SAINTS OF THE DAY FRIDAY, 16 OCTOBER, 2026 SAINT MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE SAINT GERARD MAJELLA SAINT MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE VIRGIN (22 July 1647 - 17 October 1690) A self-effacing nun in the Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial, France, was inspired by the Lord Jesus to establish the devotion of the Holy Hour. Her name was St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, and from the age of seven, when she received her first Holy Communion, she had always manifested an intense love of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Our Lord appeared to her often, usually as the Crucified Christ. Her simplicity caused her to feel that these apparitions were also granted to others who had recourse to Jesus in the sacrament of His love. Once the Master appeared to the young girl as she was returning from a dance and reproached her for not espousing Him. When twenty-four years of age, Margaret entered the cloister, choosing the most menial tasks. Gifted with intelligence and common sense, she made great progress in holiness. Our Lord entrusted to her the mission of establishing the reign of the Sacred Heart among the children of men. Criticism did not hamper her zeal, and her charity toward her opponents won them over to the cause of the Master. In the first revelation of the Sacred Heart to the nun, Our Lord made known His burning desire to be loved by all men, and His design of manifesting to them His Sacred Heart with its treasures of mercy. Margaret Mary communicated Our Lord's wish that the faithful receive Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month and observe the Feast of the Sacred Heart on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi. After nineteen years in the convent, St. Margaret Mary died on October 17, 1690. Many pilgrims to her tomb have sought and obtained favors. Through her apostolate of devotion to the Sacred Heart many sinners have repented and found grace with God. PATRON: Against polio; devotees of the Sacred Heart; loss of parents; polio patients. PRAYER: Pour out on us, we pray, O Lord, the spirit with which you so remarkably endowed Saint Margaret Mary, so that we may come to know that love of Christ which surpasses all understanding and be utterly filled with your fullness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. SAINT GERARD MAJELLA RELIGIOUS (6 APRIL 1726 - 16 OCTOBER 1755) St. Gerard was born in southern Italy on April 6, 1726. His father died while Gerard was still young, forcing him to be apprenticed to a tailor. His frail health, quiet disposition, and gentle ways led him to being bullied by fellow workers and by his employers. He was refused admission to the Capuchin Order on account of his youth, so he lived for a time as a hermit. His great love for Jesus crucified caused him to lead a very ascetical lifestyle. Getting to know the Redemptorists, he applied to them but was initially rejected because of his poor health. On his insistance, however, he was reluctantly accepted and sent to the novitiate with a note saying: "I am sending you a useless lay brother." Gerard was professed in July 1752, and quickly disproved the prediction of his uselessness by his excellent service as porter, tailor, and sacristan. His prayerfulness and dedication began to be too great to overlook and so he gained a reputation for sanctity. This brought a large number of persons to him for guidance in the spiritual life. He readily responded, revealing a remarkable gift for sensing the deep interior reality of a person. Because of this genius, of his ability to bring relief to the sick, and of his care for women in childbirth, many miracles were attributed to him and he gained the nickname "The Wonderworker." His popularity eventually led to accusations of sexual misconduct, which he bore patiently until they were proven false. He died on October 16, 1755, worn out by his austerities and by tuberculosis. Very many Catholics throughout the world honor him as the special patron of new mothers and of families, and his reputation as "The Wonderworker" continues to our day. — The Redemptorists THE PATRON OF EXPECTANT MOTHERS St. Gerard is often called upon as the Parton because of a miraculous healing that took place in his lifetime. A few months before his death, Gerard went to visit the house of a family. As he was leaving, he dropped his handkerchief. One of the daughters picked it up and tried to return it to him. He replied, "Keep it. You may need it some day." Years later, when this same girl became pregnant, she experienced great complications and feared that she would miscarry the child. Remembering this event with St. Gerard, she asked for the handkerchief. As soon as it was brought to her, the pain disappeared and she eventually gave birth to a healthy child. PATRON: Childbirth; children; expectant mothers; falsely accused people; good confessions; lay brothers; motherhood; mothers; pregnant women; pro-life movement; unborn children. PRAYER TO ST. GERARD: Almighty and Eternal God, we thank you for the gift of St. Gerard and the example of his life. Because St. Gerard always had complete faith and trust in you, you blessed him with miracles of help and healing. Through him, you showed your loving concern for all those who suffered or were in need; you never failed to hear his prayer on their behalf. Today, through St. Gerard's powerful intercession, you continue to show your love for all those who place their trust in you. (Mention your petition) And so, Father, full of faith and confidence, and in thanksgiving for all the wonderful things you have done for us, we place ourselves before you today. Through the intercession of St. Gerard, hear our prayers and petitions , and if it is your holy will, grant them. Amen.
When I was a teen my father used to drive us seven brothers to the men's confraternity in the local Redemptorist Church, St Gerard's. Of course there we heard many wonderful stories about St Gerard, the humble lay brother and tailor. Naturally being boys the stories of his fights with the devil were a great source of interest One time for instance the devil dragged him along the corridor at night while he lay on his mattress. He was one of the great saints who went toe to toe with Satan. My favourite story was that when he was rushing past the tabernacle one time doing his work he stopped and said to Jesus. 'Please Lord leave me alone! I have no time to talk, let me do my work!' It is so interesting that so many of these saints had nearly no education and were at the very bottom of the totem pole in their monasteries. The paintings and statues of St Gerald are usually horrible. Such a pity. It is very hard to find a good one.
SAINT OF THE DAY SATURDAY, 17 OCTOBER, 2026 SAINT IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH BISHOP, MARTYR AND APOSTOLIC FATHER OF THE CHURCH (Death - 2nd Century) In the Martyrology we read: "At Rome, the holy bishop and martyr Ignatius. He was the second successor to the apostle Peter in the see of Antioch. In the persecution of Trajan he was condemned to the wild beasts and sent in chains to Rome. There, by the emperor's order, he was subjected to most cruel tortures in the presence of the Senate and then thrown to the lions. Torn to pieces by their teeth, he became a victim for Christ." The bishop and martyr Ignatius occupies a foremost place among the heroes of Christian antiquity. His final journey from Antioch to Rome was like a nuptial procession and a Way of the Cross. For the letters he wrote along the way resemble seven stations of the Cross; they may also be called seven nuptial hymns overflowing with the saint's intense love for Christ Jesus and his longing to be united with Him. These letters are seven most precious jewels in the heirloom bequeathed to us by the Church of sub-apostolic times. The year of St. Ignatius' death is unknown; perhaps it occurred during the victory festivities in which the Emperor Trajan sacrificed the lives of 10,000 gladiators and 11,000 wild beasts for the amusement of the bloodthirsty populace. The scene of his glorious triumph and martyrdom was most likely the Colosseum; that mammoth structure, glittering with gold and marble, had then been just completed. "From Syria to Rome I must do battle with beasts on land and sea. For day and night I am chained to ten leopards, that is, the soldiers who guard me and grow more ferocious the better they are treated. Their mistreatment is good instruction for me, yet am I still far from justified. Oh, that I may meet the wild beasts now kept in readiness for me. I shall implore them to give me death promptly and to hasten my departure. I shall invite them to devour me so that they will not leave my body unharmed as already has happened to other witnesses. If they refuse to pounce upon me, I shall impel them to eat me. My little children, forgive me these words. Surely I know what is good for me. From things visible I no longer desire anything; I want to find Jesus. Fire and cross, wild beasts, broken bones, lacerated members, a body wholly crushed, and Satan's every torment, let them all overwhelm me, if only I reach Christ." The saint, now condemned to fight the wild beasts, burned with desire for martyrdom. On hearing the roar of the lions he cried out: "I am a kernel of wheat for Christ. I must be ground by the teeth of beasts to be found bread (of Christ) wholly pure". PATRON: Church in eastern Mediterranean; Church in North Africa; throat diseases. PRAYER: Almighty ever-living God, who adorn the sacred body of your Church with the confessions of holy Martyrs, grant, we pray, that, just as the glorious passion of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, which we celebrate today, brought him eternal splendor, so it may be for us unending protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
These Christian Martyrs seem to have had a grace we do not. A real hunger to die for the Faith. But no doubt the this huge grace will be granted to us when the time comes. One thing people do not talk about so much these days are the miracles that surrounded there deaths. For instance that the lions who were sent to eat people sometimes turned tame and lay at the martyrs feet.
