What is a Saint?
In the Catholic Church, the saints are ordinary people like you and me who made it to heaven. They’ve done nothing that you and I cannot do, if we persevere in following Jesus Christ and living our lives according to His teaching.
Catholic devotion to the saints is nothing more than respect and admiration for the memory of the deceased heroes of the Church. We honor them as men and women of heroic virtue who can serve as our role models. They were no more perfect than are we; but, at the end of their lives – and hopefully, ours – they received from Our Lord his words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
We also ask the saints to intercede for us. Have you ever asked anyone to pray for you when you were having a hard time? That is how Catholics “pray to” the saints – we pray with saints, not to them. As the Letter of James says, “The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.”
Well-known saints like those below often are remembered in a special way on particular days during the year.
January – February – March – April – May – June
July – August – September – October – November – December
This Weeks Saints
March 15
St. Louise de Marillac
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Fourth Sunday of Lent
Laetare (“Rejoice”) Sunday
March 16
St. John de Brebeuf
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March 17
St. Patrick
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March 18
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
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March 19
St. Joseph
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March 20
St. Photina
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March 21
St. Augustinus Zhao
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March 15
St. Louise de Marillac
“When all the poor in the world are no longer poor, when all the hungry are fed, and all the naked clothed, when the sick and the dying and the abandoned babies and the orphans and the outcast and the lonely and forsaken are all gathered in heaven, until that day, there will always be Daughters of Charity.”
St. Louise de Marillac
Louise de Marillac (1591-1660), wife, mother, widow, and grandmother, and leader in charity, overcame the social stigma of her birth out-of-wedlock in seventeenth-century France to became a cofounder of the Daughters of Charity (1633), an active Lady of Charity, and the patron of Christian Social Workers (1960).
As a married woman, Louise visited sick persons who were poor within her parish bringing them broths and remedies, changing their bed linen, counseling them, and burying them after their death. As a wife and mother, Louise continued ministering to the least of her sisters and brothers by bringing them food, sweets, preserves, and biscuits, and by brushing their hair, bathing their wounds, and preparing them for burial after death. As a widow, Louise was active with the Ladies of Charity by serving patients who were poor at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital in Paris, and training volunteers to do home nursing as she supervised the Confraternities of Charity, which included social ministry outreach projects initiated by Vincent de Paul. As a grandmother, Louise was conscious of teaching the lessons of charity to her little namesake, Renée-Louise.
As a leader in charity, Louise became a pioneer social worker in nursing and social services for abandoned babies, orphans, prisoners, persons living in poverty whom society disregarded because of age, frailty, mental condition, or other disabilities. Louise de Marillac was especially concerned about caring for abandoned infants, providing for orphans, and educating young girls, especially in those in the countryside.
Overcoming social barriers through a life marked by the cross from birth, Louise changed history when her work of charity and justice among the poor led her to recognize God’s presence in their midst. “How true it is that souls who seek God will find Him everywhere but especially in persons who are poor.”
The life and ministries of Louise de Marillac brought new life and hope to others. Her mission of serving God by serving the neighbor in need was rooted in respect for life and the human dignity of each person. “We owe respect and honor to everyone: the poor because they are the members of Jesus Christ and our masters, the rich, so that they will provide us with the means to do good for the poor.”
March 19
St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
We know little of the life of St. Joseph; only what is preserved in Scripture. The 13 New Testament books written by Paul (the epistles) make no reference to him at all, nor does the Gospel of Mark. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Apocryphal Date for Joseph’s birth is 90 BC in Bethlehem. In art, Joseph is often portrayed as an older man, with grey hair and a beard, often balding.
The Gospels describe Joseph as a “tekton,” which traditionally has meant “carpenter,” and it is assumed that Joseph taught his craft to Jesus in Nazareth. We know he was poor, for when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised and Mary to be purified he offered the sacrifice of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb (Luke 2:24).
Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. Both Luke and Matthew mark his descent from David, the greatest king of Israel (Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38). Indeed the angel who first tells Joseph about Jesus greets him as “son of David,” a royal title used also for Jesus.
We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary was pregnant after they had been betrothed, he knew the child was not his but was as yet unaware that she was carrying the Son of God. He knew women accused of adultery could be stoned to death, so he resolved to send her away quietly to not expose her to shame or cruelty. However, when an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him that she miraculously carried the Messiah, he did as the angel told him and took Mary as his wife. (Matthew 1:19-25).
When the angel came again to tell him that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything he owned, all his family and friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the baby; thus, he is a patron saint of immigrants. He waited in Egypt without question until the angel told him it was safe to go back (Matthew 2:13-23).
We know Joseph respected God. The Bible describes St. Joseph as a “just” man. In the Bible, this refers to someone who is not just “fair”, but one who is completely and joyfully a willing participant in God’s plans. When God called, Joseph responded, whether it was to flee to Egypt or to accept his betrothed Mary, despite her apparent circumstances. He followed God’s commands in handling the situation with Mary and going to Jerusalem to have Jesus circumcised and Mary purified after Jesus’ birth. We are told that he took his family to Jerusalem every year for Passover, something that could not have been easy for a working man.
We know Joseph loved Jesus. His one concern was for the safety of this child entrusted to him. Not only did he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life. When Jesus stayed in the Temple we are told Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great anxiety for three days for him (Luke 2:48). We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son for over and over the people of Nazareth say of Jesus, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” (Luke 4:22)
Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus’ public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry. The Apocryphal Date of his death is July 20, AD 18 in Nazareth. He is the patron saint of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus’ public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.
To give life to someone is the greatest of all gifts. To save a life is the next. Who gave life to Jesus? It was Mary. Who saved his life? It was Joseph. Be silent, patriarchs, be silent, prophets, be silent, apostles, confessors and martyrs. Let St. Joseph speak, for this honor is his alone; he alone is the savior of his Savior.
Blessed William Joseph Chaminade