people all over the world knew about this disease because of him. They knew that human compassion could soften the ravages of this disease. Forced to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm, Joseph entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary six years later, taking the name of a fourth-century physician and martyr. When his brother Pamphile, a priest in the same congregation, fell ill and was unable to go to the Hawaiian Islands as assigned, Damien quickly volunteered in his place. In May 1864, two months after arriving in his new mission, Damien was ordained a priest in Honolulu and assigned to the island of Hawaii. In 1873, he went to the Hawaiian government's leper colony on the island of Moloka'i, set up seven years earlier. Part of a team of four chaplains taking that assignment for three months each year, Damien soon volunteered to remain permanently, caring for the people's physical, medical, and spiritual needs. In time, he became their most effective advocate to obtain promised government support. Soon the settlement had new houses and a new church, school and orphanage. Morale improved considerably. A few years later, he succeeded in getting the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by Mother Marianne Cope, to help staff this colony in Kalaupapa. Damien contracted Hansen's disease and died of its complications. As requested, he was buried in Kalaupapa, but in 1936 the Belgian government succeeded in having his body moved to Belgium. Part of Damien's body was returned to his beloved Hawaiian brothers and sisters after his beatification in 1995. When Hawaii became a state in 1959, it selected Damien as one of its two representatives in the Statuary Hall at the US Capitol. Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. Reflection Some people thought Damien was a hero for going to Moloka'i and others thought he was crazy. When a Protestant clergyman wrote that Damien was guilty of immoral behavior, Robert Louis Stevenson vigorously defended him in an “Open Letter to Dr. Hyde.” Love the saints? Check out these six titles on Catholic saints! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Fr. Roger J. Landry Columbia Catholic Ministry, Notre Dame Church, Manhattan Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter Memorial of Saint Damien of Molokai May 10, 2024 Acts 18:9-18, Ps 47, Jn 16:20-23   To listen to an audio recording of today's homily, please click below:  https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/catholicpreaching/5.10.24_Homily_1.mp3   The following points were attempted during the […] The post The Joy That Relativizes All Pain, Sixth Friday of Easter, May 10, 2024 appeared first on Catholic Preaching.

Homily by Fr. Michael Renninger

Avec Soeur Christine-Marie

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - In the Diocese of Honolulu, Hawaii, the local phase concluded Sunday for the cause of canonization of Servant of God Joseph Dutton, a companion of Saint Damien of Molokai and layman who lived among and served those suffering with leprosy. Evidence from the local phase, which included 2,000 pages of investigation, will now be sent to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome for review. During a Mass on Sunday in celebration of the next phase toward Dutton's potential canonization, Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva said that Dutton “exiled himself” to the remote part of Molokai island where lepers were forcibly segregated “so that he could do penance for his own wayward life.” Dutton, a Civil War veteran for the Union from Wisconsin, was married after the war but pursued a divorce after his wife was unfaithful and left him after one year. After he stopped drinking, he began studying Catholicism and officially became Catholic in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1883 when he turned 40. Dutton went to the remote part of the island with those suffering from leprosy, now known as Hansen's disease, “so that he could change course completely from thinking about himself and his own needs to unselfish service of others in extreme need.” He became an expert in caring for the sick and continued his work after Damien died in 1889 from leprosy. Dutton himself inherited responsibility of an orphanage for boys and young men in 1895 and served there for the following 35 years. He died in 1931 at the age of 87 at Saint Francis Hospital in Honolulu. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256612/servant-of-god-joseph-dutton-s-cause-for-canonization-sent-to-vatican An international group of bishops is calling for “universal, verifiable nuclear disarmament” on the third anniversary of a key global nuclear disarmament treaty. The bishops of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Seattle as well as those of the Japanese Archdiocese of Nagasaki and the Diocese of Hiroshima issued the letter on Monday on the third anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons going into effect. That treaty, adopted by the United Nations in 2017 and entered into force in January 2021, includes “a comprehensive set of prohibitions on participating in any nuclear weapon activities,” including directives “not to develop, test, produce, acquire, possess, stockpile, use, or threaten to use nuclear weapons.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256611/bishops-call-for-universal-nuclear-disarmament-on-anniversary-of-treaty The Catholic Polytechnic University (CPU) in Los Angeles announced that it will welcome its first inaugural class of students in fall 2024 after receiving its license from California at the end of 2023. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256617/a-founder-with-a-vision-tech-based-catholic-university-in-los-angeles-to-open-this-fall Today, the Church celebrates Saint Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers and Christian unity whose role as a priest and bishop helped bring thousands of Protestants back to the Catholic Church. In the late 16th and early 17th century, Saint Frances de Sales conducted spiritual direction both in person and in written correspondence. This inspired his famous work “Introduction to the Devout Life.” During his ministry in Switzerland, he wrote and distributed religious tracts that made inroads among Protestants and helped between 40,000 and 70,000 return to the Catholic faith. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-francis-de-sales-126

Full Text of ReadingsTuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 318The Saint of the day is Saint Marianne CopeSaint Marianne Cope's Story Though leprosy scared off most people in 19th-century Hawaii, that disease sparked great generosity in the woman who came to be known as Mother Marianne of Molokai. Her courage helped tremendously to improve the lives of its victims in Hawaii, a territory annexed to the United States during her lifetime (1898). Mother Marianne's generosity and courage were celebrated at her May 14, 2005, beatification in Rome. She was a woman who spoke “the language of truth and love” to the world, said Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes. Cardinal Martins, who presided at the beatification Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, called her life “a wonderful work of divine grace.” Speaking of her special love for persons suffering from leprosy, he said, “She saw in them the suffering face of Jesus. Like the Good Samaritan, she became their mother.” On January 23, 1838, a daughter was born to Peter and Barbara Cope of Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany. The girl was named after her mother. Two years later the Cope family emigrated to the United States and settled in Utica, New York. Young Barbara worked in a factory until August 1862, when she went to the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. After profession in November of the next year, she began teaching at Assumption parish school. Marianne held the post of superior in several places and was twice the novice mistress of her congregation. A natural leader, three different times she was superior of St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, where she learned much that would be useful during her years in Hawaii. Elected provincial in 1877, Mother Marianne was unanimously re-elected in 1881. Two years later the Hawaiian government was searching for someone to run the Kakaako Receiving Station for people suspected of having leprosy. More than 50 religious communities in the United States and Canada were asked. When the request was put to the Syracuse sisters, 35 of them volunteered immediately. On October 22, 1883, Mother Marianne and six other sisters left for Hawaii where they took charge of the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu; on the island of Maui they also opened a hospital and a school for girls. In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for “unprotected women and girls” there. The Hawaiian government was quite hesitant to send women for this difficult assignment; they need not have worried about Mother Marianne! On Molokai she took charge of the home that Saint Damien de Veuster had established for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai by introducing cleanliness, pride, and fun to the colony. Bright scarves and pretty dresses for the women were part of her approach. Awarded the Royal Order of Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government and celebrated in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, Mother Marianne continued her work faithfully. Her sisters have attracted vocations among the Hawaiian people and still work on Molokai. Mother Marianne died on August 9, 1918, was beatified in 2005, and canonized seven years later. Reflection The government authorities were reluctant to allow Mother Marianne to be a mother on Molokai. Thirty years of dedication proved their fears unfounded. God grants gifts regardless of human shortsightedness and allows those gifts to flower for the sake of the kingdom. Click here for more on Saint Marianne Cope! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Marianne Cope, 1838-1918; born in Germany, came to the United States two years later with her family, and settled in Utica, New York; she worked in a factory until 1862, and then joined the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York; in 1883, Mother Marianne and six other sisters left for Hawaii where they took charge of the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu; on the island of Maui they also opened a hospital and a school for girls; in 1888, she and two sisters went to Molokai and opened a home for women and girls; she took charge of the home that Saint Damien de Veuster had established for men and boys; she changed life on Molokai by introducing cleanliness, pride, and fun to the colony Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 1/23/24 Gospel: Mark 3:31-35

06/11 - Direction Saint-Damien-de-Buckland

Full Text of ReadingsWednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter Lectionary: 287   The Saint of the day is Saint Damien de Veuster of MolokaiSaint Damien de Veuster of Moloka'i's Story When Joseph de Veuster was born in Tremelo, Belgium, in 1840, few people in Europe had any firsthand knowledge of leprosy, Hansen's disease. By the time he died at the age of 49, people all over the world knew about this disease because of him. They knew that human compassion could soften the ravages of this disease. Forced to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm, Joseph entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary six years later, taking the name of a fourth-century physician and martyr. When his brother Pamphile, a priest in the same congregation, fell ill and was unable to go to the Hawaiian Islands as assigned, Damien quickly volunteered in his place. In May 1864, two months after arriving in his new mission, Damien was ordained a priest in Honolulu and assigned to the island of Hawaii. In 1873, he went to the Hawaiian government's leper colony on the island of Moloka'i, set up seven years earlier. Part of a team of four chaplains taking that assignment for three months each year, Damien soon volunteered to remain permanently, caring for the people's physical, medical, and spiritual needs. In time, he became their most effective advocate to obtain promised government support. Soon the settlement had new houses and a new church, school and orphanage. Morale improved considerably. A few years later, he succeeded in getting the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by Mother Marianne Cope, to help staff this colony in Kalaupapa. Damien contracted Hansen's disease and died of its complications. As requested, he was buried in Kalaupapa, but in 1936 the Belgian government succeeded in having his body moved to Belgium. Part of Damien's body was returned to his beloved Hawaiian brothers and sisters after his beatification in 1995. When Hawaii became a state in 1959, it selected Damien as one of its two representatives in the Statuary Hall at the US Capitol. Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. Reflection Some people thought Damien was a hero for going to Moloka'i and others thought he was crazy. When a Protestant clergyman wrote that Damien was guilty of immoral behavior, Robert Louis Stevenson vigorously defended him in an “Open Letter to Dr. Hyde.” Love the saints? Check out these seven titles on Catholic saints! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

May 10: Saint Damien de Veuster of Moloka'i, Priest (U.S.A.) 1840–1889 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of those suffering leprosy A joyful celibate brings hope and dignity to the walking dead It is often just one decision that releases the bolt, opening the door to a new life. The first step down a new road of a thousand smaller steps begins with one choice—to board the ship or to stand on the dock, to accept the marriage proposal or to wait for another, to sign the document or to leave it blank. Without that first choice, a different life would have been lived. Everyone, at some point, stands at this crossroad. But an impulse must be obeyed or rejected for untold other events, decisions, and influences to begin to unwind. This is one of the mysteries of life, how so much depends on one brief moment. Young Jozef De Veuster (Damien was his religious name), growing up in a large family in rural Belgium, could never have imagined where and how his life would end. He was most likely going to follow the path of most other young men of his time and place—get married, have a family, go to Mass on Sunday, and take over the family farm. But an older brother was a priest, and two sisters were nuns, so a religious vocation was always a possibility. Damien eventually responded to the Lord's call and his own impulse toward religious life and entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, just as his brother did before him. But just as his brother, Father Pamphile, was slated to leave for Hawaiʻi as a missionary, he had to abandon his voyage for health reasons. And thus a decision had to be made. A pivot point had arrived. Was Damien to replace his brother and go to Hawaiʻi or not? Leave family forever or stay home? Be a foreign missionary or stay among his own? Brother Damien walked the long plank upward and boarded the ship. He arrived in Honolulu in March 1864 and was ordained a priest in May. He would live his entire priestly life in Hawaiʻi. He never left the Hawaiʻian islands again. Father Damien served in parishes for several years, learning to love his parishioners and being loved by them in return. Then, in 1873, the bishop asked for volunteers to go to an isolated leper colony on the island of Moloka'i. Father Damien volunteered. For the next sixteen years, he dedicated himself without reserve to this exiled community. He carried out more than a “ministry of accompaniment.” He accompanied, yes, but he also led, taught, inspired, and died to self. Father Damien's robust health and farm background made hard work natural. He enlarged a chapel and built a rectory, a road, a dock, and numerous cottages for the lepers. He showed the people how to farm, to raise cattle, and to sing (despite his diseased vocal cords), and to play instruments (despite his missing fingers). He was a vital force walking in a living graveyard. Life on an isolated leper colony was psychologically difficult for everyone, even the priest. But Father Damien brought faith and human dignity to a depressed population alienated from family and society. He treated the sick and the dying—and everyone was sick and dying—with the dignity of children of God. A proper cemetery was organized, funeral Masses were said with the accompaniment of a choir, and solemn processions bore everyone to their final resting place. This was a far cry from the inhuman chaos that preceded his arrival. Father Damien carried out all of his pastoral work with fatherly concern. He was there, after all, because he was a celibate priest. No married Protestant minister would have dared to place himself, his wife, and his children in such a dangerous situation, and none ever did. Like all good fathers, Father Damien was both joyful and demanding. He was open. He smiled. He cared. He scolded. His source of strength was not merely his solid foundation in human virtue but primarily his Catholic faith. Father Damien's love for the Mass, the Holy Eucharist, and the Virgin Mary deepened through the years. His greatest non-physical sufferings were the lack of a priest companion with whom he could converse and to whom he could confess his sins. Father Damien contracted leprosy after eleven years in the colony. He personally never wrote to his mother with the news. But when the old widow in Belgium learned of her son's illness, she died of a broken heart. Father Damien lived five years with leprosy, continuing his priestly work, and died in 1889 at the age of forty-nine. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 after two medical miracles were attributed to his divine intervention. Saint Damien of Moloka'i, intercede on behalf of all fathers to make them ever more generous in serving without reserve the families they head, making your life not only a source of inspiration, but also of emulation, to all who know of your heroic generosity.

Full Text of ReadingsDay of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children Lectionary: 317The Saint of the day is Saint Marianne CopeSaint Marianne Cope's Story Though leprosy scared off most people in 19th-century Hawaii, that disease sparked great generosity in the woman who came to be known as Mother Marianne of Molokai. Her courage helped tremendously to improve the lives of its victims in Hawaii, a territory annexed to the United States during her lifetime (1898). Mother Marianne's generosity and courage were celebrated at her May 14, 2005, beatification in Rome. She was a woman who spoke “the language of truth and love” to the world, said Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes. Cardinal Martins, who presided at the beatification Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, called her life “a wonderful work of divine grace.” Speaking of her special love for persons suffering from leprosy, he said, “She saw in them the suffering face of Jesus. Like the Good Samaritan, she became their mother.” On January 23, 1838, a daughter was born to Peter and Barbara Cope of Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany. The girl was named after her mother. Two years later the Cope family emigrated to the United States and settled in Utica, New York. Young Barbara worked in a factory until August 1862, when she went to the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. After profession in November of the next year, she began teaching at Assumption parish school. Marianne held the post of superior in several places and was twice the novice mistress of her congregation. A natural leader, three different times she was superior of St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, where she learned much that would be useful during her years in Hawaii. Elected provincial in 1877, Mother Marianne was unanimously re-elected in 1881. Two years later the Hawaiian government was searching for someone to run the Kakaako Receiving Station for people suspected of having leprosy. More than 50 religious communities in the United States and Canada were asked. When the request was put to the Syracuse sisters, 35 of them volunteered immediately. On October 22, 1883, Mother Marianne and six other sisters left for Hawaii where they took charge of the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu; on the island of Maui they also opened a hospital and a school for girls. In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for “unprotected women and girls” there. The Hawaiian government was quite hesitant to send women for this difficult assignment; they need not have worried about Mother Marianne! On Molokai she took charge of the home that Saint Damien de Veuster had established for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai by introducing cleanliness, pride, and fun to the colony. Bright scarves and pretty dresses for the women were part of her approach. Awarded the Royal Order of Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government and celebrated in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, Mother Marianne continued her work faithfully. Her sisters have attracted vocations among the Hawaiian people and still work on Molokai. Mother Marianne died on August 9, 1918, was beatified in 2005, and canonized seven years later. Reflection The government authorities were reluctant to allow Mother Marianne to be a mother on Molokai. Thirty years of dedication proved their fears unfounded. God grants gifts regardless of human shortsightedness and allows those gifts to flower for the sake of the kingdom. Click here for more on Saint Marianne Cope! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

January 23: Saint Marianne Cope, Virgin (U.S.A.)1838–1918Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: WhitePatron Saint of Hawaiʻi, lepers, outcasts, and sufferers of HIV/AIDSShe learned generosity at home and lived it her whole lifeToday's saint was a model female Franciscan who emulated Saint Francis' heroic example of personally caring for the outcasts of all outcasts—lepers. Saints are not born, of course; they are made. And Saint Marianne Cope came from a specific time, place, and family. She could have developed her abundant talents in many directions and used them for many purposes, but she re-directed what God loaned her to serve Him, His Church, and mankind. The Church, the Franciscans, and Hawaiʻi were the arenas in which this elite spiritual athlete exercised her skills. She was asked for much and gave even more. She became a great woman.Marianne Cope was born in Germany and was brought to New York state by her parents when she was still a baby. She was the oldest of ten children. Her parents lived, struggled, and worked for their kids. She saw generosity in action at home every day. She quit school after eighth grade to work in a factory to financially support her ailing father, her mother, and her many siblings. The challenges inherent to immigration, a new culture, illness, a large family, and poverty turned Marianne into a serious, mature woman when she was just a teen. Marianne fulfilled her long-delayed desire to enter religious life in 1862. Once professed, she moved quickly into leadership positions. She taught in German-speaking Catholic grade schools, became a school principal, and was elected by her fellow Franciscans to positions of governance in her Order. She opened the first hospitals in her region of Central New York, dedicating herself and her Order to the time-honored religious vocation of caring for the sick, regardless of their ability to pay for medical services. She was eventually elected Superior General. In her early forties, she was already a woman of wide experience: serious, administratively gifted, spiritually grounded, and of great human virtues. But this was all mere preparation. She now began the second great act of her drama. She went to Hawaiʻi.In 1883 she received a letter from the Bishop of Honolulu begging her, as Superior General, to send sisters to care for lepers in Hawaiʻi. He had written to various other religious Orders without success. Sister Marianne was elated. She responded like the prophet Isaiah, saying, “Here am I; send me!” (Is 6:8). She not only sent six sisters, she sent herself! She planned to one day return to New York but never did. For the next thirty-five years, Sister Marianne Cope became a type of recluse on remote Hawaiʻi, giving herself completely to the will of God.Sister Marianne and her fellow Franciscans managed one hospital, founded another, opened a home for the daughters of lepers, and, after a few years of proving themselves, opened a home for women and girls on the virtually inaccessible island of Molokai. Here her life coincided with the final months of Saint Damien de Veuster. Sister Marianne nursed the future saint in his dying days, assuring him that she and her sisters would continue his work among the lepers. After Father Damien died, the Franciscans, in addition to caring for the leprous girls, now cared for the boys too. A male Congregation eventually relieved them of this apostolate.Sister Marianne Cope lived the last thirty years of her life on Molokai until her death in 1918. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and canonized by him in 2012. She loved the Holy Eucharist, the Virgin Mary, and the Church. And because she loved God first, she loved those whom God loves, her brothers and sisters in Christ. She sacrificed for them, left home and family for them, put her health at risk for them, and became a saint through them.Saint Marianne Cope, help us to be as generous as you were in serving those on the margins, those who need our help, and those who have no one else to assist them. You were a model Franciscan in dying to self. Help us to likewise die so that we might likewise live.

Frank Murphy's wife Jere is filling in for Kathryn Frady. Frank and Jere are celebrating their wedding anniversary. Each year, they both try to be the first to say “Happy Flag Day” to the other.  Frank had a discount code from Amazon for $10 off an order that would be shipped to an Amazon Locker at Whole Foods. He tried to order HVAC filters but was told those were too large for a locker. Instead he bought two packages of bronzer.  Jere was away for three weeks. She brought two of their grandsons to Tennessee with her to stay for a week. When the two boys leave, their eldest grandson, Artie Rocket, will arrive for a two-week stay.  Frank thinks Jere didn't tell him about her plans for them to travel to Northern Virginia together when it's time to bring Artie home. There were several ideas proposed, including taking Artie to North Carolina while his dad was there on a business trip. Frank was happier about traveling when they decided to stay in a cheap hotel rather than with family. While the idea was being discussed, Jere went into the other room and made the hotel reservations.  Frank sent Jere a screenshot from The Deal Guy's latest video about ALDI. Frank thought they should get a fire safe for their documents and passports. Jere bought it as their anniversary gift to each other.  Jere reminisces about their “second honeymoon” on their tenth anniversary. At a silent auction at the National Press Club in DC, Frank's mom had purchased a stay at a condo resort on the island of Molokai. She offered it to Frank & Jere but then decided that she would like to go to Molokai with them. Frank's grandmother also decided to go, as did one of Frank's sisters and her husband and his mother. Frank got cheap airfare by purchasing unused seats on a charter flight.  There were complications with the return flight, resulting in an extended layover in Honolulu. Frank's grandmother said she wanted to see the hand of Fr. Damien De Veuster (now Saint Damien) which was on display in a series of Catholic parishes in Honolulu before it would be buried in Damien's original grave on Molokai. Frank used a payphone and a phone book to call at least five parishes in search of the hand. They ultimately saw the box that contained the hand on display at the cathedral.  This episode is sponsored by The Middleburg Barn at Fox Chase Farm. The Middleburg Barn is a perfect venue with rustic luxury for your wedding or special event. Located 40 miles outside D.C and 25 minutes from Dulles Airport. Visit https://www.themiddleburgbarn.com/ or call (540) 687-5255.  Support the Frank & Friends Show by purchasing some of our high-quality merchandise at https://frank-friends-show.creator-spring.com  Sign up for a 30-day trial of Audible Premium Plus and get a free premium selection that's yours to keep. Go to http://AudibleTrial.com/FrankAndFriendsShow  Find us online https://www.FrankAndFriendsShow.com/  Please subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://YouTube.com/FrankAndFriendsShow  and hit the bell for notifications.  Find the audio of the show on major podcast apps including Spotify, Apple, Google, iHeart, and Audible.  Find us on social media:  https://www.facebook.com/FrankAndFriendsShow  https://www.instagram.com/FrankAndFriendsShow  https://www.twitter.com/FrankNFriendsSh  Thanks!

Full Text of ReadingsTuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Lectionary: 280All podcast readings are produced by the USCCB and are from the Catholic Lectionary, based on the New American Bible and approved for use in the United States _______________________________________The Saint of the day is Saint Damien de Veuster of MolokaiWhen Joseph de Veuster was born in Tremelo, Belgium, in 1840, few people in Europe had any firsthand knowledge of leprosy, Hansen's disease. By the time he died at the age of 49, people all over the world knew about this disease because of him. They knew that human compassion could soften the ravages of this disease. Forced to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm, Joseph entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary six years later, taking the name of a fourth-century physician and martyr. When his brother Pamphile, a priest in the same congregation, fell ill and was unable to go to the Hawaiian Islands as assigned, Damien quickly volunteered in his place. In May 1864, two months after arriving in his new mission, Damien was ordained a priest in Honolulu and assigned to the island of Hawaii. In 1873, he went to the Hawaiian government's leper colony on the island of Moloka'i, set up seven years earlier. Part of a team of four chaplains taking that assignment for three months each year, Damien soon volunteered to remain permanently, caring for the people's physical, medical, and spiritual needs. In time, he became their most effective advocate to obtain promised government support. Soon the settlement had new houses and a new church, school and orphanage. Morale improved considerably. A few years later, he succeeded in getting the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by Mother Marianne Cope, to help staff this colony in Kalaupapa. Damien contracted Hansen's disease and died of its complications. As requested, he was buried in Kalaupapa, but in 1936 the Belgian government succeeded in having his body moved to Belgium. Part of Damien's body was returned to his beloved Hawaiian brothers and sisters after his beatification in 1995. When Hawaii became a state in 1959, it selected Damien as one of its two representatives in the Statuary Hall at the US Capitol. Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. Reflection Some people thought Damien was a hero for going to Moloka'i and others thought he was crazy. When a Protestant clergyman wrote that Damien was guilty of immoral behavior, Robert Louis Stevenson vigorously defended him in an “Open Letter to Dr. Hyde.” Love the saints? Check out these seven titles on Catholic saints! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Father talks about Saint Damien who served as a missionary in the leopard community in Molokai. He was sent from Europe to the Hawaiian Islands to serve the leopards of the area. Saint Damien received his ability to be holy and charitable from his contemplation of the Eucharist.

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - This weekend, Pope Francis will preside over the canonizations of ten people, the first canonizations to be held in more than two years. Among them are some relatively well-known figures, like Charles de Foucauld, Titus Brandsma, and Devasahayam Pillai. Also being canonized are four Catholic female leaders, all of whom founded religious orders which have grown worldwide and made a lasting impact on the Church. All ten of the holy men and women will be officially recognized as saints by the Catholic Church on May 15. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251190/who-are-the-4-women-being-canonized-as-saints-this-weekend More criminal acts targeting Catholic churches and pro-life advocates were reported Monday, after a Mother's Day weekend marked by unrest in multiple locations in the US, tied to anger over a possible Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade. In another incident, a Catholic church in northern Colorado known for its active pro-life ministry was vandalized with pro-abortion graffiti over the weekend. The offices of Oregon Right to Life in Keizer, Oregon, were set on fire late Sunday night, the organization announced Monday. The fire was small and as the office was vacant at the time, no one was hurt. The pastor a Catholic church in Katy, Texas, reported on May 9 that the tabernacle had been stolen from the church overnight, though it was not immediately clear if the theft was related to the pro-abortion protests. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251185/tabernacle-stolen-catholic-church-defaced-pregnancy-clinic-vandalized Today, the Church celebrates Saint Damien of Molokai, a Belgian priest who sacrificed his life and health to become a spiritual father to the victims of leprosy quarantined on a Hawaiian island. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-damien-of-molokai-456

Saints du jour 2022-05-10 Saint Jean d'Avila et Saint Damien de Molokaï by Radio Maria France

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Today's Saint with Mike Roberts!

Avez-vous déjà mangé un fromage québécois?

May 10: Saint Damien de Veuster of Moloka'i, Priest (U.S.A.)1840–1889Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: WhitePatron Saint of those suffering leprosyA joyful celibate brings hope and dignity to the walking deadIt is often just one decision that releases the bolt, opening the door to a new life. The first step down a new road of a thousand smaller steps begins with one choice—to board the ship or to stand on the dock, to accept the marriage proposal or to wait for another, to sign the document or to leave it blank. Without that first choice, a different life would have been lived. Everyone, at some point, stands at this crossroad. But an impulse must be obeyed or rejected for untold other events, decisions, and influences to begin to unwind. This is one of the mysteries of life, how so much depends on one brief moment.Young Jozef De Veuster (Damien was his religious name), growing up in a large family in rural Belgium, could never have imagined where and how his life would end. He was most likely going to follow the path of most other young men of his time and place—get married, have a family, go to Mass on Sunday, and take over the family farm. But an older brother was a priest, and two sisters were nuns, so a religious vocation was always a possibility. Damien eventually responded to the Lord's call and his own impulse toward religious life and entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, just as his brother did before him. But just as his brother, Father Pamphile, was slated to leave for Hawaiʻi as a missionary, he had to abandon his voyage for health reasons. And thus a decision had to be made. A pivot point had arrived. Was Damien to replace his brother and go to Hawaiʻi or not? Leave family forever or stay home? Be a foreign missionary or stay among his own? Brother Damien walked the long plank upward and boarded the ship. He arrived in Honolulu in March 1864 and was ordained a priest in May. He would live his entire priestly life in Hawaiʻi. He never left the Hawaiʻian islands again.Father Damien served in parishes for several years, learning to love his parishioners and being loved by them in return. Then, in 1873, the bishop asked for volunteers to go to an isolated leper colony on the island of Moloka'i. Father Damien volunteered. For the next sixteen years, he dedicated himself without reserve to this exiled community. He carried out more than a “ministry of accompaniment.” He accompanied, yes, but he also led, taught, inspired, and died to self. Father Damien's robust health and farm background made hard work natural. He enlarged a chapel and built a rectory, a road, a dock, and numerous cottages for the lepers. He showed the people how to farm, to raise cattle, and to sing (despite his diseased vocal cords), and to play instruments (despite his missing fingers).He was a vital force walking in a living graveyard. Life on an isolated leper colony was psychologically difficult for everyone, even the priest. But Father Damien brought faith and human dignity to a depressed population alienated from family and society. He treated the sick and the dying—and everyone was sick and dying—with the dignity of children of God. A proper cemetery was organized, funeral Masses were said with the accompaniment of a choir, and solemn processions bore everyone to their final resting place. This was a far cry from the inhuman chaos that preceded his arrival.Father Damien carried out all of his pastoral work with fatherly concern. He was there, after all, because he was a celibate priest. No married Protestant minister would have dared to place himself, his wife, and his children in such a dangerous situation, and none ever did. Like all good fathers, Father Damien was both joyful and demanding. He was open. He smiled. He cared. He scolded. His source of strength was not merely his solid foundation in human virtue but primarily his Catholic faith. Father Damien's love for the Mass, the Holy Eucharist, and the Virgin Mary deepened through the years. His greatest non-physical sufferings were the lack of a priest companion with whom he could converse and to whom he could confess his sins.Father Damien contracted leprosy after eleven years in the colony. He personally never wrote to his mother with the news. But when the old widow in Belgium learned of her son's illness, she died of a broken heart. Father Damien lived five years with leprosy, continuing his priestly work, and died in 1889 at the age of forty-nine. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 after two medical miracles were attributed to his divine intervention.Saint Damien of Moloka'i, intercede on behalf of all fathers to make them ever more generous in serving without reserve the families they head, making your life not only a source of inspiration, but also of emulation, to all who know of your heroic generosity.

Rencontre entre Soeur Monique Bilodeau et Jolianne Pageau. À 15 ans, Joliane Pageau est impliquée dans plusieurs comités et son engagement dans sa communauté est exemplaire. Elle rencontre Soeur Monique Bilodeau de la communauté de Notre-Dame-du-Perpétuel-Secours à Saint-Damien-de-Buckland, un modèle d'engagement et du don de soi. Issues de différents milieux, elles échangent sur leur manière de s'impliquer dans leur région.

Lesson 1 of Fr. Looney's newest book examines the Marian devotion of St. Damien of Molokai. He speaks with Fr. Ervin Caliente, a classmate of Fr. Looney's from seminary, who actually spent time assisting in the parish where St. Damien of Molokai served. Learn more about the need for holy priests and how St. Damien of Molokai is a shining example. Get your Marian socks from Sock Religious and celebrate the Month of May in style: https://www.sockreligious.com/?rfsn=5170834.c28065 Buy Fr. Edward's book How They Love Mary from Sophia Institute Press: https://www.sophiainstitute.com/products/item/how-they-love-mary

Saint Marianne Cope, Virgin1838–1918January 23—Optional Memorial USALiturgical Color: WhitePatron Saint of lepers, outcasts, those with HIV/AIDS, Hawaiʻi.An immigrant learns generosity in her large family, and practices it her whole lifeToday's saint was a model female Franciscan who emulated Saint Francis' heroic example of personally caring for those outcasts of all outcasts—lepers. Saints are not born, of course; they are made. And Saint Marianne Cope came from a specific time, place, and family. She could have developed her abundant talents in many directions and used them for many purposes, but she re-directed what God loaned her to serve and honor Him, His Church, and mankind. The Church, the Franciscans, and Hawaii were the arenas in which this elite spiritual athlete exercised her skills. She was asked for much and gave even more. She became a great, great woman.Marianne Cope was born in Germany and was brought to New York state by her parents when she was still a baby. She was the oldest of ten children. Her parents lived, struggled, and worked for their kids. She saw generosity in action at home everyday. She quit school after eighth grade to work in a factory to financially support her ailing father, her mother, and her many siblings. The challenges inherent to migration, a new culture, illness, a large family, and poverty turned Marianne into a serious, mature woman when she was just a teen. She fulfilled her long delayed desire to enter religious life in 1862. Once professed, she moved quickly into leadership positions. She taught in German-speaking Catholic grade schools, became a school principal, and was elected by her fellow Franciscans to positions of governance in her Order. She opened the first hospitals in her region of central New York, dedicating herself and her Order to the time-honored religious vocation of caring for the sick, regardless of their ability to pay for medical services. She was eventually elected Superior General. In her early forties she was already a woman of wide experience: serious, administratively gifted, spiritually grounded, and of great human virtues. But this was all preparation. She now began the second, great act of her drama. She went to Hawaii.In 1883 she received a letter from the Bishop of Honolulu begging her, as Superior General, to send sisters to care for lepers in Hawaii. He had written to various other religious Orders without success. Sister Marianne was elated. She responded like the prophet Isaiah, saying, “Here I am, send me” (Is 6:8). She not only sent six sisters, she sent herself! She planned to one day return to New York but never did. For the next thirty-five years, Sister Marianne Cope became a type of recluse on remote Hawaii, giving herself completely to the will of God.Sister Marianne and her fellow Franciscans managed one hospital, founded another, opened a home for the daughters of lepers, and, after a few years of proving themselves, opened a home for women and girls on the virtually inaccessible island of Molokai. Here her life coincided with the final months of Saint Damien de Veuster. Sister Marianne nursed the future saint in his dying days, assuring him that she and her sisters would continue his work among the lepers. After Father Damien died, the Franciscans, in addition to caring for the leprous girls, now cared for the boys as well. A male Congregation eventually relieved them of this apostolate. Sister Marianne Cope lived the last thirty years of her life on Molokai until her death in 1918. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and canonized by him in 2012. She loved the Holy Eucharist, the Virgin Mary, and the Church. And because she loved God first, she loved those whom God loves, her brothers and sisters in Christ. She sacrificed for them, left home and family for them, put her health at risk for them, and became a saint through them.Saint Marianne Cope, help us to be as generous as you were in serving those on the margins, those who need our help, and those who have no one else to assist them. You were a model Franciscan in dying to self. Help us to likewise die so that we might likewise live.

Cette première célébration de l'année est animée par la communauté dynamique, multiculturelle et familiale de la paroisse d'Epinay-sous-Sénart. Prédicateur : Fr. Yves Combeau, dominicain, conseiller éditorial du Jour du Seigneur Président : P. Jérémie Aka Alofa, curé

Le 14 août 2021, un séisme de magnitude 7,2 a frappé le sud-ouest d'Haïti, coûtant la vie à plus de 2 200 personnes et en blessant plus de 12 000. Cette catastrophe naturelle s'ajoute aux crises économiques et sécuritaires que connaît le pays, dans un contexte sanitaire déjà extrêmement précaire. Quel est l'état sanitaire d'Haïti aujourd'hui ? Quels sont les besoins de la population sinistrée ? Quel est l'impact de la criminalité sur l'activité des structures de santé ? Quelles sont les conséquences de la crise économique sur l'accès aux soins ? Amélie Baron, correspondante RFI en Haïti   Dr Jacqueline Gautier, directrice nationale de Santé de l'Hôpital Saint Damien, « Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs », dans la commune de Tabarre, en Haïti Pr Jean-Hugues Henrys, doyen de la Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé de l'Université Notre Dame d'Haïti de 2008 à 2017, actuel directeur de l'Équipe de Recherche sur l'Écologie des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales (EREMIT) à la Faculté des Sciences de la Santé de l'Université Quisqueya à Port-au-Prince Carla Melki, coordinatrice d'urgence de Médecins sans Frontières, à Port-au-Prince.

Recorded live at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on May 11, 2021, in Evansville, Indiana.

Fr. James preaches about the witness of St. Damien, who lived among the lepers and brought them the sacraments. He emphasizes that we need to see the spiritual dimension of each and every person.

Acts 16:11-15 • John 15:26-16:4a

Fr. Roger J. Landry Visitation Convent of the Sisters of Life, Manhattan Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter Memorial of Saint Damien of Molokai May 10, 2021 Acts 16:11-15, Ps 149, Jn 15:26-16:4   To listen to an audio recording of today's homily, please click below: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/catholicpreaching/5.10.21_Homily_1.mp3   The following points were attempted in the […] The post Testifying Together with the Holy Spirit, Sixth Monday of Easter, May 10, 2021 appeared first on Catholic Preaching.

These difficult times demand that we turn back to the beautiful mystery of who God is and what it means to be His cherished children. Listen in to the daily homilies from the Marian Fathers at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy. May they help you to live by God's will that you may play an active and effective role in a world whose wellbeing requires authentic Christian witness!Support our Ministries here. ★ Support this podcast ★

Full Text of ReadingsMonday of the Sixth Week of Easter Lectionary: 291All podcast readings are produced by the USCCB and are from the Catholic Lectionary, based on the New American Bible and approved for use in the United States _______________________________________The Saint of the day is Saint Damien de Veuster of MolokaiWhen Joseph de Veuster was born in Tremelo, Belgium, in 1840, few people in Europe had any firsthand knowledge of leprosy, Hansen’s disease. By the time he died at the age of 49, people all over the world knew about this disease because of him. They knew that human compassion could soften the ravages of this disease. Forced to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm, Joseph entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary six years later, taking the name of a fourth-century physician and martyr. When his brother Pamphile, a priest in the same congregation, fell ill and was unable to go to the Hawaiian Islands as assigned, Damien quickly volunteered in his place. In May 1864, two months after arriving in his new mission, Damien was ordained a priest in Honolulu and assigned to the island of Hawaii. In 1873, he went to the Hawaiian government’s leper colony on the island of Moloka’i, set up seven years earlier. Part of a team of four chaplains taking that assignment for three months each year, Damien soon volunteered to remain permanently, caring for the people’s physical, medical, and spiritual needs. In time, he became their most effective advocate to obtain promised government support. Soon the settlement had new houses and a new church, school and orphanage. Morale improved considerably. A few years later, he succeeded in getting the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by Mother Marianne Cope, to help staff this colony in Kalaupapa. Damien contracted Hansen’s disease and died of its complications. As requested, he was buried in Kalaupapa, but in 1936 the Belgian government succeeded in having his body moved to Belgium. Part of Damien’s body was returned to his beloved Hawaiian brothers and sisters after his beatification in 1995. When Hawaii became a state in 1959, it selected Damien as one of its two representatives in the Statuary Hall at the US Capitol. Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. Reflection Some people thought Damien was a hero for going to Moloka’i and others thought he was crazy. When a Protestant clergyman wrote that Damien was guilty of immoral behavior, Robert Louis Stevenson vigorously defended him in an “Open Letter to Dr. Hyde.” Saint of the Day Copyright Franciscan Media

Saint Damien of Molokai was a missionary to the lepers of Hawaii. After serving them for 16 years, he contracted the disease himself and died. Pope Benedict XVI canonized Damien on October 11, 2009. All show notes at Father Kubicki – Prayer Reflections January 14, 2021 - This podcast produced by Relevant Radio

In this episode of Dead Friend, I talk to my seminarian buddy Nick Vance about the life of sacrificial virtue lived by Saint Damien of Molokai.Follow me on instagram: deadfriendsaintsemail: deadfriendsaints@gmail.comFacebook: facebook.com/deadfriendsaintsPray for Nick in his discernment!Dead Friends, pray for us!

Native Hawaiian Leader Responds to AOC attack on Saint Damien on the Jason Jones ShowThe Jason Jones Show, Subscribe, gives us 5 stars and write a review! Thank you.Follow Jason  on twitter @JasonJonesShow and instagram @TGCwithJasonand on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.com AOC attack on St. Damien: https://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/alecandira-ocasio-cortez-decries-statue-hawaii/68233Donate to support Hawaii’s elderly: https://hawaiicatholictv.com/kupunaneedsproject/Native Hawaiian men honor Saint Damien: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGhE7uTgDCo&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0bfxxfGKsMtkAOD2qBLYqXCJ3gxCyV8m8QeddJhS2bLXDKPp0Rt0gJGDk

On today's show: Trump is undermining the legitimacy of our election because he doesn't care about America; Major League Baseball is in a heap of trouble; AOC doesn't know who Saint Damien is. All that and more.

Tommy talks about how to cope with anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic and how to best work with individuals who identify as transgender, introduces listeners to Saint Damien of Molokai, and answers listener questions about what to do when a child comes out as bisexual, how to help a family member with Bipolar Disorder who doesn't want help, and how to cope with anxiety related to the death of loved ones.

CANTIQUE de St François Loué sois tu, mon Seigneur, avec toutes tes créatures, spécialement messire frère Soleil, par qui tu nous donnes le jour, la lumière : il est beau, rayonnant d'une grande splendeur, et de toi, le Très Haut, il nous offre le symbole. Loué sois tu, mon Seigneur, pour sœur Lune et les étoiles : dans le ciel tu les as formées, claires, précieuses et belles. Loué sois tu, mon Seigneur, pour frère Vent, et pour l'air et pour les nuages, pour l'azur calme et tous les temps : grâce à eux tu maintiens en vie toutes les créatures. Loué sois tu, mon Seigneur, pour sœur Eau qui est très utile et très humble précieuse et chaste. Loué sois tu, mon Seigneur, pour frère Feu par qui tu éclaires la nuit : il est beau et joyeux, indomptable et fort. Loué sois tu, mon Seigneur, pour sœur notre mère la Terre, qui nous porte et nous nourrit, qui produit la diversité des fruits, avec les fleurs diaprées et les herbes. Loué sois tu, mon Seigneur, pour ceux qui pardonnent par amour pour toi  ; qui supportent épreuves et maladies : Heureux s'ils conservent la paix, car par toi, le Très Haut, ils seront couronnés. Loué sois tu, mon Seigneur, pour notre sœur la Mort corporelle, à qui nul homme vivant ne peut échapper. Un hymne à la vie Ce chant qui célèbre la vie et la création, François d’Assise le porte en lui depuis sa conversion. On en trouve des bribes sans ses propos habituels, signe qu’il l’aura fredonné toute sa vie. Mais c’est au cours d’une épreuve profonde que ce poème jaillit dans la forme que nous connaissons. François n’avait plus que deux ans à vivre. Il n’avait pas encore 45 ans mais était reclus de fatigues et de souffrances. Il venait de recevoir les stigmates et souffrait d’une infection oculaire contractée en Orient qui le rendait presque aveugle. Il souffrait tant qu’il ne supportait plus la lumière du jour. A Saint-Damien où il se réfugia alors, Claire l’installa dans une petite maison et le soigna. Durant 50 jours, François demeura dans l’obscurité et, à bout de souffrances  et de découragement, fit une expérience spirituelle d’une telle force que les mots jaillirent d’eux-mêmes de sa bouche pour donner ce Cantique de louange . Une fraternité cosmique François ne fait pas alors l’expérience d’une conquête de soi, comme on dirait aujourd’hui. Bien au contraire. Il traduit avec force que c’est dans un élan irrépressible de  dé-sappropriation  que l’on peut se tourner vers Dieu, le louer pour ses créatures et fraterniser avec elles.  François ne connaît plus le soleil, le vent, l’eau, le feu, mais « frère Soleil », « frère Vent », « sœur Eau », « frère Feu ». Ce n’est pas pour lui une simple allégorie mais bien des sentiments fraternels qu’il éprouve pour la création divine. Cette fraternité cosmique se rattache à la perception vive de la paternité universelle de Dieu. « C’est au sens théologique le plus fort du mot, et pas seulement en vertu d’une gentille poésie, que François parlait des oiseaux, du feu, du soleil…de la mort même, comme de ses frères et de ses sœurs » (P. Congar) Le Cantique des Créatures n’est donc pas un poème sentimental. Il découle de l’émotion dont vibre François devant la valeur de toute vie, en tant que manifestation de l’amour créateur. Entre lui et la création s’établit un lien profond, fait d’amitié, de respect et de vénération. Cet amour s’étend à toute chose, à tout être. Thomas de Celano, son biographe écrivait : «Il appelait frères et sœurs tous les êtres ; et d’une manière extraordinaire et inconnue aux autres, il savait, grâce à la perspicacité de son cœur, pénétrer jusqu’au plus intime de chaque créature». Une vraie fraternité avec toute la Création François fraternise donc avec le cosmos. Mais aussi avec les grandes profondeurs de l’âme humaine. Car le soleil, vent, l’eau, le feu, la terre, ne sont pas simplement des réalités de la nature, mais aussi des symboles des forces qui travaillent notre âme. Et c’est avec ces forces, parfois destructrices, que fraternise aussi François. Avec lui, ni l’eau, ni le vent, ni le feu, ni la terre, ni la mort même ne font peur. Et c’est réconcilié avec ces forces que François s’ouvre à l’amour créateur, se reconnaissant lui-même, parmi toutes les autres créatures, près d’elles, avec elles, dépendant de Dieu. Ce sentiment de dépendance, vécu dans un immense tendresse sereine pour toute chose créée, libère François de tout désir de supériorité et de puissance. Il découvre ainsi le secret d’une pleine humanité et de la vraie fraternité. «Le monde n’est plus à posséder, il est la réalité splendide dans laquelle l’homme est admis à être vivant et à coopérer à la création avec tout ce qui vit» (Eloi Leclerc). C’est donc à la découverte émerveillée de ce monde que nous invite la fraternité universelle de François.  Pour aller plus loin, le livre d'un spécialiste de saint François :  « le Cantique de frère Soleil» d’Éloi Leclerc aux éditions franciscainesSophie de Villeneuve, 1ère publication, le 26 novembre 2014. Saint François d’Assise, le premier écologiste    Pourquoi saint François d’Assise aimait-il tant la nature et les animaux  ? Quel est le lien entre la pauvreté franciscaine et le souci de la Création  ? Le P. Dominique Lang, assomptionniste et journaliste à Pèlerin, rappelle l’histoire de François et l’influence de sa spiritualité sur les préoccupations du pape actuel, mais aussi de ses prédécesseurs...[Saint François prêchant aux oiseaux, par Giotto. Basilique Saint-François d’Assise.]Sophie de Villeneuve : Pourquoi dit-on parfois que saint François d’Assise est le premier saint écologiste ? D. L. : C’est Jean-Paul II qui le premier a eu cette audace. Archevêque de Cracovie dans les années difficiles où Solidarnosc s’opposait au régime communiste polonais, Karol Wojtyla était très proche d’une branche de la famille franciscaine, les capucins, qui étaient très engagés dans les combats de l’époque, aux côtés de Solidarnosc. Avec les droits sociaux, une de leurs préoccupations portait sur l’état des paysages polonais, sur l’état de la Vistule, complètement polluée par l’industrie polonaise, sur l’état dans lequel le régime communiste laissait l’environnement de leur pays. Quand Karol Wojtyla est devenu pape, en 1978, il est allé faire un pèlerinage à Assise. Six mois plus tard, il a publié une bulle dans laquelle il déclarait François d’Assise patron des écologistes. On connaît bien sûr le fameux cantique de François, dans lequel il salue le soleil, la terre, les animaux... Le lien à la nature fait-il partie intégrante de sa spiritualité ? D. L. : Il serait évidemment anachronique de dire que François était « écologiste », puisque ce mot date du XIXe siècle. Mais je crois que sa conversion personnelle l’a fait sortir du milieu de ses parents, du monde marchand, de la « petite bourgeoisie » de sa petite ville italienne. Quand il prend conscience du non-sens dans lequel il vit, manger, boire, consommer sans savoir où il va, il décide de reprendre en main sa foi chrétienne et d’être cohérent. Alors qu’il vient de quitter ses habits de bourgeois, la première rencontre qu’il fait sur sa route est celle d’un lépreux. Il a une hésitation : va-t-il oser le prendre dans ses bras ? Il le fait, et se sent ainsi libéré de toute peur. Au fur et à mesure qu’il s’engage dans une pauvreté radicale, assumée, il découvre toute une part de la société oubliée : les pauvres, les lépreux, les enfants, dont il faut prendre soin. Et que dans cette part oubliée, il y a aussi le reste de la Création, que l’on utilise, que l’on exploite, comme les bêtes de somme qui sont aussi des créatures de Dieu. On voit alors François commencer à prêcher aux oiseaux, aux poissons, au loup de Gubbio, etc. Cela nous paraît aujourd’hui romantique, mais c’était un acte prophétique. Prêcher à la terre entière, et non seulement aux hommes, c’est être écologiste ? D. L. : La foi chrétienne dit que Dieu ne vient pas simplement sauver l’humanité, mais toute sa Création. Et c’est François d’Assise qui nous l’a rappelé. Le pape actuel a pris le nom de François d’Assise. Cela indique-t-il un programme ? D. L. : Oui. Le pape François raconte lui-même que pendant le conclave, alors que le dépouillement des votes commençait à indiquer que Jorge Bergoglio serait élu, le cardinal assis à sa droite, un franciscain brésilien, lui tapota le coude et lui dit : « N’oublie pas les pauvres ». Ce qui lui a donné l’idée de prendre le nom de François. Mais oublier les pauvres et oublier la Création, est-ce la même chose ? D. L. : Oui, car avant François, les papes ont fait tout un travail préparatoire, notamment Benoît XVI avec l’encyclique Caritas in veritate sur les questions sociales. Benoît XVI dit déjà que l’on ne peut pas prendre soin des pauvres si l’on ne prend pas soin de la Création, et qu’inversement on ne peut pas s’occuper de la nature si l’on ne prend pas soin des plus pauvres. Le « tout est lié » de François était déjà annoncé. Je pense que le François a été appelé à devenir pape pour mettre en œuvre un certain nombre d’intuitions qui s’accumulaient mais que l’on n’arrivait pas à traduire pastoralement. Aujourd’hui, ce pape nous met au travail. L’encyclique Laudato Si’ nous rappelle aussi la spiritualité franciscaine. D. L. : Bien sûr, et très fortement. Le titre reprend le début du cantique aux créatures de François. Quand François d’Assise dit ce cantique, il est pratiquement à la fin de sa vie. Il est malade, il voit la mort arriver. Il demande à ses frères de le sortir de la cabane où il était enfermé parce que l’état de ses yeux lui rendait la lumière insupportable. Il proclame alors ce poème qui est une grande annonce de réconciliation avec la Création. Peut-on dire que dans ce chant, il divinise la Création ? D. L. : Il ne divinise pas, il fraternise. Il appelle frères et sœurs des créatures que l’on considérait jusque-là comme négligeables. Ce sont des créatures, nous dit-il, qui ont la même vie que nous, avec une autre dignité, une autre place, une autre mission, mais qui sont appelées au salut comme le reste de la Création. Certains se sont scandalisés que l’on présente au pape François, au cours du Synode sur l’Amazonie, des statuettes incas représentant la Terre-Mère. Exposées à Rome, elles ont été volées et jetées dans le Tibre, et l’on a accusé le pape de réveiller les idoles. Que penser de telles polémiques ? D. L. : Je pense que c’est typique des réseaux sociaux modernes, qui montent en épingle des choses sans importance. Ces objets ont été apportés au début du synode par les représentants indigènes d’Amérique du Sud, qui les ont présentés comme des éléments de leur culture, et les ont accompagnés de portraits d’hommes et de femmes morts pour défendre leur terre, des jésuites, des chrétiens martyrs de ce combat-là. On a chanté et prié autour de ces objets, sans le moindre signe de syncrétisme religieux, et sans que soit évoqué le fait que ces statuettes représentaient une divinité. Bien sûr, elles proviennent du fonds culturel indigènes et ressemblent à la Pachamama des Incas, mais elles représentent des femmes enceintes, à genoux. Et l’on a posé dans les jardins du Vatican deux de ces statuettes, face à face, pour évoquer la Visitation. Du coup, certains milieux conservateurs, voulant montrer que le pape François est un idolâtre trop à gauche qui veut changer la foi, ont saisi l’opportunité et crié au scandale. Être écologiste, ce n’est pas faire du syncrétisme… D. L. : Pas du tout. Il y a bien sûr toutes sortes d’écologies. Mais si l’on est chrétien et écologiste, l’écologie ne remplace pas la foi chrétienne. Elle vient l’enrichir, elle rappelle certains fondamentaux de l’existence biologique, relationnelle, sociale, environnementale, culturelle… François insiste beaucoup sur toutes les dimensions d’une écologie qui n’est pas seulement humaine ou environnementale, mais qui nous oblige à vivre autrement dans notre maison commune. Laquelle n’est pas faite que d’hommes et de femmes, que de créatures animales ou végétales, mais d’un ensemble de relations qui nous permettent d’être pleinement des êtres humains. Humains qui avons reçu le salut par le Christ, nous avons une mission particulière : être les gardiens de toute cette Création. Une des premières homélies du pape François, le jour de la saint Joseph le 19 mars, saluait Joseph comme le gardien de Marie et le gardien de la Création. Pour un chrétien, que veut dire vivre de façon écologique ? D. L. : Il y a beaucoup de manières de faire, suivant nos sensibilités, nos générations. On ne s’y engage pas de la même façon si l’on a 25 ou 60 ans. On n’a pas le même rapport à la consommation, à la vie politique ou économique. Il n’est donc pas étonnant qu’il y ait des écologies différentes. Je dirais que nous avons tous une responsabilité dans le renouveau des générations qui nous suivent. Or très souvent dans les collectifs, les générations qui sont en responsabilité ont un peu peur des phénomènes prophétiques ou de contestation qui arrivent, et passent leur temps à étouffer le renouveau qui se produit à la base. Mais il y a là un processus, et le pape François insiste beaucoup sur cette notion de processus, dans lequel chaque génération pourrait reconnaître qu’elle a essayé, et comprenne que la génération suivante puisse essayer autrement, tout en la soutenant. Propos recueillis par Sophie de Villeneuve, dans l’émission Mille questions à la foi sur Radio Notre-Dame. (Source La  Croix)  

In Episode 97, the life, death, and travels of Father Damien are the central theme. We'll look at his history, faith, travels to Hawaii and the aftermath of his death, as well as his sainthood. Virtual tour: https://www.visitleuven.be/en/saint-anthonys-chapel

13 January 2019 The Baptism of the Lord Luke 3:15-16, 21-22 + Homily 18 Minutes 6 Seconds Link to the Readings http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011319.cfm (New American Bible, Revised Edition) (from the parish bulletin)    The foundational documents of our nation were influenced by Catholic political philosophers such as Aquinas, Suárez, Báñez, Gregory of Valencia and Saint Robert Bellarmine, who wrote before theorists like Hobbes and Rousseau. This contradicts a popular impression that democracy was the invention of the Protestant Reformation. Luther and Calvin considered popular assemblies highly suspect. The concept of the Divine Right of Kings, which was a prelude to what we call “statism” and “big government,” was systematized by the Protestant counselor to King James I of England, Robert Filmer.    For all his vague Deism, Thomas Jefferson might have acknowledged those Catholic sources, if obliquely, in his eloquent phrases. The Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of the free exercise of religion and Article VI’s prohibition of religious tests for public office were developments rooted in the Thomistic outlines of human rights and dignity declared in the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Arbraoth.    This was lost on some senators who have violated Constitutional guarantees by subjecting judicial nominees to religious tests. One senator complained to a Catholic nominee for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals that “the dogma lives loudly within you.” Two other senators said that the President’s nominee for a federal district court in Nebraska was unsuitable because his membership in the Knights of Columbus committed him to “a number of extreme positions.” Members of their political party consider opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion “extreme.” This would characterize the Pope as an extremist, but at least he is not a judicial nominee.    In the Statuary Hall of our nation’s Capitol are sculptures portraying heroes who represent the best of the history and culture of each state. They include Saint Junípero Serra of California, Saint Damien de Veuster of Hawaii, Declaration of Independence signer Charles Carroll of Maryland, Father Eusebio Kino of Arizona, General James Shields of Illinois, Chief Justice Edward Douglass White of Louisiana, Father Jacques Marquette of Wisconsin, Patrick McCarran of Nevada, Dennis Chavez of New Mexico, John Burke of North Dakota, John McLoughlin of Oregon, Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart Pariseau of Washington, and John Edward Kenna of West Virginia, all of whom were Catholic. These canonized saints, statesmen, soldiers, jurists and pioneers would be extremists unworthy of public office in the estimation of some current senators for whom subscription to natural law and obedience to the Ten Commandments are violations of what they fantasize as the norm of moral being.    The coruscating illiteracy of such senators burlesques reason. At every performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, audiences wait for the fifth scene of the second act, when the haunting statue of the Commendatore comes alive and knocks on the door to the sound of trombones. Would that all those statues of some of our nation’s greatest figures might come down from their pedestals and challenge the vacant minds of those inquisitorial senators to explain what constitutes extremism.

In the spirit of Saint Damien of Molokai, Tom Booth and his friends from Hawaii composed an energizing call to service and ministry. Saint Damien's love for Christ was so great that he always said "Yes," even at the risk of contracting the disease of the people he loved and served.

Saint Damien de Veuster, connu sous le nom de père Damien, né Jozef de Veuster le 3 janvier 1840 à Tremelo en Belgique et mort le 15 avril 1889 à Molokai à Hawaï, est un missionnaire catholique membre de la congrégation des Sacrés-Cœurs de Jésus et de Marie. Il est connu pour son travail de missionnaire dans le Pacifique, spécialement auprès des lépreux relégués par les gouvernements locaux sur l'île de Molokai à Hawaï. Durant son ministère, il contracta lui-même la lèpre en 1884. S'identifiant totalement avec ses fidèles il accepta de ne plus quitter Molokai et y poursuivit son travail pastoral et missionnaire jusqu'à sa mort en 1889. Pour cette raison, il est considéré par l'Église catholique comme un « martyr de la charité ». Pour les catholiques, saint Damien est le patron spirituel des lépreux. Il a été fêté localement par les Hawaïens le 15 avril. L'Église catholique le célèbre le 10 mai, date de son arrivée sur l'île de Molokai1. Il a été canonisé le 11 octobre 2009 par le pape Benoît XVI en la basilique de Rome. Lu par : Edition Rassemblement à Son Image

Saint Damien of Molokai, Saint Teresa of Calcutta