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OCTOBER 9 - ST. DENIS AND COMPANIONS

St. Denis (also know as Dionysius) was born in Italy but is very popular in France. In fact, he is considered the patron saint of France. Because he lived at the beginning of Christian history-during the third century - we don’t know as much about him as we would like to.

He came to France and became the bishop of Paris. Then the Emperor Valerian began to harass and trouble the Christians in 258. One day St. Denis was preaching the Good News of Jesus when he and two companions were martyred. His companions were a priest named Rusticus and a deacon named Eleutherius.

The Christian community cherished the memory of these brave martyrs. At first, they were only able to build a little chapel to mark the sight of their death. Later the chapel became the great church of St. Denis.

St. Denis and his companions remind us of the brave men, women and children who have gone before us. They give us the example of their lives and also remind us that they will help us now if we ask them.

The courage of these martyrs sprang from living each day in faithfulness to the spirit of the Gospel.

OCTOBER 11 - ST. KENNETH

St. Kenneth who is sometimes called St. Canice or Kenny was born in Ireland and is famous in both Ireland and Scotland. His father was a bard or professional singer of ballads and stories in song.

He tended his father’s flocks as a young boy. But when Kenneth grew up, he felt that God was calling him and went to Wales to study for the priesthood. St. Cadoc was his teacher and after he became a priest, Kenneth went to visit Rome to get the blessings of the Pope.

He then returned to Ireland to study further at the school of St. Finnian where he became good friends with three other Irish saints-Kieran, Comgall and Columba.

After preaching throughout Ireland, St. Kenneth went with St. Columba to Scotland on a mission to the pagan King Brude.

This made the king angry and he seized his sword to strike the two missionaries. St. Kenneth made the sign of the cross, and a miracle took place. The king’s hand was suddenly paralyzed, and the saints were saved.

St. Kenneth and St. Columba were always close friends. Once Columba was sailing with some companions and Kenneth was far away in his monastery in Ireland.

Suddenly he became aware that Columba was in great danger at sea. He jumped up from the dinner table and ran to church to pray for his beloved friend.

Out at sea, Columba cried to his frightened companions: “Don’t be afraid! God will listen to Kenneth. Right now he is running to church with only one shoe on to pray for us!” The Lord did listen to St. Kenneth’s prayer and they were saved.

Although Kenneth and Columba often worked in different places, they knew that prayer is a powerful expression of friendship.

St. Kenneth started several monasteries and converted many nonbelievers. He became famous for preaching the Gospel with much love and joy.

Even more, he became well-known for the perfect way in which he himself practiced the teachings of Jesus.

OCTOBER 10 - ELEVEN MARTYRS OF ALMERIA, SPAIN

The Spanish civil war began in 1936. It was a struggle between those who believed in God and those who did not believe in God.

So the non-believers attacked the Catholic Church. In three years, 12 bishops; 4,184 priests; 2,365 monks and 300 nuns were killed for the faith.

Today we celebrate eleven of those martyrs:

2 bishops who were from Almeria and Gaudix in Spain

1 priest Father Pedro Castroverde who was a well-known scholar and founder of the Teresian Association

7 Brothers who were teachers at St. Joseph College in Almeria a Christian School, and

1 young lay woman Victoria Diez Molina who joined the Teresians because she had found a spiritual treasure in the way this group prayed and lived their Christian responsibilities. Victoria was a teacher in a country school and was very active in her parish.

All eleven martyrs chose to die for Jesus rather than give up their Catholic faith.

Brother Aurelio Maria, soon to be killed, was the director of St. Joseph College. He said: “What happiness for us if we could shed our blood for the lofty ideal of Christian education. Let us double our fervor so to become worthy of such an honor.”

Bishop Medina of Gaudix said: “We have done nothing to deserve death. But I forgive you so that the Lord will also forgive us. May our blood be the last shed in Almeria.”

Bishop Ventaja of Almeria had many chances to escape from the country. But he chose to remain with his suffering people, his suffering Church.

Father Castroverde, the Teresian founder, wrote this beautiful prayer in his diary before he was killed on July 28, 1936:

“Lord, may I think what you want me to think. May I desire what you want me to desire. May I speak as you want me to speak. May I work as you want me to work.”

Victoria Molina was put in prison on August 11, 1936. She and seventeen others were taken to an abandoned mine-shaft to die. Victoria comforted the others and said: “Come on, our reward is waiting for us.” Her last words were: “Long live Christ the King.”

We can ask these eleven heroes of God to give us their strength and courage which was given to them by God.

OCTOBER 12 - ST. FELIX AND ST. CYPRIAN

Felix and Cyprian were African bishops. They suffered with over 4,900 martyrs in the terrible persecution by the Vandals.

Huneric, the Arian Vandal king, drove these Christians into the Libyan desert. There they were treated with great cruelty, tortured and killed by the Moors for their faith in Christ.

A holy bishop named Victor tried to help the poor Christians who had been shut up in a horrible prison and packed in without sufficient air or light.

He wrote the story of their courage and their sufferings. Bishop Victor says that when they were ordered into exile in the terrible desert, they came out of that prison singing hymns.

Other Christians burst into tears at the sight of their great courage. Even women and children went with them to exile and death.

The story is told of Bishop St. Felix. He was so old, half-paralyzed and so crippled that someone said to the Vandal king Hunneric: “You might just as well leave him here to die.”

But King Huneric cruelly answered, “If he cannot ride a horse, he can be dragged by oxen.” In the end, they decided to tie the brave old bishop to a donkey and he was carried off to die in the desert.

We also celebrate St. Cyprian who risked his own life to take care of as many prisoners as he could. He spent all his time and strength, plus everything he owned, to help them.

At last, he, too, was arrested and sent into exile. There he also died a martyr from the cruel treatment reserved for Christians.

These two men followed the example of Jesus as leaders in the Church. They gladly served those whom they guided with great generosity.

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