Gerelyn Hollingsworth's blog

On this day we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew Avellino, 1521-1608.

Lancelotto Avellino was a canon lawyer and a priest for the diocese of Naples. One day, while pleading a case, he told a lie. His remorse caused him to give up the practice of law.

On this day the Anglican Communion commemorates Margery Kempe, Mystic.

Margery Brunham was born in Lynn in Norfolk, about 1373. At the age of 20 she married John Kempe. They would be the parents of 14 children.

"The Book of Margery Kempe, often described as the first autobiography in English, was probably written in the late 1430s and presents an account of the visionary encounters and conversations with Christ experienced by a woman from a prosperous urban mercantile family, who lived in Lynn in Norfolk. It details her attempts to follow a life of intense spirituality while living in the world, rather than withdrawing from it as an anchoress or nun, and describes the approbation and criticism which she received as a result."

--from the Preface to A Companion to The Book of Margery Kempe, edited by John H. Arnold and Katherine J. Lewis, D. S. Brewer, 2004, page xvii.

On this day we celebrate the feast of Bl. John Duns Scotus (1266-1308).

"No one knows precisely when John Duns was born, but we are fairly certain he came from the eponymous town of Duns near the Scottish border with England. He, like many other of his compatriots, was called 'Scotus,' or 'the Scot,' from the country of his birth. He was ordained a priest on 17 March 1291. Because his bishop had just ordained another group at the end of 1290, we can place Scotus’s birth in the first quarter of 1266, if he was ordained as early as canon law permitted. When he was a boy he joined the Franciscans, who sent him to study at Oxford, probably in 1288. . . He probably completed his Oxford studies in 1301. He was not, however, incepted as a master at Oxford, for his provincial sent him to the more prestigious University of Paris, where he would lecture on the Sentences a second time.

--from "John Duns Scotus," by Jeffrey Hause of Creighton University, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2007, an interesting and friendly introduction to the Subtle Doctor.

On this day we celebrate the Feast of All Saints of the Dominican Order.

Click here for a Litany of the Dominican Saints and Blesseds.

On this day in 1806, Samuel Mazzuchelli was born in Milan, the fifteenth child of Luigi Mazzuchelli and Rachele Merlini. Samuel grew up in his parents' house behind the Cathedral. At 17, he entered the Order of Preachers. At 18, he made his final vows. At 21, "mandated 'Missionary for North America'", the young Dominican sailed for New York.

"Samuel was ordained in Cincinnati in 1830 by Bishop Fenwick and given his first assignment: a large area of the Great Lakes region in the northern United States to the border with Canada, with particular location on the island of Mackinac.

On this day we remember St. Sylvia, mother of St. Gregory.

"One of the greatest Fathers in the history of the Church, one of four Doctors of the West, Pope St. Gregory was bishop of Rome from 590 to 604. He earned the traditional title of Magnus, the Great.

On this day in 1928, Father Francis J. Finn, S.J., died in Cincinnati. He was 70 years old.

Father Finn published 27 books, starting with Percy Wynn, or Making a Boy of Him, Benziger Brothers, 1890, and Tom Playfair, or Making a Start, Benziger Brothers, 1890.

Father Finn's obituary in the New York Times called him a "writer of many popular books for boys," but he wrote for both "boy and girl readers," as he made plain in the Preface to the second edition of Percy Wynn.

On this day we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints.

Do you believe in saintly intercession? Why not go directly to God instead of asking a saint to intercede? Which saints do you pray/talk to? How do they respond? If a saint grants your petition, how do you repay the saint? Who is your Confirmation patron? Why did you choose that saint? Did you name your children for saints? Are there saints you would like to see removed from the calendar? Are there venerables and blesseds you would like to see canonized? Is there a saint who should be better known?

On this day we light jack o'lanterns to ward off demons.

Growing up Catholic made me immune to scary movies. Constantly hearing about martyrs being roasted and racked and drawn and quartered made horror movies seem stupid and unimaginative. The only movie that scared me when I was a child was Disney's version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

On this day we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty.

"In October, 1886, there was unveiled on Bedloe's Island, New York harbor, a statue of 'Liberty Enlightening the World.' It was designed by M. Bartholdi and paid for by the contributions of 100,000 citizens of France, a country which had recently regained a republican form of government. The pedestal was built with money raised in the United States. This statue renewed the ancient feeling of gratitude to France, the oldest friend of our Republic."

--History of the United States for Catholic Schools, by Charles Hallan McCarthy, American Book Company, 1919, page 428.

On this day in 1858, Theodore Roosevelt was born "in a brownstone house on Twentieth Street in New York City. A re-creation of the original dwelling, now operated by the National Park Service, replicates the tranquility of Roosevelt's earliest years. His father, Theodore Roosevelt Sr., was a prosperous glassware merchant, and was one of the wealthy old Knickerbocker class, whose Dutch ancestors had been living on Manhattan Island since the 1640s. His mother, Martha Bulloch, was reputedly one of the loveliest girls to have been born in antebellum Georgia. Together the parents instilled in their eldest son a strong sense of family loyalty and civic duty, values that Roosevelt would himself practice, and would preach from the bully pulpit all of his adult life."

On this day we celebrate the feast of Blessed Celine Borzecka (1833-1913), Foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Resurrection.

"The Congregation of the Sisters of the Resurrection was founded in Rome in 1891 by a widow, Celine Borzecka, and her daughter, Hedwig. The formation of the Congregation was the first time in the history of the Catholic Church that a religious community of women was founded by a mother and daughter."

--from the web site of the Castleton, New York, Congregation of the Sisters of the Resurrection.

"This day is called the feast of Crispian . . ."

Click here to see Sir Lawrence Olivier delivering the St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V.

On this day we celebrate the feast of Saint Luigi Guanella, who was canonized yesterday.

Click here for "Delco man's recovery yields newest saint," by David O'Reilly, from the Philadelphia Inquirer. The article tells of the second miracle performed by Blessed Luigi Guanella on his way to sainthood.

"The 19th-century Italian priest Luigi Guanella was a saintly man, but he might not be getting his halo from the pope on Sunday had William 'Billy' Glisson Jr. practiced safe skating.

On this day we celebrate the feast of St. Ursula, patron of the Ursuline Order.

St. Angela Merici, who founded the Company of St. Ursula in 1535, "created a religious community of women which was fundamentally different in its self-concept from other Orders existing then, e.g., Benedictines or Poor Clares. The basis for this was the spirituality which she explained in her writings--the Rule, Counsels, and Legacy. Angela combined open-mindedness and religious commitment in a way which had hardly been possible for women until that time.

On this day we celebrate the feast of St. Maria Bertilla Boscardin.

Anna Francesca Boscardin was born in 1888 to a family of peasants in Brendola, Veneto. Her father testified to his abusive behavior during her beatification process. Everyone considered her slow. A local priest called her a goose.

On this day Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Eastern Orthodox Churches remember St. Frideswide, Patron of Oxford.

"Once upon a time in the fair city of Oxford, there lived Princess Frideswide who was as good as she was beautiful.

"The King, her father, ruled the people of his realm with clemency and justice, and she learnt the ways of the Church.

"The motherless child was tenderly looked after by gentle nuns who taught her to read and write and to play sweet music upon the harp and lyre."

--"St Frideswide: Oxford's Patron Saint," by Jane Curran, BBC Oxford, 2009.

On this day we celebrate the feast of St. Luke, Evangelist.

Click here for the Liturgy of the Hours and here for the Mass.

The First Reading at Mass, from Paul to Timothy, begins with this: "Demas, enamored of the present world, deserted me and went to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia, Luke is the only one with me."

On this day, 70 years ago, a German U-boat torpedoed the USS Kearny in the North Atlantic.

Click here to see the headline on an extra night edition of The Baltimore News-Post. Preliminary reports said there were no casualties, but the country would soon learn that eleven men had been killed and twenty-two injured. The Kearny made it to port on her own power.

"We have wished to avoid shooting. But the shooting has started. And history has recorded who fired the first shot. In the long run, however, all that will matter is who fired the last shot."

--President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in a radio address about the attack on the Kearny.

On this day, in 1066, Duke William of Normandy defeated King Harold of England at the Battle of Hastings.

Click here for a video about "the most decisive, and certainly the most famous, battle ever fought on English soil. William's triumph, and his subsequent coronation as King William I (1066-87), marked the end of Anglo-Saxon England, the creation of new ties with Western Europe, and the imposition of a new and more cohesive ruling class."

Click here for a video about the Bayeux Tapestry.

On this day, in 1917, the visionaries at Fatima, Lucia Santos, age 10, Blessed Francisco Marto, age 9, and Blessed Jacinta Marto, age 7, said they saw Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. They had seen an angel in 1916, and on May 13th, 1917, they saw a Lady. She appeared to them again in June, July, August, and September. She told the children she would identify herself in October, and that a miracle would occur. The children reported the prediction, and thousands of people were on hand on October 13th.

On this day, in 1492, after 70 days at sea, Christopher Columbus stepped out of his boat and onto an island in the Bahamas.

On the previous evening, "when, according to invariable custom on board of the admiral's ship, the mariners had sung the Salve Regina, or vesper hymn to the Virgin, he made an impressive address to his crew. He pointed out the goodness of God in thus conducting them by soft and favouring breezes across a tranquil ocean, cheering their hope continually with fresh signs, increasing as their fears augmented, and thus leading and guiding them to a promised land."

--The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, by Washington Irving, 1828. Search term: Salve Regina. Page 107, ff.

On this day, a century ago, James M. Barrie's Peter and Wendy, illustrated by F. D. Bedford, was published in England by Hodder & Stoughton and in the United States by Charles Scribner's Sons. Later editions would be titled Peter Pan and Wendy, and later still, just Peter Pan.

The book was the novelization of Barrie's successful 1904 play, Peter Pan. On opening night, at the Duke of York's Theatre, Barrie "instructed the members of the orchestra to put down their instruments and clap when Peter appealed for help to save Tinker Bell's life and cried out, 'If you believe in fairies, clap your hands.' However, there had been no need for these instructions, for the audience clapped thunderously, causing Nina Boucicault, the actress playing Peter, to burst into tears."

On this day in 1201, Richard de Fournival was born in Amiens "to Roger de Fournival (a personal physician to King Philip Augustus) and Élisabeth de la Pierre. He was also half-brother of Arnoul, bishop of Amiens (1236-46). Richard was successively canon, deacon, and chancellor of the cathedral chapter of Notre Dame d'Amiens. He was also a licensed surgeon, by the authority of Pope Gregory IX and this privilege was confirmed a second time in 1246 by Pope Innocent IV."

-- Wikipedia.

On this day in 1879, Joe Hill (Joel Emmanuel Hägglund) was born in Gävle, Sweden.

His family was destitute, and sometimes there was no food. There was music, however, and Joe Hill, who would become famous for writing the IWW's "Starvation Army" songs, got his start at home.

On this day, 200 years ago, Eulalie Durocher was born in this house in Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada.

In 1831, after her mother died, Eulalie and her father went to live with Eulalie's brother, Theophile, a priest at Beloeil. Eulalie managed the "household and the parish rectory. For the next thirteen years she learned a great deal about the spiritual and social needs of a parish, especially the need for schools. In 1843 the new bishop suggested that Eulalie form a religious congregation dedicated to education. Her brother strongly objected to losing his trusted right hand, but Eulalie overcame his resistance and with two companions founded the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary."

--The Big Book of Women Saints, by Sarah Gallick, HarperOne, 2007, page 315.

On this day the Catholic Church remembers St. Faustina Kowalska, 1905-1938.

"Sister Mary Faustina, an apostle of the Divine Mercy, belongs today to the group of the most popular and well-known saints of the Church. Through her the Lord Jesus communicates to the world the great message of God's mercy and reveals the pattern of Christian perfection based on trust in God and on the attitude of mercy toward one's neighbors."

--from the Biography at the Vatican web site.

But not all Catholics find St. Faustina or her private revelations helpful or credible.

On this day we celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

Click here for the Mass and here for the Liturgy of the Hours.

On this day we celebrate the feast of Saint Mother Theodore Guérin who came to Indiana from Brittany in 1840 with five other Sisters of Providence to found Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

Like so many other founders of women's congregations, Mother Theodore was abused by her ecclesiastical superior.

"The carriage was empty. Sister Mary Xavier was walking slowly and sorrowfully over the bridge. 'Where is Mother?' we asked. 'Where is Mother?' Sister Mary Xavier pressed the hand of Sister St. Francis; it was some time before she could speak. At last she said, 'O mon Dieu! she could not come; the Bishop has excommunicated her and expelled her from the Congregation, and forbidden her to come back to St. Mary's.'

On this day in 1897, Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face died at the Carmel of Lisieux.

"On September 30, coming through the broken words of Thérèse who was very restless in her bed, the witnesses discerned the presence of possible despair. Their evidence concerning that day is unanimous.