menu_book Chapter 26

section twenty six of lives of the saints with reflections for every day of the year by rev alban butler this librivox recording is in the public domain recording by maria lives of the american saints placed in the proper for the united states at the special petition of the third plenary council of baltimore st philip of jesus martyr patron of the city of mexico philip de las casas was born in the city of mexico where his parents settled after setting out for the new world from elizcas in spain they were earnest in all their religious duties and brought up their family piously two sons entering the augustinian order one to die by the hands of the heathen philip at first showed little care for the pious teaching of his parents and the example of his brothers but at last he too resolved to forsake the world and enter the reformed franciscan convent of santa barbara at pueblo he was not yet weaned from the world and its vanities and soon left the novitiate grieved at the inconstancy of his son alonso de la costas sent him to the philippine islands with a large stock of goods and money to make purchases in vain did philip seek to satisfy his heart with pleasure he could not but feel that god called him to a religious life

gaining courage by prayer he entered the franciscan comment of our lady of the angels at manila and persevered taking his vows in fifteen ninety four his novitiate had produced a great spirit of poverty obedience and prayer and he sought by austerity to aton for the heirs of his youth as infirmarian brother philip of jesus beheld our lord in the person of the sick and attended them with holy care the richest cargo that he could have sent to mexico would not have gratified his pious father as much as the tidings that philip was a professed friar alonzo de la casas obtained from the commissionary of the order directions that philip should be sent to mexico he embarked on the st philip in july fifteen ninety six with other religious storms drove the vessel to the coast of japan and it was wrecked while endeavoring to enter a port amid the storm philip saw over japan a white cross in the shape used in that country which after a time became blood-red and remained so for some time it was an omen of his coming victory the commander of the vessel sent our saint and two other religious to the emperor to solicit permission to continue their voyage but they could not obtain an audience

he then proceeded to makao to a house of his order to seek the influence of the fathers there but the pilot of the vessel by idle boasts had excited the emperor's fears of the christians and the heathen ruler resolved to exterminate the catholic missionaries in december officers seized a number of the franciscan fathers three jesuits and several of their young pupils st philip was one of those arrested while they were in the choir singing the office philip bore with heroic patience the insults of the rabble who assailed the martyrs on their way to prison and heard with holy joy the sentence of death had been passed on them all his left ear was cut off and he offered this first-fruits of his blood to god for the salvation of that heathen land the martyrs were led through the streets of several towns with inscriptions declaring the cause of their death they at last reached nagasaki where crosses had been erected on a high hill near the bay when st philip was led to that on which he was to die he knelt down and clasped it exclaiming

o happy ship o happy galleon for philip lost for my gain lost no loss for me but the greatest of all gain he was bound to the cross but the rest under him gave way so that he was strangled by the cords while repeating the holy name of jesus he was the first of the happy band to receive the death-stroke a lance being driven across through his body to the right shoulder then another to the left a third stroke being given to assure his death the spanish and japanese christians who witnessed his triumph caught his blood in their hats and in cloths to preserve his relics miracles attest to the power before god of these first martyrs of japan pope urban the eighth granted permission to stay in office and mass in their honor and pope pius the ninth formally canonized them the devotion to st philip of jesus in his native city and throughout mexico has always been very great a church and a convent of capuchin nuns are dedicated to him his feast was in spanish times kept with great solemnity in new mexico texas and california and a settlement in arizona bore his name

st philip died at the age of twenty-five he is an example to encourage those who falter in the path of god's service his prayers will aid those who are tempted and enable them to acquire strength to recover lost ground and go on with renewed courage in the narrow way of the cross his feast is celebrated february fifth saint terebius archbishop of lima terebius alphonsus megrobigio whose feast the church honors on april twenty seventh was born on the sixth of november fifteen thirty eight at moroga in the kingdom of lyons in spain brought up in a pious family where devotion was hereditary his youth was a model to all who knew him a tender devotion to the blessed virgin and the love of the poor marked this boy he recited the rosary in the little office every day and fasted every saturday in honor of the mother of god as a schoolboy he gave away his own food to relieve the poor his life as a student at valladolid and salamanca showed no relaxation from his early spirit of prayer all his leisure was given to devotion or to works of charity his austerities were great and he frequently made long pilgrimages on foot the fame of terubius as a master of canon and civil law soon reached the ears of king philip the second who made him judge of granada that monarch marked an exalted virtue and ability of

about that time the sea of lima and peru fell vacant and among those proposed philip found no one who seemed better endowed than our saint with all the qualities that were required at that city where much was to be done to religion he sent to rome the name of the holy judge and the sovereign pontiff confirmed his choice terubius in vain sought to avoid the honour and wrote a long treatise which he forwarded to rome to show how irregular it was to appoint a layman to such a position the pope in reply directed him to prepare to receive holy orders and be consecrated king philip was equally deaf to his appeal yielding at last by direction of his confessor he prepared by a long retreat to receive minor orders and the subdiaconship and deaconship then he was ordained priest and consecrated he arrived at lima in fifteen eighty seven and entered on his duties all was soon edification and order in his episcopal city a model of all virtue himself he confessed daily and prepared for mass by long meditation the influence of the holy man was soon felt st terebius then began a visitation of his vast diocese where he traversed three times his first visitation lasting seven years and his second four

he held provincial councils framing decrees with such wisdom that his regulations were adopted in many countries st jerebius preached catechized and confirmed far and wide he held diocesan synods and encouraged his bishops to do the same almost his entire revenues were bestowed on his creditors as he styled the poor and he bore with intrepid patience the vexatious opposition raised to many of his reforms maintaining the liberties of the church with apostolical courage while discharging with zeal his duties of priest and bishop he was seized with a fatal illness during his third visitation and died on the twenty third of march in the year sixteen sixty six at santa exclaiming as he received the sacred viaticum i rejoice in the things that were said to me we shall go into the house of the lord his holy austere and devoted life had made the people regard him as a saint and a constant benefactor they regarded him now as their patron in heaven and miracles rewarded their faith the proofs of his holy life and of the favors granted through his intercession induced pope innocent the eleventh to beatify him and he was canonized by pope benedict the thirteenth in the year seventeen twenty six saint terubius was a model for all states as a holy youth as a pious and zealous layman and as a great and exemplary bishop

st francis solano the diocese of cordova in spain was the birthplace of this saint who won many thousands of souls to god from his earliest years he was characterized by a modest behavior prudent silence and edifying meekness while still very young he was always able to effect a reconciliation between the most bitter enemies once when he came upon two spaniards who were engaged in deadly strife he threw himself between them and kneeling down prayed with so much fervor that the fierce combatants sheathed their daggers and became reconciled to one another his education was entrusted to the jesuit fathers but his desire to follow the poor and humble jesus in perfect poverty and humility induced them to enter the order of st francis soon he excelled every one in the house of humility obedience fervor and prayer and self-denial sometimes he would pass the entire night on his knees before the tabernacle if he sought a religious zealous for god's honor and love he would say to him brother let us see which of us can show jesus more proofs of love fervor and self-denial during this week

after his ordination he preached the word of god in simple unadorned language but with so much fervor and heartfelt emotion that those among his numerous audience who had been traveling on the broad road of vice abandoned it and entered upon the narrow path of a virtuous life he was no less zealous in deed than in word for when the pestilence was raging in granada he was untiring and fearless in his service to the plague-stricken inhabitants tending the sick and dying with such assiduous and as it were maternal care that the wandering people praised god for the visible protection he manifested towards his servant in the year fifteen eighty four he sailed for south america to preach the gospel to the indians in peru on the same vessel with him were six hundred negro slaves while still at some distance from shore the ship struck a ledge of rocks and the danger of drowning was imminent the captain hurried the officers and principal passengers into the only boat there was and tried to induce the missionary to accompany them but he refused to do so in these terms sir you have done your duty now i shall do mine i stay here he then consoled the remaining passengers directing their thoughts to heaven he knelt down with them and prayed fervently exhorting those who had been baptized instructing those who were not and comforting all

meanwhile the vessel was sinking and the passengers tumbled with fear but not so the zealous missionary he alone kept up his hope in god's mercy thus three dreadful days were passed until at last the captain came with a lifeboat and all were taken off in safety the missionary did not confine his ministry to lima he visited the forests and deserts inhabited by the indians who were cruel and bloodthirsty by nature and who hated the spaniards because they had oftentimes been cruelly treated by them but god protected his fearless servant to whom he had given the gifts of eloquence and power over wild beasts lions tigers and snakes obeyed him and the birds perched on his shoulders singing with him the praises of god by degrees he won the trust of the indians who marveled at his kindness they listened to his instructions allowed him to baptize them and followed him as grateful children follow their father in this way nine thousand indians were converted and everything was in the most promising condition when the missionary was recalled by an order from his superior to lima which at that time was like the godless city of nineveh

francis preached with great effect to the hardened sinners he carried his mission everywhere in the public streets in the shameless theatres in gambling dens where cross in hand he frightened the evil-doers by the might of his words which echoed like the trumpet sounds of the last judgment the result of his labors was that the whole city became converted he brought many miracles on the sick and sorrowful but was in himself the greatest miracle of all ever busy humble joyful and never uttering a single useless word in his leisure time he composed songs to the christ child and his blessed mother and sung them to the accompaniment of his violin so sweetly that his hearers were enraptured his love of his neighbor was unbounded he never thought evil of any one and put a good construction on every action even when persecuted calumniated and held in suspicion by his religious brethren the proverb as our life is so shall be our death was fulfilled in francis's case in his last painful sickness he prayed thus o jesus how do i deserve such grace thou art nailed to the cross and i am served by my brethren thou art stripped of thy clothes and i am well covered

thou didst receive blows and i only receive good things o my god his last words were god be praised after uttering which his soul departed to earth on july fourteenth sixteen ten his remains were honored by a grand funeral and he was declared blessed by pope clement x and sixteen seventy five and canonized by benedict the thirteenth in seventeen twenty six st francis's feast is held july twenty fourth the end end of section twenty six recording by maria therese lives of the saints with reflections for every day of the year by rev alban butler