• Bl. James Strepar (1409). Bishop. (Historical)
• St. Celinia (Celine) (458). (Historical) mother of St. Remi
• St. Hilarion (371). Abbot or Abbess. (Traditional)
• St. Ursula and her 11,000 companions (326). Martyr, Virgin. (Traditional)

A NUMBER of Christian families had entrusted the education of their children to the care of the pious Ursula, and some persons of the world had in like manner placed themselves under her direction. England being then harassed by the Saxons, Ursula deemed that she ought, after the example of many of her compatriots, to seek an asylum in Gaul. She met with an abiding-place on the borders of the Rhine, not far from Cologne, where she hoped to find undisturbed repose; but a horde of Huns having invaded the country, she was exposed, together with all those who were under her guardianship, to the most shameful outrages. Without wavering, they preferred one and all to meet death rather than incur shame. Ursula herself gave the example, and was, together with her companions, cruelly massacred in the year 453. The name of St. Ursula has from remote ages been held in great honor throughout the Church; she has always been regarded as the patroness of young persons and the model of teachers.

REFLECTION: In the estimation of the wise man, “the guarding of virtue is the most important part of the education of youth.

WORD OF THE DAY

HYSTERIA. An emotional disorder that may defy ready diagnosis and yet deeply affects the moral responsibility of the hysterical person. It may assume various forms, notably: 1. conversion hysteria, where conflicts in the mind become disabilities in the body, such as paralysis, blindness, or lack of feeling; 2. sleepwalking; 3. flight, where the person loses all memory of the past; 4. multiple or split personality, when the individual becomes alternately different people with no conscious connection between successive states. Hysteria has been known for centuries, and is an object of the Church’s special concern in investigation of persons reputed for sanctity, and of reported miracles in order to exclude the "cure" of hysterical sickness.

Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon SJ (Get the real one at Eternal Life — don’t accept an abridged or edited version of this masterpiece!)

October, Month of the Rosary

Maria Magnificata. Short Meditations for October, the Month of the Rosary. 21st Day — Mary at Cana.