Friday, November 19, 2010

St. Felix of Valois – November 20

      In the 12th and 13th centuries, hordes of barbarians and Muslims scoured Europe enslaving Catholics and subjecting them to unspeakable atrocities and death.  Moreover, these poor souls would endure all kinds of attacks against their Faith along with repeated attempts for them to apostatize and become Muslims.  This situation sparked great compassion in all of Christendom, and many prayed and helped to liberate these poor captives.

File:Sv Jan z Malty.jpg

Born to a French noble family in 1127, Saint Felix joined St. John Matha in starting the order of the Trinitarians, whose mission it was to send military expeditions to free the captive Catholics and to collect alms for their ransom.

Lesson for today:

We should seriously consider the present day situation of the persecuted Church, especially in Iraq where 60 Catholics where just murdered while attending Sunday Mass in Bagdad. 

Are we praying for the 400,000 Catholics suffering persecution for the Faith in Iraq? How often do we think and offer sacrifices for them?  We have the freedom to profess our faith openly – what use do we make of this freedom?

International Rosary Rally for the persecuted Catholics in Iraq

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