Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Jerome. Saint Jerome led a monastic life in service to the poor in his community while also spending a major part of his life in the service of the Church and the Pope. He is most famous for being a scripture scholar and translator of the Latin version of the Bible called the Vulgate. He not only translated the Greek Septuagint scripture to Latin first but then proceeded to also translate the Jewish Hebrew Scriptures to Latin. He spent 30 years of his life in the cave under the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. In the year 2017 my children and I had the blessing to have visited Bethlehem and spend a few minutes in prayer in this very holy and sacred space where Saint Jerome lived a big part of his life while meditating and translating the scriptures. 
We also know that Saint Jerome had a mighty temper so we can seek comfort in that even hot-tempered people have a chance to get to heaven if we rely on the divine mercy of God.
Saint Jerome pray for us!

On September 29th we celebrated the Feast of the Archangels. 
Archangels are the eighth order of the nine order of angels. They are the most popular of all the orders, and at least three of the seven archangels are referred to by name in the Bible: Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Jewish tradition in the Book of Enoch names the remaining archangels as Uriel, Phanuel, Saraqael, and Raguel. (Jewish Book of Enoch 20:1–7, 40:9, 54:6, 71:8)
Archangel Michael’s name means “who is like God”; he is the leader of the angels who were faithful to God and led the fight against Satan and the evil spirits and thrust them into hell. Michael is also the protector of the church. Gabriel is the “messenger.” He announced the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph, and Gabriel is also the one who appeared to Zechariah when he offered a sacrifice in the temple to announce the birth of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Christ’s arrival and ministry. Raphael brings the healing powers of God to us as we see in the Book of Tobit, which is one of the books in the Catholic Old Testament Bible. Raphael instructs Tobit’s son, Tobias, to use a salve made from a fish to heal Tobit’s eyes.
May the Archangels watch over and keep us safe and guide us on our journey on earth to heaven!

Today we remember the martyrdom of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and his companions in Japan. Saint Lorenzo was a lay Dominican who was born in the Philippines. He was a very devote family man. He and his wife had two sons and a daughter. When he was accused of murder, he fled to Japan as a refugee along with Dominican friars. In Japan he was arrested for his Catholic faith and was martyred along with the priests. Saint Lorenzo is the first canonized Filipino saint. Philippines has the highest percentage of Catholics in Asia, over 85%. Filipino's are devoted to their faith and especially to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Saint Lorenzo is the patron saint of Filipino's who have migrated to other countries. Today let us ask Saint Lorenzo to protect all Filipino's and all immigrants regardless of their faith, race, color, or creed. 
Saint Lorenzo pray for us!

Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady Star of the Sea. Ancient tradition has revered Mary the Mother of God under the title Our Lady Star of the Sea or Stella Maris . Our Lady is known around the world to have guided sailors safely to shore when the seas were rough and the storms were raging. Saint Therese says that Mary is our mother, our sister, and our queen.  Mary always leads the way to her Son, Jesus Christ. Mary is a pilgrim and accompanies us and guides us on our journey of life, so we reach the shores of heaven unharmed from sin.  The monastery on Mount Carmel in Holyland is named in honor of our Our Lady Star of the Sea, Stella Maris. 
Flos Carmeli is an ancient hymn to Our Lady sung in Latin by the Carmelites to this very day. Below is the English translation:  
Mother so tender,
Who no man didst know,
On Carmel's children
Thy favours bestow.
Star of the Sea.

Strong stem of Jesse,
Who bore one bright flower,
Be ever near us
And guard us each hour,
who serve thee here.

Purest of lilies,
That flowers among thorns,
Bring help to the true heart
That in weakness turns
and trusts in thee.

Strongest of armour,
We trust in thy might:
Under thy mantle,
Hard press'd in the fight,
we call to thee.

Our way uncertain,
Surrounded by foes,
Unfailing counsel
You give to those
who turn to thee.

O gentle Mother
Who in Carmel reigns,
Share with your servants
That gladness you gained
and now enjoy.

Hail, Gate of Heaven,
With glory now crowned,
Bring us to safety
Where thy Son is found,
true joy to see.
Amen. (Alleluia.)

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title, "Our Lady of Mercy". Another title for "Our Lady of Mercy" is  "Our Lady of Ransom" given in the medieval times by the Mercedarian religious order who freed the slaves and prisoners by paying a ransom to the pirates and the moors. In the icons of our lady we see her with a wide open mantle and all her devotees are protected under her mantle. 
Today is also a special day the Sisters of Mercy who were founded by Mother Catherine McAuley of Ireland in 1827, to serve and educate the poor.  I wish all the Sisters of Mercy a happy feast day and also to all those who are educated by this order including my daughter!
Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us!

Today we celebrate the feast of a contemporary saint Padre Pio of Pietrelecina, Italy. Padre Pio was born in the year 1887 and he died on September 23, 1968 in San Giovanni Rotondo. He entered the Capuchin order to become a friar at the very young age of 16. 
Saint Pio was blessed with many spiritual gifts. He was an excellent confessor and was given the gift to be able to read souls who came to him for confession, so no sin was missed during confessions with him. Like St. Francis, Padre Pio was given the visible marks of the five wounds of Jesus, the stigmata, which he bore until his death. Those who visited him smelled the fragrance of roses all around him. He was also given the gift of bi-location which allowed him to be in two places at the same time. There is a documented story of his bi-location during world war II where he appear to two American fighter pilots who were about to bomb the Nazi occupied Italy. When they were above San Giovanni Rotondo where Padre Pio was living, suddenly Padre Pio appeared in front of the flying aircraft in mid-air and the bombing equipment stopped functioning. The two American pilots were shocked and later one of these pilots went to the friary and there he recognized Padre Pio to be the flying friar that they had seen in the sky. 
Padre Pio promised that he will not enter heaven, until all of his spiritual children entered safely into heaven and that he would watch over them from heaven. My children and I had the special grace of visiting and spending a couple of days in San Giovanni Rotondo where there is a beautiful Basilica where the uncorrupt body of this saint is on display. Padre Pio was truly a victim of God's love and suffering. 
Saint Padre Pio, pray for us!

Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist. 
Matthew was a tax collector. He worked for the Roman authorities and collected taxes from his own Jewish community. For this reason, tax collectors were detested and considered as traitors. Tax collectors were usually very wealthy and most of their associates and friends were other tax collectors and sinners as the gospel of says Matthew 9:9-13. 
When Jesus chose Matthew to follow him, Matthew immediately left his profession and changed his way of life to orient and align his life to Jesus's way of life. He had an instant transformation. Immediately after that, he extends an invitation to Jesus to come to his house and meet his friends. This was a beautiful act of evangelization, where he brought Jesus to his friends. Shows he truly loved his friends and desired their salvation. Through his conversion all his friends who were tax collectors and sinners met Jesus and heard His message and received the opportunity to transform their lives for Christ, their Messiah. 
The following reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians summarizes the purpose of Jesus's calling and choosing of specific individuals for specific purposes and way of life:
"And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ" Ephesians 4:11-13
May we each find our calling in life and respond to that calling promptly as Saint Matthew did.
Per tradition Saint Matthew preached the gospel in Ethiopia and was martyred there by the king of Ethiopia.
Saint Matthew pray for us!

Today is the Feast of Saint Joseph of Cupertino. He is a Franciscan saint from the 1600's and had several mystical experiences during his life. He was not very good with taking exams and on one occasion during his seminary years, it is told that he knew the answer to only one question and it happened to be the only question he was tested on and so he was able to pass and become a Friar. 
There were several times he would levitate during prayer when he experienced mystical ecstasy. This was observed by many people who lived nearby. In one instance he was late for mass and he was seen flying in the air to get to church. These phenomena are outward signs of the tremendous devotion and love that Saint Cupertino had for God and his saints. Because of these events Saint Joseph of Cupertino is considered the patron saint of all aviators and students.
Today we invoke the special intercession of Saint Joseph of Cupertino on all students and those who aspire to be astronauts or work in the space and aviation programs around the world!!!

Today Carmelites celebrate the Feast of Saint Albert of Jerusalem who wrote the Rule for the Carmelite order sometime between 1206 and 1214. The hermits on Mount Carmel were most likely laymen who were living a community life of prayer and contemplation. They were already living the rule in their day to day life and it was not something new that was formulated by Saint Albert. The Patriach of Jerusalem, Saint Albert who even though was not a Carmelite himself assisted the Carmelite order by writing down the Rule for Living the Carmelite way, which was later presented to the Pope and so the Carmelite order was officially approved by the Church. For this reason the Carmelites celebrate the Feast of Saint Albert, the Law Giver today. 
"[4]The first thing I require is for you to have a Prior, one of yourselves, who is to be chosen for the office by common consent, or that of the greater and maturer part of you. Each of the others must promise him obedience - of which, once promised, he must try to make his deed the true reflection - and also chastity and the renunciation of ownership."  - Paragraph 4 of the Rule of Saint Albert
You can read the full text of Our Rule here: https://www.ocarm.org/en/content/ocarm/our-rule
In accordance with above rule, our new Prior General, Fr.Miceal O'Neil O.Carm was elected today during the General Chapter which was in session in Sassone, Rome, Italy. We welcome our new Prior General and we bid adieu to our Former Prior General Fr. Fernando Milan O.Carm who served us for 12 years!

On this day we celebrate the Stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi. Saint Francis went up to the mount on La Verna in Italy to embrace silence and solitude. He spent his entire day and most of the night in prayer for several days. On one such day a seraph appeared on the Crucifix and a light from the seraph pierced the hands, feet and the side of Saint Francis with the five wounds of Jesus Crucified. From that day Saint Francis had the stigmata until his death two years later. 
In his youth Francis was given two paths to consider, one path that led to the Kingdom of God and peace and the other path that led to the Kingdom of earth and the material well being. This saint chose the difficult and tedious path to the Kingdom of God. His reward was that he resembled Jesus more closely than many before him. The stigmata of Saint Francis was a unique and special gift that Francis received and was privileged to drink of the cup of chalice of the sufferings of Jesus Christ. 
Saint Francis truly lived out the following Gospel passage from Matthew 6:25-26
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?" 
Saint Francis, pray for us!