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OCTOBER 13 - ST. EDWARD

Prince Edward was born at Oxford in England to King Ethelred II and Queen Emma. Then the Danes attacked England and his father the king lost his throne. Prince Edward who was only 10 years old at that time was sent along with his brother to Denmark to be quietly killed.

But the officer in-charge took pity on the boys and sent them to Sweden. Later the King of Hungary raised and educated them. When they were grown they moved to Normandy in France where they waited for things to get better so they could return to England.

Finally when he was 40 years old, Edward returned to England where he was chosen king and ascended the throne. King St. Edward was one of the best loved of all the English kings and the people welcomed him with great joy.

St. Edward was a tall, well-built man, but he was never healthy. Still he was able to rule his country well and keep peace most of the time. This was because he trusted in God and held firm when necessary.

King Edward went to daily Mass. He was a gentle, kind man who never spoke sternly. He showed special charity and was always generous to poor people and foreigners. He also helped monks in every way he could.

It was his justice to everyone and his love for God’s Church that made St. Edward so popular with the English people. They would cheer him as he rode out of the castle.

Although he was a king with great power, St. Edward showed his honesty by the way he kept his word-to God and to people. This holy king tried throughout his life to use the gifts he had been given in order to help others.

He died in 1066 and was buried in the marvelous monastery he had rebuilt.

OCTOBER 15 - ST. TERESA OF AVILA

Teresa was born in Avila in Spain. As a little girl in her parents’ rich home, Teresa and her brother Rodrigo loved to read the lives of the saints and martyrs. They felt that the martyrs got to heaven an easy way.

The two children set out secretly to go to the land of the Moors. As they walked along, they prayed that they might die for Christ. But they had not gotten far when they met an uncle. He took them back to their worried mother at once.

Next the children decided to be hermits in their garden. This didn’t work out either. They could not get enough stones together to build their huts.

St. Teresa herself wrote down these amusing stories of her childhood. But when she grew to be a teenager, however, she changed. Teresa read so many novels and foolish romances that she lost much of her love for prayer.

She began to think more of dressing up to look pretty. But after she recovered from a bad illness, Teresa read a book about the great St. Jerome.

Then and there, she made up her mind to become a bride of Christ. As a nun, Teresa often found it hard to pray. Besides that, she had poor health and also wasted time every day in long, foolish conversations.

But one day, in front of a picture of Jesus, Teresa felt great sorrow that she did not love God more. She started then to live for Jesus alone, no matter what sacrifice had to be made.

In return for her love, the Lord gave St. Teresa the privilege of hearing him talk to her. She also began to see visions and Jesuit and Dominican priests came to see if this was true. They were convinced and declared that the visions were holy and true.

She learned to pray in a marvelous way, too. St. Teresa of Avila is famous for having opened new Carmelite convents. These convents were filled with sisters who wanted to live holy lives.

They made many sacrifices for Jesus with Teresa herself giving them the example. She prayed with great love and worked hard at her duties in the convent.

St. Teresa was a great leader and true lover of Jesus and his Church. She died in 1582.

St. Teresa taught that we must have a great trust in God’s care for us. She wrote that a person who has God, will need nothing; God alone is enough.

OCTOBER 14 - ST. CALLISTUS

This great pope and martyr was once a young slave in Rome, who got into serious trouble. His master, a Christian, had put him in charge of a bank. Because other Christians, who took loans from the bank, refused to pay back the money, the bank went broke.

Callistus knew that he would be blamed even though he was not at fault and in fear, he ran away from Rome. He was caught, after jumping into the sea to try to get away. His sentence was a terrible one: he was chained and put to hard labor in a mill.

From this punishment Callistus was released, only because the people the bank owed money to, hoped he could get some of their money back. But once again he was arrested, this time for having gotten into a fight and was sent to the mines of Sardinia.

Fortunately, when the emperor freed all the Christians who had been punished and sent to those mines, Callistus was freed too. From that time on, things became better for him.

Pope St. Zephrinus got to know and trust St. Callistus. He put him in charge of the public Christian cemetery in Rome. This cemetery even today is called the Cemetery of St. Callistus.

Many popes were buried in it. Callistus proved himself worthy of the pope’s confidence in him. St. Zephrinus not only ordained him a priest, but also made him his friend and advisor.

Later on, St. Callistus himself became pope. Some people complained because he showed too much mercy to sinners. However, the holy pope ruled that even murderers could be given communion after they had done penance for their sins.

He also declared that the rich could marry the poor. This made the Romans very angry because it was against their law. But Pope Callistus would not give in; he said that the Church law was always greater than the Roman law.

This great pope always defended the true teachings of Jesus. He was killed for his faith in 222 with a glorious martyrdom.

The life of St. Callistus reminds us that God can choose anyone to do his work. We only need to have faith and trust in Him.

OCTOBER 16 - ST. MARGARET MARY

Margaret Mary was born in Burgundy in France. As a child, she was a happy little girl who loved the nuns at school. But when she was eleven, she became very sick.

It was four years before she was well again after she saw a vision of the Virgin Mary. Her father had died, and an aunt had moved into their home.

This aunt and her husband made Margaret Mary and her mother suffer very much. Almost every day, Margaret would hide in the garden to cry and pray. What hurt her most was seeing her mother get hurt.

Her mother wanted her to marry and so did her relatives. They were worried about her, especially when she brought beggar children into the garden to try to teach them.

Margaret Mary hesitated a while, neither marrying nor entering the convent. At last she decided on the convent and joined the Visitation sisters. She was kind and humble but often made others impatient since she was slow and clumsy.

But she was dear to Jesus. Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary and showed her his sacred heart. His heart was encircled by a crown of thorns that was a symbol of his great sacrifice. Jesus told her how much he loves each one of us and wanted her to spread devotion to his Sacred Heart.

It was a very hard thing to do as not many people believed she had really seen Jesus. Some were angry with her for trying to spread the new devotion.

This brought her lots of suffering. Yet she did her best to carry out the Lord’s wish. Jesus blessed her hard work and pain. Today, this wonderful devotion to the Sacred Heart is practiced all over the world.

Our Lord made twelve great promises to St. Margaret Mary for those who are devoted to his most Sacred Heart. They are:

1. I will give them all the graces they need in life.

2. I will create peace in their families.

3. I will comfort them in all their troubles.

4. They shall surely find in My Heart protection during life and especially at the hour of their death.

5. I will shower them with blessings in everything that they do.

6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Weak souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.

9. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.

10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who spread this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be erased.

12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine continuous months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall surely be their protection at that last hour.

From St. Margaret Mary we can learn to trust in the Heart of Jesus, which - as she wrote - is filled with “love to meet our every need.”

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