Oct 9 – Memorial for Sts. Denis, Bishop, and Companions, Martyrs; Memorial for St. John Leonardi, Priest
St. Denis (d. 258) was a missionary to Paris, and its first bishop. His success roused the ire of local pagans, and he was imprisoned by the Roman governor. He was martyred in the persecutions of Valerius with Sts. Eleutherius and Rusticus. Legends have grown up around his torture and death, including one that has his body carrying his severed head some distance from his execution site. St. Genevieve built a basilica over his grave. His feast was added to the Roman calendar in 1568 by Pope St. Pius V, though it has been celebrated since 800.
- Patron Saint Index
St. John Leonardi (1541–1609) was the founder of the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca. He was born in Lucca, Tuscany in 1541 and ordained a priest in 1572. He first dedicated himself to the Christian formation of young people in his parish of Lucca. Then he founded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
In 1574, he founded a community charged to deepen faith and devotion; this foundation occurred as part of the movement known as the Counter-Reformation. He worked with this community to spread the devotion to the Virgin Mary, to the Forty Hours and to frequent Communion.
This foundation received approval from Pope Paul V in 1614. He took his work to Rome where he became friends with St. Philip Neri, who held him in high regard for his qualities of firmness and judgement, and entrusted him to delicate works such as the reform of the Benedictan congregation of Montevergine.
He then founded with J. Vives the seminary of the Propagation of the Faith. He died in 1609, after dedicating himself to his brothers suffering from the influenza epidemic that was raging in Rome at that time.
The final Rule of his community was published in 1851. Two houses of the Clerks of the Mother of God were opened when he died; three others were opened during the 17th century. He was beatified in 1861 and canonised in 1938.
- Patron Saint Index, Wikipedia
Mal 3:13-20
Lk 11:5-13
On the day which I am preparing, says the Lord of Hosts, they are going to be my own special possession.
As a mother of two young children, I often worry about what kind of future they will have and whether I would have equipped them sufficiently with the necessary values, so that they will always have a strong moral compass to guide them in times of adversity. I worry about the kind of world they would be growing up in, given all the anger and unrest that is currently happening, never mind the adverse climate changes. Even now as they attend school, I wonder if they are exposed to bullying, or social media content, or gaming that might harm them and strip them of their innocence before they are ready. I think about my nieces and how they are being fed media messages about being skinny and pretty, making them oblivious to how perfect they already are. And as AI slowly and silently takes over our lives, will there even be a future that will make our children’s existence valid and purposeful? As a parent, I am sure I am not the only one who stays up at night worrying and pondering over such things, yet I do sometimes feel alone in my fight to protect my children as best I can.
I am by no means a helicopter parent, nor am I a tiger mum. I encourage my children to be independent, to learn life skills, to explore, because I know that it is in living, they will learn; and I cannot teach them about life if they do not know how to live. I encourage them to make their own informed decisions, but I also try to instill accountability — whatever choices that they make in life will have good and bad consequences, and they need to decide for themselves and own that. But how do I teach them about justice, when there is so much injustice around us? We teach them about right and wrong and if they do wrong, they could face severe repercussions. But how do you solidify such teaching when perpetrators walk free? How do you explain why innocent people are caught in a situation that they didn’t start? How do you help them cry out the wrenching in their heart when they have been wronged or picked on? How do you explain that justice takes time, when that time could be a century? How do you tell them that God is listening and sees everything that they are going through?
Well, you just do. Despite wanting to give them a balm to soothe their broken hearts instantly (and knowing it doesn’t exist), you still tell them that “Yes, God is listening.” God is here. And we have to keep asking, keep praying to God to save us because we believe that He will deliver us. And we know that He will answer if we keep knocking that door, because He is our Father, and He loves us. It is the hope that we live for, that we cling to, when all other hope is gone. Those who fear in the name of the Lord and trust in Him – He has claimed us. We are His special possession. How amazing is that! We are His! And He has promised, those who “fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays”. And we will see that sun, my child, we will see it. We are not alone. Hope in the Lord, even when the world has forsaken you, hope in Him for what He has promised.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Annette Soo)
Prayer: Lord, how does one survive in a world of injustice? When evildoers silence us and instill fear in us, we pray that we will remember Your promise of justice and healing. Even when our hearts fail, You will be there to hold us up.
Thanksgiving: Lord, I am not perfect — I am a sinner and have not atoned for my sins. Yet You have given me the promise that who so ever believes in You, has our name written in Your book. I believe that You are God Almighty, and You hold me in the palm of Your hand. Thank you for claiming me as Yours.
OXYGEN 
Leave a comment