- St. Euphrasia of Pelletier (1868). Founder or Foundress, Religious. (Traditional) Foundress of the Good Shepherd Sisters
- St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1622). Martyr, Priest. (Current, Traditional)
FIDELIS was born at Sigmaringen in 1577, of noble parents In his youth he frequently approached the Sacraments, visited the sick and the poor, and spent moreover many hours before the altar. For a time he followed the legal profession, and was remarkable for his advocacy of the poor and his respectful language towards his opponents. Finding it difficult to become both a rich lawyer and a good Christian, Fidelis entered the Capuchin Order, and embraced a life of austerity and prayer. Hair shirts, iron-pointed girdles and disciplines were penances too light for his fervor, and being filled with a desire of martyrdom, he rejoiced at being sent to Switzerland by the newly-founded Congregation of Propaganda, and braved every peril to rescue souls from the diabolical heresy of Calvin. When preaching at Sevis, he was fired at by a Calvinist, but the fear of death could not deter him from proclaiming divine truth. After his sermon, he was waylaid by a body of Protestants headed by a minister, who attacked him and tried to force him to embrace their so-called reform. But he said, “I came to refute your errors, not to embrace them; I will never renounce Catholic doctrine, which is the truth of all ages, and I fear not death.” On this they fell upon him with their poignards, and the first martyr of Propaganda went to receive his palm.
REFLECTION: We delight in decorating the altars of God with flowers, lights, and jewels, and it is right to do so; but if we wish to offer to God gifts of higher value, let us, in imitation of St. Fidelis, save the souls who but for us would be lost; for so we shall offer him, as it were, the jewels of paradise.
WORD OF THE DAY
MATERIALISM. The theory that all reality is only matter, or a function of matter, or ultimately derived from matter. There is no real distinction between matter and spirit; even man’s soul is essentially material and not uniquely created by God. In ethical philosophy, materialism holds that material goods and interests, the pleasures of the body and emotional experience, are the only or at least the main reason for human existence. In social philosophy, the view that economics and this-worldly interests are the main functions of society.
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!)
EASTER MEDITATIONS
Enjoy daily meditations this Easter from Fr. Richard Clarke, SJ. Short and powerful, written in 1880 for busy lay people to reap rewards through Eastertide: 21. — The Mission of the Apostles.
