The turning of the weather in October brings fall colors, playoff baseball, and several days of great feasts in the Catholic Church.
Baseball has a hallowed tradition stretching back 150 years. One of the pastimes of the national pastime is debating lists of great players and great teams. On many lists of the greatest teams of all time, the 1927 New York Yankees rank at the top. They won the World Series with a lineup that had very few weaknesses. Six players from that roster ended up in the Hall of Fame, most notably Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Sportswriters called the first six spots in their batting order the “Murderers’ Row.” They were a nightmare for opposing pitchers.
October Saints
The hallowed tradition of the Catholic Church does not offer home run hitters, single-season records in RBIs. Her treasure lies in the members of the Mystical Body of Christ. The members of the eternal hall of fame–heaven–are without number. Out of the vast cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1), the Church gives us a fantastic lineup at the beginning of October. From October 1st to the 9th, each feast day teaches us vital lessons that we can apply to our daily lives. In such a time of upheaval and confusion, the example of the saints is more crucial now than ever before.
October 1, St. Therese of Lisieux
St. Therese modeled humility, simplicity, and childlike love for Christ. Anyone who tries to build those virtues knows that it is not easy. It is no easier for a holy person than it is for any of us. As great of an exemplar of those virtues, as she was, there was still more to her character. She described in her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, of her burning zeal for martyrdom.
When thinking of the torments which will be the lot of Christians at the time of the Anti-Christ, I feel my heart leap for joy and I would that these torments be reserved for me. Jesus, Jesus, if I wanted to write all my desires, I would have to borrow your Book of Life, for in it are reported all the actions of all the saints, and I would accomplish all of them for You. (pg. 193)
Therese shows us that humility and simplicity complement a will of iron, not oppose it. After this passage, she listed the tortures and deaths of many saints, wishing to endure them all for Christ. Who talks like this with full conviction? One lit on fire with love for Our Lord. Would that our Church had hearts on fire for Jesus!
October 2, Guardian Angels
Some saints saw and conversed with their guardian angels, like St. Pio of Pietrelcina. Most of us do not, but we should still pursue a relationship with our angels. Padre Pio urged his spiritual children to listen to their guardian angels and always ask for their intercession. He wrote to one of his spiritual children, Annita:
Have great devotion… to this beneficent angel. How consoling it is to know that we have a spirit who, from the womb to the tomb, never leaves us even for an instant, not even when we dare to sin. And this heavenly spirit guides and protects us like a friend, a brother.
Guardian angels are but one facet on the brilliant gemstone of God’s love for us. We should pray to our guardian angels daily, asking for their help.
October 4, St. Francis of Assisi
Poor St. Francis, many know nothing about his life other than his love of animals. He certainly loved all of God’s creation, but limiting him to that is a severe injustice. Few figures in Church history have had such an impact as Francis. While on a break from military duties, Francis knelt down to pray in the San Damiano chapel. Christ on the crucifix spoke audibly, “‘Francis,’ it said, calling him by name: ‘go rebuild My house; as you see, it is all being destroyed.’” Francis looked at the building in which he was praying and it needed significant repair. Francis begged for stones and labored to repair the chapel.
He was truly building up something else, or beginning to build it up; something that has often enough fallen into ruin but has never been past rebuilding; a church that could always be built anew through it had rotted away to its first foundation-stone, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail. – G.K. Chesterton, St. Francis of Assisi, pg. 58
Far beyond the building, Francis was a key figure in renewing the Church. Frustrated with the Church in the present day? It is never past rebuilding, as Chesterton said. Stand and fight for the Church with a holy life, sacraments, deep prayer, and fasting. Start with the foundation-stone of Christ and build up, one stone at a time.
October 5, St. Faustina Kowalska
The message of Divine Mercy has spread throughout the Church, especially since St. Faustina’s canonization in 2000. No matter how many times it is proclaimed, it cannot be said enough: God loves us more than we can understand. He desires our healing in the fountain of His Divine Mercy. St. Faustina wrote in her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul:
Let every soul trust in the Passion of the Lord, and place its hope in His mercy. God will not deny His mercy to anyone. Heaven and earth may change, but God’s mercy will never be exhausted. #72, pg. 37
This is more than good news, this is incredible news. Not even the worst sinner, weighed down by mountains of sin, is beyond hope.
October 7, Our Lady of the Rosary
This feast commemorates the naval Battle of Lepanto in 1571 where the outnumbered Holy League defeated the Ottoman Turks. Secular accounts of the battle talk of maneuvers, commanders, flagships, and intense fighting. Catholic history of the battle credits a powerful warrior with the victory: Our Lady of the Rosary. In advance of the battle, Pope Pius V asked the entire Church to pray the rosary. The Holy Father himself led a procession in Rome. Future military victories with Our Lady’s intercession persuaded Pope Clement XI to make it a feast for the universal Church.
At Fatima, Our Lady asked for the daily recitation of the rosary. She is our greatest intercessor, especially when we appeal to her in times of great trial.
The Church has always attributed particular efficacy to this prayer, entrusting to the Rosary, to its choral recitation and to its constant practice, the most difficult problems. At times when Christianity itself seemed under threat, its deliverance was attributed to the power of this prayer, and Our Lady of the Rosary was acclaimed as the one whose intercession brought salvation. – Pope St. John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae #39
As the persecution of Christians gains steam throughout the world, there is no better devotion we can turn to than the daily recitation of the rosary.
October 9, St. John Henry Newman
St. John Henry Newman is a newcomer to this list, being canonized just last year (2019). Ever feel like the Catholic Church is vastly outnumbered? Or perhaps that faithful Catholics get labeled as strange, out of date, and worse? John Henry Newman experienced the same things that we do today, and worse. When he was received into the Catholic Church in 1845, he did so in a very anti-Catholic England. From the time of Henry VIII’s break with Rome in 1534 until 1791, Catholic worship was illegal. The pope reestablished Catholic dioceses and bishoprics in England in 1850, and the first seminary in England did not open until nearly twenty years later. Newman lived in an era where the name Catholic was synonymous with sacrifice.
We must bear witness to the truth. We must not be afraid of the frowns or anger of the world, or mind its ridicule. If so be, we must be willing to suffer for the truth. This was that new thing that Christ brought into the world, a heavenly doctrine, a system of holy and supernatural truths, which are to be received and transmitted, for He is our Prophet, maintained even unto suffering after His pattern, who is our Priest, and obeyed, for He is our King. – St. John Henry Newman, “The Three Offices of Christ”
By converting he lost his academic credibility, his job, and many close friends. Already a highly qualified theologian and pastor, Newman had to get rebaptized and go through seminary again. Newman offered his entire life to Christ and took up the cross of Our Lord in a special way, enduring to the end. Endurance is a principal virtue we need as the world descends further into confusion.
This all-star lineup of saints and feasts has something for everyone. Let us incorporate their lessons into our lives today, that we may join them in heaven.
