July Saints

Feast: 9 July

Saint Paulina do Agonizante de Jesus
(1865-1942)

Amabile Lucia Visintainer was born in Italy in 1865 of poor, practising Catholic parents. In 1875, her family emigrated to the State of St Catherine in Brazil.

On 12 July 1890, Amabile and a friend took care of a woman suffering from cancer, and laid the foundations of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, with the approval of the local bishop. Later that year, Amabile, together with her first two companions, made her religious vows, taking the name of Sister Pauline of the Agonising Heart of Jesus. In 1903 Mother Pauline was elected Superior General for life and left for Sao Paulo to take care of the orphans, the children of former slaves, and the old and abandoned slaves.

Six years later, she was removed from the office of Superior General by the Archbishop of Sao Paulo and sent to work with the sick and elderly in a hospice, without any longer being able to assume an active role in her Congregation. These were years marked by prayer, work and suffering, all of which she accepted and endured so that the Little Sisters might continue their journey and “our Lord be known, loved and adored by all souls, in the whole world”. In 1918, Mother Pauline was moved to the Mother House where she lived a hidden life, interwoven with prayer and loving assistance to the infirm Sisters, until her death.

From 1938 onwards, Mother Pauline began to experience serious health problems due to diabetes. After two operations, first her middle finger and then her right arm were amputated. She spent the last months of her life totally blind. On 9 July 1942 she died with the words, “God’s will be done” on her lips.

Saint Paulina, help us to accept the sufferings life sends us.

Source: Internet – various

Feast: 12 July

Saint Jason

While on his second missionary journey, St. Paul stayed at Salonika, in Jason’s house. In consequence of Paul’s successful preaching, the Jews, “moved with envy and taking unto them some wicked men of the vulgar sort, and making a tumult, set the city in an uproar; and besetting Jason’s house, sought to bring them out unto the people. And not finding them, they drew Jason and certain brethren to the rulers of the city, crying, ‘They that set the city in an uproar are come hither also, whom Jason hath received’. And they stirred up the people and the rulers of the city, hearing these things. And having taken satisfaction of Jason and of the rest, they let them go”.

This is probably the Jason referred to by Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans, who went with St. Sosipater, bishop of Iconium, to Corfu, evangelising that Island, and dying there. After preaching successfully for some time, the two missionaries were thrown into prison, where they converted seven thieves who afterward achieved martyrdom. 

Saint Jason, obtain for us the gift of hospitality.

Source:
www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=293

Feast: 9 July

Holy Martyrs of Shanxi
(d. 1900)

In 1899, seven Franciscan Missionaries of Mary travelled to the Chinese province of Shanxi to serve the poor in hospitals, orphanages, vocational training, and numerous other apostolates.

The needs were great in Shanxi; the demands on the sisters unrelenting. Still, the seven knew great joy as they manifested their love for Christ through their service, and the people of their adopted homeland reciprocated with affection. Sister Mary Amandina was particularly singled out for her cheerfulness and was known to the Chinese as “the European sister who is always laughing”.

The provincial governor, Yu Xian, disapproved of the sisters’ work and took advantage of the Boxer Rebellion to attack the Christian community and the sisters. On 5 July 1900, he imprisoned the sisters along with almost two dozen friars, seminarians, and lay faithful. After a mock trial, the sisters were forced to witness the deaths of their fellow Christians. Throughout this ordeal, the sisters could be heard praying and chanting the Te Deum until they themselves were slaughtered.

The Sisters, along with 113 other martyrs of China, were canonised by Pope John Paul II in 2000.

Holy Martyrs of Shanxi, guide us to spend our lives for others.   

Source:
http://clingingtoonions.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/the-martyrs-of-shanxi.html