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1 February�St. Brigid of Ireland

Brigid�You were a woman of peace.�You brought harmony where there was conflict.�You brought light to the darkness.�You brought hope to the downcast.��May the mantle of your peace cover those who are troubled and anxious, and may peace be firmly rooted in our hearts and in our world.�Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made.��Brigid you were a voice for the wounded and the weary. Strengthen what is weak within us.�Calm us into a quietness that heals and listens.�May we grow each day into greater wholeness in mind, body and spirit.�Amen.

Bridget (Brigid, Bride, Bridey) of Kildare was born around 450 into a Druid family, being the daughter of Dubhthach, court poet to King Loeghaire. At an early age, Brigid decided to become a Christian, and she eventually took vows as a nun. Together with a group of other women, she established a nunnery at Kildare. She was later joined by a community of monks led by Conlaed. Kildare had formerly been a pagan shrine where a sacred fire was kept perpetually burning. Rather than stamping out this pagan flame, Brigid and her nuns kept it burning as a Christian symbol. (This was in keeping with the general process whereby Druidism in Ireland gave way to Christianity with very little opposition, the Druids for the most part saying that their own beliefs were a partial and tentative insight into the nature of God, and that they recognized in Christianity what they had been looking for.) As an abbess, Brigid participated in several Irish councils, and her influence on the policies of the Church in Ireland was considerable.

Many stories of her younger days deal with her generosity toward the needy.

Patron: Babies; blacksmiths; boatmen; cattle; chicken farmers; children whose parents are not married; dairymaids; dairy workers; fugitives; infants; Ireland; Leinster; mariners; midwives; milk maids; newborn babies; nuns; poets; poultry farmers; poultry raisers; printing presses; sailors; scholars; travelers; watermen.

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2 February �Feast of Presentation of the Lord

Almighty ever-living God, we humbly implore your majesty that, just as your Only Begotten Son was presented on this day in the Temple in the substance of our flesh, so, by your grace, we may be presented to you with minds made pure. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Lord which occurs forty days after the birth of Jesus and is also known as Candlemas day, since the blessing and procession of candles is included in today's liturgy. The feast was first observed in the Eastern Church as "The Encounter." In the sixth century, it began to be observed in the West: in Rome with a more penitential character and in Gaul (France) with solemn blessings and processions of candles, popularly known as "Candlemas." The Presentation of the Lord concludes the celebration of the Nativity and with the offerings of the Virgin Mother and the prophecy of Simeon, the events now point toward Easter.

"In obedience to the Old Law, the Lord Jesus, the first-born, was presented in the Temple by his Blessed Mother and his foster father. This is another 'epiphany' celebration insofar as the Christ Child is revealed as the Messiah through the canticle and words of Simeon and the testimony of Anna the prophetess. Christ is the light of the nations, hence the blessing and procession of candles on this day. In the Middle Ages this feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or 'Candlemas,' was of great importance.

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3 February�St. Blaise

Hear, O Lord, the supplications your people make under the patronage of the Martyr Saint Blaise, and grant that they may rejoice in peace in this present life, and find help for life eternal. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

St. Blaise was a physician and Bishop of Sebaste, Armenia. He lived in a cave on Mount Argeus and was a healer of men and animals. According to legend, sick animals would come to him on their own for help, but would never disturb him at prayer.

Agricola, governor of Cappadocia, came to Sebaste to persecute Christians. His huntsmen went into the forests of Argeus to find wild animals for the arena games, and found many waiting outside Blaise's cave. Discovered in prayer, Blaise was arrested, and Agricola tried to get him to recant his faith. While in prison, Blaise ministered to and healed fellow prisoners, including saving a child who was choking on a fish bone; this led to the blessing of throats on Blaise's feast day.

Thrown into a lake to drown, Blaise stood on the surface and invited his persecutors to walk out and prove the power of their gods; they drowned. When he returned to land, he was martyred by being beaten, his flesh torn with wool combs (which led to his association with and patronage of those involved in the wool trade), and then beheading.

Blaise has been extremely popular for centuries in both the Eastern and Western Churches and many cures were attributed to him, notably that of a child who was suffocating through a fish bone being caught in his throat. In 1222 the Council of Oxford prohibited servile labour in England on his feast. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. He is invoked for all throat afflictions, and on his feast two candles are blessed with a prayer that God will free from all such afflictions and every ill all those who receive this blessing.

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4 February �Saint Andrew Corsini

O God, in every age You manifest in Your Church new examples of virtue; grant that Your people may so follow in the footsteps of blessed Andrew, Your confessor and bishop, that they may obtain also his reward. Through Christ our Lord.�Amen.

St. Andrew Corsini lived from 1302 to 1373. While still carrying him in her womb, his mother dreamed she had given birth to a wolf that sauntered to the gate of the Carmelite monastery, and entering the vestibule of the church, was changed to a lamb. Andrew was reared as a pious and God-fearing youth, but little by little he succumbed to the pleasures of the world in spite of frequent warnings and reproofs from his mother. After he became aware that his parents had vowed him to the service of Blessed Mary, he mended his ways and at the age of seventeen entered the Carmelite Order. Though persistently tempted and assailed by the devil, he never swerved from his holy decision. A man of austere penance, he fasted continuously, always wore a hair shirt, and prayed the penitential psalms daily. For humility's sake he often washed the feet of the poor and beggars. His special gift from God was the grace to effect the conversion of hardened sinners. In 1360, despite his efforts to the contrary, he was made bishop of Fiesole in Tuscany.

— Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Civil disorder; riot.

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5 February�St. Agatha

May the Virgin Martyr Saint Agatha implore your compassion for us, O Lord, we pray, for she found favor with you by the courage of her martyrdom and the merit of her chastity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Agatha was from a family in Sicily that had a lot of power and money. But neither of those interested her. From a young age, she dedicated her life to God. She was very beautiful and men wanted to marry her, but she set herself aside for Jesus. One of the men, Quintian, thought he could force her to do what he wanted. He even had her arrested. He expected her to give up God rather than face prison, torture, and death, but she didn’t. She just prayed, giving herself to Jesus. A year after her death the city of Catania was in great peril from an eruption on Mount Etna. Pagans, too, were numbered among those who fled in terror to the saint's grave. Her veil was taken and held against the onrushing flames, and suddenly the danger ceased. Her grave is venerated at Catania in Sicily.

Patron: Bell-founders; breast cancer; breast disease; Catania, Italy; against fire; earthquakes; eruptions of Mount Etna; fire; fire prevention; jewelers; martyrs; natural disasters; nurses; Palermo, Italy; rape victims; single laywomen; sterility; torture victims; volcanic eruptions; wet-nurses; Zamarramala, Spain.

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6 February�St. Paul Miki & 25 Companions

God our Father, source of strength for all your saints, you led Paul Miki and his companions through the suffering of the cross to the joy of eternal life. May their prayers give us the courage to be loyal until death in processing our faith. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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6 February�St. Dorothy

Grant me the wisdom and discernment I need to navigate the challenges of life, and to always choose the path that leads to peace and happiness. St. Dorothy, I place my trust in you, and I pray that through your intercession, I may always be protected from harm. Amen.

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7 February�St. Moses Apostle of the Saracens

Dear God We ask for peace of mind. We pray that we are calm, collected and tranquil at all times today. We rest and relax in your presence. We let go of all anxious thoughts. We stop rushing and start praying. We let go and we let God. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

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8 February�St. Jerome Emiliani

O God, Father of mercies, who sent Saint Jerome Emiliani as a helper and father to orphans, grant through his intercession, that we may preserve faithfully the spirit of adoption, by which we are called, and truly are, your children. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A careless and irreligious soldier for the city-state of Venice, Jerome was captured in a skirmish at an outpost town and chained in a dungeon. In prison Jerome had a lot of time to think, and he gradually learned how to pray. When he escaped, he returned to Venice where he took charge of the education of his nephews—and began his own studies for the priesthood.

In the years after his ordination, events again called Jerome to a decision and a new lifestyle. Plague and famine swept northern Italy. Jerome began caring for the sick and feeding the hungry at his own expense. While serving the sick and the poor, he soon resolved to devote himself and his property solely to others, particularly to abandoned children. He founded three orphanages, a shelter for penitent prostitutes and a hospital.

Around 1532 Jerome and two other priests established a congregation dedicated to the care of orphans and the education of youth. Jerome died in 1537 from a disease he caught while tending the sick. He was canonized in 1767. In 1928 Pius XI named him the universal patron of orphans and abandoned children.

Patron: Abandoned people; orphans.

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9 February�St. Teilo

Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care, that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace, they may be defended always by your protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

According to tradition Teilo, or Elios as he was sometimes known, was born about the year 480 AD at either Gumfreston or Penally in south Pembrokeshire. He studied under Paulinus at Ty Gwyn where he met Dewi (Saint David), the two becoming firm friends. Later, the two set out on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and en route were joined by Padarn.

Upon their return home, Teilo was given charge of the church at Llandaff and the surrounding area. Shortly afterwards there was an outbreak of Yellow Fever and Teilo led his followers to Cornwall to escape its effects. From Cornwall they travelled to Brittany where they were welcomed by Archbishop Solomon of the Church of Dol. They stayed for seven years, during which time Teilo and his followers are said to have planted three miles of fruit trees. He returned to Llandaff where he ministered for many years. He died in 566 AD.

Several churches in south Wales and Brittany are dedicated to St Teilo. He is depicted on a fifteenth century stained glass window in a church at Plogonnec, Finistére, and also in a statue in the Chapel of Our Lady, Kerdévot. In both cases he is shown wearing bishop's robes and mitre and seated on a stag, suggesting, as was the case with many other saints of the time, that he had an affinity with the natural world.

Patron: Horses and fruit trees.

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10 February� Saint Scholastica

As we celebrate anew the Memorial of the Virgin Saint Scholastica, we pray, O Lord, that, following her example, we may serve you with pure love and happily receive what comes from loving you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

St. Scholastica, dedicated herself to God from early youth. Information on the virgin Scholastica is very scanty. "His sister Scholastica, who had been consecrated to God in early childhood, used to visit with him once a year. On these occasions he would go to meet her in a house belonging to the monastery a short distance from the entrance. For this particular visit he joined her there with a few of his disciples and they spent the whole day singing God's praises and conversing about the spiritual life.

"When darkness was setting in they took their meal together and continued their conversation at table until it was quite late. Then the holy nun said to him, 'Please do not leave me tonight, brother. Let us keep on talking about the joys of heaven till morning.' ‘What are you saying, sister?’ he replied. 'You know that I cannot stay away from the monastery.' The sky was so clear at the time, there was not a cloud in sight.

"At her brother's refusal Scholastica folded her hands on the table and rested her head upon them in earnest prayer. When she looked up again, there was a sudden burst of lightning and thunder accompanied by such a downpour that Benedict and his companions were unable to set foot outside the door. By shedding a flood of tears while she prayed, this holy nun had darkened the cloudless sky with a heavy rain. The storm began as soon as her prayer was over. In fact, the two coincided so closely that the thunder was already resounding as she raised her head from the table. The very instant she ended her prayer the rain poured down.

Scholastica simply answered, 'When I appealed to you, you would not listen to me. So I turned to my God and He heard my prayer. Leave now if you can. Leave me here and go back to your monastery.' The next morning Scholastica returned to her convent and Benedict to his monastery.

"Three days later as he stood in his room looking up toward the sky, he beheld his sister's soul leaving her body and entering the heavenly court in the form of a dove. Overjoyed at her eternal glory, he gave thanks to God in hymns of praise. Then, after informing his brethren of her death, he sent some of them to bring her body to the abbey and bury it in the tomb he had prepared for himself. The bodies of these two were now to share a common resting place, just as in life their souls had always been one in God.“ Her tomb is at Monte Cassino.

Patron: Against rain; convulsive children; nuns; storms.

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11 February�Our Lady of Lourdes

Oh ever immaculate Virgin, Mother of Mercy, Health of the Sick, Refuge of Sinners, Comfortess of the Afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings. Look upon us with mercy. When you appeared in the grotto of Lourdes, you made it a privileged sanctuary where you dispense your favors, and where many sufferers have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and corporal. We come, therefore, with unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. My loving Mother, obtain our request. We will try to imitate your virtues so that we may one day share your company and bless you in eternity. Amen.

The many miracles which have been performed through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin at Lourdes prompted the Church to institute a special commemorative feast, the "Apparition of the Immaculate Virgin Mary." Four years after the promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854), the Blessed Virgin appeared a number of times to a very poor and holy girl named Bernadette. The actual spot was in a grotto on the bank of the Gave River near Lourdes.

The Immaculate Conception had a youthful appearance and was clothed in a pure white gown and mantle, with an azure blue girdle. A golden rose adorned each of her bare feet. On her first apparition, February 11, 1858, the Blessed Virgin bade the girl make the sign of the Cross piously and say the rosary with her. Bernadette saw her take the rosary that was hanging from her arms into her hands. This was repeated in subsequent apparitions.

With childlike simplicity Bernadette once sprinkled holy water on the vision, fearing that it was a deception of the evil spirit; but the Blessed Virgin smiled pleasantly, and her face became even more lovely. The third time Mary appeared she invited the girl to come to the grotto daily for two weeks. Now she frequently spoke to Bernadette. On one occasion she ordered her to tell the ecclesiastical authorities to build a church on the spot and to organize processions. Bernadette also was told to drink and wash at the spring still hidden under the sand. Finally on the feast of the Annunciation, the beautiful Lady announced her name, "I am the Immaculate Conception.“

The report of cures occurring at the grotto spread quickly and the more it spread, the greater the number of Christians who visited the hallowed place. The publicity given these miraculous events on the one hand and the seeming sincerity and innocence of the girl on the other made it necessary for the bishop of Tarbes to institute a judicial inquiry. Four years later he declared the apparitions to be supernatural and permitted the public veneration of the Immaculate Conception in the grotto. Soon a chapel was erected, and since that time countless pilgrims come every year to Lourdes to fulfill promises or to beg graces

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12 February�St. Eulalia

Show gracious favor, O Lord, we pray, to the works of penance we have begun, that we may have strength to accomplish with sincerity the bodily observances we undertake. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

he was but twelve years old when the bloody edicts of Dioclesian were issued, by which it was ordered that all persons, without exception of age, sex, or profession, should be compelled to offer sacrifice to the gods of the empire. Eulalia, young as she was, took the publication of this order for the signal of battle; but her mother, observing her impatient ardor for martyrdom, carried her into the country. The saint found means to make her escape by night, and after much fatigue arrived at Merida before break of day. As soon as the court sat, the same morning, she presented herself before the cruel judge, whose name was Dacianus, and reproached him with impiety in attempting to destroy souls, by compelling them to renounce the only true God. The governor commanded her to be seized, and first employing caresses, represented to her the advantages which her birth, youth and fortune gave her in the world, and the grief which her disobedience would bring to her parents. Then he had recourse to threats, and caused the most dreadful instruments of torture to be placed before her eyes, saying to her, "All this you shall escape if you will but touch a little salt and frankincense with the tip of your finger." Provoked at these seducing flatteries, she threw down the idol, trampled upon the cake which was laid for the sacrifice, and, as Prudentius relates, spat at the judge; an action only to be excused by her youth and inattention under the influence of a warm zeal, and fear of the snares which were laid for her. At the judge's order two executioners began to tear her tender sides with iron hooks, so as to leave the very bones bare. In the mean time she called the strokes so many trophies of Christ. Next, lighted torches were applied to her breasts and sides: under which torment, instead of groans, nothing was heard from her mouth but thanksgivings. The fire at length catching her hair, surrounded her head and face, and the saint was stifled by the smoke and flame. Prudentius tells us, that a white dove seemed to come out of her mouth, and to wing its way upward when the holy martyr expired: at which prodigy the executioners were so much terrified that they fled and left the body. A great snow that fell covered it and the whole forum where it lay; which circumstance shows that the holy martyr suffered in winter. The treasure of her relics was carefully entombed by the Christians near the place of her martyrdom: afterwards a stately church was erected on the spot, and the relics were covered by the altar which was raised over them, before Prudentius wrote his hymn on the holy martyr in the fourth century He assures us that "pilgrims came to venerate her bones; and that she, near the throne of God, beholds them, and, being made propitious by hymns, protects her clients. Her relics are kept with great veneration at Oviedo, do, where she is honored as patroness.

Patron: Merida, Spain; Oviedo, Spain, runaways; torture victims; widows

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13 February�St. Catherine de Ricci

Lord Jesus Christ, who was pleased that Blessed Catherine, Thy Virgin, should be inflamed with Thy love and made illustrious by the contemplation of Thy Passion, grant, through her intercession. that, devoutly dwelling on the mysteries of the passion, we may merit to receive its fruits. Who lives and reigns world without end. Amen.

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14 February�St. Valentine

I said a Valentine prayer for you�and asked the Lord above�to fill your heart and bless your soul�With the precious gift of love.��I asked Him for sincere love�The kind that's meant to stay�Just like the generous love�You give to those you touch each day.��I prayed for love from family�And from every cherished friend�Then I asked the Lord to give you�His love that knows no end. Amen.

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15 February�St. Walfrid

Please shine your light upon my family today, Lord. Give us strength to overcome all the difficulties that we are currently dealing with and protect us against all problems we may encounter in future days. Lord, please bring us together as we are meant to be. May the love that binds us only grow stronger as we fulfill the path and desires You have laid out before each of us. Grant my family forgiveness for any sins we have committed against one another. Amen.

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16 February�St. Juliana of Nicomedia

Lord God, �You gave St. Juliana the crown of�eternal joy because she gave her life�rather than renounce the virginity she�had promised in witness to Christ.�Encouraged by her generosity, help us to�rise out of the bondage of our earthly�desires and attain to the glory of your�kingdom. Grant this through our Lord�Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and�reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.�One God, for ever and ever.�Amen.

Juliana lived in Turkey many years ago, before Christianity was legal. She and her family were all pagans. But when Juliana learned about Jesus, she secretly got baptized. When her dad found out she was a Christian, he had her thrown in prison. Then a demon came to her pretending to be an angel, but Juliana could tell what it was. She overcame the demon with God’s help, but in the long run, she was killed for believing in Jesus.

St. Juliana of Nicomedia (c. 270) was the daughter of noble pagan parents. While her father was hostile to Christians, Juliana secretly accepted baptism. Her father arranged her marriage to a pagan nobleman and high-ranking Roman official. When the time for the wedding came, Juliana refused her consent unless her betrothed converted to the Christian faith. Her father retaliated by mercilessly abusing her, but she would not give in. Her betrothed then denounced her as a Christian before the tribunal under the persecutions of Roman Emperor Maximianus. St. Juliana was unwavering in her faith, even in a contest against the Devil himself, as one legend holds. She was then burned, boiled in oil, and beheaded in 305 A.D. Some accounts say she died together with St. Barbara. Many were converted to the Christian faith upon witnessing her fortitude in the face of her tortures. St. Juliana is the patron saint of sickness and bodily ills. Her feast day is February 16th.�

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17 February�Seven Founders of Servite Order

Impart to us, O Lord, in kindness the filial devotion with which the holy brothers venerated so devoutly the Mother of God and led your people to yourself. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

These seven men were the founders of the Servite Order, a community instituted for the special purpose of cultivating the spirit of penance and contemplating the passion of Christ and Mary's Seven Sorrows. Due to the spirit of humility cherished by the members of the Order, their accomplishments are not too widely known. But in the field of home missions great things are to their credit, and certainly they have benefited millions by arousing devotion to the Mother of Sorrows.

The Breviary tells us that in the midst of the party strife during the thirteenth century, God called seven men from the nobility of Florence. In the year 1233 they met and prayed together most fervently. The Blessed Mother appeared to each of them individually and urged them to begin a more perfect life. Disregarding birth and wealth, in sackcloth under shabby and well-worn clothing they withdrew to a small building in the country. It was September 8, selected so that they might begin to live a more holy life on the very day when the Mother of God began to live her holy life.

Soon after, when the seven were begging alms from door to door in the streets of Florence, they suddenly heard children's voices calling to them, "Servants of holy Mary." Among these children was St. Philip Benizi, then just five months old. Hereafter they were known by this name, first heard from the lips of children. In the course of time they retired into solitude on Monte Senario and gave themselves wholly to contemplation and penance. Leo XIII canonized the Holy Founders and introduced today's feast in 1888.

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18 February Saint Simeon

Almighty God, mercifully look upon our infirmities : that where we are afflicted by the burden of our sins; the glorious intercession of your Martyr and Bishop blessed Simeon may be our succor and defense. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

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19 February�St. Barbatus

Almighty ever-living God, who chose blessed Barbatus to preside as Bishop over your holy people, we pray that, by his merits, you may bestow on us the grace of your loving kindness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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20 February�St. Wulfric

Heavenly Father, in our present need, help us to believe that you are aware of our anxiety and will do what is best for us. Give us the strength to trust you and put the present and future in your hands. Grant this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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21 February�St. Peter Damian

Grant unto us, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, so to follow the counsels and example of blessed Peter, Thy Confessor and Bishop, that we may, by despising earthly things, obtain everlasting joys. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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21 February�St. Robert Southwell

Lord of heaven and earth, You blessed us this day with the grace of the Martyr St Robert Southwell. Grant that, through his intercession, we may, like him, drink from that cup which Christ drank and so rise to eternal life. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen

Robert Southwell (1561-1595), one of England's many poets but one of its most illustrious martyrs, was killed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He born into a well-to-do family,. In May 1576 he enrolled in the English College at Douai, Flanders; he later studied in Paris where he met the Jesuit Thomas Darbyshire. With great determination, the young Englishman walked to Rome where he was accepted into the novitiate at Sant'Andrea in 1578. He studied philosophy and theology was ordained in 1584. For the next two years he served as prefect of studies at the English College. Finally, he was assigned to the mission in England and left Rome on May 8, 1586 along with Father Henry Garnet.

The two Jesuits landed on a secluded coast to avoid capture. Southwell ministered in and about London, visiting prisoners in the city and helping priests who had just entered the country. When Fr. Garnet came to London, Southwell started visiting Catholics in the outlying counties. Hehelped direct the print of Catholic catechisms and devotional books published by a secret press that Garnet established; it was the sole source of religious literature for English Catholics.

After six years, Southwell was betrayed by a Catholic woman who had been pressured into setting a trap for the Jesuit. Anne Bellamy was imprisoned after she refused to attend Protestant services and was made pregnant by Richard Topcliffe, a priest-hunter noted for torturing his prisoners. When she was released from prison, she wrote the priest asking him to meet her at her parents' home. Southwell went there thinking she wanted to receive the sacraments. Instead Topcliffe and his men were waiting. Southwell managed to slip into a concealed room before they could catch him, but he eventually gave himself up rather than betray the family.

Topcliffe was overjoyed to have captured Southwell, whom he regarded as the biggest catch of his career. The Jesuit was led to Topcliffe's residence and put in the private torture chamber. He remained steadfast despite being tortured 13 different times; finally his captors threw him among the paupers. Southwell's father managed to visit him in the paupers' prison and was horrified at his son's condition. He petitioned the queen to treat him like the gentleman he was, either releasing him or condemning him to death. The queen allowed him to be moved to the Tower where he was better cared for but still could not receive visitors. He did continue to write the poems that expressed his deepest feelings and were later collected and published as St. Peter's Complaint.

For two and a half years, Southwell endured the solitude of his imprisonment, and then finally petitioned Lord Burghley to be released, be allowed visitors, or be brought to trial. The latter was granted, and he was tried on Feb. 20, 1595 at Westminster Hall. Southwell readily admitted being a Catholic priest but denied any involvement in plots against the queen. He was found guilty of high treason and executed the very next day. For the three-hour journey to Tyburn, he was tied to a hurdle and dragged through the streets to the gallows. Because the noose was improperly placed on his neck, he did not immediately die when the cart moved away from him. The hangman took mercy and hung on his feet to end the agony. Then the 34-year-old Jesuit was beheaded and quartered.

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22 February �St. Margaret of Cortona

O glorious St. Margaret,�you embarked on a life of penance and poverty after you repented of your sins. Jesus touched your heart, and after imposing on yourself a rigorous life of fasting, Jesus talked and conversed with you, revealing to you his merciful heart that rejoices whenever a sinner returns to him. On controlling your appetite for food, you managed to free yourself from all temptations, including those of the flesh of which you were a victim for many years.�

Listen then to our petitions. May you bring our petitions to Jesus. Amen.

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23 February�St. Polycarp

God of all creation, who were pleased to give the Bishop Saint Polycarp a place in the company of the Martyrs, grant, through his intercession, that sharing with him in the chalice of Christ, we may rise through the Holy Spirit to eternal life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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24 February�Saint John Theristus

Almighty everlasting God, �sower and nourisher of the heavenly Word, �You till the ground of our hearts with spiritual tools. �Hear our prayers, please, and pour Your great blessing upon the fields that have been sown, and by the grace of Your protection, turn away from them the force of every storm. �Let all these fruits be filled with Your blessing �and be brought to storehouse without trouble, �through our Lord Jesus Christ, �Your Son, who lives and is King and God with You �in the unity of the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

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25 February Saint Walburga

O holy St. Walburga, glorious servant of God, after you had lived holily in peaceful obscurity, you were united by your blessed death to your Divine Spouse, Jesus Christ, in order to receive from Him the reward of your virtues. You followed the Lamb wherever He went, and you shared in that glory and joy which only the clean of heart can enjoy. You are enthroned amid the choir of saints, joined by your holy parents, St. Richard and St. Wuna, and to your holy brothers, St. Willibald and St. Wunibald. Forget not those who still have to struggle amid the stormy sea of life, and obtain for them the prize of victory. Amen.

St. Walburga was born around 710. She is the daughter of St. Richard and the niece of St. Boniface. When St. Richard set out for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his sons, Ss. Willibald & Winibald, he entrusted 11 year old Walburga to the monastery school at Wimborne. She remained as a nun, spending a total of 26 years there.

When St. Boniface put out an appeal for nuns to help him in the evangelization of Germany, St. Walburga answered the call. On the way to Germany, there was a terrible storm at sea. Walburga knelt on the deck of the ship and prayed. The sea immediately became calm. Some sailors witnessed this and spread the word that she was a wonderworker, so she was received in Germany with great respect.

At first, she lived at Bischofsheim, under the rule of St. Lioba. Then she was made abbess at Heidenheim, near to where her brother, Winibald served as an abbot over a men's monastery. After his death, she ruled both monasteries. She worked many miracles in the course of her ministry. She wrote a biography of her brother, Winibald, and of Willibald's travels in Palestine, in Latin. She is regarded as the first woman author in both England and Germany.

On September 23, 776, she assisted Willibald in translating the uncorrupt relics of their brother, Winibald, to a new tomb in the church at Heidenheim. Shortly after this, she fell ill. Willibald cared for her until she died on February 25, 777, then placed her next to Winibald in the tomb.

After St. Willibald's death in 786, people gradually forgot St. Walburga and the church fell into disrepair. In 870, Bishop Oktar was having Heidenheim restored. Some workmen desecrated Walburga's grave. She appeared in a dream to the bishop, who then translated her relics to Eichstadt. In 893, St. Walburga's body was found to be immersed in a mysterious sweet-smelling liquid. It was found to work miraculous healings. The liquid, called St. Walburga's oil, has flowed from her body, ever since, except for a brief period when the church was put under the interdict after robbers shed the blood of a bell-ringer in the church. Portions of St. Walburga's relics have taken to several other cities and her oil to all parts of the world.

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25 February �Saint Luigi Versiglia

Dear Lord, as we remember this saint, please help us to be steadfast when faced with the difficult obstacles that come between us and our work for you. Though we may never have to do physical battle for You, may we be ever trusting in You and Your Will for us, that we may stand ready for whatever You desire of us, whether it be a chalice of sweat or a chalice of blood; with Your Grace; may we be ready to give You both. Amen.

Luigi was born in Oliva Gessi (Pavia) on June 5, 1873. From his earliest years he served mass, so much so that the people already thought he would be a priest, but he wanted to be a vet.

As a 12-year-old he was taken in by Don Bosco, who fascinated him to the extent that he wanted to change his mind. In 1888, he decided to become a Salesian, with the hope of going to the missions.

His priestly ordination which took place in 1895. He was appointed director of novices at Genzano in Rome, a task he carried out for 10 years with kindness, firmness and patience.

After much insistence from the bishop of Macao, in 1906 six Salesians arrived in China, led by Fr. Versiglia. Thus a prophecy of Don Bosco’s came true. In Macao he established the Salesian “mother house” and also opened a mission at Heungchow. Fr. Louis gave life to the area as Don Bosco would have done, setting up a music band and opening orphanages and oratories.

In 1918 the Salesians received the mission of Shiuchow from the Vicar Apostolic of Canton, and on January 9, 1921 Fr. Versiglia was consecrated its bishop. Whenever he arrived while visiting, the villages held a feast especially the children. He provided a solid structure with its own seminary, house of formation, and planned residences and hospitals for the elderly and those in need. He looked after the formation of catechists with much care.

Meanwhile in China the political situation had become very tense, especially for Christians and foreign missionaries. Persecutions began. On February 13, 1930, together with Fr. Caravario, the bishop was at Shiuchow for the pastoral visit to the Linchow mission. Some young boys and girls went with them; they had been studying in Shiuchow. On February 25, a group of Bolshevik pirates stopped the bishop’s boat, wanting to take the girls. The bishop and Fr. Caravario obstructed them with all the force they could muster. They were forcibly taken and eventually shot. Before they were killed they heard one another’s confession. Their last breath was spent for their beloved China.

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26 February �St. Isabel of France

Father of goodness and love, hear our prayers for the sick members of our community and for all who are in need. Amid mental and physical suffering may they find consolation in your healing presence. Show your mercy as you close wounds, cure illness, make broken bodies whole and free downcast spirits. May these special people find lasting health and deliverance, and so join us in thanking you for all your gifts. We ask this through the Lord Jesus who healed those who believed. Amen.

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27 February�St. Leander of Seville

Saint Leander, pray for us that we will always seek truth, and never shy away from defending it. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen

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28 February Pope Saint Hilary

All-powerful and ever-living God,�you called Saint Hilary to guide your people by his word and example. With him we pray to you: watch over the pastors of your Church with the people entrusted to their care and lead them to salvation. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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