St. Joseph - The worker (May 1st)

This special feast on the first day of May honors the working man, who, like St. Joseph, earns his heavenly reward by honest labor. Pope Pius XII instituted this feast in 1955 and proposed St. Joseph as the model laborer.

We, too, can "inject" spiritual motivation into our ordinary daily labor by doing it for the love of God.


A Man Called Joseph

Joseph linked his life to Mary's because of a high providential design and in answer to the angel's invitation. He was the true spouse and guardian of the Virgin. He was her bread-winner and helpmate in sorrows and joys. He was her humble and trustworthy servant, her faithful imitator and her support in the events and happenings of the infancy and boyhood of Jesus. Joseph's devotion to Mary is greater than that of all the saints, just as now in heaven he shares more than all others in her glory and her power, and just as the veneration he receives with Mary and after her is higher than that given any other saint. In the spirit of St. Joseph's veneration for Mary, know her, imitate her, love her, and pray to her.

And as St. Joseph, let us be hard workers! We resemble God more when we work, when we use our intelligence to learn, when we use our health to work and get things done, when we give the required effort to prayer.

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St. Athanasius (May 2nd)

Born at Alexandria in Egypt about 297, Athanasius is one of the Greek Fathers and a Doctor of the Church. He was present at the Council of Nicaea (325) which formulated the Nicene Creed against the Arian heresy which denied the divinity of Christ. Bishop of Alexandria and spiritual head of the desert hermits and of Ethiopia, Athanasius was a brilliant and formidable defender of orthodoxy, incurring the wrath of a succession of non-Christian emperors who forced him into exile at least 5 times. Athanasius wrote several outstanding treatises on Catholic doctrine and introduced monasticism to the West. He died in 373, yet through his example, his learning and his writings, he remains one of our greatest teachers.

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St. Philip and St. James - Apostles (May 3rd)

St. Philip, from Bethsaida of Galilee, was one of the first called to follow the Lord Jesus. He is one of the chosen twelve.
James the Less, son of Alphaeus, was also one of the twelve. It is believed that he later governed the Church of Jerusalem for many years.

Let us "confess" the doctrine of Jesus Christ by leading a holy life as the apostles did.

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Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis (May 4th)

Elodie Paradis was born in 1840 in L'Acadie, Quebec. At 17 she took her vows with the Marianite Sisters of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. She taught in Montreal, New York and Indiana before finding the opportunity to fulfil her calling of dedication to the care of priests and seminarians. In 1877, Mother Marie-Leonie (Elodie's religious name), with 14 young Acadian women, founded the Little Sister of the Holy Family, in Memramcook, NB. Mother Marie-Leonie worked tirelessly for others and was known for her generosity and humility. She died in 1912 and was beatified by John Paul II in 1984.

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St. Matthias - Apostle (May 14th)

St. Matthias was one of Jesus' first disciples. In today's First Reading we read an account of how, after the Ascension of our Lord, St. Peter proposed to the faithful that a disciple of Christ be chosen to fill the place of Judas among the Twelve. When the lots were drawn, the choice fell upon Matthias. According to an ancient tradition, this zealous Apostle labored to spread the Faith in Ethiopia and was martyred there.

Let us invoke St. Matthias when in doubt as to which state of life to select, and be prompt in the fulfillment of God's will.

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St. Bede the Venerable (May 25)

A teacher of great repute, Bede is the only English Doctor of the Church. Born in the north of England about 673, he was sent to a Benedictine monastery at the age of 7, and was educated in a neighboring monastery, where he remained for the rest of his life. At 19, he became a deacon and at 30, a priest.

Bede was considered the most learned man of his time and a gifted writer. Though he excelled in biblical commentary and history, he also wrote extensively in other areas, including poetry, biography, and chronology - he was the first person to record dates using anno domini, "A.D." His most famous work is the authoritative Historia ecclesiastica (Ecclesisastical History of the English People), the only source for much early Anglo-Saxon history.

His particular gift seems to have been his ability to recognize, with precision and clarity, the needs of his contemporaries and to judge accurately the historical significance of the events he and they were living through. His wisdom and learning earned him the respectful title of "Venerable," which the Church formalized in 853. He died on this day in 735.

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St. Philip Neri (May 26)

Philip Neri was born in Florence in 1515 and educated by the Dominicans. He experienced conversion at the age of 18 and left for Rome where he lived a life of seclusion and poverty. He studied philosophy and theology for three years before choosing to re-evangelize Rome where Christianity had declined and was sadly in need of reform. He spent his days talking to people about God's love, and his nights in prayer.

In 1548 he helped found a confraternity of laymen to minister to needy pilgrims and this eventually led to the establishment of a now-famous Roman hospital, Santa Trinita dei Pellegrini. In 1551, his confessor insisted that Philip be ordained and, as a confessor himself, he was much sought after for his spiritual wisdom. Disciples flocked to him and he founded the congregation of the Oratorians, which was formally approved in 1575. Pope Gregory XIII gave them an ancient church in Rome which they rebuilt and occupy to this day.

Philip had the gift of prophecy, experienced visions and ecstasies, and was credited with performing miracles. He died at the age of 80, much loved and respected, and is still known as the "Apostle of Rome."

Philip Neri is the patron of home missions, supported in Canada through the Catholic Missions In Canada (www.missioncanada.ca).

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Sacred Heart of Jesus (May 30th)

In the devotion to the Sacred Heart, the heart of Jesus is adored as a symbol of his threefold love: human love, spiritual love, and divine love. In the Old Testament, his love is described as a father's love for his children or a husband's for his wife. In the New Testament, the promise of living water, the Holy Spirit, is fulfilled in the pierced heart of the Messiah. By the Middle Ages, the Heart of Jesus was the object of a more personal devotion and in the late 17th century, the devotion became a litugical cult. In this century, the image of the Sacred Heart in the home has become a sign that his love rules over the family.

The Feast of the Sacred Heart is a holy day in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, and is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. As Pentecost is always celebrated on Sunday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart always falls on a Friday.

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Visitation (May 31st)

This feast was instituted by Pope Urban VI in 1389. The feast reminds us of our Blessed Mother's visit to St. Elizabeth and Jesus' sanctification of John the Baptizer.
Let us cultivate the virtue of charity which brings God's peace to us and to our neighbor.


The Fruits of Mary's Visit

The Virgin's visit to her cousin Elizabeth was an extraordinary one, completely holy. Let it be a model for our visits, both those we pay to our relatives, acquaintances and friends and those we receive from them for any reason whatsoever: help, comfort, sympathy, instruction, relaxation, business, social reasons, friendship, etc.

In the Visitation, the one who visited was most holy. Her action was inspired by humility and charity. The person visited was holy and the fruits of the visit were admirable: the sanctification of John the Baptizer, the infusion of the Holy Spirit into Elizabeth and Zechariah's regaining of his speech. We, too, should make our visits holy.

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