Saint #Basil, o great follower of God, help all as well as me. Defender of orthodoxy, defend us too, that follow your faith & stand beside you... Saint Basil, o miracle worker, father of our spirit, listen & hear your children's spirits in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Thread.
Basil was born to a strongly Christian family, his parents are both revered as saints in the Eastern Orthodox churches, as were his brothers St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Peter of Sebaste.
He was educated at home and then studied in Constantinople and Athens, where he met Gregory Nazianzen. They both entered a Christian community at Pontus, where Basil developed his teachings concerning monasticism.
Eventually ordained around 362, he returned to Caesarea, where he developed a theological argument against Arianism, then the creed of the Roman emperor, Valens. (pic shows St Basil, St John, St Gregory)
This was the nontrinitarian belief that Jesus was son of God, begotten by God the Father, but was distinct from the Father and subordinate to him; the Son was God the Son but not co-eternal with God with Father.
Basil, known for his care of the poor and underprivileged, also established guidelines for monastic life, focusing on community, liturgical prayer and manual labour.
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#Catholic Saint Thread, 6th January; André of Montreal, born Alfred Bessette, Saint André of Montreal was revered for his miraculous healings. Illness followed André throughout his life, such that he was once rejected from the Congregation of the Holy Cross due to his frailty.
1/ At the insistence of the Archbishop at the time, he was later accepted, taking the name Brother André. The greatest focus of Andrés work in the church was to care for the sick and he quickly became known for his miraculous oil healings.
2/ André was deeply devoted to Saint Joseph and would often recommend prayer to Saint Joseph to those who came to him for healing. His popularity as a healer grew over time, to the point that he received tens of thousands of letters each year from those seeking cures.
THREAD; John Nepomucene Neumann. Born in Europe to German/Czech parents, John Nepomucene was named after the patron saint of Bohemia and was destined to enter the church. #Catholic
1/ The Austro-Hungarian government suspended ordinations, however, so in 1836, John emigrated to the United States in order to undertake missionary work.
2/ He was ordained within three weeks of arriving Manhattan and joined the Redemptorist Order - the first American priest to do so - in 1842, meanwhile preaching to fellow immigrants in New York State, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
THREAD; Elizabeth Ann Seton, Widow & founder - Patron Saint of Catholic schools, seafarers, widows, loss of a child or parent, Shreveport; Louisiana and the State of Maryland.
How many of American #Catholic Twitter know about Elizabeth Ann Seton?
1/ Elizabeth Ann Seton, regarded as creator of the US Catholic parochial school system, Elizabeth Ann Seton is the earliest born of the American saints. Elizabeth was raised in a wealthy Episcopalian family, and married a merchant when she was 20, raising five children.
2/ She became involved in charitable social work and set up the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows and Children in 1797 but her husband suddenly became bankrupt and then she herself was widowed.
While celebrating his first Mass after his ordination in 1197, John had a vision of an angel with two captives, one a Christian, the other a Moor. A year later the Order of the Most Holy Trinity was founded...
2/ ... it's purpose was to free Christians from the "capitivity they groaned under the infidels", in other words, to free those Crusaders held prisoner by the Muslims.
3/ In addition to the Crusades, from the 8th to the 15th century Christians were at risk of capture or kidnapping from annual Muslim raids around the Mediterranean. As a result a number of rescue orders were formed during these times.
- converted to Catholicism, husband remained a Protestant
- not one of her children were under her care after the age of 12
- risked her life by harbouring priests
- executed by 'peine forte et dure'
- canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970
Saint John Rigby
- worked as a steward for Sir Edmund Huddleston
- never married or had children
- refused to renounce his Catholic faith
- refused to name the priest in order to not implicate him
- hanging didn't work, neck was stood on, butchered while still conscious
Saint Richard Gwyn
- born in Wales, converted to Catholicism
- married, had 6 children
- refused to take the Oath of Supremacy, went through multiple trials facing trumped up charges
- before his execution he gave his wife his rosary, his remaining money & gave her a kiss