Week One

St. Cyprian of Carthage
A highly educated and famous orator of the 3^rd century, Cyprian converted to Christianity as an adult.  Before his baptism, he distributed all he owned to the poor and took a vow of chastity.  Two years later, he was a priest and chosen – against his will – the Bishop of Carthage in North Africa.
Cyprian believed that the peace the Church enjoyed in his time weakened the spirit of Christians and that many converts were not true believers. When persecutions began during the Decian period, many Christians abandoned the Church, but they wanted to rejoin the Church when the persecutions ended.  The controversies of this time helped promote understanding of the Sacrament of Penance.
Cyprian was a complicated man, urging Christians to assist all people during a plague, then refusing to recognize some baptisms even when threatened with ex-communication by Pope Stephen. He was kind, courageous, prone to fits of anger; cheerful, and serious. He was executed by Valerian for his steadfast Christian beliefs.  He is a patron of North Africa; his feast day is September 16. You can read his treatise on the Church HERE

St. Philip Neri
St. Philip Neri was a Christian missionary and founder of the Congregation of the Oratory, a community of Catholic priests and lay brothers during the 16^th century. Philip had a knack for starting conversations and leading his listeners to consider a Christian life. His personality and incredible sense of humor attracted people and he encouraged discussions, studies, prayer, and the enjoyment of music. His customary question was always, "Well, brothers, when shall we begin to do good?"  The discussions would lead to good works.
He was ordained a priest in 1551, and with the help of patrons in Rome, established his oratory in an old church.  On the feast of Corpus Christi, in 1595, after a day of hearing confessions, he died.  He was canonized in 1622.  He is the patron saint of Rome, US Special Forces, humor, and joy. His feast day is May 26.  You can find some of his maxims HERE

St Vincent de Paul
Together with Louise de Marillac, Vincent de Paul provided for the spiritual and physical needs of the poor tenant farmers and country people in France during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.  Vincent de Paul founded the Congregation of the Mission – the Vincentians – while Louise founded the Daughters of Charity.
He organized the rich women of Paris to collect funds for his missionary projects, founded several hospitals, collected relief funds for the victims of war, and ransomed over 1,200 galley slaves from North Africa. He was zealous in conducting retreats for clergy and established norms in clerical training and establishing seminaries.
Most remarkably, Vincent was by temperament a very irascible person—even his friends admitted it. He said that except for the grace of God, he would have been “hard and repulsive, rough and cross.” But he became a tender and affectionate man, very sensitive to the needs of others.
Canonized in 1737, Pope Leo XIII made him the patron of all charitable societies. His feast day is September 27.  Read some of his letters HERE


St. Thomas Aquinas
A Doctor of the Church and medieval teacher and theologian, Thomas Aquinas grew up at Benedictine Monte Cassino Abbey. Instead of joining the Benedictine order, Aquinas joined the Dominicans in 1234.
Author of the Summa Theologica, Aquinas was ironically known as “the Dumb Ox” during his school years. He studied Aristotle and focused on the natural order as a divine gift. He died on March 7, 1274, and was canonized in 1323.  He is the patron of scholars and teachers.  His feast day is January 28.
Bishop Robert Barron talks about him in this VIDEO

St. John of the Cross
John of the Cross was a mystic, reformer, poet, and Carmelite priest living in the sixteenth century.  He was a contemporary and friend of like-minded Teresa of Avila. His reform stances eventually led to his imprisonment where he encountered the cross in his suffering.  During his imprisonment, he expressed this experience in the Spiritual Canticle and Dark Night of the Soul. His prose works focus on the cost of discipleship: the cross leads to resurrection. He died at the age of forty-nine. Canonized in 1726, John is a Doctor of the Church.  His feast day is December 14.  You will find a lecture on his writings HERE

St. Boniface of Mainz
Boniface was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organized significant foundations of the church in Germany and was made archbishop of Mainz.
Boniface took it upon himself to destroy the pagan places of worship. In the year 723, he cut down the sacred oak tree dedicated to Thor. After destroying Thor’s altar people expected a form of punishment to be meted out to Boniface by the pagan gods. However, nothing happened to the bishop and the people immediately converted to Christianity. Boniface did not stop there, he went on to use the oak to build a chapel at the site. 
Eventually, he was martyred by angry pagans who did not want their religion destroyed.  He is the patron of Germany and his feast day is June 5. A two-minute summary of his life can be found HERE

St. Thomas Aquinas
A Doctor of the Church and medieval teacher and theologian, Thomas Aquinas grew up at Benedictine Monte Cassino Abbey. Instead of joining the Benedictine order, Aquinas joined the Dominicans in 1234.
Author of the Summa Theologica, Aquinas was ironically known as “the Dumb Ox” during his school years. He studied Aristotle and focused on the natural order as a divine gift. He died on March 7, 1274, and was canonized in 1323.  He is the patron of scholars and teachers.  His feast day is January 28.
Bishop Robert Barron talks about him in this VIDEO

St. Bridget of Sweden
From age 7 on, Bridget had visions of Christ crucified. Her visions formed the basis for her activity—always with an emphasis on charity rather than spiritual favors.
She lived her married life in the court of the Swedish king Magnus II. Mother of eight children—the second eldest was Saint Catherine of Sweden—Bridget lived the strict life of a penitent after her husband’s death.
In 1350,  Bridget braved a plague-stricken Europe to make a pilgrimage to Rome. Although she never returned to Sweden, her years in Rome were far from happy, being hounded by debts and by opposition to her work against Church abuses. Her feast day is July 23. She is the patron of Europe. The Seven Prayers of St. Bridget are HERE

St. Bernard Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through the Cistercian Order. He was abbot of the monastery at Clairvaux, France and is a Doctor of the Church.  Tens of thousands heard his powerful preaching, especially on the Song of Songs, and he attracted and helped hundreds of men to follow a call to monastic life.   He is the patron saint of beekeepers, because of his honey-sweet preaching. His feast day is August 20. You can find an essay about his writings HERE