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Sunday, October 4, 2009
Saint James the Greater was born in the first century in Galilee. His parents' names were Zebedee and Salome, and his brother was Saint John the Apostle. There is some evidence that shows Saint James the Greater may have been Jesus' cousin, however it is inconclusive. Saint James is known as the patron saint of Spain. He is known as "the Greater" due to the fact that he became an apostle of Christ before Saint James the Lesser.

Saint James met Jesus on the same day as Simon Peter and his brother John. They were fishing in Galilee, and had just come in from working all night. Jesus was speaking to a large crowd of people, and saw them all come in with their two boats. He climbed onto Simon Peter's ship and asked him to take the boat a couple feet off shore and drop the anchor there.

Jesus finished talking to the people and proceeded to tell Simon Peter, John, and James to take the boat out into the deeper waters that lay further out, and to drop their nets and catch fish.

The three men figured they should since Jesus was telling them to, but they had just spent an entire night out fishing and had come back empty handed. They did as Jesus told and were successful. They caught so many fish that the boat they were in could almost not hold them all. This is the day James left everything behind in Galilee to become a loyal apostle of Jesus.

Saint James performed and took part in many miracles. He followed Jesus loyally until his death, and was one of the first apostles.

Saint James the Greater was the first apostle to be killed because of his affiliation with Jesus and the Christian religion. In the year 44, James was killed in Spain, and that is where he remains lay today. He was the first saint to become a martyr, and his feast day is on July 25th each year.

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Saturday, October 3, 2009
Saint Isidore was born in Seville, Spain around the year 560. Saint Isidore of Seville had a very well known family in Spain at the time. His sister was an abbess, and his two brothers were bishops. All three of them are remembered as patron saints in Spain. His brother and sister were very hard on him though, and expected a lot out of him.

Saint Isidore got very angry with himself because he couldn't keep up with his older siblings. They were all older than him, and he really wanted to impress them. When it all became too much for him to handle Isidore ran away from home. He learned a lesson while hiding though. He came to the realization that if he just kept trying his efforts would have to pay off in the end.

He chose to return to his home eventually, and his brothers and sister were glad to see him. However, they thought he would certainly run away again. His brothers decided they had to lock him up in a cell. This was cruel and harsh, but it exactly what they did. They believed that it was in Isidore's best interests for them to do it. Isidore was extremely kind and never held grudges against his siblings for the acts that they did to him.

Isidore enjoyed teaching others a lot, and he was known for getting many seminaries built in Spain. He enjoyed learning as much as he could about any topic that he could. He wrote many books on topics such as history, astronomy, and grammar.

Isidore was made bishop of Seville after his brother passed away. His biggest accomplishment while being bishop was when he converted the Visigoths to Christianity.

Saint Isidore would live a long life. He would pass away in 636 at the age of eighty. The last thing Isidore did was donate all his belongings to the poor in Spain.

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Friday, October 2, 2009
Saint Isabella was born in the year 1291 in a town in Spain called Aragon. Her father was the king of Aragon and his name was Pedro. Saint Isabella of Portugal was brought to Mass every day by her family and had set hours for prayer time. She was educated well and received much religious counsel from priests and nuns. If somebody you known is getting ready to celebrate marriage, tell the bride to pray to Saint Isabella because she is the patron saint of brides.

Saint Isabella of Portugal was married young, at the age of just twelve. Her husband was King Diniz, who was a ruler in Portugal at the time. This made Isabella the Queen of Portugal.

Diniz was a great poet and worked hard at all he did, but had absolutely no morals in his life whatsoever. Diniz slept with many other women during their marriage and even beat Isabella at times.

Diniz and his son Affonso, who was a prince, had a clash over Diniz and his many other children that he had with other women. This conflict between the two turned into a battle, and Isabella put an end to it. She made sure that no blood was shed over their petty argument.

Diniz would pass away in 1325, and this left Isabella with all their possessions. She gave away nearly all their land to the less privileged. She joined the Franciscan tertiaries and lived the rest of her life at a monastery.

The last thing that Isabella would do for others in her time was to break up another battle started by her son Affonso, the king at that point in time. Saint Isabella would pass away in the year 1336 on July 4th, due to a high fever. She was canonized a saint by Pope Urban VIII in 1625.

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Thursday, October 1, 2009
Saint Isaac was born in France on January 10, 1607 in a the city of Orleans. He was brought up to be a good Christian by his parents. Saint Isaac Jogues is known as the patron saint of North America.

Saint Isaac Jouges always wished to join a religious order and he did just that once he was of an old enough age to. He decided to join the Society of Jesus. This took place in the year 1624. His first mission while in the society was to go to the villages of the Algonquin and Huron indians.

During his time with the Hurons, they were attacked by the Mohawk indians. They took Isaac as a prisoner of war, and began to persecute and beat him and many other Christians. It is said that Isaac had many of his fingers chopped off during this time.

Despite the severity of his injuries and pain he endured, Isaac would live through this terrible torture. He would spend many years as a servant to the Mohawk indians. After a long time, some Dutch traders took him away from the Mohawks and brought him to New York.

Isaac would get a boat to take him back home to France, where everybody who knew him thought him to be dead. He was welcomed and loved by all as a "living martyr".

After remaining in France for a short time, Isaac wished to head back to Canada to attempt to pick up where he had left off earlier in his life. He went back to the Mohawks territory and intended to teach them more Christianity.

The Mohawks believed Isaac's belief and faith in Christianity to be a type of magic or trickery. When the Mohawks had a poor season for harvesting and a strange sickness that swept through their tribe, they blamed it all on Isaac. Saint Isaac Jogues was beaten to his death and then his head was chopped off on October 18, 1646. Pope Pius XI canonized Isaac a saint in June of 1930. His feast day falls on October 19th each year.

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