Week Ending 2/1/03
From two wonderful treasures we are blessed to have, the Ursuline manual of 1854, edited by the Very Rev. John Power, D.D., and St. Joseph’s Missal, here are this week’s Forgotten Saints of the Day!
Names in blue denote favored with a vision of the Blessed Virgin; names in red denote martyrdom.
Tuesday, January 28 —
St. Peter Nolasco, confessor.
Born into a wealthy family in France, St. Peter, along with St. Raymond of Penafort and King James I of Aragon, was blessed with a vision of the Virgin Mary. As a result of Her instructions, St. Peter founded the Order of Our Lady of Mercy for the Redemption of Captives.
The order was to save Christians who were captured by moslems and forced to be slaves. According to the rules of the order, if there was no funding to free the captives, the religious were bound by an oath to take the place of the Christian slave.
St. Peter, who spent time as a captive, died in 1256 and is one of the great Saints who helped Mary to defeat the islamic terrorism Christians faced in his time. In this day and age, when we again face the scourge of islam, His legacy should not be forgotten but, instead, be a model to all.
Thursday, January 30 —
St. Martina, virgin and martyr.
Known as a “noble Roman virgin,” St. Martina was martyred during the persecution of Alexander Severus during the pontificate of Pope Urban I in the year 228 A.D.
Today, the most famous Martina, the tennis pro, leaves much to be desired in comparison to the virtues of her namesake, St. Martina.
© 2003 Agnus Dei Presents!
