Showing results by narrator "Bob Lord" in All Categories

As her illness had taken a toll on her strength, Saint Gemma Galgani was not able to return to school. She remained at home and taught her sisters and brothers. At her beatification, one of her brothers said, "Gemma always brought the olive branch." She lovingly cared for the needs, both spiritual and physical, of her family, often at the neglect of herself. She had no use for fancy clothes, and adorned herself in simple, extremely austere black dresses.

Apostle of the devotion to the precious blood was born in Rome on January 6, 1786. As a devoted priest, Saint Gaspar del Bufalo revived the works of the apostolate in Rome and later became a dedicated missionary. In his missionary travels of Italy, he invited the faithful to reflect upon and to adore the precious blood of Christ.

Saint Alphonsus Ligouri begins a life in the courts of law. His father had him trained to become a lawyer. By the time he was 16 years old, he was so proficient in his studies, he received a degree of Doctor of Laws. And this came about in spite of the fact that the required age to receive such a degree was no younger than 20 years of age. Although his father's focus was to groom him for the world, his mother, who was highly spiritual, was the loving instrument who would prepare him for a future life as Jesus and Mary's troubadour.

Paray le Monial is a beautiful, quiet town nestled in the center of France. But the power that emanates from this town is pure Holy Spirit. You can still feel the presence of our Lord Jesus. For, it is here that our Lord appeared to a nun over a period of 17 years. He brought his faithful message of love to an unfaithful people who had grown cold. Here, he, once again, spoke of that tremendous love of his to become man and suffer death - even death on the cross.

Alfred Bessette (later known as Brother André) came from very humble beginnings, much like those of Jesus. He was born on August 9, 1845. The baby was so frail and sickly, his parents were afraid he would not live; and so, Alfred was baptized the moment he was born. He was conditionally baptized (when there is doubt concerning a previous baptism) the following day in the church. With the loving care and prayers of a very pious mother, our future Blessed lived to an old age!

Children have always been uppermost in the mind of the Father, as they have been helpless and in need of protection. There have been orphans and street urchins from the beginning of time. Over the centuries, the Lord has provided for these little ones, by sending men and women to take care of them. An epidemic of exploitation of children began at the end of the 18th century, with the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.

Saint Margaret of Cortona began her life on earth in the 13th century. Let us go back to that time, to a little farmhouse in Laviano, in the province of Tuscany. There was a flurry in the quiet kitchen. Dusk had no sooner settled into night, when dawn was desperately trying to break through. Water was boiling; the midwife was there to assist the bringing into the world of a new life. It was a girl! The pain of childbirth soon disappeared, as the mother held her new baby in her arms.

The name of Saint Maria Goretti has a special place for me. I would judge that most everyone in my generation has grown up having heard the story of the little crimson and white rose of Jesus, Saint Maria Goretti. Her story inspires such emotions in us, such a desire to bring ourselves to Jesus and his mother Mary as pure buds, ready to flower into whatever vocation they desire for us, whether it be religious, lay people, or as in the case of little Maria, saints who gave their lives as martyrs.

Born of a very devout mother and father who, in times when families were feuding amongst themselves, were called by some, "Jesus Christ’s peacemakers," it would appear from the very moment of her birth, God had special designs on Rita. There is a tradition in Roccaporena that as an infant, while she slept in a basket, in the fields where her parents were working, white bees swarmed around Rita’s open mouth. Not only did the bees not sting her, but it is said that they dropped honey into her mouth without her uttering a cry of warning to her parents.

The convent in which Dina spent her nine years as a religious nun burned to the ground in 1983. Therefore, there was no room where she had lived, no infirmary where she died, and nothing physical that you could touch in the new convent and school which was built after her death. But she was there, in every room we visited, every corner we turned, in the chapel where she is buried, and most importantly, in the eyes and spirit of every sister in the community. They all reflected the spirit of their sister in Christ, the precious little Saint of Québec.  

Saint Paul was born in Tarsus, a port city in the southeastern part of Turkey. He was from a Jewish family who traced their roots back to the tribe of Benjamin. This Jewish community had been sent to Tarsus during the Diaspora. Pompey had made Tarsus the capital of the province of Cilicia. Mark Anthony gave the people of Tarsus freedom, immunity, and the right to become Roman citizens, which accounts for Paul's reference to, and pride in, his Roman citizenship. He invoked his rights as a Roman citizen many times during his ministry to get out of some serious scrapes with the Jews.

When Saint Leopold Mandic had dreamed of the priesthood, his eyes traveled over the Adriatic Sea to far-off lands to bring the Gospel of Hope to brothers and sisters starving and thirsting for this Lord who died for them. He was not to even travel from village to village, like Father Francis and Saint Anthony (Saint of Padua), proclaiming the good news. 

Possibly the only thing the nobility and merchants in Assisi agreed on was the anger that rose up in them when they heard the name of Francis di Bernardone. To their way of thinking, he had disgraced his family and stolen from his father to give to beggars and lepers. He must surely be crazy. To add to their indignation, many of the sons of the nobility of Assisi kept flocking to Francis, joining him in his insanity.

The funeral mass was celebrated on Sunday the 18th. The preacher, a Franciscan Priest from Bevagna, instead of giving the homily he had prepared, found himself delivering the most extraordinary eulogy, extolling Clare’s sanctity and selfless giving to all who came, never counting the cost. As the words poured from his lips, they became his, and he found himself realizing the gift the father had given him; he was eulogizing a saint.

Come with us to the little hamlet of Ars in France, where we trace the life of the this super saint, known as a saint of the eucharist, and perfect confessor. Discover his church in Ars, and venerate his incorrupt body; discover his confessional, the rectory he lived in, his bed the devil set afire, the shrine to his incorrupt heart, and the altar where our lady appeared to him and where he was healed through the intercession of St. Philomena.

When Saints like Saint Philomena were removed from the Church Calendar after Vatican Council II, many were hurt, thinking their favorite Saint had been deposed at best, and discredited at worst. But to alleviate any fears and correct any misconceptions, the Role Call of Pontiffs, beginning with Pope Gregory XVI, then Leo XII, Pius IX, Leo XIII, Pius X, and Benedict XV, using the supreme authority passed down to them from Jesus, have declared, down through the centuries Philomena a saint, virgin, and Martyr.  

Our story is not only about a saint, but about a land blessed by the blood of martyrs, its every mile named after the holy - Sacramento (after the Blessed Sacrament), San Francisco (St. Francis), San José (St. Joseph), Santa Ana (St. Ann, Mary’s mother), San Gabriel (St. Gabriel the Archangel), to mention just a few. History is history, and sometimes history can be offensive to certain peoples, but it does not make history less history. Our story is about Junípero Serra.

The life of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. Born March 9, 1568, in the castle of Castiglione dell Stivieri in Lombardy. From riches to rags, he answered the call to evangelize, going from Spain to Florence to Mantua, where he served in the king's court to Casale Monferrato in Northern Italy, where he began to practice the ascetic life, to the Jesuit house of San Andrea, and to the Gesu in Rome, where he is buried.

We bring you the life of Saint Peregrine the Cancer Saint at Forli, Italy; incorrupt body. The Lord came down from the cross, and healed him of cancer of the leg the night before it was to be amputated. Room where the miracle took place. Ex-votos, for the miracles attributed to him. This saint has been credited with many miracles of healing.

We trace the life of this great super saint, Saint Dominic, who consecrated himself and dedicated his life to the salvation of souls. St. Dominic was also given the gift of the rosary by our lady when she appeared to him in France. He has been credited with battling heresies throughout Europe.