Catholic Saints & Feasts of the Liturgical Year

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April 13: Saint Martin I, Pope and Martyr—Optional Memorial

c. 595–655
Pre-Congregation canonization
Invoked by those persecuted by the state
Liturgical Color: Red (Purple if Lenten Weekday)

Quote:
It is now forty-seven days since I have been permitted to wash myself either in cold or warm water. I am quite wasted and chilled, and have had no respite either upon sea or land from the flux which I suffer. My body is broken and spent, and, when I would take any nourishment, I want such kind of food as is necessary to support me; and have a perfect aversion and loathing to what I have. But I hope that God, who knows all things, when he shall have taken me out of this world, will bring my persecutors to repentance. ~Words attributed to Saint Martin in Butler’s Lives of the Saints

Prayer:
Saint Martin, your mind was imbued with the orthodox faith, and your will was strengthened with the virtue of courage in the face of opposition. You did not hesitate to do what was right, despite knowing the consequences you would suffer. Please pray for me, that I may have your same courage and clarity of mind so that I will be a greater instrument of God’s truth in this world. Saint Martin, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

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Image: from Wikimedia Commons

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Divine Mercy Sunday—Solemnity
Eighth Day of of the Octave of Easter

Liturgical Color: White

Prayer:
You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us (#1319). Jesus, I trust in You.

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Image: The First Image of Merciful Jesus—Vilnius (Lithuania)

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April 11- Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr—Memorial

1030–1079
Patron Saint of Poland, soldiers in battle, moral order
Canonized by Pope Innocent IV on September 17, 1253, in Assisi, Italy
Liturgical Color: Red (Purple if Lenten Weekday)

Quote:
Just as a baptized person comes to Christian maturity by means of this sacrament of Confirmation, so Divine Providence gave to our nation, after its Baptism, the historical moment of Confirmation. Saint Stanislaus, who was separated by almost a whole century from the period of the Baptism and from the mission of Saint Adalbert, especially symbolizes this moment by the fact that he rendered witness to Christ by his own blood. ~1979 homily of Saint John Paul II in Poland

Prayer:
Saint Stanislaus, your birth was a gift from Heaven, and your life of virtue, courage, and charity was a gift to the Church of Poland. Please pray for me, that I will never cower in the face of opposition, always preferring persecution over sin, and a holy life over fear of death. Like you, may I become a true witness of my faith and a source of inspiration to others. Saint Stanislaus, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

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Image: Saint Stanislaus by Stanisław Samostrzelnik

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April 7: Saint John Baptist de La Salle, Priest—Memorial

1651–1719
Patron Saint of educators
Canonized by Pope Leo XIII on May 24, 1900
Liturgical Color: White (Purple if Lenten Weekday)

Quote:
Indeed, if I had ever thought that the care I was taking of the schoolmasters out of pure charity would ever have made it my duty to live with them, I would have dropped the whole project. For since, naturally speaking, I considered the men whom I was obliged to employ in the schools at the beginning as being inferior to my valet, the mere thought that I would have to live with them would have been insupportable to me. In fact, I experienced a great deal of unpleasantness when I first had them come to my house. This lasted for two years. It was undoubtedly for this reason that God, who guides all things with wisdom and serenity, whose way it is not to force the inclinations of persons, willed to commit me entirely to the development of the schools. God did this in an imperceptible way and over a long period of time, so that one commitment led to another in a way that I did not foresee in the beginning. ~Memoir of Saint John de La Salle

Prayer:
Saint John Baptist de La Salle, God led you one step at a time throughout your life. Your generosity to the promptings of grace in your heart led you down a path you could have never imagined. Please pray for me, that I will always be open to the plan God has for my life, and will generously respond to that plan no matter what. Saint John Baptist de La Salle, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

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Image: from Adobe Stock—featured

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April 5: Saint Vincent Ferrer, Priest—Optional Memorial

c.1350–1419
Patron Saint of builders, plumbers, fishermen, and prisoners
Canonized by Pope Calixtus III in 1455
Liturgical Color: White (Purple if Lenten Weekday)

Quote:
By study of Holy Scripture and by factual experience we know that when any great and heavy affliction is about to come on the world, often some warning sign is shown in the sky or in the upper air. And this happens by the mercy of God, so that people forewarned of impending tribulation by means of these signs, through prayer and good works, may obtain in the tribunal of mercy a reversal of the sentence passed against them by God the judge in the heavenly courts; or at least by penance and amendment of life, may prepare themselves against the impending affliction. ~Sermon of Saint Vincent on the Last Judgment

Prayer:
Saint Vincent, you put prayer first in your life, and from that prayer became an exceptionally effective minister of the Gospel. God used you to convert countless thousands as you submitted yourself to His divine will with generosity and zeal. Please pray for me, that I may always seek God in prayer and allow my life of prayer to be the fuel for the ministry to which I am called. Saint Vincent Ferrer, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

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Image: St. Vincent Ferrer Preaching by Alonso Cano