Angelus was born in Florence or near there; the year is unknown but it was before 1386. He was the first member of the reformed observance of Our Lady of the Wood, was many times prior of various houses and noted for his work in preaching the Word of God. He died in Florence in 1438.
Bartholomew Fanti was born in Mantua: the year is unknown, but in 1452 he was already a Carmelite priest of the Congregation of Mantua. For thirty-five years at the Order's church in Mantua he was spiritual father and rector of the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for which he composed a rule and statutes. He is especially remembered for his love of the Eucharist. He died in 1495.
Frances was born in 1427, probably in Thouars in France. She was the wife of Peter II, Duke of Britanny. After his death, and under the direction of Blessed John Soreth, the prior general, she took the habit of the Carmelite Order in the monastery she had previously founded in Bondon. Afterwards she transferred to another foundation in Nantes, also erected by her, where she held the office of prioress and nourished the sisters with wise teaching. She is considered the foundress of the Carmelite nuns in France. She died in 1485.
Hilary Januszewski was born on 11 June 1907 in Krajenki (Poland). In 1927 he entered the Order of Carmel and was ordained on 15 July 1934. In 1939, Poland was occupied by the Germans and one year later, Fr. Hilary decided to present himself in exchange for an older and sick friar. He was sent to Dachau, where he was a model of prayer life, encouraging others and giving hope for a better tomorrow. He died from typhus on 25 March 1945, a few days before the liberation of the concentration camp. Fr. Hilary Januszewski was beatified by John Paul II on 13 June 1999.
Bl. Jacques Retouret was born at Limoges in France on 15th September 1746 to a merchant family. He was a serious young man, a lover of books and greatly gifted. At fifteen years of age, he entered the Carmelite house in his native city. After ordination, his zeal and learning were widely admired and large crowds of people were attracted by his way of preaching.
The French Revolution did not spare him. Like the majority of his fellow clergy, Jacques refused to accept the civil law, unilaterally introduced by the state. He was arrested and condemned, together with many other priests and religious, and sentenced to exile in French Guinea in South America. Jacques died at Madame Isle on 26th August 1794 at the age of 48 years. He was beatified, together with 63 other priests and religious, as martyrs for the faith, on 1st October 1995 by Pope John Paul II.
Mother Euphrasia was born on October 17, 1877. Her pious mother taught her to pray the rosary and to participate in the Holy Mass. She had a vision of Mother Mary at the age of nine and she offered her virginity to God eternally. Her father was opposed to her entering the Convent but eventually gave her permission to go to the Carmelite Convent in 1888. For the rest of her life she was immersed in prayer, in contemplation or praying the Rosary. People began to call her “The Praying Mother.” She was most devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and had a great longing to be with the Eucharistic Lord and participate in the Holy Mass and adore the Blessed Sacrament. She was canonized by Pope Francis on November 23, 2014 in Vatican City.
Saint Kuriakos Elias Chavara, co-founder and first prior general of the congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, was born at Kainakary in Kersala, India, February 10, 1805. He entered the seminary in 1818, and was ordained priest in 1829. He made his religious profession in 1855, in the congregation he founded. Throughout his life he worked for the renovation of the church in Malabar. Above all, he was a man of prayer, zealous for the Eucharistic Lord and devoted to the Immaculate Virgin Mary. He died at Koonammavu in 1871. Kuriakose Kathanar was beatified on February 8, 1986 and canonized on November 23, 2014.
Born about 1305 in southern Perigord in France, Peter Thomas entered the Carmelites when he was twenty-one. He was chosen by the Order as its procurator general to the Papal Court at Avignon in 1345. After being made bishop of Patti and Lipari in 1354, he was entrusted with many papal missions to promote peace and unity with the Eastern Churches. He was transferred to the see of Corone in the Peloponnesus in 1359 and made Papal Legate for the East. In 1363 he was appointed Archbishop of Crete and 1364 Latin Patriarch of Constantinople. He won a reputation as an apostle of church unity before he died at Famagosta on Cyprus in 1366.
Raphael Kalinowski was born to Polish parents in the city of Vilnius in 1835. Following military service, he was condemned in 1864 to ten years of forced labor in Siberia. In 1877 he became a Carmelite and was ordained a priest in 1882. He contributed greatly to the restoration of the Discalced Carmelites in Poland. His life was distinguished by zeal for Church unity and by his unflagging devotion to his ministry as confessor and spiritual director. He died in Wadowice in 1907.
The day after the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the liturgical year of the Church moves into “Ordinary Time.” But there’s nothing ordinary about it. Through the Gospel of Mark, we learn that Jesus began his ministry with a bang.
Monday...
Jesus announced that “the kingdom of God is at hand” and then proceeded to call his first followers, four fishermen (Simon, Andrew, James and John) (Mk 1:16-20).
Tuesday...
Jesus cast out an unclean spirit from a man in the synagogue at Capernaum. And Mark tells us that “his fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee” (Mk 1:28).
Wednesday...
Jesus cured Simon’s mother-in-law and then cured many of the sick in the town. He also drove out many demons (Mk 1:32-34). He continued “preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee” (Mk 1:39).
Thursday...
Jesus touched a leper and made him clean. The cured leper told everyone about his healing and Jesus became so famous “that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly” (Mk 1:45). But he couldn’t hide because even though “he stayed in deserted places, the people kept coming to him from everywhere” (Mk 1:45).
Friday...
while Jesus was preaching in a crowded house in Capernaum a paralytic was lowered down through the roof so that Jesus could heal him. Not only did he heal the man of his physical paralysis, but he healed his spiritual paralysis by forgiving his sins (Mk. 2:5).
Saturday...
The week came to a close on Saturday with Jesus calling Matthew, a tax collector, to be one of his disciples. He then scandalized the establishment by eating and drinking with sinners and when questioned about this astonishing behavior, he said “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Mk 2:17).
Yes, I realize that these events probably did not all happen within one week in Jesus’ time, but we were told about them all during one week in our time. The first week of “Ordinary” time turned out to be quite extraordinary.
Amidst all this intense activity, Mark also tells us that Jesus took time out to pray:
Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed (Mk 1:35).
When I heard the Gospel on Monday, I was astounded as Jesus boldly proclaimed that the kingdom was at hand. He certainly didn't ease into making this proclamation. Then the Gospel on Tuesday amazed me when he cast out the demon from the man in the synagogue. The Gospel on Wednesday recounted more miracles and many healings; but it was when I heard a single sentence right before the end of Wednesday’s Gospel that I understood how all this astonishing work was possible. Jesus rose early to pray. He was well aware of how much there was to do, but none of it could be accomplished without spending time with his Father.
I have found that I, too, need to spend time in prayer so I can do the work my Father has given me to do. I draw strength from the graces he pours into me at daily Mass and during my prayer time. Often the thought of the things I have to do overwhelms me. But when I mention this to God, he gives me his perspective and that changes everything.
Following Jesus around through the first week of Ordinary time has taught me that no matter how ordinary — or extraordinary — life is, when I take time to pray, I can do anything he asks me to do. Jesus changed the world for everyone who came in contact with him. In fact, he changed everything in the life of every man, woman, and child throughout history. He even changed me.
