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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Maryland Catholic Women's Conference
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200209
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200210
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165914Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165914Z
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SUMMARY:Septuagesima Sunday–V (II) - St. Cyril of Alexandria\, Bishop\, Confessor\, Doctor
DESCRIPTION:Cyril was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the later 4th and 5th centuries. He was a central figure in the First Council of Ephesus in 431\, which led to the deposition of Nestorius as Patriarch of Constantinople.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/septuagesima-sunday-v-ii-st-cyril-of-alexandria-bishop-confessor-doctor/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200208
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200209
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165914Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165914Z
UID:1488-1581120000-1581206399@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. John of Matha\, Confessor–W (III)
DESCRIPTION:THE life of ST. JOHN OF MATHA was one long course of self-sacrifice for the glory of God and the good of his neighbor. As a child\, his chief delight was serving the poor; and he often told them he had come into the world for no other end but to wash their feet. He studied at Paris with such distinction that his professors advised him to become a priest\, in order that his talents might render greater service to others; and\, for this end\, John gladly sacrificed his high rank and other worldly advantages. At his first Mass an angel appeared\, clad in white\, with a red and blue cross on his breast\, and his hands reposing on the heads of a Christian and a Moorish captive. To ascertain what this signified\, John repaired to St. Felix of Valois\, a holy hermit living near Meaux\, under whose direction he led a life of extreme penance. The angel again appeared\, and they then set out for Rome\, to learn the will of God from the lips of the Sovereign Pontiff\, who told them to devote themselves to the redemption of captives. For this purpose they founded the Order of the Holy Trinity. The religious fasted every day\, and gathering alms throughout Europe took them to Barbary\, to redeem the Christian slaves. They devoted themselves also to the sick and prisoners in all countries. The charity of St. John in devoting his life to the redemption of captives was visibly blessed by God. On his second return from Tunis he brought back one hundred and twenty liberated slaves. But the Moors attacked him at sea\, over- i powered his vessel\, and doomed it to destruction\, with all on board\, by taking away the rudder and sails\, and leaving it to the mercy of the winds. St. John tied his cloak to the mast\, and prayed\, saying\, “Let God arise\, and let His enemies be scattered. O Lord\, Thou wilt save the humble\, and wilt bring down the eyes of the proud.” Suddenly the wind filled the small sail\, and\, without guidance\, carried the ship safely in a few days to Ostia\, the port of Rome\, three hundred leagues from Tunis. Worn out by his heroic labors\, John died in 1213\, at the age of fifty-three.\nReflection.—Let us never forget that our blessed Lord\, bade us love our neighbor not only as ourselves\, but as He loved us\, Who afterwards sacrificed Himself for us.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-john-of-matha-confessor-w-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200207
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200208
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165913Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165913Z
UID:1487-1581033600-1581119999@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:First Friday - St. Romuald\, Abbot–W (III)
DESCRIPTION:ROMUALD (c. 951 – traditionally 19 June\, c. 1025/27) was the founder of the Camaldolese order and a major figure in the eleventh-century “Renaissance of eremitical asceticism.” IN 976\, Sergius\, a nobleman of Ravenna\, quarrelled with a relative about an estate\, and slew him in a duel. His son Romuald\, horrified at his father’s crime\, entered the Benedictine monastery at Classe\, to do a forty days’ penance for him. This penance ended in his own vocation to religion. After three years at Classe\, Romuald went to live as a hermit near Venice\, where he was joined by Peter Urseolus\, Duke of Venice\, and together they led a most austere life in the midst of assaults from the evil spirits. St. Romuald founded many monasteries\, the chief of which was that at Camaldoli\, a wild desert place\, where he built a church\, which he surrounded with a number of separate cells for the solitaries who lived under his rule. His disciples were hence called Camaldolese. He is said to have seen here a vision of a mystic ladder\, and his white-clothed monks ascending by it to heaven. Among his first disciples were Sts. Adalbert and Boniface\, apostles of Russia\, and Sts. John and Benedict of Poland\, martyrs for the faith. He was an intimate friend of the Emperor St. Henry\, and was reverenced and consulted by many great men of his time. He once passed seven years in solitude and complete silence. In his youth St. Romuald was much troubled by temptations of the flesh. To escape them he had recourse to hunting\, and in the woods first conceived his love for solitude. His father’s sin\, as we have seen\, first prompted him to undertake a forty days’ penance in the monastery\, which he forthwith made his home. Some bad example of his fellow monks induced him to leave them and adopt the solitary mode of life. The penance of Urseolus\, who had obtained his power wrongfully\, brought him his first disciple; the temptations of the devil compelled him to his severe life; and finally the persecutions of others were the occasion of his settlement at Camaldoli\, and the foundation of his Order. He died\, as he had foretold twenty years before\, alone\, in his monastery of Val Castro\, on the 19th of June\, 1027.\nReflection.—St. Romuald’s life teaches us that\, if we only follow the impulse of the Holy Spirit\, we shall easily find good everywhere\, even on the most unlikely occasions. Our own sins\, the sins of others\, their ill will against us\, or our own mistakes and misfortunes\, are equally capable of leading us\, with softened hearts\, to the feet of God’s mercy and love.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/first-friday-st-romuald-abbot-w-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200206
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200207
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165913Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165913Z
UID:1486-1580947200-1581033599@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. Titus\, Bishop\, Confessor–W (III) - St. Dorothy\, Virgin\, Martyr–R (Comm.)
DESCRIPTION:Titus was an early Christian missionary and Church leader\, a companion and disciple of Paul the Apostle\, mentioned in several of the Pauline epistles including the Epistle to Titus. He is believed to be a Gentile converted to Christianity by Paul and\, according to tradition\, was consecrated by him as Bishop of the Island of Crete. Titus brought a fundraising letter from Paul to Corinth\, to collect for the poor in Jerusalem. Later\, on Crete\, Titus appointed presbyters (elders) in every city and remained there into his old age\, dying in the city of Candia (modern Heraklion)
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-titus-bishop-confessor-w-iii-st-dorothy-virgin-martyr-r-comm/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200205
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200206
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165913Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165913Z
UID:1485-1580860800-1580947199@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. Agatha\, Virgin\, Martyr–R (III)
DESCRIPTION:ST. AGATHA was born in Sicily\, of rich and noble parents—a child of benediction from the first\, for she was promised to her parents before her birth\, and consecrated from her earliest infancy to God. In the midst of dangers and temptations she served Christ in purity of body and soul\, and she died for the love of chastity. Quintanus\, who governed Sicily under the Emperor Decius\, had heard the rumor of her beauty and wealth\, and he made the laws against the Christians a pretext for summoning her from Palermo to Catania\, where he was at the time. “O Jesus Christ!” she cried\, as she set out on this dreaded journey\, “all that I am is Thine; preserve me against the tyrant.” And Our Lord did indeed preserve one who had given herself so utterly to Him. He kept her pure and undefiled while she was imprisoned for a whole month under charge of an evil woman. He gave her strength to reply to the offer of her life and safety\, if she would but consent to sin\, “Christ alone is my life and my salvation.” When Quintanus turned from passion to cruelty\, and cut off her breasts\, Our Lord sent the Prince of His apostles to heal her. And when\, after she had been rolled naked upon potsherds\, she asked that her torments might be ended\, her Spouse heard her prayer and took her to Himself. St. Agatha gave herself without reserve to Jesus Christ; she followed Him in virginal purity\, and then looked to Him for protection. And down to this day Christ has shown His tender regard for the very body of St. Agatha. Again and again\, during the eruptions of Mount Etna\, the people of Catania have exposed her veil for public veneration\, and found safety by this means; and in modern times\, on opening the tomb in which her body lies waiting for the resurrection\, they beheld the skin still entire\, and felt the sweet fragrance which issued from this temple of the Holy Ghost.\nReflection.—Purity is a gift of God: we can gain it and preserve it only by care and diligence in avoiding all that may prove an incentive to sin.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-agatha-virgin-martyr-r-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200204
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200205
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165912Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165912Z
UID:1484-1580774400-1580860799@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. Andrew Corsini\, Bishop\, Confessor–W (III)
DESCRIPTION:ANDREW CORSINI was born in Florence on November 30\, 1302 into the noble and illustrious Corsini house\, one of twelve. He was once wild and dissolute before he heard the call from the Lord and decided to consecrate himself to Him. He joined the Carmelites in Florence in 1318 for his novitiate and began a life of great mortification. His ordination to the priesthood was celebrated in 1328. Corsini’s parents prepared music and a banquet for his ordination but he retreated to a little convent on the town’s outskirts to celebrate his first Mass in relative peace. Corsini began preaching in Florence before he was sent for his studies in both Paris and Avignon. He resided in Avignon with his cousin Cardinal Pietro Corsini. He returned to Florence in 1332 and was chosen as the prior for his convent. Upon his return he became known as the “Apostle of Florence” and he was regarded as a prophet and a wonderworker. In 1348 as the Black Plague was prevalent in the area he was appointed as the order’s Tuscan Provincial. On 13 October 1349 a papal bull from Pope Clement VI appointed him as the Bishop of Fiesole and he hid himself upon learning of this appointment. He redoubled his austerities as a bishop (he wore a hair shirt and iron girdle as well as sleeping on a bed of vine-branches) and was lavish in his care of the poor; he was sought after as a peacemaker and this is most notable in Bologna where Pope Urban V sent him as a papal legate to heal the breach between the nobles and the people. The bishop kept six servants on hand and he appointed two vicars to aid him in governing his diocese. He also enforced discipline amongst the diocesan priests. Corsini tried to avoid discourse with women as much as possible and he kept a list of names of poor people so he knew who to visit and provide goods to in order to alleviate their suffering. On March 28\, 1350 he issued an edict that regulated revenue to the poor “for the love of God” as he often said. It was reported that in 1373 as he celebrated Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve\, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and told him he would leave this world on the Three Kings’ feast. It came to pass as the vision had told him for he fell ill on Christmas night and he died as foretold. His remains were moved to Florence in the evening of February 2\, 1373 and his remains were later found to be incorrupt upon exhumation in 1385. The location of his burial was damaged in 1771 but his remains were left undisturbed. Devotion to the late bishop became so profound after his death. The longstanding and popular devotion to Corsini led to Pope Eugene IV confirming his beatification on April 21\, 1440 and Pope Urban VIII canonizing him as a saint on April 22\, 1629.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-andrew-corsini-bishop-confessor-w-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200203
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200204
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165912Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165912Z
UID:1483-1580688000-1580774399@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:Ferial–G (IV) - St. Blaise\, Bishop\, Martyr–R (Comm.)\, (Blessing of throats)
DESCRIPTION:ST. BLASE devoted the earlier years of his life to the study of philosophy\, and afterwards became a physician. In the practice of his profession he saw so much of the miseries of life and the hollowness of worldly pleasures\, that he resolved to spend the rest of his days in the service of God\, and from being a healer of bodily ailments to be- come a physician of souls. The Bishop of Sebaste\, in Armenia\, having died\, our Saint\, much to the gratification of the inhabitants of that city\, was appointed to succeed him. St. Blase at once began to instruct his people as much by his example as by his words\, and the great virtues and sanctity of this servant of God were attested by many miracles. From all parts the people came flocking to him for the cure of bodily and spiritual ills. Agricolaus\, Governor of Cappadocia and the Lesser Armenia\, having begun a persecution by order of the Emperor Licinius\, our Saint was seized and hurried off to prison. While on his way there\, a distracted mother\, whose only child was dying of a throat disease\, threw herself at the feet of St. Blase and implored his intercession. Touched at her grief\, the Saint offered up his prayers\, and the child was cured; and since that time his aid has often been effectually solicited in cases of a similar disease. Refusing to worship the false gods of the heathens\, St. Blase was first scourged; his body was then torn with hooks\, and finally he was beheaded in the year 316.\nReflection.—There is no sacrifice which\, by the aid of grace\, human nature is not capable of accomplishing. When St. Paul complained to God of the violence of the temptation\, God answered\, “My grace is sufficient for thee\, for power is made perfect in infirmity.” In many places on the day of his feast the blessing of St. Blaise is given: two candles are consecrated\, generally by a prayer\, these are then held in a crossed position by a priest over the heads of the faithful or the people are touched on the throat with them. In other places oil is consecrated in which the wick of a small candle is dipped and the throats of those present are touched with the wick. At the same time the following blessing is given: “May God at the intercession of St. Blaise preserve you from throat troubles and every other evil.”
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/ferial-g-iv-st-blaise-bishop-martyr-r-comm-blessing-of-throats/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200202
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200203
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165912Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165912Z
UID:1482-1580601600-1580687999@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:Fourth Sunday after Epiphany–G (II) - Candlemas Day - Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary–W (Comm.)
DESCRIPTION:Forty days after the birth of Christ Mary complied with this precept of the law\, she redeemed her first-born from the temple (Numbers 18:15)\, and was purified by the prayer of Simeon the just\, in the presence of Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:22 sqq.). No doubt this event\, the first solemn introduction of Christ into the house of God\, was in the earliest times celebrated in the Church of Jerusalem. We find it attested for the first half of the fourth century by the pilgrim of Bordeaux\, Egeria or Silvia. The day (14 February) was solemnly kept by a procession to the Constantinian basilica of the Resurrection\, a homily on Luke 2:22 sqq.\, and the Holy Sacrifice. But the feast then had no proper name; it was simply called the fortieth day after Epiphany. This latter circumstance proves that in Jerusalem Epiphany was then the feast of Christ’s birth.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany-g-ii-candlemas-day-purification-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-w-comm/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200201
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200202
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165912Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165912Z
UID:1481-1580515200-1580601599@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:First Saturday - St. Ignatius of Antioch\, Bishop\, Martyr–R (III)
DESCRIPTION:ST. IGNATIUS\, Bishop of Antioch\, was the disciple of St. John. When Domitian persecuted the Church\, St. Ignatius obtained peace for his own flock by fasting and prayer. But for his part he desired to suffer with Christ\, and to prove himself a perfect disciple. In the year 107\, Trajan came to Antioch\, and forced the Christians to choose between apostasy and death. “Who art thou\, poor devil\,” the emperor said when Ignatius was brought before him\, “who settest our commands at naught?” “Call not him ‘poor devil\,’” Ignatius answered\, “who bears God within him.” And when the emperor questioned him about his meaning\, Ignatius explained that he bore in his heart Christ crucified for his sake. Thereupon the emperor condemned him to be torn to pieces by wild beasts at Rome. St. Ignatius thanked God\, Who had so honored him\, “binding him in the chains of Paul\, His apostle.” He journeyed to Rome\, guarded by soldiers\, and with no fear except of losing the martyr’s crown. He was devoured by lions in the Roman amphitheater. The wild beasts left nothing of his body\, except a few bones\, which were reverently treasured at Antioch\, until their removal to the Church of St. Clement at Rome\, in 637. After the martyr’s death\, several Christians saw him in vision standing before Christ\, and interceding for them.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/first-saturday-st-ignatius-of-antioch-bishop-martyr-r-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200131
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200201
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165911Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165911Z
UID:1480-1580428800-1580515199@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. John Bosco\, Confessor–W (III)
DESCRIPTION:ST. JOHN BOSCO\, popularly known as Don Bosco\, was an Italian Roman Catholic priest of the Latin Church\, educator and writer of the 19th century. While working in Turin\, where the population suffered many of the effects of industrialization and urbanization\, he dedicated his life to the betterment and education of street children\, juvenile delinquents\, and other disadvantaged youth. He developed teaching methods based on love rather than punishment\, a method that became known as the Salesian Preventive System. A follower of the spirituality and philosophy of Saint Francis de Sales\, Bosco dedicated his works to him when he founded the Salesians of Don Bosco\, based in Turin. Together with Maria Domenica Mazzarello\, he founded the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians\, a religious congregation of nuns dedicated to the care and education of poor girls. In 1876\, Bosco founded a movement of laity\, the Association of Salesian Cooperators\, with the same educational mission to the poor. In 1875\, he began to publish the Salesian Bulletin. The Bulletin has remained in continuous publication\, and is currently published in 50 different editions and 30 languages. Bosco established a network of organizations and centers to carry on his work. Following his posthumous beatification in 1929\, he was canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Pius XI in 1934.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-john-bosco-confessor-w-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200130
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200131
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165910Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165910Z
UID:1479-1580342400-1580428799@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. Martina\, Virgin\, Martyr–R (III)
DESCRIPTION:MARTINA of Rome was a Roman martyr under Emperor Alexander Severus. She is a patron saint of Rome. She was martyred in 226\, according to some authorities\, more probably in 228\, under the pontificate of Pope Urban I\, according to others. The daughter of an ex-consul and orphaned at an early age\, she so openly testified to her Christian faith that she could not escape the persecutions under Alexander Severus. Arrested and commanded to return to idolatry\, she refused\, whereupon she was subjected to various tortures and was finally beheaded. The relics of Martina were discovered on October 25\, 1634 by the painter Pietro da Cortona\, in a crypt of Santi Luca e Martina\, situated near the Mamertine Prison and dedicated to the saint. Pope Urban VIII\, who occupied the Holy See at that time\, had the church repaired and\, it would seem\, composed the hymns which are sung at her office.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-martina-virgin-martyr-r-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200129
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200130
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165910Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165910Z
UID:1478-1580256000-1580342399@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. Francis de Sales\, Bishop\, Confessor\, Doctor–W (III)
DESCRIPTION:FRANCIS was born of noble and pious parents\, near Annecy\, 1566\, and studied with brilliant success at Paris and Padua. On his return from Italy he gave up the grand career which his father had marked out for him in the service of the state\, and became a priest. When the Duke of Savoy had resolved to restore the Church in the Chablais\, Francis offered himself for the work\, and set out on foot with his Bible and breviary and one companion\, his cousin Louis de Sales. It was a work of toil\, privation\, and danger. Every door and every heart was closed against him. He was rejected with insult and threatened with death. But nothing could daunt or resist him\, and ere long the Church burst forth into a second spring. It is stated that he converted 72\,000 Calvinists. He was then compelled by the pope to become Coadjutor Bishop of Geneva\, and succeeded to the see in 1602. At times the exceeding gentleness with which he received heretics and sinners almost scandalized his friends\, and one of them said to him\, “Francis de Sales will go to Paradise\, of course; but I am not so sure of the Bishop of Geneva: I am almost afraid his gentleness will play him a shrewd turn.” “Ah\,” said the saint\, “I would rather account to God for too great gentleness than for too great severity. Is not God all love? God the Father is the Father of mercy; God the Son is a Lamb; God the Holy Ghost is a Dove that is\, gentleness itself. And are you wiser than God?” In union with St. Jane Frances de Chantal he founded at Annecy the Order of the Visitation\, which soon spread over Europe. Though poor\, he refused provisions and dignities\, and even the great see of Paris. He died at Avignon\, 1622.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-francis-de-sales-bishop-confessor-doctor-w-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200128
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200129
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165910Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165910Z
UID:1477-1580169600-1580255999@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. Peter Nolasco\, Confessor–W (III) - St. Agnes\, Virgin\, Martyr–R (Comm.)
DESCRIPTION:ST. PETER NOLASCO’S feast is celebrated near St. Raymond of Penafort\, founder of the Order of Mercedarians\, the religious community which sent members as ransom for Christian prisoners in the hands of the Saracens. Details of his life are uncertain\, but he was probably a native of Languedoc\, France. After taking part in the crusade against the heretic Albigensians of southern France\, he became a tutor of King James I of Aragon and then settled at Barcelona. There he became friends with St. Raymond of Penafort\, and in 1218\, with the support of James I\, they laid the foundation for the Mercedarians\, devoted to the ransoming of Christian captives. Twice Peter went to Africa to serve as a captive\, and it was reported that during one journey to Granada and Valencia he won the release from Moorish jails of some 400 captive Christians. Retiring in 1249\, he was followed as head of the order by William of Bas. He was canonized by Pope Urban VIII in 1628.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-peter-nolasco-confessor-w-iii-st-agnes-virgin-martyr-r-comm/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200127
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200128
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165910Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165910Z
UID:1476-1580083200-1580169599@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. John Chrysostom\, Bishop\, Confessor\, Doctor–W (III)
DESCRIPTION:ST. JOHN was born at Antioch in 344. In order to break with a world which admired and courted him\, he in 374 retired for six years to a neighboring mountain. Having thus acquired the art of Christian silence\, he returned to Antioch\, and there labored as priest\, until he was ordained Bishop of Constantinople in 398. The effect of his sermons was everywhere marvelous. He was very urgent that his people should frequent the holy sacrifice\, and in order to remove all excuse he abbreviated the long Liturgy until then in use. St. Nilus relates that St. John Chrysostom was wont to see\, when the priest began the holy sacrifice\, “many of the blessed ones coming down from Heaven in shining garments\, and with bare feet\, eyes intent\, and bowed heads\, in utter stillness and silence\, assisting at the consummation of the tremendous mystery.” Beloved as he was in Constantinople\, his denunciations of vice made him numerous enemies. In 403 these procured his banishment; and although he was almost immediately recalled\, it was not more than a reprieve. In 404 he was banished to Cucusus in the deserts of Taurus. In 407 he was wearing out\, but his enemies were impatient. They hurried him off to Pytius on the Euxine\, a rough journey of nigh 400 miles. He was assiduously exposed to every hardship\, cold\, wet\, and semi-starvation\, but nothing could overcome his cheerfulness and his consideration for others. On the journey his sickness increased\, and he was warned that his end was nigh. Thereupon\, exchanging his travel-stained clothes for white garments\, he received Viaticum\, and with his customary words\, “Glory be to God for all things. Amen\,” passed to Christ.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-john-chrysostom-bishop-confessor-doctor-w-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200126
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200127
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165909Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165909Z
UID:1475-1579996800-1580083199@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:Third Sunday after Epiphany–G (II) - St. Polycarp\, Bishop\, Martyr
DESCRIPTION:ST. POLYCARP\, Bishop of Smyrna\, was a disciple of St. John. He wrote to the Philippians\, exhorting them to mutual love and to hatred of heresy. When the apostate Marcion met St. Polycarp at Rome\, he asked the aged saint if he knew him. “Yes\,” St. Polycarp answered\, “I know you for the first-born of Satan.” These were the words of a saint most loving and most charitable\, and specially noted for his compassion to sinners. He hated heresy\, because he loved God and man so much. In 167\, persecution broke out in Smyrna. When Polycarp heard that his pursuers were at the door\, he said\, “The will of God be done; “ and meeting them\, he begged to be left alone for a little time\, which he spent in prayer for “the Catholic Church throughout the world.” He was brought to Smyrna early on Holy Saturday; and\, as he entered\, a voice was heard from Heaven\, “Polycarp\, be strong.” When the proconsul besought him to curse Christ and go free\, Polycarp answered\, “86 years I have served Him\, and He never did me wrong; how can I blaspheme my King and savior?” When he threatened him with fire\, Polycarp told him this fire of his lasted but a little\, while the fire prepared for the wicked lasted forever. At the stake he thanked God aloud for letting him drink of Christ’s chalice. The fire was lit\, but it did him no hurt; so he was stabbed to the heart\, and his dead body was burnt. “Then\,” say the writers of his acts\, “we took up the bones\, more precious than the richest jewels or gold\, and deposited them in a fitting place\, at which may God grant us to assemble with joy to celebrate the birthday of the martyr to his life in Heaven!”
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/third-sunday-after-epiphany-g-ii-st-polycarp-bishop-martyr/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200125
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200126
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165908Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165908Z
UID:1474-1579910400-1579996799@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:Conversion of St. Paul\, Apostle–W (III) - (Comm. of St. Peter\, Apostle)
DESCRIPTION:THE great apostle PAUL\, named Saul at his circumcision\, was born at Tarsus\, the capital of Silicia\, and was by privilege a Roman citizen\, to which quality a great distinction and several exemptions were granted by the laws of the empire. He was early instructed in the strict observance of the Mosaic law\, and lived up to it in the most scrupulous manner. In his zeal for the Jewish law\, which he thought the cause of God\, he became a violent persecutor of the Christians. He was one of those who combined to murder St. Stephen\, and in the violent persecution of the faithful which followed the martyrdom of the holy deacon\, Saul signalized himself above others. By virtue of the power he had received from the high priest\, he dragged the Christians out of their houses\, loaded them with chains\, and thrust them into prison. In the fury of his zeal he applied for a commission to take up all Jews at Damascus who confessed Jesus Christ\, and bring them bound to Jerusalem\, that they might serve as examples for the others. But God was pleased to show forth in him His patience and mercy. While on his way to Damascus\, he and his party were surrounded by a light from Heaven\, brighter than the sun\, and suddenly struck to the ground. And then a voice was heard saying\, “Saul\, Saul\, why dost thou persecute me?” And Saul answered\, “Who art Thou\, Lord?” and the voice replied\, “I am Jesus\, whom thou dost persecute.” This mild expostulation of Our Redeemer\, accompanied with a powerful interior grace\, cured Saul’s pride\, assuaged his rage\, and wrought at once a total change in him. Wherefore\, trembling and astonished\, he cried out\, “Lord\, what wilt Thou have me to do?” Our Lord ordered him to arise and to proceed on his way to the city\, where he should be informed of what was expected from him. Saul\, arising from the ground\, found that\, though his eyes were open\, he saw nothing. He was led by hand into Damascus\, where he was lodged in the house of a Jew named Judas. To this house came by divine appointment a holy man named Ananias\, who\, laying his hands on Saul\, said\, “Brother Saul\, the Lord Jesus\, who appeared to thee on thy journey\, hath sent me that thou mayest receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost.” Immediately something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes\, and he recovered his sight. Then he arose and was baptized; he stayed some few days with the disciples at Damascus\, and began immediately to preach in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God. Thus a blasphemer and a persecutor was made an apostle\, and chosen as one of God’s principal instruments in the conversion of the world.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/conversion-of-st-paul-apostle-w-iii-comm-of-st-peter-apostle/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200124
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200125
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165908Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165908Z
UID:1473-1579824000-1579910399@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. Timothy\, Bishop\, Martyr–R (III)
DESCRIPTION:TIMOTHY was a convert of St. Paul. He was born at Lystra in Asia Minor. His mother was a Jewess\, but his father was a pagan; and though Timothy had read the Scriptures from his childhood\, he had not been circumcised as a Jew. On the arrival of St. Paul at Lystra the youthful Timothy\, with his mother and grandmother\, eagerly embraced the Faith. Seven years later\, when the apostle again visited the country\, the boy had grown into manhood\, while his good heart\, his austerities and zeal had won the esteem of all around him; and holy men were prophesying great things of the fervent youth. St. Paul at once saw his fitness for the work of an evangelist. Timothy was forthwith ordained\, and from that time became the constant and much-beloved fellow-worker of the apostle. In company with St. Paul he visited the cities of Asia Minor and Greece at one time hastening on in front as a trusted messenger\, at another lingering behind to confirm in the Faith some recently founded church. Finally\, he was made the first Bishop of Ephesus; and here he received the two epistles which bear his name\, the first written from Macedonia and the second from Rome\, in which St. Paul from his prison gives vent to his longing desire to see his “dearly beloved son\,” if possible\, once more before his death. St. Timothy himself not many years after the death of St. Paul\, won his martyr’s crown at Ephesus. As a child Timothy delighted in reading the sacred books\, and to his last hour he would remember the parting words of his spiritual father\, “Attende lectioni”—“Apply thyself to reading.”
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-timothy-bishop-martyr-r-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200123
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200124
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165908Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165908Z
UID:1472-1579737600-1579823999@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. Raymond of Peñafort\, Confessor–W (III) - St. Emerentiana\, Virgin\, Martyr–R (Comm.)
DESCRIPTION:Born A.D. 1175\, of a noble Spanish family\, RAYMOND\, at the age of 20\, taught philosophy at Barcelona with marvelous success. Ten years later his rare abilities won for him the degree of Doctor in the University of Bologna\, and many high dignities. A tender devotion to our Blessed Lady\, which had grown up with him from childhood\, determined him in middle life to renounce all his honors and to enter her Order of St. Dominic. There\, again\, a vision of the Mother of Mercy instructed him to cooperate with his penitent St. Peter Nolasco\, and with James\, King of Aragon\, in founding the Order of Our Lady of Ransom for the Redemption of Captives. He began this great work by preaching a crusade against the Moors\, and rousing to penance the Christians\, enslaved in both soul and body by the infidel. King James of Aragon\, a man of great qualities\, but held in bond by a ruling passion\, was bidden by the saint to put away the cause of his sin. On his delay\, Raymond asked for leave to depart from Majorca\, since he could not live with sin. The king refused\, and forbade\, under pain of death\, his conveyance by others. Full of faith\, Raymond spread his cloak upon the waters\, and\, tying one end to his staff as a sail\, made the sign of the cross and fearlessly stepped upon it. In six hours he was borne to Barcelona\, where\, gathering up his cloak dry\, he stole into his monastery. The king\, overcome by this miracle\, became a sincere penitent and the disciple of the saint till his death. In 1230\, Gregory IX summoned Raymond to Rome\, made him his confessor and grand penitentiary\, and directed him to compile “The Decretals\,” a collection of the scattered decisions of the popes and Councils. Having refused the archbishopric of Tarragona\, Raymond found himself in 1238 chosen third General of his Order; which post he again succeeded in resigning\, on the score of his advanced age. His first act when set free was to resume his labors among the infidels\, and in 1256 Raymond\, then 81\, was able to report that 10\,000 Saracens had received baptism. He died in 1275.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-raymond-of-penafort-confessor-w-iii-st-emerentiana-virgin-martyr-r-comm/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200122
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200123
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165908Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165908Z
UID:1471-1579651200-1579737599@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:Sts. Vincent & Anastasius\, Martyrs–R (III)
DESCRIPTION:VINCENT was archdeacon of the church at Saragossa [Spain]. Valerian\, the bishop\, had an impediment in his speech; thus Vincent preached in his stead\, and answered in his name when both were brought before Dacian\, the president\, during the persecution of Diocletian. When the bishop was sent into banishment\, Vincent remained to suffer and to die. First of all\, he was stretched on the rack; and\, when he was almost torn asunder\, Dacian\, the president\, asked him in mockery “how he fared now.” Vincent answered\, with joy in his face\, that he had ever prayed to be as he was then. It was in vain that Dacian struck the executioners and goaded them on in their savage work. The martyr’s flesh was torn with hooks; he was bound in a chair of red-hot iron; lard and salt were rubbed into his wounds; and amid all this he kept his eyes raised to heaven\, and remained unmoved. He was cast into a solitary dungeon\, with his feet in the stocks; but the angels of Christ illuminated the darkness\, and assured Vincent that he was near his triumph. His wounds were now tended to prepare him for fresh torments\, and the faithful were permitted to gaze on his mangled body. They came in troops\, kissed the open sores\, and carried away as relics cloths dipped in his blood. Before the tortures could recommence\, the martyr’s hour came\, and he breathed forth his soul in peace. Even the dead bodies of the saints are precious in the sight of God\, and the hand of iniquity cannot touch them. A raven guarded the body of Vincent where it lay flung upon the earth. When it was sunk out at sea the waves cast it ashore; and his relics are preserved to this day in the Augustinian monastery at Lisbon\, for the consolation of the Church of Christ. ST. ANASTASIUS\, a monk of Persia\, was put to death with 70 other Christians under Chosroes in 628.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/sts-vincent-anastasius-martyrs-r-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200121
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200122
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165908Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165908Z
UID:1470-1579564800-1579651199@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. Agnes\, Virgin\, Martyr–R (III)
DESCRIPTION:ST. AGNES was but 12 years old when she was led to the altar of Minerva at Rome and commanded to obey the persecuting laws of Diocletian by offering incense. In the midst of the idolatrous rites she raised her hands to Christ\, her Spouse\, and made the sign of the life-giving Cross. She did not shrink when she was bound hand and foot\, though the shackles slipped from her young hands\, and the heathens who stood around were moved to tears. The bonds were not needed for her\, and she hastened gladly to the place of her torture. Next\, when the judge saw that pain had no terrors for her\, he inflicted an insult worse than death: her clothes were stripped off\, and she had to stand in the street before a pagan crowd; yet even this did not daunt her. “Christ\,” she said\, “will guard His own.” So it was. Christ showed\, by a miracle\, the value which He sets upon the custody of the eyes. Whilst the crowd turned away their eyes from the spouse of Christ\, as she stood exposed to view in the street\, there was one young man who dared to gaze at the innocent child with immodest eyes. A flash of light struck him blind\, and his companions bore him away half dead with pain and terror. Lastly\, her fidelity to Christ was proved by flattery and offers of marriage. But she answered\, “Christ is my Spouse: He chose me first\, and His I will be.” At length the sentence of death was passed. For a moment she stood erect in prayer\, and then bowed her neck to the sword. At one stroke her head was severed from her body\, and the angels bore her pure soul to paradise.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-agnes-virgin-martyr-r-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200120
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200121
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165906Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165906Z
UID:1469-1579478400-1579564799@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:Sts. Fabian\, Pope\, & Sebastian\, Martyrs–R (III)
DESCRIPTION:ST. FABIAN\, Supreme Pontiff\, suffered martyrdom in the persecution of Decius\, in 250. ST. SEBASTIAN was an officer in the Roman army\, esteemed even by the heathen as a good soldier\, and honored by the Church ever since as a champion of Jesus Christ. Born at Narbonne\, Sebastian came to Rome about the year 284\, and entered the lists against the powers of evil. He found the twin brothers Marcus and Marcellinus in prison for the faith\, and\, when they were near yielding to the entreaties of their relatives\, encouraged them to despise flesh and blood\, and to die for Christ. God confirmed his words by miracle: light shone around him while he spoke; he cured the sick by his prayers; and in this divine strength he led multitudes to the faith\, among them the Prefect of Rome\, with his son Tiburtius. He saw his disciples die before him\, and one of them came back from Heaven to tell him that his own end was near. It was in a contest of fervor and charity that St. Sebastian found the occasion of martyrdom. The Prefect of Rome\, after his conversion\, retired to his estates in Campania\, and took a great number of his fellow-converts with him to this place of safety. It was a question whether Polycarp the priest or St. Sebastian should accompany the neophytes. Each was eager to stay and face the danger at Rome\, and at last the pope decided that the Roman church could not spare the services of Sebastian. He continued to labor at the post of danger till he was betrayed by a false disciple. He was led before Diocletian\, and\, at the emperor’s command\, pierced with arrows and left for dead. But God raised him up again\, and of his own accord he Went before the emperor and conjured him to stay the persecution of the Church. Again sentenced\, he was at last beaten to death by clubs\, and crowned his labors by the merit of a double martyrdom.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/sts-fabian-pope-sebastian-martyrs-r-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200119
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200120
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165906Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165906Z
UID:1468-1579392000-1579478399@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:Second Sunday after Epiphany–G (II)
DESCRIPTION:ST. CANUTUS\, King\, Martyr. St. Canutus\, King of Denmark\, was endowed with excellent qualities of both mind and body. It is hard to say whether he excelled more in courage or in conduct and skill in war; but his singular piety eclipsed all his other endowments. He cleared the seas of pirates\, and subdued several neighboring provinces which infested Denmark with their incursions. The kingdom of Denmark was elective till the year 1660\, and\, when the father of Canutus died\, his eldest brother\, Harold\, was called to the throne. Harold died after reigning for two years\, and Canutus was chosen to succeed him. He began his reign by a successful war against the troublesome\, barbarous enemies of the state\, and by planting the faith in the conquered provinces. Amid the glory of his victories he humbly prostrated himself at the foot of the crucifix\, laying there his diadem\, and offering himself and his kingdom to the King of kings. After having provided for the peace and safety of his country\, he married Eltha\, daughter of Robert\, Earl of Flanders\, who proved a spouse worthy of him. His next concern was to reform abuses at home. For this purpose he enacted severe but necessary laws for the strict administration of justice\, and repressed the violence and tyranny of the great\, without respect to persons. He countenanced and honored holy men\, and granted many privileges and immunities to the clergy. His charity and tenderness towards his subjects made him study by all possible ways to make them a happy people. He showed a royal munificence in building and adorning churches\, and gave the crown which he wore\, of exceeding great value\, to a church in his capital and place of residence\, where the kings of Denmark are yet buried. To the virtues which constitute a great king\, Canutus added those which prove the great saint. A rebellion having sprung up in his kingdom\, the king was surprised at church by the rebels. Perceiving his danger\, he confessed his sins at the foot of the altar\, and received Holy Communion. Stretching out his arms before the altar\, the saint fervently recommended his soul to his Creator; in this posture he was struck by a javelin thrown through a window\, and fell a victim for Christ’s sake.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/second-sunday-after-epiphany-g-ii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200118
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200119
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165906Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165906Z
UID:1467-1579305600-1579391999@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:Our Lady on Saturdays–W (IV) - St. Prisca\, Virgin\, Martyr–R (Comm.)
DESCRIPTION:ST. PRISCA was a young Roman woman tortured and executed for her Christian faith. The dates of her birth and death are unknown. She is revered as a pre-schism Western saint and martyr by the Orthodox Church and as a saint and a martyr by the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. Though some legends suggest otherwise\, scholars do not believe she is the Priscilla (Prisca) of the New Testament couple\, Priscilla and Aquila\, who were friends of the apostle Paul.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/our-lady-on-saturdays-w-iv-st-prisca-virgin-martyr-r-comm/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200117
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200118
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165906Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165906Z
UID:1466-1579219200-1579305599@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. Anthony the Hermit\, Abbot–W (III)
DESCRIPTION:ST. ANTHONY was born in the year 251\, in Upper Egypt. Hearing at Mass the words\, “If thou wilt be perfect\, go\, sell what thou hast\, and give to the poor\,” he gave away all his vast possessions. He then begged an aged hermit to teach him the spiritual life. He also visited various solitaries\, copying in himself the principal virtue of each. To serve God more perfectly\, Anthony entered the desert and immured himself in a ruin\, building up the door so that none could enter. Here the devils assaulted him most furiously\, appearing as various monsters\, and even wounding him severely; but his courage never failed\, and he overcame them all by confidence in God and by the sign of the Cross. One night\, whilst Anthony was in his solitude\, many devils scourged him so terribly that he lay as if dead. A friend found him thus\, and believing him dead carried him home. But when Anthony came to himself he persuaded his friend to carry him\, in spite of his wounds\, back to his solitude. Here\, prostrate from weakness\, he defied the devils\, saying\, “I fear you not; you cannot separate me from the love of Christ.” After more vain assaults the devils fled\, and Christ appeared to Anthony in glory. His only food was bread and water\, which he never tasted before sunset\, and sometimes only once in two\, three\, or four days. He wore sackcloth and sheepskin\, and he often knelt in prayer from sunset to sunrise. Many souls flocked to him for advice\, and after 20 years of solitude he consented to guide them in holiness thus founding the first monastery. His numerous miracles attracted such multitudes that he fled again into solitude\, where he lived by manual labor. He expired peacefully at a very advanced age. St. Athanasius\, his biographer\, says that the mere knowledge of how St. Anthony lived is a good guide to virtue.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-anthony-the-hermit-abbot-w-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200116
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200117
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165905Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165905Z
UID:1465-1579132800-1579219199@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. Marcellus I\, Pope\, Martyr–R (III)
DESCRIPTION:POPE MARCELLUS I (January 6\, 255 – January 16\, 309) was pope from May or June 308 to his death in 309. He succeeded Pope Marcellinus after a considerable interval. Under Maxentius\, he was banished from Rome in 309\, on account of the tumult caused by the severity of the penances he had imposed on Christians who had lapsed under the recent persecution. He died the same year\, being succeeded by Pope Eusebius. His relics are under the altar of San Marcello al Corso in Rome. For some time after the death of Marcellinus in 304\, the Diocletian persecution continued with unabated severity. After the abdication of Diocletian in 305\, and the accession in Rome of Maxentius to the throne of the Caesars in October of the following year\, the Christians of the capital again enjoyed comparative peace. Nevertheless\, nearly two years passed before a new Bishop of Rome was elected. Then in 308\, Pope Marcellus first entered on his office. At Rome\, Marcellus found the Church in the greatest confusion. The meeting-places and some of the burial-places of the faithful had been confiscated\, and the ordinary life and activity of the Church was interrupted. Added to this were the dissensions within the Church itself\, caused by the large number of weaker members who had fallen away during the long period of active persecution and later\, under the leadership of an apostate\, violently demanded that they should be readmitted to communion without doing penance. Marcellus divided the territorial administration of the Church into 25 districts\, appointing over each a presbyter\, who saw to the preparation of the catechumens for baptism and directed the performance of public penances. The presbyter was also made responsible for the burial of the dead and for the celebrations commemorating the deaths of the martyrs. The pope also had a new burial-place\, the Cœmeterium Novellœ on the Via Salaria (opposite the Catacomb of St. Priscilla)\, laid out. The work of the pope was\, however\, quickly interrupted by the controversies concerning the question of the re-admittance of the lapsed into the Church. As to this\, we gather some light from the poetic tribute composed by Pope Damasus I in memory of his predecessor and placed over his grave. Damasus relates that Marcellus was looked upon as a wicked enemy by all the lapsed\, because he insisted that they should perform the prescribed penance for their guilt. As a result\, serious conflicts arose\, some of which ended in bloodshed\, and every bond of peace was broken. At the head of this band of dissenters was an apostate who had denied the Faith even before the outbreak of persecution. The tyrannical Maxentius had the pope seized and sent into exile. This took place at the end of 308 or the beginning of 309\, which gives the length of the pontificate as no more than one year\, six (or seven) months\, and 20 days. Marcellus died shortly after leaving Rome\, and was venerated as a saint.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-marcellus-i-pope-martyr-r-iii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200115
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200116
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165904Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165904Z
UID:1464-1579046400-1579132799@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. Paul the First Hermit\, Confessor–W (III) - St. Maurus\, Abbot–W (Comm.)
DESCRIPTION:ST. PAUL was born in Upper Egypt\, about the year 230\, and became an orphan at the age of 15. He was very rich and highly educated. Fearing lest the tortures of a terrible persecution might endanger his Christian perseverance\, he retired into a remote village. But his pagan brother-in-law denounced him\, and St. Paul\, rather than remain where his faith was in danger\, entered the barren desert\, trusting that God would supply his wants. And his confidence was rewarded; for on the spot to which Providence led him he found the fruit of the palm-tree for food\, and its leaves for clothing\, and the water of a spring for drink. His first design was to return to the world when the persecution was over; but\, tasting great delights in prayer and penance\, he remained the rest of his life\, 90 years\, in penance\, prayer\, and contemplation. God revealed His existence to St. Antony\, who sought him for three days. Seeing a thirsty she-wolf run through an opening in the rocks\, Antony followed her to look for water\, and found Paul. They knew each other at once\, and praised God together. When St. Antony visited him\, a raven brought him a loaf\, and St. Paul said\, “See how good God is! For 60 years this bird has brought me half a loaf every day; now thou art come\, Christ has doubled the provision for His servants.” Having passed the night in prayer\, at dawn of day Paul told Antony that he was about to die\, and asked to be buried in the cloak given to Antony by St. Athanasius. Antony hastened to fetch it\, and on his way back saw Paul rise to Heaven in glory. He found his dead body kneeling as if in prayer\, and two lions came and dug his grave. Paul died in his 113th year.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-paul-the-first-hermit-confessor-w-iii-st-maurus-abbot-w-comm/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200114
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200115
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165904Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165904Z
UID:1463-1578960000-1579046399@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:St. Hilary\, Bishop\, Confessor\, Doctor–W (III) - St. Felix\, Priest\, Martyr–R (Comm.)
DESCRIPTION:ST. HILARY was a native of Poitiers in Aquitaine. Born and educated a pagan\, it was not till near middle age that he embraced Christianity\, moved thereto mainly by the idea of God presented to him in the Holy Scriptures. He soon converted his wife and daughter\, and separated himself rigidly from all un-Catholic company. In the beginning of his conversion\, St. Hilary would not eat with Jews or heretics\, nor salute them by the way; but afterwards\, for their sake\, he relaxed this severity. He entered Holy Orders\, and in 353 was chosen bishop of his native city. Arianism\, under the protection of the Emperor Constantius\, was just then in the height of its power\, and St. Hilary found himself called upon to support the orthodox cause in several Gallic councils\, in which Arian bishops formed an overwhelming majority. He was in consequence accused to the emperor\, who banished him to Phrygia. He spent his three years and more of exile in composing his great works on the Trinity. In 359 he attended the Council of Seleucia\, in which Arians\, semi-Arians\, and Catholics contended for the mastery. With the deputies of the council he proceeded to Constantinople\, and there so dismayed the heads of the Arian party that they prevailed upon the emperor to let him return to Gaul. He traversed Gaul\, Italy\, and Illyria\, wherever he came discomfiting the heretics and procuring triumph of orthodoxy. After seven or eight years of missionary travel he returned to Poitiers\, where he died in peace in 368.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/st-hilary-bishop-confessor-doctor-w-iii-st-felix-priest-martyr-r-comm/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200113
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200114
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165904Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165904Z
UID:1462-1578873600-1578959999@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:Commemoration of the Baptism of Our Lord–W (II)
DESCRIPTION:In spite of the small scandal that Jesus’ baptism must have created what was the sinless one doing having Himself baptized? It belonged to the earliest tradition\, is recorded in all four gospels (Mt. 3:13; Mk. 1:9; Lk. 3:21-22\, Jn. 1:29-34)\, and belongs undoubtedly to the events of the historical Jesus. In Mark it is the beginning of the gospel\, and Luke has Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth at the start of His ministry recalling His anointing with the Spirit at the Jordan. In the very short summary of the good news\, Peter includes Jesus’ baptism (Acts 1:22). In identifying who Jesus is\, the biblical witness moves back from the resurrection (Rom. 1:3-4)\, to the baptism of Jesus\, to the annunciation (Lk. 1:26-38)\, to pre-existence (Jn. 1:1). The Jordan event\, therefore\, is an important stage in this backward development in identifying Jesus.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/commemoration-of-the-baptism-of-our-lord-w-ii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200112
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200113
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165904Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165904Z
UID:1461-1578787200-1578873599@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:The Feast of the Holy Family–W (II)
DESCRIPTION:The special devotion which sets forth the Holy Family of Jesus\, Mary\, and Joseph as the model of virtue for all Christian households began in the 17th century. It commenced almost simultaneously in Canada and France: the Association of the Holy Family being founded in Montreal in 1663\, and the Daughters of the Holy Family in Paris in 1674. Numerous other congregations and associations under the patronage of the Holy Family have been established since that time\, and they are spread over the world. The archconfraternity was established by Pius IX in 1847. In 1893 Leo XIII approved a feast for Canada\, and Benedict XV extended the Feast of the Holy Family to the whole Church and ordered its celebration to take place on the Sunday after the Epiphany.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/the-feast-of-the-holy-family-w-ii/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200111
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200112
DTSTAMP:20260404T125416
CREATED:20200130T165904Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165904Z
UID:1460-1578700800-1578787199@marylandcatholicwomen.com
SUMMARY:Our Lady on Saturdays–W (IV) - St. Hyginus\, Pope & Martyr–R (Comm.)
DESCRIPTION:Pope Hyginus was the Bishop of Rome from c. 138 to c. 142. Tradition holds that during his papacy he determined the various prerogatives of the clergy and defined the grades of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
URL:https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/event/our-lady-on-saturdays-w-iv-st-hyginus-pope-martyr-r-comm/
CATEGORIES:Church Calendar
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END:VCALENDAR