Feast Day of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla

IMPORTANT FACTS:

The Beretta family,Gianna's parent’s 25th wedding anniversary,October 12, 1933.

From left, front row, Gianna, her mother, Virginia, Amalia, her father and Joseph, 

and,in the top row, Ferdinand, Francis, Zita and Enrico.

Gianna was a young and bright child who desired to be a nun but God had greater plans for her.

She was known for her great faith in Jesus.She loved life and everything that came with it even
the sufferings she had to bear.She was a life giver to everyone and to her family.When she
was young,she knew her prayers well and loved Jesus.

Alberto and Maria Beretta, was her parents.They had 13 children.5 children died at an early age.
Of the 8 remaining, 4 became medical doctors; 2, priests; and the others a nun, a pharmacist,
an engineer and a pianist.

She grew up in a Catholic Family who loved and gave her proper education.Her parents love formed 

her into a loving and beautiful child.She was eager to receive her first Holy Communion.At age 5,

Gianna received her first Holy Communion.She was dressed up well for Jesus. 

Gianna had a big family who was filled with the Catholic Faith.Her mother led the children to 

Daily Mass.They prayed the Rosary together daily as a family and consecrated their home to

the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Age 15,she attended an Ignatian retreat that gave an impacted in her life.That was the time she wrote 

down certain resolutions for living.She resolved:

1.) To do everything for Jesus—every work,every trouble would be offered to Him. 

2.) To avoid viewing movies unless they were modest and not scandalous. 

3.)To die rather than commit a mortal sin. 

Then Gianna prayed that the Jesus would make her understand how great is his mercy.She also

composed a prayer: 

“O Jesus, I promise you to submit myself to all that you permit to happen to me;

only make me know your will.”

At age 20,she taught a group involved with catechesis of young people,she gave them the following instructions:

1. Pray in the morning and evening on your knees. 
2. Attend Holy Mass and receive Holy Communion. 
3. Meditate every day for ten minutes and make frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament. 
4. Pray the holy rosary to ask the help of Our Lady.

In 1954 Gianna made a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, to ask our Lady to guide her in her vocation.
Should she become a lay missionary in Brazil and assist her brother,Father Alberto, who was the only physician in the impoverished area of Grajaù? Or should she marry and have a family?

December 8, 1954,the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the young woman attended the first Mass of a Franciscan priest, where she met an engineer named Peter Molla. In his diary that night Peter wrote: “I feel certain I have made a good encounter. The Immaculate Mother has blessed me.” They were engaged the following April.

Having chosen the vocation of marriage,she embraced it with complete enthusiasm and wholly
dedicated herself "to forming a truly Catholic family." They promised each other to have a proper
Catholic Family and to have constant and daily prayers even during their busy hours.They will make
time to spend with Jesus and Mary.They both desired to have Jesus and Mary in the centre of their
family as the Head who will rule and guide their family to Heaven by living a Holy Marriage.
She loved children and their family soon began to grow in a Catholic environment.Their son Pierluigi
was born in November 1956,daughter Mariolina in December 1957 and daughter Laura in July 1959.

Gianna wanted to have a big family. She and Peter had a son, Pierluigi, then two daughters,Mariolina

and Laura, followed by two miscarriages. In the summer of 1961 Gianna became pregnant with 

another child.However,Gianna developed a large, painful uterine tumour that threatened her life and

the baby in her womb.The surgeon suggested that she have an abortion,in order to save her own life. 

Gianna instead ask for a riskier surgery that would simply remove the tumor to protect the baby while

leaving her own life at risk.Gianna pleaded with the surgeon to save the life of the child she was 

carrying, and entrusted herself to Prayer and Providence.She prayed the Rosary daily and seek

Mother Mary for help.The life was saved, for which she thanked the Lord.

She spent the seven months remaining until the birth of the child in incomparable strength of spirit and unrelenting dedication to her tasks as mother and doctor.She worried that the baby in her womb 

might be born in pain, and she asked God to prevent that.

On April 21,1962,the baby was born and they named her Gianna Emmanuela. She was a healthy
baby but her mother Gianna Beretta's life was in danger.She soon contracted septic peritonits,an
infection in her abdominal cavity.

After several days of ineffective treatment and prayerful suffering,she fell into a coma on April 27
but before that Gianna had told Pietro that she wished to die at home,and in accordance with her
will,she was taken home,where she died on the Saturday in the Octave of Easter,at about
8 o’clock in the morning.

Pope John Paul II beatified Gianna in 1994,the International Year of Family.
Many saints are not formally recognized by the Church until centuries after their death.
But Gianna’s cause for canonization began within three decades after she died.The miracles
necessary for the process occurred in a relatively short period of time,so that her husband,
three surviving children and siblings were able to attend her canonization by
Pope John Paul II on May 16, 2004.

An Interview with Saint Gianna's Husband,Pietro...

Quotes of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla :

• It is a sin to kill in the womb.
• Why do you not succeed in doing good?It's because you do not pray enough.
• Love is the most beautiful sentiment the Lord has put into the soul of men and women.
• One earns Paradise with one's daily task.
• One cannot love without suffering or suffer without loving.
• If one were to consider how much Jesus suffered,one would not commit the smallest sin.
• The stillness of prayer is the most essential condition for fruitful action.Before all else,the disciple kneels down.
• Love your children. In them you can see Baby Jesus.Pray for them a lot and every day put them under Holy Mary's protection.
• Love the Virgin Mary. She is our tender confidant in difficulty.Mary is the mother who cannot ignore our requests.
• Prayer is the search for God who is in heaven and everywhere, since He is infinite..The person who does not pray cannot live in God's grace.
• Let us love the Cross and let us remember that we are not alone in carrying it.God is helping us.And in God who is comforting us, as St. Paul says, we can do anything. 

PRAYER TO SAINT GIANNA BERETTA MOLLA:
O Joyful St.Gianna,protector of unborn babies;protect children and babies inside the womb from
physical and spiritual harm.May the child growing in the womb;be secured by the loving hands of
Jesus.Please pray to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus for pregnant mothers and their child,that they
may both grow in holiness together.St.Gianna pray also to Our Lady and ask her to guide them
in teaching the child the ways of Jesus.May children grow in knowing and loving Jesus and Mary.
Amen.
Saint Gianna,whose sufferings was surrendered to Jesus and Mary's loving care,pray for us!

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

" I am the GOOD SHEPHERD;I know my own sheep, 

and they know me "

IMPORTANT FACTS:

The Feast of the Good Shepherd is celebrated on the 4th SUNDAY of EASTER.
When you hear the word Good Shepherd, we always have a picture of Jesus in our mine 
carrying the sheep close to His Heart or upon His shoulder. Why do we call Jesus the 
Good Shepherd?We are able to call Jesus the Good Shepherd because when Jesus was first
born, the Angels announced it to the Shepherds who were taking care of their flock. This was 
God’s sign to men to make known that His Son was born to the world to lead the flock of His 
people to the promise land.He made the world know that the main title of Jesus is the 
GOOD SHEPHERD then only the rest of Jesus’ titles will follow behind.

Jesus is the greatest Shepherd in History because He never abandoned His flock but rather died
for His flock in order to gain the redemption of the world. He loves each of His sheep and He
never abandons any of them. He takes care of each one as His own and when He puts forth 
all His own,He goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow Him because they know His voice.
He protects all with love, compassion and full of gentleness. He knows all their needs and how 
they each feel each day.

One word to explain the GOOD SHEPHERD is GREAT PATIENCE .Jesus’ patience is 

unexplainable for He waits for all His lost sheep daily and when they return; He rejoices 

with tears of Joy! Jesus is the SHEEPGATE and only through Him,we shall enter the Heavenly
Kingdom. 

From the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas about 
the GOOD SHEPHERD:

I am the Good Shepherd. Surely it is fitting that Christ should be a shepherd, for just as 

a flock is guided and fed by a shepherd so the faithful are fed by Christ with spiritual 

food and with his own body and blood. The Apostle said: You were once like sheep 

without a shepherd, but now you have returned to the guardian and ruler of your souls. 

The prophet has said: As a shepherd he pastures his flock.

Christ said that the shepherd enters through the gate and that he is himself the gate as 

well as the shepherd. Then it is necessary that he enter through himself. By so doing,he

reveals himself, and through himself he knows the Father. But we enter through him 

because through him we find happiness.

Take heed: no one else is the gate but Christ. Others reflect his light, but no one else is

the true light. John the Baptist was not the light, but he bore witness to the light. It is said

of Christ, however: He was the true light that enlightens every man. For this reason no 

one says that he is the gate; this title is Christ’s own. However, he has made others 

shepherds and given that office to his members; for Peter was a shepherd, and so

were the other apostles and all good bishops after them. Scripture says: I shall give

you shepherds according to my own heart. Although the bishops of the Church, who 

are her sons, are all shepherds, nevertheless Christ refers only to one person in saying: 

I am the Good Shepherd, because he wants to emphasise the virtue of charity.Thus,

no one can be a good shepherd unless he is one with Christ in charity. Through this 

we become members of the true shepherd.

Jesus finding the lost sheep,He reaches out with love to bring it closer to Him...

The duty of a good shepherd is charity; therefore Christ said: The good shepherd 

gives his life for his sheep. Know the difference between a good and a bad shepherd: 

the good shepherd cares for the welfare of his flock, but the bad shepherd cares 

only for his own welfare.

The Good Shepherd does not demand that shepherds lay down their lives for a real

flock of sheep. But every spiritual shepherd must endure the loss of his bodily life for

the salvation of the flock, since the spiritual good of the flock is more important than 

the bodily life of the shepherd, when danger threatens the salvation of the flock.

This is why the Lord says: The good shepherd lays down his life, that is, his physical 

life, for his sheep; this he does because of his authority and love. Both, in fact, are 

required: that they should be ruled by him, and that he should love them.

The first without the second is not enough.Christ stands out for us as the example 

of this teaching: If Christ laid down his life for us, so we also ought to lay down our 

lives for our brothers.

                                           
                                       Jesus the Good Shepherd from John 10: 1-21

PRAYER TO JESUS,THE GOOD SHEPHERD:

O Jesus the Good Shepherd, let us not stray away from the flock which you care most.May we

not hurt you with our own selfish reasons by leaving the flock to satisfy our own worldly needs. 

May we not stray from that Heavenly vision which you have placed in our minds by being 

deceived with the pleasures of this world. Teaches us to keep faithful and to follow the flock 

even through the silence of our sufferings; may we never lose sight of the flock which you are

leading that brings us to our eternal rest with you and the whole Celestial Heavenly Family 

in Paradise.Amen.

Jesus, Our Shepherd, may we never lose sight of Thy flock, Have Mercy on us!

Feast Day of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes

IMPORTANT FACTS:

When the Virgin Mary appeared to her,she knew well on how to greet her.Though she did not know her but because she was shocked and confused with what she saw so she decided to recite the Rosary to ask Mary for help without knowing that Mary was already there in front of her.Her innocent and faithful recitations of the rosary brought Mary to her because Mary was pleased with her prayer offering.Bernadette showed constant and loving trust in Mary that she turned to her no matter what the situation was.

When the she had to visit Mary at the Grotto,her father gave her strict warning not go there because he did not want to get people's attention on his little daughter.He was afraid because she was his precious child and he did not know who that 'Lady' was and what she wanted from his child.Bernadette on the other hand was brave and wanted to know more from the 'Lady'.So she prayed the rosary to Mary asking her to change her father's mind.On Sunday,she asked her father's for permission once again to return.This time he had a different answer for her.He said: "A lady with a Rosary can't be evil".and he gave her the green light to return.She was overjoyed!

So she brought a few of her friends and they hurried to the place.She knelt down quickly and began to call upon the Lady with her rosary and the Lady appeared to her and smiled beautifully at her.She then decided to sprinkle some Holy Water around the Lady and said: "If you come from God,stay.If you don't,go away'.

The more she sprinkled,the more the Lady smiled.Bernadette then knew she was from Heaven and knelt quickly to pray and gaze upon her beauty. 

The next day,the Lady told Bernadette to come for 15 days and visit her."Aoue era gracia" were her exact words, and Bernadette was astonished that Lady spoke in the same dialect as her and in a manner so gracious.Bernadette told her, "I will ask my parents' permission and I will come." The Lady
then responded," I do not promise to make you happy in this life,but in the next." Then
she said, "Go and tell the Priests that a chapel must be built here".She then vanished.

                                             The Lady appeared to Bernadette as she prayed...

When she told this to the her parish priest,he told Bernadette to ask the Lady for her name then they
will all know who is this 'Lady' which has been the talk of Lourdes.So she obeyed and went to see
the Lady.When the Lady appeared,she said, "Would you be so kind as to tell me who you are?".
She asked the Lady, 4 times the same question.Then the Lady gracefully extended her hands towards
the ground,swept them upwards to join them on her heart,gently raised her eyes,but not her head to Heaven,leaned closely and tenderly towards Bernadette and said,"Que soy era Immaculada
Conceptiou " which meant 'I am the Immaculate Conception'.The Lady then smiled at her and vanished.Bernadette was alone and did not understand the meaning but repeated the words of the
Lady as many times as she could as she made her way to Father Peyramale.

The priest was waiting for Bernadette and when she told him the Lady's name;he stood there stunned.
He was so surprised that he stammered saying,"Do you know what that mean?" and little Bernadette
shook a head and said "No".The priest was deathly pale but he pulled himself together and said,
"Go home now,child.I will see you another day".

And so news about the Lady's name started to spread like wild fire and people believed.Some were 

jealous,reporters were eager to know,others called Bernadette a liar and there were some who was

happy to share the joy with Bernadette.As we can see,from that day,Bernadette spend most of her life

with the Virgin Mary when she was on earth.She was always quietly praying and seeking strength 

through the recitation of the rosary.

Her life was a total messed up situation but she never gave up on her Rosary.While people asked her questions,she was saying the rosary at that very moment.Whenever there was a problem,a deep sorrow,a sharp pain or loneliness in Bernadette's life,she turned to Virgin Mary knowing that the Blessed Virgin will protect her and Bernadette trusted in Mary words,

" I do not promise to make you happy in this life,

but in the next."

With this words, she continued her life with Heavenly joy and looking forward to her next life; she prayed daily her rosary to feed her soul.Bernadette was very close with the Virgin Mary and though there were times when there was a lot of silence between her and the Virgin Mary, she trusted the Heavenly silence and persevered in it.Finally when Bernadette was called home by the Virgin Mary to enter Heaven,her last was :

"Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me, a poor sinner "....

This was what that made Bernadette become a great Saint because she humbly loved the Virgin Mary

and never allowed pride to stick with her.Therefore she had the Blessed Virgin constantly to guide 

her to Jesus until her very last breathe which brought her to the arms of Jesus.December 8th 1933, 

Pope Pius XI declared Bernadette Soubirous a Saint of the Catholic Church.Her feast day was fixed

for February 18th, the day Our Lady promise to make her happy, not in this life, but in the next.

The faithful however give her 2 more feast days,APRIL 16th, the day of her death,and 

FEBRUARY 11th the day her Lady stepped from Heaven into her heart.Today Bernadette is

known as Saint Bernadette of Lourdes or Saint Bernadette Soubirous. May we follow her example 

to achieve true holiness!

Saint Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes from "Who Cares About The Saints?"

 with Fr. James Martin, S.J.

Quotes of Saint Bernadette Soubirous:

• And you saints of Heaven who have passed through this trial, have pity on those who are suffering it now and pray that I be given the grace to be faithful until death.
• Dear gentle Jesus, be not my judge, but my Savior.
• I’m happier with my crucifix on my bed of pain than a queen on her throne.
• I must die to myself continually and accept trials without complaining.I work, I suffer and I love with no other witness than his heart.Anyone who is not prepared to suffer all for the Beloved and to do his will in all things is not worthy of the sweet name of Friend, for here below,Love without suffering does not exist.
• O my Mother, to you I sacrifice all other attachments so that my heart may belong entirely to you and to my Jesus.
• I shall do everything for Heaven, my true home. There I shall find my Mother in all the splendour of her glory. I shall delight with her in the joy of Jesus himself in perfect safety.
• My crown in Heaven should shine with innocence and its flowers should be radiant as the sun. Sacrifices are the flowers Jesus and Mary chose.
• Love overcomes,love delights,those who love the Sacred Heart rejoice.Jesus, my God, I love you above all things.
• Let us pray for each other that Our Lord may give us the grace that we need to become SAINTS.

PRAYER TO SAINT BERNADETTE:
O Holy Bernadette, unwavering child of the Blessed Virgin Mary, guide us to Mary and ask her to
gently lead our souls to Jesus, Our Saviour. May we be constant in reciting the Rosary even through
sorrow and uncertainty of life. Saint Bernadette, put trust in our hearts to cling on to Mary and know
that she will never leave us for she is a faithful Mother. Guide us through this life of jealously and hatred which has contaminated the world with its darkness.Light candles at the throne of Jesus and guide us
with that Heavenly light to the Kingdom of Heaven. May our prayers, joined with your powerful
prayers be raised to Mary who will then place it in the hands of Jesus.Amen.

Saint Bernadette, the Messenger and Rosary of Mary, pray for us!

Feast Day of Saint Lydwine Schiedam

IMPORTANT FACTS:

Saint Lydwine was filled with sorrow because she could not stand the pain but the pain increased
each day.She soon was frustrated and bitter.She wondered,"Why had God let this happen to her?
What did he want from her? And what could she still give to him anyway?" One day,the parish priest,
Father John, came to visit and pray with her.He saw that she needed help to gain her trust in Jesus
and to see through her sufferings the great glory that she is going to earn for having to suffer this way.
She began to realize the beautiful gift that she would give to Jesus: she would suffer for him.She
learned to offer her sufferings to console Jesus,who had suffered so much on the cross.Her suffering
became a beautiful prayer to God. Little by little, she began to understand her sufferings.

The Celestial Holy Hosts appeared before Lydwine and her family.All were shocked that they knelt down in amazement before her.

She soon learned that through her agony,she must remain devouted to Jesus.She prayed almost
constantly and continued experiencing visions, with a number of miracles being reported at her bedside.
This happen because the Lord was pleased with her offerings and He made her strong through her sufferings.For 38 years, Lydwine suffered. It seemed impossible that she could remain alive in such
serious condition but God comforted her in many ways. She was good to everyone who came to her
poor little room.She prayed to God and suffered for their special intentions.They knew God would
listen to her. Lydwine's special love was for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.For many years, she seemed
to live only on Holy Communion.

At the end of her life, Lidwina said,

"If I live to be healthy by Ave Maria again

 I would not want to." 

During final sufferings,Saint Lydwine was given the gift of visions.One of the visions was,she said she saw a rosebush and an inscription that read: "When this shall be in bloom, your suffering will be at an end." In the spring of 1433, she said  she saw the roses bloom in her vision.On Easter morning of that year, she had a vision of Jesus giving the Last Sacrament to her.She died on the 14th of April of that year.There were several miracles recorded by those that visited her in her bedroom during her suffering.Pope Leo XIII of the Roman Catholic Church canonized the skater and made her a saint. 


PRAYER TO SAINT LYDWINE:
O Glorious Saint Lydwine of Schiedam,you were chosen by Christ to suffer immense pain for poor sinners and to offer up all your sufferings to Him.Intercede on our behalf and help us through our small sufferings that cannot be compared to yours.Grant us the grace to trust completely in Jesus even during times of deep sorrow and confusions.Help us to always place our petitions in the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary who on our behalf will offer up our petitions to Jesus like how she did kindly for you.May we be given the grace to persevere in sufferings until the Lord calls us home to enjoy the Glory of Heaven.Amen.
Saint Lydwine, whose life was filled with intense sufferings for poor sinners,pray for us!

Feast of the DIVINE MERCY

HELL: The place where evil people are cast down.Evil people are cast down because they themselves chose to go there and to be damned by God.God is upset with the way people choose their way of living but He gave everybody the "FREEDOM TO CHOOSE".May we together with Saint Faustina,pray for the salvation of poor sinners so that their souls may not be damned to Hell but rather lean on the compassion of Jesus Merciful Heart!         

PURGATORY: The place where poor souls go to be purified by fire in order to cleansed.This is their final stop before entering Heaven.They must repair their soul by praying for poor sinners on earth.They must do charity by praying for others and suffering the burning fires of purification.By doing so,they will be made pure and the Angels and Saint Michael together with Our Lady,will bring them to Heaven.There are billions of souls suffering at there but they cannot escape the burning fires easily,they need our prayers to escape the terrible torture.We need to pray for the souls in Purgatory so that they may receive pardon from God.We need to cool down God's anger by praying for these poor souls,by offering Jesus Blood to the Eternal Father.By saying this prayer:

" Eternal Father,I offer you the Body and Blood,Soul and 

Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son,Our Lord,Jesus Christ,in 

atonement for our sins and those of the whole world ".

When we pray for this poor souls,always remember that they are always praying for us.They will never forget us once they are in Heaven and they will continue to plead to the Father for our sakes if we help them.  

HEAVEN: This place is our Eternal Home.Our real home which Jesus has prepared for us.It is beautiful and filled with rewards for all eternity.Here is where the faithful ones join in prayer with the Father to love and praise Him for all eternity.The place of Eternal Joy and Laughter filled with peace.The place of of TRUE HAPPINESS,where we can live with Jesus and He shall wipe every tear from our eyes,and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.All these things will be gone forever.In order to achieve our final destination,we need to pray and be strong in our faith.We need to do 7 things in order to achieve Heaven and that is:

* Pray the Rosary DAILY

* Regular / 1 Month Confessions

* Receive Jesus frequently during Holy Mass

* Pray frequently the Novenas to the Saints

* Read a few pages of the BIBLE

* Use SACRAMENTALS which are blessed by Priests

* Recite the DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET

May we save our souls and the souls of others through the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy! 

Feast Day of Saint Marguerite d'Youville

IMPORTANT FACTS:

Saint Marguerite d'Youville was a French Canadian, widow who founded the religious order the Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as the Grey Nuns of Montreal.Marguerite was an independent woman who did not allow the world to tear her dreams away in living for Jesus.She provided good education for her 2 sons,who later by the grace of God became priests.She was known for the woman who brought the poor to her home.She made her home theirs and they blessed her for her kindness.Marguerite was then joined by 3 young women who shared her love and concern for the poor. December 31,1737, they consecrated themselves to God and promised to serve him in the person of the poor and needy.She without even realizing it, had become the Foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal,best known as the "Grey Nuns". 

Marguerite always taught the sisters of Charity to focus a lot on prayer and spending time with Jesus.She made sure that all their prayers come first before serving the poor.In that way,the poor will be able to see Jesus in them and they will be able to see Jesus in the poor.She always put Jesus first before anything and that is how she achieved the first degree of perfection.Even when fire destroyed the hospital, it could never destroy Marguerite's courage and faith in Jesus.She was a mountain of faith that could not be moved!

She lived a life of total self-giving,and will always be remembered as a loving mother who served Jesus Christ in the poor.Pope John XXIII beatified Marguerite on May 3, 1959 and called her "Mother of Universal Charity." She was canonized by Pope John Paul II, December 9, 1990.

Words of Mother d’Youville, 14 December 1771:

“My dear Sisters, be constantly faithful to the duties of the state that you have embraced.Walk always in the path of regularity,obedience,and mortification.But above all,let the most perfect union reign among you.” 

Quote of Saint Marguerite: 

• "All the wealth in the world cannot be compared with the happiness of living together happily united."

PRAYER TO SAINT MARGUERITE  D'YOUVILLE:

O Saint Marguerite,Mother of the Poor,please help us to see Jesus in the poor.Give us the courage to stretch out our hands to help the poor and may we not hold back our hands;for God gave us hands to help.Give us grace not to be afraid of what others will say but be mindful only of the words of Jesus,who said,'Truly,I say to you,as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,you did it to me.'May by serving the poor with a sincere heart bring us to Jesus arms like how it brought you to the arms of Jesus who embraced you and rewarded you with the Crown of Charity.Amen.

Mother of the Poor,intercede for us and the world to be more charitable towards the poor!  

Feast Day of Blessed Diego Luis De San Vitores

IMPORTANT FACTS:

Blessed Diego Luis was unafraid to die and was well prepared to die because he knew it was a great grace to die as a Martyr.The Glory of a Martyr is the greatest in Heaven because the Martyrs in Heaven has been given a great reward for their sufferings and the shedding of their blood which they offered up to Christ.

The GREATEST GRACE is to be Martyred but few are called to this grace.

Remember if we are ever called to be Martyrs of Christ,do not think twice but rather be prepared like Blessed Diego Luis and pray for the grace of martyrdom and seek Mother Mary by reciting the rosary to her.For Mother Mary can turn all your recitations of the rosary into comforting blankets that will cover you during your martyrdom.By that,you will able to earn the Martyr's Crown.

**Pope John Paul II,October 6,1985 beatified Father Diego Luis San Vitores for such bravery and courageous act of love for Jesus and his Faith   

Blessed Diego Luis trusted in Jesus and Mary all his life and never worried about the day of his martyrdom instead prayed fervently to Jesus and Mary.His martyrdom proves the words of Jesus who said,

"Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."- Deuteronomy 31:6

PRAYER TO BLESSED DIEGO LUIS DE SAN VITORES:
Almighty God,through the prayers of Blessed Diego,grant us the grace to be brave and courageous if we are called to be martyrs and even if it is not your will for us to be martyrs,may we be faithful to you until our death.Blessed Diego pray for us to continue to spread the faith to those who are lost despite the darkness of this world;may we bring light to them like how you did during your stay on earth.Amen
Blessed Diego,Apostle of the Marianas,pray for us!

Feast Day of Saint Pedro Calungsod

IMPORTANT FACTS:

Symbols of Saint Pedro:

* A  ROSARY

* CRUCIFIX pressed to his breast

* Holds the DOCTRINA CHRISTIANA( The Teachings of the Church) 

* MARTYR's PALM

* SPEAR & CUTLASS( Instruments of his death) 

Witnesses claim that Pedro could have escaped the attack,but did not want to leave Father San Vitores alone.Those who knew him personally meanwhile believed that Pedro could have defeated
the enemies with weapons;Father San Vitores however banned his companions to carry arms.

Mata' pang(The Enemy) who wanted to kill the missionaries,went away and enlist another villager,
Hirao was the name of the other enemy. Hirao was not Catholic and he was innocent but was
brainwashed by Mata' pang.During the brief absence of Mata' pang from his hut,Father San Vitores
and Pedro baptised the baby girl,with the consent of her Catholic mother.Father San Vitores,gave
Pedro his last blessing before he too was killed..After killing Father San Vitores and Pedro,
Mata' pang took the Father's crucifix and pounded it with a stone whilst cursing God.Both of the
enemies then stripped the corpses of Pedro and Father San Vitores,tied large stones to their feet,
brought them out to sea on their sail boat and threw them into the water.Those remains of the
Martyrs were NEVER to be found again.

On October 6,1985: After years passed by, Father San Vitores's details finally came clear and
Pope John Paul II beatified him at Saint Peter's Square as " BLESSED DIEGO LUIS de SAN VITORES "

On March 5, 2000 :Then after many years of difficultly to get Pedro's details,he was finally
beatified by Pope John Paul II at Saint Peter's Square as " BLESSED PEDRO CALUNGSOD "

The cause of Canonization of Blessed Pedro was recognised from 2002,and so,on 26 March,when a Leyte woman was pronounced clinically dead by authorized physicians 2 hours after a heart attack but was revived when a Doctor invoked the aid of the Visayan teenage martyr saying,

"Blessed Pedro Calungsod,please save the life of this patient! Perform a Miracle!" 

On October 21,2012: The CANONIZATION of Blessed Pedro Calungsod at Saint Peter's Square.

Finally Blessed Pedro Calungsod was known as " SAINT PEDRO CALUNGSOD "

In the Roman Catholic Church,Pedro's martyrdom is called " In Odium Fidei " or 

"In Hatred of the Faith",referring to the Religious persecution endured by the person in Evangelisation.

The Roman Martyrology celebrates Pedro’s feast along with Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores every 2 April.

PRAYER TO SAINT PEDRO CALUNGSOD :
O Saint Pedro,intercede for poor sinners here who are weak and fragile.Help us with your prayers to be faithful Catholics and never to forsake our faith for all the world can give.May we always focus on Jesus
like how you did until the very end of your martyrdom.May we be constant in praying the rosary daily
and seeking the help of Mary,Our Mother who did help you during the time of your persecution.
O Holy Martyr,Faithful Friend of Christ,stay with us until our last breath here on earth and then
take us to meet Jesus in Heaven with Mary and all the Angels and Saints!Amen.