Saints Who Lived in the Spirit

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Chapter 1

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
1207-1231
Feast Day: November 17

How would you feel if it seemed that your whole life was planned out for you long before you were able to speak up for yourself? That is exactly what happened to Elizabeth of Hungary. When she was only four, she was promised in marriage to a prince in a neighboring country. This was a very common practice among wealthy families of Elizabeth’s time. Soon after, she was sent to live with the prince’s family in their palace high on a mountain.

At fourteen, Elizabeth married Prince Ludwig, who became king a year later. The couple grew in love for one another and had a happy marriage. Yet, although she was a wealthy queen, Elizabeth knew that poverty, illness, and suffering existed beyond the walls of her palace. She heard the Holy Spirit calling her to care for the needy people of her adopted land.

Each day, she left the castle carrying bread in her royal cloak to distribute to the poor. She visited the sick, bandaging the wounds of lepers and soothing the fevers of sick children by bathing them in cool water. Soon, people throughout the kingdom began to bring their sick relatives to the palace. Elizabeth welcomed them into her home and enlisted the aid of her servants to care for them. At first, King Ludwig was upset about Elizabeth’s work, but he soon recognized that she was living her faith by serving others, as Christ had.

Elizabeth convinced Ludwig to build a hospital below the castle so that those who were ill or in need would not have to endure the hard journey up the mountain to obtain help and comfort. Eventually, two hospitals were built, along with an orphanage.

While Elizabeth was expecting their third child, Ludwig went to fight in the Crusades, one of three religious wars that were fought to win back the Holy Land from invaders. While away, Ludwig died of the plague. The new king, Elizabeth’s brother-in-law, resented the money and food Elizabeth gave to the needy. He expelled her and her young children from the palace. Living among the people she had ministered to for so many years only deepened Elizabeth’s commitment to them. It is said that she went from door to door, begging for money to care for her people, although she and her children were in need, too.

Eventually, people persuaded the new king to allow Elizabeth to move back to the palace. She did so only for a short time. She then renounced her royal status and moved into a small house to be near her people and tend to their needs. She died at the age of twenty-four, having lived a life continuing Christ’s mission in the world.

Elizabeth of Hungary is a saint who lived in the Holy Spirit. She made both her palace and her simple home a gathering place for the poor and the sick. Saint Elizabeth of Hungary responded to her love of Christ by reaching out to others and welcoming them, as we are called to do in the gathering rites at Mass.

Chapter 2

Saint Jerome
340-420
Feast Day: September 30

Jerome was born in the country we now call Croatia. He was tutored at home and developed a love for education. When he was about twelve, his parents sent him to Rome to study both Greek and Latin.

When he was eighteen, Jerome was baptized in Rome. In his day, people joined the Church as adults, after being catechumens for several years. Jerome continued to educate himself by traveling throughout the Holy Roman Empire and studying with some of the great Scripture scholars of his time. It is said that during this period, Jerome had a dream in which he came before God to receive judgment on his life. In the dream, Jerome was judged to be a heretic, rather than a Christian. The dream left a lasting impression on Jerome. He recognized that God was calling him to use his education to serve the Church.

Jerome was ordained a priest and was given permission to devote his life to study and writing rather than ministering to the people of a parish. He responded to the temptations of city life that he experienced by retreating to the wilderness for silence and a life of simplicity. In the wilderness, he began to study Hebrew, to copy books by hand, and to write letters defending and explaining the faith. Each of these tasks prepared Jerome for the great work he was yet to do.

Pope Damasus was impressed by Jerome’s talents and summoned him to Rome to be the papal secretary. In addition to those duties, Damasus commissioned Jerome to translate the Gospels into Latin, the language of the Church, using original Greek manuscripts that had been discovered. Jerome’s translation of the Gospels was more accurate than any other version available at the time.

After Damasus died, Jerome traveled and eventually settled in Bethlehem where he became the spiritual director at a monastery. His duties allowed him the freedom and silence he needed to devote himself to translating most of the Old Testament from Hebrew to Latin.

Jerome’s translation of the Old and New Testament is called the Vulgate, or common version, of the Bible. It is interesting to note that Jerome did all his work by hand, arduously copying his translations onto paper made from animal skins or the papyrus plant because the printing press was not invented until the mid-1400’s.

Jerome is a saint who lived in the Holy Spirit. Saint Jerome once said, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” Jerome’s translation of the Bible made it possible for Catholics throughout the ages to understand and to respond to God’s Word to us as we are called to do in the Liturgy of the Word.

Chapter 3

Saint Therese of Lisieux
1873-1897
Feast Day: October 1

Born into a loving and religious family in a small town in France, Therese Martin was the youngest of five sisters. Because she was the baby of the family, she was pampered and somewhat spoiled, especially by her older sister Pauline, who took responsibility for raising Therese after their mother died when Therese was only four years old.

One by one, Therese’s sisters left home to join the convent. Pauline and another sister, Marie, joined the Carmelites, an order of cloistered nuns who spent their days in prayer and work, rarely leaving the cloister. Since the family could not visit the cloister often, Pauline wrote to Therese frequently, encouraging her in her faith. By the time she turned fourteen, Therese knew that her vocation was to join the nuns at Carmel.

Her request to enter the cloister was turned down. The bishop and others felt that Therese was too sickly and immature for the self-sacrificing life of the Carmelites. Therese did not let this decision deter her.

Soon after, the Martins visited Rome and were granted an audience with the Pope. Everyone had been instructed to remain quiet while the Pope blessed them. Therese could not contain herself. As the Pope approached her, she begged him to allow her to become a Carmelite. Although the Pope did not intervene in the situation, Therese’s bishop heard about her courageous plea and relented. She entered the cloister the next year, when she was fifteen.

Therese knew that she would never achieve great things as a Carmelite, but she was determined to show her love for God and her religious sisters in every possible way. She performed her chores willingly, making a prayer out of the most basic task. She never complained about the hardships of convent life and she was kind and patient to even the sternest nuns. Therese went out of her way to make sacrifices for others. She called her efforts to please God her “little way.”

When Therese developed tuberculosis and became bedridden, her sister Pauline, who had become the superior of the cloister, asked her to write about her life and her “little way.” Therese’s writings were published after her death in the autobiography, The Story of a Soul. Therese’s little way has become a model for ordinary people who want to live holy lives.

Therese was canonized as a saint only 28 years after her death—an unusual recognition of the influence her life had on others. St. Therese of Lisieux is a saint who lived in the Holy Spirit. Every day, in many ways, she lived out the choice to be a disciple of Christ as we will be called to do at the Renewal of Baptismal Promises when we are confirmed.

Chapter 4

Venerable Pierre Toussaint
1776-1853

Pierre was born into a slave family in Haiti. His master, Mr. Jean Bernard, taught him to read and write, a rare occurrence since most slaves were uneducated. The Bernards were devout Catholics and saw to it that their slaves were baptized and raised in the Catholic faith.

In the midst of a revolution in Haiti, Mr. Bernard relocated his family to New York, bringing along Pierre and his sister. Mr. Bernard wanted Pierre to learn a trade and arranged a job for him as an apprentice hairdresser. Pierre excelled at his work, not only because of his talent, but also because of his caring and persuasive personality. Soon, many of the wealthiest and most important women of New York came to Pierre to have their elaborate hairstyles created and to confide in him. One of the first things he did with the money he earned was to buy his sister’s freedom.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bernard returned to Haiti to tend to his plantation, leaving Pierre to care for his wife. When word came that Mr. Bernard had died in Haiti, Mrs. Bernard offered Pierre his freedom, but Pierre refused to leave her. He supported Mrs. Bernard until her death.

For sixty years, Pierre attended Mass every morning before going to work at the salon. He lived his faith by doing charitable work—helping refugees find jobs, locating homes for orphans, and personally caring for the victims of a plague that spread through New York. He married a woman named Juliette, a fellow Haitian slave whom he loved. Together, they opened a school for black children. Not only did the children receive an education, they learned a trade so that they could support themselves as adults.

Peirre needed money to fund all his charitable work. Each day, as he worked with his wealthy clients, he talked to them about the plight of the poor in New York. He explained their need for homes, food, medicine, and education. Pierre’s clients were moved by his stories and they opened their purses to him so that he could continue his good deeds.

There seemed to be no end to the needs to which Pierre responded. He helped to support a religious order for black nuns in Baltimore and he was a major contributor and fundraiser for New York’s first cathedral, old St. Patrick’s. He lived a humble life, preferring to spend his money to help others, in spite of the prejudice he experienced as a black man.

When Pierre died at age eighty-seven, his funeral Mass was crowded, attended not only by the people he helped and but also by the benefactors who supported his ministry. In 1996, Pope John Paul II declared Pierre Toussaint “Venerable,” the first step toward sainthood.

Venerable Pierre Toussaint lived in the Holy Spirit. In the tradition of the laying on of hands in the rite of Confirmation, Pierre laid his hands on the lives of countless people in need and helped to transform their lives.


Chapter 5

St. Gianna Beretta Molla
1922-1962
Feast Day: April 28

Gianna Molla was an energetic and generous person. Born into a bustling household in Magenta, Italy, she was the tenth of thirteen children. Her parents taught the children to pray often and to trust always in God’s loving care for them.

During high school, Gianna decided to become a doctor so that she could help others. She earned her degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Pavia and opened a clinic the following year. Later she attended advanced classes in pediatrics at the University of Milan. When she returned to her medical practice, Gianna specialized in caring for mothers, babies, the elderly and the needy. Gianna was also an active member of two Catholic organizations that served others in Jesus’ name: the St. Vincent de Paul Society and Catholic Action.

Gianna fell in love with and married Pietro Molla, an engineer who also belonged to the Catholic Action group. Their family grew rapidly and soon Gianna was pregnant with their fourth child. Early in her pregnancy, doctors discovered a tumor growing in her uterus. Surgery was required. Before the operation, Gianna insisted that if the doctors had to make a choice between saving her or the baby, she wanted them to save the child. Then she put herself in God’s hands. The surgeon did as Gianna requested, although it would have been easier on the young mother’s health for him to abort her unborn child.

Seven months later, Gianna gave birth to a healthy baby girl she named Emanuela. Soon after, Gianna developed a fatal infection. She died eight days later. On May 16, 2004, Pope John Paul II canonized this dedicated and caring mother. The daughter St. Gianna saved attended the liturgy in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, along with her father and other members of the family. Emanuela believes her mother gave her the gift of life twice—at conception and when she faced surgery during the pregnancy.

St. Gianna is a saint who lived in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit strengthened St. Gianna to be a witness for Christ by respecting life always and working for the rights of those who cannot speak for themselves—the poor, the sick, and especially, the unborn. We, too, will be strengthened by the Holy Spirit when we are anointed with Chrism during the rite of Confirmation.

Chapter 6

Saint John Vianney
1786-1859
Feast day: August 4

John Vianney was raised on a sheep farm in a rural area of France. He had little formal education and it seemed unlikely that he would be able to achieve his dream of becoming a priest. Because of the turmoil of the French Revolution, Catholics in France had to practice their faith in secret. John’s family provided sanctuary, or protection, to priests who continued Christ’s work by celebrating the sacraments and encouraging people to live their faith. These courageous men were an inspiration to John.

At nineteen, John was accepted into the seminary. Most of the classes were conducted in Latin, a language John had difficulty understanding. His grades were so poor that he had to leave the seminary. Although he found a priest who agreed to tutor him, John continued to fail at his studies. The tutor, impressed by John’s desire to serve God, persuaded the bishop to ordain John, telling the bishop that John’s vocation would help him succeed as a priest.

After ordination, John became the cure, or parish priest, of Ars, a small parish of Catholics who had fallen away from the practice of the faith. Because the people did not come to church, John went to them—to preach and teach them, and to urge them to give up their sinful ways and to return to God.

People came to John seeking forgiveness for their sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Word soon spread throughout France that John was a caring confessor, who listened attentively and counseled people how to change their lives. People began to travel to Ars to tell their sins to John and to be forgiven. It was not unusual for John to spend eighteen hours a day in the small confessional, offering healing and advice to sinners. John’s own failures in life prepared him to respond compassionately to the failings people confessed to him.

John Vianney is a saint who lived in the Holy Spirit. He shared God’s peace with thousands of people and helped them to restore their friendship with God, as we are called to do in the exchange of peace we share at celebrations of the Eucharist and in the Rite of Confirmation.

Chapter 7

St. Pius X
1835-1914
Feast day: August 21

Joseph Sarto was born in a small village in Italy, the second of ten children. Although both of his parents worked, the Sarto family lived in poverty. But money meant nothing to Joseph. In his will he wrote, “I was born poor. I lived poor, I will die poor.” What mattered to Joseph was his loving family and his faith. He set his heart on becoming a priest, never knowing what God had in store for him.

Joseph was accepted into the seminary when he was fifteen. After ordination he served as a parish priest for seventeen years. His parishioners were poor and Joseph tended to both their spiritual and corporal needs by trying to help them break free of the chain of poverty that kept them from sharing in the goodness of life God wants for each of us.

Joseph’s gifts and talents were noticed by the bishop and he appointed Joseph to be the spiritual director of the seminary. His work with young men studying for the priesthood was so effective that he was chosen to be the bishop of Mantua in 1884. Nine years later, he became the cardinal of Venice. One of the most important duties of the Church’s cardinals is to elect new popes after the death of the current Holy Father.

After Pope Leo XIII died in 1903, the College of Cardinals met to choose a new pope. To everyone’s surprise, Joseph was elected. He chose the name Pope Pius X and began to lead the world-wide Church. His papal motto was: “To restore all things in Christ, that Christ might be all and in all.”

Pope Pius X’s pontificate is marked by many reforms. His love for liturgy resulted in a call to revise and renew the liturgy. He created a biblical institute to promote the study of Sacred Scripture. He worked tirelessly for justice and peace around the world. On the eve of World War I, he said, “I would gladly give my life to save my poor children from this ghastly scourge.”

Pope Pius is best known for his devotion to the Eucharist and is often called “The Pope of the Eucharist.” At that time in the Church’s history, children were not permitted to receive their First Communion until they were in their mid-teens. Pius believed that the frequent reception of Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Eucharist, beginning at an earlier age, would help all Catholics grow closer to Jesus. He said, “Holy Communion is the first and safest way to heaven.” Pope Pius made it possible for children as young as seven to receive their First Communion.

Pius X is a saint who lived in the Holy Spirit. His life reminds us that participating more fully, actively, and consciously in the Eucharist will help us to stand with and for the poor and powerless in our world. As you continue to prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation, pray that the Holy Spirit will help you to be more aware of and to respond to the transforming power of the Body and Blood of Christ in your life.

Chapter 8

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
1910-1997

As a child, Agnes Bojaxhiu was fascinated by the stories she heard about missionaries. It is no surprise that when she was eighteen, she joined the Loreto Sisters of Dublin, a religious order dedicated to mission work and the education of children.

When she took her religious vows, Agnes chose the name Teresa. Sister Teresa’s first assignment was teaching high school in Calcutta, India. She taught history and geography for fifteen years. During those busy years, she became aware of the homeless and sick people who lived and died on the streets of Calcutta because they had no place else to go and no one to care for them. She even saw babies who had been abandoned by their mothers and left to die.

Sister Teresa wondered what she, a teacher, could do to help the suffering people. Sometime later, on a train ride, she heard Jesus’ call deep within her soul. Jesus asked her to give up everything and to serve him by caring for the poorest of the poor. Teresa called this her “Day of Decision.”

In 1950, Teresa received permission to leave the Loreto nuns and to establish her own religious order, the Missionaries of Charity. The habit Teresa chose was white with a blue border. It was a sari, the garment worn by Indian women. She wanted the people she cared for to identify with her.

Soon other women joined Teresa in her ministry to the poor and dying. They called her “Mother.” In addition to their work on the streets of Calcutta, they founded schools for slum children. The new religious order grew rapidly, branching out to other areas of India, and to Venezuela, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and the United States. Mother Teresa told her nuns to do “ordinary things with extraordinary love.” Under the leadership of Mother Teresa, the order expanded their services to care for AIDS patients and the elderly around the world.

In 1979, Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize. She accepted the award humbly, “for the glory of God and in the name of the poor.”

By the time of her death in 1997, it seemed as if everyone in the world knew Mother Teresa. She received a state funeral and her body was taken in procession through the streets of Calcutta. In tribute to Mother Teresa’s holiness and service, Pope John Paul II waived the five-year waiting period that was required before the process for canonization could begin. Two years after her death, the “Cause for Canonization” was formally opened for Mother Teresa. She was officially beatified, or proclaimed as “Blessed” in 2003.

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta lived in the Holy Spirit. As we are called to do in the dismissal rite at the Mass, she lived her life sharing the good news of God’s love with people in need.