the saints, our friends

Ján & Peter Morovič

!

!2013 © Ján & Peter Morovič

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!How do I become a saint? !Have you ever helped your parents by tidying your room? Have you tried to cheer up a classmate who was sad? Have you shared a snack with another kid? Have you stood up to those who were mean to another boy or girl? Have you ever told anyone that you love Jesus? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, and I am sure you have, then you are on your way to be-coming a saint. Being a saint is the same as following Jesus. Asking yourself what Jesus would do in your place – and doing it! !In this little book you will find out about some of our favorite saints. Saints, who have lived like Jesus so much, that they are examples for us all to follow. You will see that the great saints who came before us have included poor fishermen, brave warriors, smart scientists, noble princesses, gifted artists and kind popes. What they all had in common though was their love of Jesus in the poor, the weak and the lonely and that they always looked for ways to serve Him and to bring everyone to Him. !We hope that the new friends you will meet in this book will make you want to follow them, so that you may one day join them and all the saints in Heav-en. !Ján & Peter

Joseph

! Do you know who Jesus’ dad is? That’s right - it is God the Father. And do you know who Saint Joseph was? He was Mary’s husband and looked after Jesus like a dad while he was on Earth. It was with the help of Saint Joseph that Jesus learned how to be a good boy and then grow up to be a good man.

Already before Jesus was born, Saint Joseph loved Him and His mum, Mary, very much. When an angel told Saint Joseph in a dream that Mary had God’s baby son in her tummy, he immediately did what God asked him and looked after Mary and Jesus. You too do that, don’t you? When you see that someone needs your help, you go and help. Right?

When baby Jesus was born, the angel spoke to Saint Joseph again and told him that a bad king wants to kill Jesus and that he needs to take his family and escape to Egypt. That must have been quite scary, right? What do you think Saint Joseph did? Exactly! He took Mary and baby Jesus and travelled with them as quickly as he could to safety. After some years, when it was OK to return home, the angel spoke to Saint Joseph again, and the Holy Family made their way back from Egypt.

During the following years Saint Joseph taught Jesus many things and he also showed him how to make things out of wood and become a carpenter like him-

self. Saint Joseph also taught Jesus about the Bible, about what the prophets said and about the many ad-ventures that his ancestors, the People of Israel have been through. With all this, Saint Joseph helped Jesus grow up to be a good man and prepare for telling everyone about how much God loves us.

Do you know anyone who is an example in doing what pleases God? If you do, then follow them like Jesus fol-lowed what Saint Joseph taught him.

Saint Joseph (Yosef - יֹוסֵף) 90 BC, Bethlehem, Israel - 18 AD, Nazareth, Israel

19 March

“Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” (Matthew 1:24)

Peter

! Jesus was teaching a lot and needed a rest. So, he went out on a lake in Peter’s boat, to get a break from all the people who wanted to hear and see him. The weather was not very good though. It was very windy and there were big waves, which scared the apostles. In the middle of the night, the apostles woke up and couldn’t see Jesus anywhere. Suddenly they noticed him walking on the water towards them!

At first, they couldn’t believe their eyes and got scared even more! As usual, Peter spoke first: “Jesus, let me too walk on the water!” When Jesus invited Peter to join him, he stepped out of the boat and made a few steps towards Him. But, Peter got scared because of the strong wind and because he really couldn’t believe that Jesus could make him walk on water! Peter started to sink and panic and cried for help: “Lord, save me!”

Jesus came to him straightaway and pulled him out of the water. “Why were you afraid?,” he asked Peter. “Why didn’t you believe me?” Peter loved Jesus a lot and wanted to follow him everywhere, but he didn’t re-alize that Jesus was the Son of God and so nothing was impossible for him. Peter learned to really trust Je-sus, like you trust your mum and dad.

Saint Peter (Shimon)

1 BC (Bethsaida, Israel) – 67 AD (Rome, Italy)

29 June

“Lord, you know that I love you.”(John 21:15)

Thomas

! Saint Thomas was one of Jesus’ best friends, one of his twelve disciples. Do you know what his name means? In Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, it means “twin.” And Thomas really tried to be like Jesus’ twin, following every-thing Jesus did.

One time, Jesus said to his friends that they would know how to follow him even after his death. But Thomas didn’t really understand this and probably neither did the others! So, he asked Jesus to explain. As you can imagine, this took a lot of courage and being very good friends with Je-sus. In return for asking good questions, Jesus rewarded Thomas and all of us with saying: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” What a beautiful poem! It makes it so clear what we should do to come close to God and we wouldn’t have it if it wasn’t for Thomas. He clearly trusted Jesus a lot, but he also showed great suspicion of others!

After Jesus came back from the dead, he appeared to a small group of his friends, but Thomas wasn’t there. When the others told him about their meeting with Jesus, Thomas didn’t believe them and said firmly: “I have to see Jesus for myself, with my own eyes and touch him with my own hands or I won’t believe.”

A week later, Jesus came to his friends again and this time Thomas was there too - he made sure he wouldn’t miss it! Jesus, who knew Thomas very well, came to him and said “Put your finger here and see the wounds in my hands. Put

your hand here, touch the wound in my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe!”

Thomas is stunned! He looks at Jesus and says more clear-ly than anyone ever: “My Lord and my God!” Jesus turns to him and says something that he is telling all of us: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” None of us have seen him or have been there with Thomas, but Je-sus encourages us to believe and tells us we’ll receive a special blessing to help us!

Thomas was the kind of guy everybody was happy to have around, because he said and did things others didn’t dare. And he asked Jesus such direct questions! Thomas ended up taking Christianity all the way to India, the farthest any of the disciples went. His deep faith and his great friendship with Jesus helped him and we can learn a lot from him!

Saint Thomas (T'oma – תאומא)

1st century AD (Galilee, Israel) – 72 AD (Mylapore, India)

3 July

“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”(John 20:29)

John

! Saint John the Apostle was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, like Saints Peter and Thomas, but he was a bit spe-cial. He was probably the youngest among them, just a boy, while the others were already grown men. He was also among the first four whom Jesus called to follow him, and he is called “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Together with his brother James, another disciple, Jesus called them “sons of thunder.” John and James were calm and gentle, but when they lost their patience they were fierce!

John was clearly a very close friend of Jesus, a true bestie! He was the only one of the twelve to stay at the foot of the cross when Jesus was dying. He stood there with Jesus’ mum, Mary, and before Jesus died, he asked John to look after her. He also asked Mary to be John’s mum and also the mum of us all.

Three days after Jesus died, and the disciples heard that his tomb was open and empty, it was again John, together with Peter, who ran straightaway to see. Saint John was calm but immediately ready for action. And as he was the youngest of the disciples, he got to the tomb first! From the day he met Jesus, he followed him and stood by him. We too can do the same today by listening to his voice and fol-lowing it calmly, wisely and without hesitation!

Saint John the Evangelist (Yôḥānān)

15 AD (Jerusalem, Israel) – 100 AD (Ephesus, Turkey)

27 December

“So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”” (John 21:7)

George

! You have probably heard about the legend of Saint George and the dragon, but did you know the true, and even more amazing story of how he stood up to a powerful emperor? Saint George was an officer in the Roman army and a member of emperor Diocletian’s elite royal guard around 300 years after Jesus was born. Some say he was one of the emperor’s best soldiers. The emperor didn’t like Chris-tians though and arrested all of them, who were in the army. They were to be let go only if they betrayed Jesus and wor-shiped the false Roman gods instead. Diocletian did this because he wanted to get rid of all the Christians in his em-pire.

Saint George was a man of deep faith and great courage, so when he heard this, he went to see the Emperor straightaway. In front of many fellow officers of the army he told Diocletian that he would not give up his faith in Jesus! Can you imagine that? I’d say that standing up to a power-ful emperor like that, with all his armies, is more courageous than fighting just a single dragon, no matter how fierce! Since the emperor respected Saint George and wanted to keep him as his soldier, he first tried to change his mind by offering him land, gold and lots of other riches.

What do you think Saint George did? Do you think he took the emperor’s gold? That’s right, Saint George was firm and refused! But, this made the emperor mad! How dare a sol-dier disobey him! So, Diocletian decided to have Saint

George killed, also to scare anyone else who thought of re-maining a Christian.

Before he got arrested though, Saint George gave all his possessions to the poor. If you ever stood up for your friends in school or for your brother or sister when someone was unkind to them, you were following Saint George’s ex-ample! He not only valued his friendship with Jesus above his own life, but stood up for his friends who were in terrible danger. And not even the emperor’s bribes could change his mind.

Saint George

(Georgios - Γεώργιος)

280 AD (Lod, Israel) - 23 April 303 AD (Nicomedia, Turkey)

April 23

“Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will ac-knowledge before my heavenly Father.” (Matthew 10:32)

Martin

! Saint Martin was born about 1700 years ago in the Great Roman Empire. He was the son of a soldier and wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps. It must have been pretty cool to be a soldier back then, riding around on horseback, in great armor and a fancy cloak!

But, there were many poor people around at that time, just like there are today too. One day during winter, as Saint Martin was riding into a city, he noticed a poor man who was half-naked and shivering from the biting cold. When Martin saw him, he immediately stopped, took out his sword, cut his military cloak in two and gave half of it to the poor man so he could cover himself.

Later that night, Saint Martin dreamt of Jesus wearing his half-cloak. He remembered that he read the words of Jesus in the Bible that say: “I was naked and you gave me clothes, I was hungry and you gave me food ...” So, he real-ized that he wanted to become a “soldier of Jesus” and not one who goes and fights in wars. In fact, he refused to fight in a battle and told his commander that he’ll walk in front of the rest of the army without any weapons!

Can you imagine a soldier refusing to fight in a war? They must have thought he was out of his mind, but for Martin it was clear: in every person there is Jesus, from the poor man who was freezing in the cold, to the enemy soldiers. Can you think of any examples of meeting Jesus in others? Every time you are with your friends, parents, schoolmates, teachers and you listen to them, look out for them or cheer

them up, you become better friends with Him! Saint Martin too wanted the same, so he left the army and became a monk and later a Bishop in France, a great “soldier of Je-sus”!

Saint Martin

(Martinus)

316 AD (Szombathely, Hungary) - 397 AD (Candes-Saint-Martin, France)

8 November

“Lord, I will do the work you entrust to me. While you com-mand, I will fight beneath your banner.” (St. Martin)

Monica & Augustine

! Have you ever heard of Saints Monica and Augustine? Did you know that Saint Monica was Saint Augustine’s mum and that for a long time Saint Augustine didn’t live like a saint at all? When he was a kid, he even stole pears from a neighbor’s garden! And do you think he did it because he was hungry and too poor to buy food? No! It was just out of mischief. Saint Augustine and his friends, who stole the pears, then went and threw them to some pigs. That’s not right, is it? Food needs to be treated with respect as there are people who have noting to eat and taking what be-longs to someone else is not right either.

Not only was Saint Augustine naughty when he was growing up, but he was also very confused about God, which made his mum, Saint Monica, very sad. Saint Monica didn’t give up though and prayed for her son every day, asking Jesus to help him find the right way.

It took a very long time for Saint Augustine to realize who Jesus was, but once he did, he understood very important and beauti-ful things about the Trinity - our God in whom three persons, Fa-ther, Son and Holy Spirit, love each other so much that they are one. Have you ever felt loved by someone so that what they did for you made you both very happy? That is exactly how the per-sons of the Trinity love each other.

And do you know the story of how Saint Augustine changed his life and started following Jesus to become a saint? One day he was sitting under a fig tree when he heard a voice say to him: ‘Take up and read!’ Do you know what this meant? What was Saint Augustine asked to read? That’s right - the Bible! And Saint Augustine listened to that voice and learned a lot from the Bible

about which he then wrote many books that people still read and learn from today. Maybe, when you grow up, you too will read a book by Saint Augustine.

When Saint Augustine became a Christian - and did you know that it was Saint Ambrose who baptized him? - his mum, Saint Monica was very happy! The many years of praying for her son every day seemed like nothing compared to the joy of seeing her boy getting close to Jesus. You too can follow Saint Monica’s example and pray for others who are in trouble. It may take a long time, but God listens to our prayers!

Soon Saint Augustine became a priest and then a bishop and because he loved Jesus so much and was very smart, he left us, the Church, with lots of beautiful ideas about how to live like God’s people. We can thank him and his loving mum for their great help, and try to follow their example.

Saints Monica and Augustine

(Monica & Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis)

Monica: 331, Souk Ahras, Algeria - 387, Ostia, Italy

27 August

Augustine: 354, Souk Ahras, Algeria - 430 Annaba, Algeria

28 August

!“Love, and do what you want.” Saint Augustine

Ambrose

! Saint Ambrose was a very curious saint! What would you think if I told you that he was the chief of police in the city of Milan in Italy? Do you think that a policeman would make a good saint? Jesus came to call everyone to follow him and Ambrose shows us this very clearly. He was born into a no-ble Roman family and his dad was the governor of what to-day is France, Spain and Britain put together. Ambrose went to very good schools, studied to be a lawyer and end-ed up being in charge of a large region around the city of Milan.

Ambrose was a very good and fair man. He lived during a time when there were many disagreements and people ar-gued among themselves even within the Church. One time, after the bishop of Milan had died, the people were squab-bling about who should become the next bishop. Do you know who a bishop is? A bishop is someone who follows in the footsteps of the apostles and looks after the Church in a particular part of the world. Do you know who your bishop is?

To calm the crowds down, Ambrose arrived at the scene as the head of the police force, and got everyone to stop argu-ing. How do you think he did that? By chasing them away or by threatening to put them in prison? No, Ambrose spoke to the crowd, and when people heard his clear and kind words, they started calling for him to become the next bishop!

This is pretty impressive, isn’t it! And do you know what is even more surprising? Ambrose wasn’t even a Christian! Even so, the people saw that he was already loving every-one like Jesus. Ambrose got baptized, became a priest and a bishop and straightaway gave all his land away! He went from being a rich, powerful man to living a humble life and looking after the poor.

He was also very smart and helped resolve many argu-ments among the people and also within the Church. Saint Ambrose is called a “Doctor of the Church” because of the importance of his teachings that helped people understand more about Jesus, the Church and especially Mary.

Saint Ambrose (Aurelius Ambrosius)

339 AD (Trier, Germany) – 397 AD (Milan, Italy)

7 December

“Let me find you in love, and love you in finding.” St. Ambrose

Anselm

! Have you ever wanted to go to Heaven? So did Saint Anselm! As a small boy he loved listening to his mum, who told him about God ruling the world from the heights of Heaven. So, one day, he decided to climb a great mountain near his home in France, to meet God and join a great feast in his palace. As he was climb-ing the mountain, he instead came to a King’s castle where he was welcomed and offered food and a place to stay for the night. Anselm’s quest for God made him want to become a monk and join a monastery. Monks are men who are called to give their lives to God in prayer and by helping the poor and the sick.

Anselm’s dad wasn’t happy with his choice though and stopped him! In spite of these difficulties and a serious illness, Anselm didn’t give up wanting to follow Jesus and offer his life to Him. Soon he entered a monastery, became a priest and one day was even asked to become the abbot - the monk in charge. This was quite a shock to Anselm, who just wanted to serve Jesus and didn’t want any special treatment for himself. So, Anselm threw himself to the ground in tears and asked his fellow monks not to pick him to be their boss. But, the others begged him to lead them, as they loved him very much, and knew that he was a true man of God. Some years later Anselm was asked to become the archbishop of Canterbury in England, a very important role in the Church, and he again tried to resist. Anselm just wanted to be a humble friend of Jesus and not a powerful figure.

His friends kept insisting though and he eventually became arch-bishop. This turned out to be a great gift for the Church. Anselm soon understood that it was God’s plan for him to become arch-bishop, as the Church was under attack from bad kings and needed a strong person like him to defend it. Anselm was able to

resist the evil plans of many powerful rulers and to protect the Pope and the Church. And he never looked for revenge either! On many occasions he asked for punishments not to be given even to those who would have deserved them, because Jesus taught us to be forgiving. As you can see, Saint Anselm was a holy man who did a lot of important things for God’s people dur-ing his life.

Will you believe me if I tell you that he was also a very smart guy, whose ideas still excite people today - a thousand years later? You better, because Saint Anselm came up with a really clever idea to help us understand God. The idea goes like this: think of the greatest thing you can think of (it is God, right?), now think about whether it is greater for something to be real than to just be made up (it is, right?). So, God has to be real and not just made up as he is the greatest! Pretty smart, don’t you think?

We can learn so much from Saint Anselm: that we need to put others first, that we need to humbly accept the plans God has for us and also that we can use our brains to understand God bet-ter. He is definitely one of my favorite saints!

Saint Anselm (Anselmo d’Aosta)

1033 AD (Aosta, Italy) – 1109 AD (Canterbury, England)

21 April

“My God, I pray that I may so know you and love you that I may rejoice in you.” St. Anselm

Hildegard

! Imagine being three years old and suddenly seeing something beautiful but strange appearing before your eyes. You would know straightaway that it was special, but you probably wouldn’t know what it was. That is precisely how Saint Hildegard felt when her visions started. As she grew up, and these beautiful sights and sounds continued appearing to her, she understood that they were messages from God, in which He told her about Him-self and about how the whole universe worked.

Saint Hildegard knew that her visions were very special and pre-cious and she wanted to make sure that they would be used wisely. So, she only shared them with her closest friends. One day a friend of Saint Hildegard’s told the Pope about them, who confirmed that they came from God. This gave Saint Hildegard a great sense of peace and freedom to share them with others, and she ended up doing a lot of good with these special gifts.

Saint Hildegard really followed Jesus’ parable about the talents. Do you know what that story is about? Yes, it is about making good use of the gifts we receive from God. Instead of hiding them or using them just for ourselves, Jesus asks us to share them and use them to do good to others. Can you think of a gift that you have? Some of us are good at music or computers, or are good listeners or can help friends when they are sad - all of these are gifts that God gave us for sharing with everyone. Will you try to do the same?

Saint Hildegard did amazing things with the gifts she received from God. First, she took careful notes and painted beautiful im-ages to try and capture her visions so that others could learn from them too. Did you know that her paintings can still be seen

today - a thousand years after she made them? She also used the knowledge she received to write to kings and popes to help them make wise decisions. Saint Hildegard was also an amazing musician, who wrote new kinds of music that are still played to-day. She also invented a new way of writing, to help her fellow nuns, and she was a great doctor and scientist. Saint Hildegard understood how everything around us is good and how God made a world where everything is connected and where we need to look after and care for nature. This also helped her discover how different plants can help cure illnesses and how different parts of the body can be healed.

Saint Hildegard was a doctor, a scientist, a musician and a saint. But what makes her so special is that she used her gifts for help-ing others and for giving thanks to God for the beautiful universe he created for us.

Saint Hildegard of Bingen (Hildegard von Bingen)

1098 AD (Bermersheim vor der Höhe, Germany) – 1179 AD (Bingen am Rhein, Germany)

17 September

“Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars. Gaze at the beauty of earth’s greenings. Now, think. What delight God gives to humankind with all these things.” St. Hildegard

Francis

! Saint Francis was born into a rich and noble family from the town of Assisi, in the north of Italy. His father was a wealthy businessman who sold fabrics and wanted his son to con-tinue in his trade. Instead, Francis was all about having a good time and partying with his many friends. His dream was to become a knight and fight in battles so he could be-come famous.

During one such battle he was captured by the enemy, which made him think more about God and what he should do with his life. Later, he heard a voice that asked him to fix a little church out of town, which was in ruins. It was the chapel of Saint Damian, which can still be seen today.

Saint Francis understood that God was talking to him, and took it very seriously. He went straight back to his dad’s shop, took a big armful of expensive clothes and fabrics and sold them. He even sold his horse and with all that money, he set out to repair the chapel. As you can imagine, this made his dad quite angry! He started to worry that his son’s behavior could ruin him and cost him a fortune. So, he took Saint Francis to court, where the Bishop was there too. Francis’ dad wanted his money back and he wanted to make sure Francis would not get any inheritance.

By this time Saint Francis had already decided to spend his life serving the poor and the outcast. So, when he was ac-cused of wasting his family’s wealth, he took off all his clothes and gave them to his Father. He no longer needed anything! Can you imagine how shocking this must have

been? The bishop who was there, quickly went up to Fran-cis and covered him with his cloak to keep him warm and protect him.

From then on Saint Francis only wore the clothes of the poor: a brown cloak made of a rough fabric, tied around the waist with a rope. He went on to slowly repair St Damian’s chapel (and two more!), relying only on the generosity of people. Soon, they started bringing him stones, wood and other building materials, and the chapel started taking shape. He preached about love and peace, and continued serving the poor all his life. He also had a special love for nature, the woods and meadows and all the animals to which he spoke and sang! He saw them all as God’s cre-ations through which He shows His love for us. Inspired by Saint Francis’ way of living the Gospel, soon many people joined him, including Saint Clare.

Saint Francis of Assisi (Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone)

1181/1182 AD (Assisi, Italy) – 1226 AD (Assisi, Italy)

4 October

“Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” St. Francis

Clare

! Clare was still a young girl when she already had a great love of praying. Did you know that praying is really just talk-ing to God? And did you know that you can tell Him every-thing? Clare did, and she also knew that she wanted to be-come a nun. Her parents instead wanted her to get married, like everyone else.

When Clare was 18, Saint Francis, who lived in the same town, came to preach at her church and she was immedi-ately amazed by him and his words. She waited for him af-ter mass and told him she wanted to live the Gospel like him! Saint Francis told her that he would help her.

On Palm Sunday that year, Clare and two of her friends se-cretly snuck out in the middle of the night to see Saint Fran-cis and his disciples. To show that she too wanted to be close to the poor, Clare, who also came from a rich family, swapped her fancy clothes for a simple, rough dress and a thick veil. Saint Francis then asked her “What do you want?” to which she replied with only one word: “God!” He then cut off her beautiful hair as a sign of her obedience and poverty.

Clare, like Francis, knew that to love the poor, the sick and those whom nobody liked, meant to love Jesus directly. Af-ter all, Jesus said so himself! Do you remember? “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.” And Jesus also said: “I was hungry and you fed me, I was naked and you gave me clothes.” In spite of many people, even ones in the church, trying to convince her to follow less

tough rules, Clare remained faithful to loving Jesus in the poor and the sick until the very end.

The people loved Clare so much that when she died, they knew straightaway that she was a saint and the Church an-nounced it only two years later. This is very quick! For many saints it took even hundreds of years before it was sure that they lived holy lives.

What do you think was the most important thing that Saint Clare taught us? Yes, it was to trust our conscience, more than anything or anybody else. Do you know what your conscience is? It is that voice inside you that tells you how to love everyone! Her great love of prayer had prepared her for her journey and we too can prepare with her!

Saint Clare of Assisi (Chiara Offreduccio)

1194 AD (Assisi, Italy) – 1253 AD (Assisi, Italy)

11 August

“Love God, serve God: everything is in that.” St. Clare

Elizabeth

! Saint Elizabeth was a princess who lived almost a thousand years ago! She was the daughter of King Andrew II of Hun-gary and she was only four years old when her family de-cided whom she would marry. This was quite usual among royal families in the Middle Ages, but today it does sounds quite odd, doesn’t it?

Elizabeth’s husband was a kind-hearted German prince called Ludwig and they were very happy together and had three children. Elizabeth was always very caring and had a special love for the poor, the sick and everyone else who needed help. What do you think she did for them? Do you think she just did the odd thing for them every now and again? No, she built a whole hospital! It was free for all and it meant that even the poorest people in her city could see a doctor. And she had it built right under her castle so she could often visit the sick. And can you imagine that she looked after 900 poor people every day!

Even though prince Ludwig trusted her and was very happy with her for helping the poor, the rest of the royal household was suspicious and didn’t like Elizabeth giving anything away. They were just being very greedy and stingy. One day, when Elizabeth was sneaking out bread under her cloak to give to the poor, she was asked to show what she was car-rying. So that she wouldn’t get into trouble, a great miracle happened. When she opened up her cloak, where the bread was, white and red roses appeared instead and scat-tered all over the floor. What a great sign of God looking af-

ter her! We too are protected and looked after by God. All we need to do is trust in Him the way Saint Elizabeth did!

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (Árpádházi Erzsébet)

1207 AD (Bratislava, Slovakia) – 1231 AD (Hesse, Germany)

17 November

“Dear Elizabeth, it is Jesus whom you have washed, fed and looked after.” Count Ludwig of Thuringia, St. Elizabeth’s husband

Andrej Rublev

! Saint Andrej is quite an unusual Saint! He was a monk who lived in Russia and became famous because of his great paintings of stories from the Bible. We don’t know much else about him really! We do know his job was to paint, and this was very common in monasteries.

Back in Saint Andrej’s times, not many people could read, so painting pictures was a great way to celebrate the good news of the Gospel and to tell other people about Jesus. Saint Andrej was especially good at this! Just by looking at his paintings you could tell he loved God and thought about Him a lot.

Saint Andrej’s most famous painting is about the Holy Trini-ty: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But it’s a special painting because it shows the Trinity in a very unusual way: three holy men sitting at a table with a bowl of roasted lamb! But what seems like just a simple meal is actually full of hid-den meaning. It really shows how much Saint Andrej loved God and how deeply he understood the mystery of the Trin-ity.

The painting is so special that whole books have been writ-ten about its parts: the colors he used, the way he placed the three men around the table, the background he picked. Everything says something important about the Trinity! Saint Andrej lived in the 12th century – almost a thousand years ago – and he was declared a saint only 30 years ago. And all this because of how special his paintings are!

Saint Andrej Rublev (Андре́й Рублёв)

1360-1370 AD (?) – 1427 or 1430 AD (Moscow, Russia)

29 January

“Join us. Join us in the circle of true love, where there is joy for evermore.” Henri Nouwen speaking about what looking at St. Andrej Rublev’s painting made him feel.

Thomas More

! Imagine if only boys were allowed to go to school and later be-come scientists, doctors or lawyers, and girls had to stay at home and do house work. How about if it were the other way around? Neither would be fair, would it? Sadly that is how it was for many centuries when only boys (and only those from rich families) were allowed to study.

Saint Thomas More, who lived around 500 years ago in England, was the father of four children - three daughters and one son. Instead of following what everyone else was doing, he knew that he had to give both his daughters and his son the same chances to use their brains. So, instead of having his daughters just learn how to sew, he himself taught them Greek and Latin, literature, music and science - the exact same subjects taught to his son. Saint Thomas knew that girls were as smart as boys and he was not afraid to stand up for his daughters. Have you ever stood up for someone when others were making fun of them or when they weren’t given a chance to do something? That’s exactly what Saint Thomas did. As a result of treating all his children equally, his oldest daughter, Margaret, became a writer and translator and many thought of her as the smartest woman in England.

Saint Thomas had a very keen sense of what is right and what is wrong and the courage to choose right when it was not only a bit embarrassing, but also when it was a matter of life or death. Saint Thomas, who was a lawyer and the Lord Chancellor of England - a very close advisor of the King - had to make an ex-tremely difficult decision one day: to obey his King or to follow his conscience. Do you remember what your conscience is? It is how you know to be kind and loving and understand what the right thing is to do. It is the Holy Spirit helping you to make the

right choices, so that you live like Jesus. When someone is sad, you know that you should help them and try to cheer them up, or when someone is thirsty that you should give them a drink - right? That is your conscience.

When Saint Thomas had to choose between obeying his King, who wanted him to go against what the Church said, or disobey-ing him and getting killed, he followed his conscience. With the help of the Holy Spirit he, like Saint George before him, said “No!” to the powerful king. This gave a lot of hope also to the many people who felt like Saint Thomas, but who didn’t have his courage and strength. By standing up for the truth, Saint Thomas is a great example to us all and someone we can ask for help when we are in difficult situations.

Saint Thomas More !1478 AD (London, England) – 1535 AD (London, England)

22 June

!“The clearness of my conscience has made my heart hop for joy.” St. Thomas More

Ignatius of Loyola

! Saint Ignatius was a great saint, who always wanted to be the best at everything he did. When he was little, he wanted to be a famous hero and he grew up to be an outstanding knight. Would you like to be a hero?

One day, during a fierce battle, Saint Ignatius got badly injured. A canon ball hit his legs and broke them so that he had to spend a long time in hospital. There he immediately asked for some books about knights to be brought to him, but instead the hospi-tal only had ones about Jesus and the saints. So, do you think Saint Ignatius was disappointed? Yes, probably to begin with he wasn’t too happy, but as he read more and more about Jesus and saints like Francis, he understood that they too were great heroes. Soon Ignatius wanted to become one of them and to fol-low Jesus. Would you like to become a saint?

When Ignatius recovered, he headed to Jerusalem, to be in the city where Jesus lived, and to get closer to Him in that way. As soon as he arrived, after a long and difficult journey, instead of being welcomed with open arms, he was turned away and told to go back to Rome. Do you think he was disappointed? And do you think he gave up? Of course not! Saint Ignatius knew that following Jesus wouldn’t always be easy and he didn’t let difficul-ties stop him. Can you think of a time when you had to do some-thing difficult to be like Jesus?

Not being allowed to live in Jerusalem didn’t stop Saint Ignatius from being close to Jesus though. He knew that he could follow Jesus by loving people around him, no matter where he was, and he spent his whole life helping others. He loved Jesus so

much that he and his friends, who wanted to follow Ignatius’ ex-ample, called themselves the Society of Jesus.

Saint Ignatius also had a great idea for how to learn more about Jesus, by imagining what it would be like if you had been one of his disciples. And you can try that too. Next time you are at mass, or when you read the Gospel at home, try to really imagine what it must have been like to be there. Try to imagine how you would have felt if you had been there with Mary and Joseph when Jesus was born. What would you have done? Would you have stroked baby Jesus’ head and given him a kiss? Or, what would it have been like to be in the boat with Jesus when he was asleep and a big storm was raging on the lake? This sounds fun, doesn’t it? Try it next time and you’ll see that you’ll find out more about Jesus.

Saint Ignatius

(Íñigo López de Loyola)

1491, Loyola, Spain - 1556, Rome, Italy

31 July

!“Act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on God.” St. Ignatius

Teresa of Ávila

! Saint Teresa of Ávila, who lived in Spain and was a friend of Saint John of the Cross, wanted to follow Jesus ever since she was a little girl. At the age of seven she decided to give her life to Jesus, and when she grew up, she became a nun. Do you know who a nun is? A nun is a woman who follows Jesus by spending long hours in prayer, by looking after the poor and sick, by teaching or by helping people in whatever way she can. Saint Teresa was a great nun! She reminded her sisters that it is important to be poor, like Je-sus taught us, and she was exceptionally good at praying.

Do you like to pray? How do you pray? What Saint Teresa understood was, that Jesus is our friend and that praying to Him is just like talking to a friend. You can ask Him for help, you can tell Him what makes you happy or sad, you can thank Him for all the good He has given you. If you like, try it next time you pray!

Saint Teresa was also very concerned for Jesus and wanted to make his suffering on the cross easier for him. Even though we weren’t there when Jesus died on the cross, we can still be close to him when we are ill, uncomfortable or in pain. Have you ever had a sore tooth, a scratch, a bruise or a bump? In all of these pains you can be close to Jesus and tell him that you love him.

Jesus loved Saint Teresa so much that he even came to vis-it her. When He came, she could feel that He was in front of her, even though she couldn’t see Him with her eyes. The picture she saw when Jesus visited her, was of an angel

who pierced her heart with a burning spear, which is very painful. But then the angel pulled his spear out and she felt great joy! This confirmed to her how important it is to love Jesus when we are in pain and that, if we do so, we will also share with Him the joy of rising from the dead.

Saint Teresa of Ávila (Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada)

1515 AD (Ávila, Spain) – 1582 AD (Salamanca, Spain)

15 October

!“Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing make you afraid.All things are passing.God alone never changes.Patience gains all things.If you have God you will want for nothing.God alone suffices.” St. Teresa

Philip Neri

! If you had lived in Rome around five hundred years ago, you could have met a very funny and friendly man. At first, he would have looked no different from any other pedestrian in that great city. But, as soon as you’d start talking to him, you’d realize that he was special and you’d feel as if you were talking to Jesus himself. Do you know anyone who makes you feel like that?

Saint Philip Neri had a great sense of humor, but he was also a very smart and humble man. At first he didn’t want to become a priest, because he though of himself as unworthy of it, and later in life, when the pope wanted to give him a great honor, he was very reluctant and only accepted it out of obedience.

What was most important to him was to bring Jesus to the people he met. When he first came to Rome, he started looking after the many poor street children. He’d play foot-ball with them, tell them entertaining stories and make sure that they felt Jesus’s love through him. He and his friends also looked after the many pilgrims who came to Rome every year, and after the sick, who were well enough to leave hospital, but not well enough yet to go back to work. And Saint Philip did all of this with a big smile on his face! Shall we try that too?

Saint Philip Neri (Filippo Neri)

1515 AD (Florence, Italy) – 1595 AD (Rome, Italy)

26 May

“A joyful heart is more easily made perfect than a downcast one.” St. Philip

John of the Cross

! Saint John of the Cross, who lived around five hundred years ago and was a friend of Saint Teresa of Ávila, was one of the greatest poets ever, and is still famous for having writ-ten some of the most beautiful verses in the Spanish lan-guage. Listen to the following lines from his poem, The Dark Night of the Soul:

All in the dark went right,Down secret steps, disguised in other clothes, (O coming of delight!) In dark when no one knows, When all my house lay long in deep repose.

And in the luck of nightIn secret places where no other spied I went without my sightWithout a light to guide Except the heart that lit me from inside.

It guided me and shoneSurer than noonday sunlight over me, And led me to the oneWhom only I could seeDeep in a place where only we could be.

How did you like that? Who do you think he was talking about at the end there? Yes, it was Jesus, who is in your heart too and who calls you to follow Him and to love everyone you meet.

Do you think St. John wrote this poem while sitting on a beach or while walking through a calm forest? No, he wrote it in prison - a prison that his fellow monks put him in, be-cause they didn’t like what he was doing. All St. John want-ed was to live simply and spend his life talking to Jesus in prayer and loving the people around him. The other monks found that too hard and because they didn’t want to give up their comforts, they turned on St. John.

Do you think he gave up? No, he stayed faithful to Jesus all his life and that is why he is a saint.

Saint John of the Cross (Juan de Yepes Álvarez)

1542 AD (Fontiveros, Spain) – 1591 AD (Ubeda, Spain)

14 December

“I no longer tend the herdNor have I any other workNow that my every act is love.” St. John

Justo Takayama

! Takayama Hikogorō lived 450 years ago in Japan and was a powerful and fearless warrior - a samurai. For a samurai, the most important thing is honor, and doing whatever his master - a lord, a general, or the emperor - tells him, even if it is very hard and dangerous, or if it can lead to the samurai’s death. If a samu-rai promised you something, you could be sure that he would do it, no matter what. And Hikogorō was so good at being a samu-rai that he even became a commander - one of the best!

When Hikogorō was 12 years old, his father - the lord of Sawa Castle, was visited by a Jesuit priest - a follower of St. Ignatius. When the priest arrived, Hikogorō's dad thought that he'd just have a quick chat with him and the priest would leave. Instead, Father Gaspare stayed for two weeks, at the end of which both Hikogorō and his dad were so impressed with what he told them and how he behaved, that they too wanted to follow Jesus, just like him.

Hikogorō was given the name Justo when he was baptized, which in Spanish means "honorable." From then on the most im-portant thing to him became to be the best follower of Jesus that he could be, and to share his joy of knowing Jesus with everyone he met.

Some years later, when Justo was 35 years old, all the priests, like Father Gaspare, were made to leave Japan and all Christians were told that they were no longer allowed to follow Jesus. Most lords and samurai warriors obeyed their emperor's command, which they were taught to do above all else.

Justo, however, said “No!” to the emperor. Something that to a samurai is unthinkable! He was very much like St. George and

St. Thomas More - the power of an emperor didn't scare them, since they knew that it was much more important to follow God. Just like for George and Thomas, so for Justo too, such behavior was no joke. Justo immediately lost his castle and all his riches and was told that he had to leave Japan - the country where he grew up and that he loved.

Again, being faithful to Jesus was more important to him, so he chose being poor instead of betraying Jesus and left with 300 other Christians to travel to the Philippines. When he arrived, he was asked by the Spanish army to lead them in an attack on Japan, where he could fight his enemies and get back everything that had just been taken away from him. Like St. Martin before him, Justo was no longer a man of war though, and he refused the army's offer.

Next time you feel like fighting with someone, even if they were mean to you first, remember the great samurai warrior and Ser-vant of God, Justo Takayama, and follow his example of peace.

Servant of God Justo Takayama (Takayama Hikogorō - 彦五郎)

1552 AD (Haibara, Japan) - 1615 AD (Manila, Philippines)

3 February

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.” Matthew 6:33

Nicolas Steno

! Do you know how saliva is made, how fossils get trapped in rocks and why crystals have their shiny faces at the angles they do? Before Blessed Nicolas no one knew either, but his brilliant work as a scientist lead to answers to these and other scientific puzzles.

You can imagine how much everyone admired him for being so smart and how he could have become a rich and power-ful man, can’t you? But Nicolas was fascinated not only by nature, but also by Jesus and after many years as a profes-sor, teaching at various universities, he became a priest. Do you know how long it took him to learn how to be a priest? Only four months, while it normally takes many years - he was so smart and so keen to follow Jesus! And his success in the church does not stop there - after only five years he became a bishop and powerful kings and scientists contin-ued to ask him for his advice.

What do you think Nicolas was like, with all this success? Do you think he wore expensive clothes and lived like a rich man? No! Nicolas knew how important it was to focus on Jesus alone and not to get distracted by things like money and riches. He wore an old cloak and looked like a poor man, eating very little. But, why did he do that? To help the poor in his city, like Jesus told all of us to do. Blessed Nico-las even sold his golden bishop’s ring and cross so that he could help those who didn’t have enough to eat or look af-ter themselves. He knew that the true treasure is not gold

that can rust, but all the good things we can do for the people around us. Will you try to do the same?

Blessed Nicolas Steno (Niels Stensen)

1638 AD (Copenhagen, Denmark) – 1686 AD (Schwerin, Germany)

5 December

“Beautiful are the things we see; more beautiful are the things we know; but most beautiful of all are the things we have no knowledge of yet.” Bl. Nicolas

John Macías

! When Saint John Macias was only four years old, he already worked as a shepherd. He would spend the whole day out in the meadows, making sure that his sheep were safe and herding them to where they would find tasty grass to eat. As you can imagine, this was hard work, but it also left Saint John with time to think and to pray his favorite prayer. What is your favorite prayer? And do you know what his favorite prayer was? I’ll tell you, it was the Rosary. Do you know how to pray the Rosary? You start by saying the Our Father - the prayer Jesus himself taught us - and then you say the Hail Mary - a beautiful prayer to Jesus’ mum, Mary. Praying the Rosary has been a favorite of many saints and if you don’t know it already, ask your mum or dad to teach you.

As Saint John was growing up, he saw that some of his friends didn’t have enough food to eat and he decided that he should share the little he had with them. Have you ever shared your food with someone else? That’s great! And did that make you happy? Helping others is a wonderful thing to do, as in each person there is Jesus. And when you help them, you are loving Jesus, which brings great joy. Saint John felt the same, and wherever he went he always helped poor people.

When Saint John grew up, he decided to give his life to Jesus by becoming a monk who follows the example of Saint Dominic. Do you know what those monks are called? Good guess - they are called Dominicans, and their goal is to think about God and then to tell others what they have understood. Many of the great Do-minican saints gave fascinating and clever talks about God, which helped people live in a better way. What do you think Saint John’s talks were like?

Actually, Saint John didn’t give talks. Instead, he worked as the doorman at his monastery in Lima, the capital of Peru in Latin America. His job was to open the door when someone knocked, which meant that he had to live in a little room right next to the door, so that he would hear the knocking even when someone needed urgent help at night.

Because Saint John loved poor people so much, he always looked for ways to give them some food when they came knock-ing on the monastery doors. As he didn’t have much food him-self, he’d go out into the city and ask the people there to share their food with him, so that he could give it to those who needed it most. The people of Lima were great at helping Saint John and after a while it was enough for Saint John to send his donkey around the city and people would put food into the bags on its back. Like that Saint John not only helped as many as 200 peo-ple every day who needed food, but he also helped the people from the city help the poor through him.

Saint John Macías

(Juan Macías)

1585, Ribera del Fresno, Spain - 1645, Lima, Peru

18 September

Antoni Gaudí

! Antoni Gaudí was excellent at designing beautiful buildings - he was an architect. In Barcelona, the Catalan city where he lived around a hundred years ago, you can see many of his masterpieces even today.

From when Antoni was little, he liked nature a lot and ad-mired it’s beauty and structure greatly. He went on to study architecture but wasn’t the best of students. When he fin-ished the university, the director of his school said “We have given this title either to a fool or a genius. Time will tell.” What do you think he would say today? Yes, he would agree that Antoni was a genius and also a holy man!

As a young man, Antoni liked dressing well, eating in ex-pensive restaurants and showing off, but he soon realized that he wanted to dedicate his life to greater things and he gave all that up. You can see his great love of nature in how he designed buildings: some of them make you feel like you are walking in a garden or a forest or looking at a flower. This was Antoni’s way of showing the beauty of God and of the whole of creation to the world. He was also very caring towards the environment and wanted to use old materials in a new way.

Antoni’s most important work is the beautiful church of the Holy Family, called the Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona. Can you believe that it is still being built almost 100 years after he started working on it? He spent all his time building this church and wanted it to really serve the people. The Sagra-da Familia is also called “The Cathedral of the Poor” and

Antoni was building it only using money that he received as small donations.

One day, as he was going to evening prayer, as he did every day, he was hit by a tram and got badly hurt. The people who found him didn’t recognize him as the famous architect that he was, because he wore humble clothes and looked like a poor person. In the end a policeman took him to a poor people’s hospital but it was too late and he died the next day among the poor.

Antoni showed us how everything we do can become a way of saying “Thank you!” to God. The beautiful buildings he designed help us to see how great God is and how amazing everything is that he made. We can learn a lot from Antoni - especially that the things we do can also give praise to God and help bring other people to Him!

Servant of God Antoni Gaudí (Antoni Gaudí i Cornet)

1852 AD (Reus, Catalonia, Spain) – 1926 AD (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain)

10 June (died)

“Antoni Gaudí showed that God is beauty not with words but with stones, lines, planes, and points.” Pope Benedict XVI

Thérèse of Lisieux

! Saint Thérèse is one of my all-time favorite saints and I hope she will be yours too after you hear her story. From among the hundreds of saints whose example the Church encour-ages us to follow, only 35 have been picked as “Doctors of the Church.” I’m sure you know what a doctor is, right? But, did you know that the word “doctor” originally meant teacher? So, the saints who are Doctors of the Church are the ones who have a lot to teach us. They include great saints like Teresa of Ávila, John of the Cross, Anselm and Ambrose, who have studied a lot during their lives and who have written many important books.

Will you believe me if I tell you that Saint Thérèse, who only lived a very short life and was a simple nun in a small town in France, is a Doctor of the Church too? That’s right! In-stead of spending a lot of time studying and thinking up clever arguments like Saint Anselm, Thérèse understood something very important. It is not us, who can turn our-selves into saints just by what we do, but God from whom all holiness comes. Saint Thérèse knew that she was little and couldn’t do great deeds like when Saint Ambrose calmed down an angry mob or when Saint Francis rebuilt and old chapel. But, instead of feeling sad about it, she real-ized that it will be Jesus who will turn her into a saint. All she had to do was to listen to Him and to love Him in even the simplest chores. When Saint Thérèse had to sweep the yard in her convent, this was not a boring job that just had to be done, but a great way of showing Jesus her love.

Do you ever have to do chores? Next time you do, why don’t you try saying “I’ll do this for you, Jesus!” You’ll see that you will be very happy not only because you helped someone, but also because you did it with Jesus. Because Saint Thérèse knew that she could love God even in the smallest things, she became one of the greatest saints ever. She showed us a way to God that is always open to us. We don’t need to wait until we grow up or until something im-portant happens where we can try to be like the saints. Lov-ing Jesus is something we can do now.

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin)

1873 AD (Alençon, France) – 1897 AD (Lisieux, France)

1 October

“Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every lit-tle sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love." St. Thérèse

Maximilian Kolbe

! Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe came from a very simple family in Poland. His parents were basket weavers and his mum later became a midwife and often helped the poor for free.

When Maximilian was a child, Jesus’ mum, Mary appeared to him and offered him two crowns to chose between. One crown was white and meant that he would always be pure and not get distracted by what does not bring us closer to God. The other crown was red and meant that he would become a martyr - somebody who gives their life for Jesus and even gets killed for it. Saint Maximilian chose both and developed a deep love towards Mary.

When he grew up, he joined the Franciscans, who are the followers of Saint Francis of Assisi and who love the poor like he did. Maximilian was very smart and went on to study mathematics, science, theology and philosophy. Do you know what philosophy and theology are? Philosophy tells us about knowledge and theology about God. All his studies and his love of Mary and Jesus made Maximilian very keen to spread the Gospel and he used the newest ways to do so. He even started several newspapers and radio stations and he is the only saint so far who had an amateur radio li-cense!

Saint Maximilian also went to Japan and India to build monasteries and seminaries, where priests study and train. When he returned to Poland, the Second World War was raging. Maximilian got captured by the German army and sent to a harsh war prison. One day the guards there decid-

ed to pick ten men and kill them by giving them no food to eat. This was to be a warning to others so they wouldn’t escape from the prison. One of the men they chose was a young father and husband. As you can imagine, he got real-ly scared and worried and he cried out for his wife and his children. Seeing this, Saint Maximilian said to the guards that he would take that man’s place instead. This was a very brave thing to do and it meant that he was loving that man like Jesus loves us all. Even giving his life for us.

Saint Maximilian celebrated mass and sung hymns to Mary every day, giving hope and courage to the other prisoners. After two weeks without food or water, he was the only one left alive. In the end he was killed by the prison guards. Saint Maximilian has really loved like Jesus and even had the courage to suffer instead of his neighbor whom he barely knew.

Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe (Raymund Kolbe)

1894 AD (Zduńska Wola, Poland) – 1941 AD (Auschwitz, Poland)

14 August

“If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.” St. Maximilian

Foco

! Igino Giordani was born in Italy over a hundred years ago. When he turned eight, he started to learn how to be a bricklayer, like his dad. Do you know what it's like to work as a bricklayer? It's pretty hard even for an adult! Igino's family was poor and not all kids could go to school back then. Instead, many of them had to work. But thanks to the kindness of some friends of his family, Igino was al-lowed to study. He was about to go to university, when a big war broke out and he had to join the army. Since he was soldier, he was ordered to shoot at people. But Igino thought of everyone as God’s children, so he could not bring himself to hurt anyone. Instead, to avoid being discovered, he just shot in the air! Like that he obeyed his superiors in the army, but he did not hurt anyone either. That's pretty smart, don't you think? After the war Igino got married and ended up studying at universi-ties in Italy and the United States, which was also very unusual back then. He even became the head of the Vatican Libraries, one of the oldest and largest in the world. But he wasn’t just an ordinary librar-ian. He came up with a new way to organize all the books. This was at a difficult time, when many countries didn't talk to each other. But he was liked so much and his work was so good that even enemies followed his example! Pretty impressive, don't you think? All this time, Igino had a very close relationship with Jesus, Mary and the saints. He went to mass every day and in his spare time he wrote the stories of saints so others could learn about them and become inspired by them. Igino also set up newspapers and maga-zines that many people in Italy read every day. In them he always showed the world as Jesus sees it and encouraged everyone to do good and say no to bad things. Sometimes though, he was misun-derstood even by the Church and one day he was asked to stop making his newspaper! Instead of saying no, he humbly followed what the Church asked him, even though he knew that he did noth-ing wrong. Have you ever been told off for something you didn’t do? That’s exactly how Igino felt, but he also knew that God had a spe-cial plan for him even in this difficult moment.

After some years, Igino became a member of the Italian parliament. Do you know what a parliament is? It is the place where laws are made that everyone then has to follow and agreeing on what these laws should be can be quite tricky. Here too Igino did all he could to help bring about peace. He often spoke out against war, proposed not to spend money on weapons and called enemies 'our brothers'! Pretty courageous, isn't it? Imagine calling your schoolmates, who are mean to you, your 'friends'! I am sure they would be taken aback and so would everyone else! During this time he also met Chiara Lubich, who you can also read about in this book. She saw in Igino a person who loved Jesus and everybody around him even in difficult places like a war or in parlia-ment. Igino realized that Chiara was a person of God and it was clear to him that he wanted to follow God with her. For Chiara the meeting with Igino was also very important and she called Igino 'Foco', meaning 'fire' in italian, as he was so 'on fire' for Jesus. A few years later, Foco left politics and dedicated all his life to working with Chiara for dialogue between people of different religions. Can you imagine giving up being a very important and powerful person in the world because you want to follow God? That's exactly what Foco did! Foco wanted to follow Jesus and he put everything else aside no matter what it was. Do you think you could do the same? Of course you can - just give it a try!

Servant of God Igino “Foco” Giordani(Hyginus Giordani)1894 (Tivoli, Italy) – 1980 (Rocca di Papa, Italy) 18 April

“Life is a march towards eternity. A production of love, vitamin of holiness.” Igino Giordani

Mother Teresa

! Blessed Teresa was born in Macedonia into an Albanian family. From early childhood she was fascinated by mission-aries, who travel to faraway places to tell people about Je-sus who have never heard about him before. And when Teresa was 12, she was convinced that she should become one! Sure enough, when she was 18 she left home and eventually arrived in Calcutta in India. Can you imagine go-ing so far to tell people about Jesus?

For many years she was a teacher there in schools and greatly enjoyed it, but she was also getting concerned about all the poor people who lived in the area. One day, after a long time of little or no food being available, that caused many people to get sick and die, Teresa was travel-ing by train and heard a voice inside her. It was calling her to look after the poorest of the poor and to live with them! Who do you think that voice came from? Yes, it was God!

At the beginning, she was all by herself and even had to beg for food. Do you think that made her give up and return to her fellow nuns? No, Blessed Mother Teresa decided to keep listening to that voice from God and stay with the poor. Soon more and more women joined her to take care of the poor, and like Saint Francis and Saint Clare before her, she too started her own group of nuns called the Mis-sionaries of Charity. In the beginning there were only 13 of them, but they took care of the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the sick and all those people who feel unwanted, unloved and uncared for.

Even though she did these great acts of love to the poor, for long periods in her life Blessed Teresa didn’t feel God close to her. How do you think that felt? Yes, quite difficult. But do you think that stopped here? No, because she still knew that God was acting through her.

Do you remember when Jesus on the cross said “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!”? Mother Teresa must have felt just like that, but she loved Jesus so much, that she carried on following His voice. We too can be like Blessed Teresa! God is there no matter what we do and all he asks us is to trust Him!

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu)

1910 AD (Skopje, Macedonia) – 1997 AD (Calcutta, India)

5 September

“Let us always meet each other with a smile, for a smile is the beginning of love.” Bl. Mother Teresa

Attilio

! Venerable Attilio Giordani was unlike many of the saints in this book. He didn’t do miracles like St. Francis or St. Elizabeth. He didn’t create beautiful works of art like St. Andrej or Antoni Gaudi. He didn’t discover important things about God or nature, like St. Ambrose or Blessed Nicolas Steno. You could look at him and think that he was just the dad of a family with three kids - a boy and two girls, who worked in an office and who liked to do a bit of theater in his spare time.

Attilio was also a very funny guy - he made everyone laugh and he liked to play jokes on his family and friends. Do you like to make others laugh too? That’s great! Attilio was excellent at entertaining others. So much so, that, whenever he would appear on stage in a play, the audi-ence would clap even before he said anything! He was also great at making up little tunes and songs - always trying to make the people around him happy.

So, what makes Attilio an example for us? What makes him so much like Jesus that the Church is telling us to look at him as an example. The answer is that he lived like Jesus while doing the same things that everyone else was doing - having a family, a normal job and spending time with his kids. Sometimes it is easy to get a bit bored or forget that even when we do what needs to be done every day, we can always follow Jesus. Next time you go to school, have to do some chores around the house, or play with your friends, why don’t you remember Attilio and try to do it like Jesus?

Because Attilio was so happy that he knew Jesus, he also wanted to share him with everyone else and he was especially keen to make sure that kids knew about him. So, he would do theatre with them, play football with them, tell them jokes and also tell them about Jesus. And everyone loved him and wanted to spend a lot of time with him.

Why is is that everyone loved Attilio so much? One of his daughters, called Maria Grazia, noticed something special about her dad. She said: “To me, the most extraordinary thing about my dad was that he didn’t judge other people. And he went even further, by helping them

discover good things about themselves. He helped others to want to be good.” Wow! That is pretty impressive. Don’t you think? Imagine if someone who was mean to you came to you and you would not only be friendly with them, but you would also help them discover some-thing good about themselves. What do you think that would do to them? That’s right, it would make them happy and maybe they would become your friend and be friendlier with others too.

Attilio was also a very humble person, always putting others before himself. When his kids were already grown-ups and decided to go to Brazil to tell people about Jesus there, Attilio went with them straight-away and help them with their adventure. In fact, even when he died he was thinking of others instead of worrying about himself. He was speaking to a group of young people and suddenly started feeling un-well. The first think on his mind were the kids he was speaking to, so he turned to his son, Piergiorgio, and his last words were: “You carry on.”

Attilio may not have done spectacular things, but his life was full of be-ing a hero in every little thing of every day, always thinking of others and of how to let them know that Jesus loves them.

Venerable Attilio Giordani (Attilio Giordani)

1913 AD (Milan, Italy) - 1972 (Mato Grosso, Brazil)

18 December

“We have to show with our lives what we believe in. The Gospel needs to be lived, not read. Life needs to be given, not spoken about.” Ven. Attilio Giordani

John Paul II

! Saint John Paul II was our pope not long ago. Do you know who the pope is? The pope leads the Catholic Church and follows in the footsteps of Saint Peter, the first pope. And did you know that the pope gets to choose a new name when he is elected? Before he became pope, John Paul II was called Karol, which in English is Charles.

Karol came from a small town in Poland near Kraków and grew up during World War I. Already as a boy he wanted to serve God as a priest. But, as it was a very difficult time for the Church, he joined a secret seminary. Can you imagine preparing for becom-ing a priest and having to do it without anyone else knowing? It must have been exciting but also very dangerous.

Karol also loved the theatre and not only acted but also wrote plays and poems! His third big passion, apart from God and the theater, were sports. Even when he became pope, he used to go skiing, rowing and hiking in the mountains. Like Saint Anselm, Blessed John Paul II loved nature and the mountains too.

Throughout his time as a pope he wanted to be close to people, especially young people, and meet as many as he could. He made more trips around the world than any other pope before him and I bet you he probably even visited the country you live in. If you like, try to find out about it!

Saint John Paul II worked a lot for peace among all people, countries and religions. But, some people didn’t like this and wanted to stop him. So, they sent an assassin to kill him! One day when he spoke to and greeted people in Saint Peter’s square in Rome, he got shot by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a Turkish gunman.

Saint John Pope II got very seriously hurt and almost died. In the meantime Ali Ağca got captured and sent to prison for the rest of his life. After recovering, a few days after Christmas, John Paul II went to visit his shooter in prison and spoke to him for a long time there. Even though this was the man who tried to kill him, John Paul II forgave him. And he wanted to make sure that Ali Ağca knew that he didn’t hold anything against him! Can you im-age doing something like that? Has anyone ever been mean to you and you forgave them? Try it and you will see how happy and close to Jesus it will make you feel!

Saint John Paul II was also a great admirer of the saints and en-couraged everybody to live like a saint. He also picked 1,338 new Blesseds, people that have lead holy lives and who may lat-er be recognized as Saints, and 482 Saints. This is much more than all popes before him combined!

Saint John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła)

1920 AD (Wadowice, Poland) – 2005 AD (Apostolic Palace, Vatican City)

22 October

“It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness.” Bl. John Paul II

Chiara

! Silvia was born in the north of Italy when war was raging across Europe. Her parents had a clear idea of what was good and felt very strongly for the poor. This wasn't popular at the time, so Silvia's dad lost his job and they lived in poverty. Already as a little girl Silvia had a great love for Jesus in everyone she met and she tried to put this into practice too! One time she noticed that they had run out of milk at home, but there was a big storm outside so no one was keen to get some more. But Silvia decided to go herself! It might seem like a small thing but you should try it! Whenever you notice some-thing at home - your Mum or Dad needing some help, or your little brother or sister wanting to play - try to be the first to help and you'll see how happy it will make you and everyone else! Silvia trusted Jesus very much, so one day when she heard that a poor man needed shoes, she asked Jesus for a pair for him, size 42. On that same day she met someone who said: "You may not have much use for these ... but I have a pair of men’s shoes ... size 42." Pretty amazing, don't you think? Silvia's life was full of little miracles. That's right, these are mira-cles! And guess what? If you trust Jesus too, you'll see them happening to you too! Have you ever shared a snack with a school mate and suddenly someone else offered to share theirs with you? Or have you ever played with your little sister when she wanted your attention and later you man-aged to do your homework much faster than usual? Those are all little miracles too! Silvia realized that she wanted to give her life to God completely and visit-ed a priest to ask for his advice. He understood that Silvia’s wish came from God. To Silvia this was a new beginning so she chose a new name, Chiara, meaning 'clear' or ‘light’. Her friends soon noticed the way she loved everyone and trusted God in everything, and soon some of them joined her and decided to put every word of the Gospel into practice. Living the Gospel together was very im-portant to Chiara because Jesus said "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them!” Chiara knew that if they lived the Gospel together, even if it just meant washing the dishes, Jesus was right there with them. And he would teach them and guide them! One time Chiara and her friends were visiting a girl who had a terrible skin disease and a priest was also there. They felt very strongly that Jesus is in those who suffer in a special way and that suffering and love are related. So they asked the priest when it was that Jesus suffered most. He told

them: "I think the greatest suffering for Jesus was when he didn’t even feel his father close to him on the cross, when he said 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?'" When Chiara and her friends heard this, they realized that it was true and decided to dedicate their life to loving Jesus Forsaken. They immediately started discovering him in many people - the poor, the sick, the sad, the lonely… Chiara also realized that loving them is the key to bringing everyone together, to bringing about a united world. Do you remember from Mass what Jesus asked of his Father just before go-ing up to heaven? He said: "May they all be one!” With Foco, about whom you can read in this book, Chiara spent the rest of her life sharing Jesus with the world. Can you believe that Chiara was the first woman to talk to Muslim friends in a mosque in New York? Or that she spoke to the Houses of Parliament in the UK and the United Nations about how to love each other as broth-ers and sisters? Or that she had great friendships with an amazing variety of people, from Hindus in India, an African king - the Fon of Fontem, Bud-dhists in Thailand and Japan, Jewish people as well as all the Popes, with a very special friendship with Saint John Paul II. For Chiara, everyone was a brother or sister and she saw Jesus in all. This was so powerful that many people wanted to work with Chiara for a united world! Her 'Ideal' of a united world also inspired people working in economics, politics, theolo-gy, science and many other fields. Shortly before she went to heaven, she even founded a university! Remember how Chiara trusted Jesus fully and in everything, from small things like asking for shoes size 42, all the way to her dream of everyone being brothers and sisters like in a family? Will you try to do the same?

Servant of God Chiara Lubich(Silvia Lubich)1920 (Trent, Italy) – 2008 (Rocca di Papa, Italy)14 March

“If one loves, he gives.If the other loves, she gives. If we love each other,everything belongs to everyone.” Chiara Lubich

Gianna

! Saint Gianna, which in English means Jane, was a great saint who lived not such a long time ago in Italy. Already when she was little, she knew that her life was a gift from God. Did you know that your life, and the lives of everyone else too, are gifts from God? And because life is a gift, we have to be grateful for it and look after it well. As she was growing up, Saint Gianna spent her free time helping the poor and the elderly and because she wanted to help others as much as she could, she studied hard and decided to became a doctor.

When she finished her studies, she opened her own surgery and set out to help especially children, mothers, the elderly and the poor. Have you every been ill? Did a doctor then help you and give you medicine that made you better? You see, doctors can do great good by helping the sick. And did you know that you can help them too? Even if you aren’t a doctor you can be kind to someone who is ill. Can you think of how you would do that? Great!

Saint Gianna later got married to Pietro (Peter in English) and they decided to live like a true Christian family. Did you know that a family is like a little church? When we love each other in our family, Jesus is with us, just like he is in a church in the Eucharist. Others, who come and visit, can then meet Jesus among us. It is a wonderful thing!

Soon after Gianna and Pietro got married, they were blessed with children. Their first was a boy - Pierluigi, followed by a girl - Lau-ra. They were a very happy and loving family, and a couple of years later, they were expecting their third child. While the baby was still inside her mummy’s tummy, Saint Gianna became ill and

the doctors told her that they may not be able to save both her and the baby. In this difficult moment, she chose to follow Jesus’ example. Do you know what Jesus said is the greatest love? It is to give your life for your friends, like He did for all of us. Saint Gi-anna therefore told the doctors that if they had to choose, they must save her baby instead of her. She loved her baby, who was still in her tummy, more than her own life. In the end, in spite of the doctors trying to save both the baby and Saint Gianna, she died after the baby was born.

Can you imagine how sad that must have been for all her family? And for the little baby girl - Gianna Emanuela, who never knew her mum? It was very sad, like when Jesus died on the cross. But just like with Jesus, we know that Saint Gianna is in heaven and we thank her for her great example. Next time you have to make a difficult choice, like when you have to help with the house work, or be kind to someone who is mean to you, re-member how Jesus told us to love others and how Saint Gianna loved her baby daughter more than herself.

Saint Gianna Beretta Molla !1922 AD (Magenta, Italy) – 1962 AD (Monza, Italy)

28 April

“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in His goodness, sends to us day after day.” St. Gianna Beretta Molla

Chiara “Luce”

! Chiara was born just over forty years ago in Sassello, a small town in the north of Italy. As a young girl she was full of energy and loved dancing, music and sports. And do you know what her favorite sport was? It was tennis! Do you like sports too? And what about school? Would you sometimes prefer to skip it? So did Blessed Chiara.

Because Chiara’s mum and dad also loved Jesus very much, they were also trying to help Chiara do the same already when she was little. One day, her mum asked Chiara whether she wouldn’t like to give away some of her toys to poor children. At first, Chiara didn’t like this one bit! But after thinking about it for a moment she changed her mind immediately. As she started pick-ing out which toys to give away, she chose the nicest ones and said: “I cannot give half-broken toys to kids who don’t have any, I’ll give them the best ones!” What would you have done?

Later, when she was nine years old, she went to a meeting of the young people of the Focolare movement. There she discovered that the key to being close to God is Jesus who suffered on the cross so much that he even felt far from his Father. In that mo-ment, Jesus continued to love his Father and to do what God wanted from him. Chiara realized that she too could do the same! This meant a new beginning for her and she wrote to Chiara Lubich, who started the Focolare movement, to ask her for a new name. Just like popes, who pick a new name when they start their new life as popes, Chiara too wanted to show that her life had started an important new phase.

The name she received was “Chiara Luce,” which means Chiara Light or clear light. A few months later, Blessed Chiara “Luce” felt

a pain in her shoulder while playing tennis and it turned out to be a very serious illness. She spent many months in bed and in hospital, needing very painful treatments. Every time she felt pain she offered it to Jesus and said: “For you, Jesus!” with a smile. Next time you are in a difficult or painful situation, try doing the same!

During her stay in the hospital, Blessed Chiara “Luce” became friends with many people, both patients and doctors. Everybody who came to visit her left very happy and encouraged by her, even though they thought they were coming to encourage Chiara “Luce”! One of the patients in the hospital was very sad, so Blessed Chiara “Luce” decided to go for walks with her even though walking caused her great pain.

When it became clear that she was not getting any better, Blessed Chiara “Luce” decided to plan her last moments with her mom as a wedding celebration. She understood that when she dies, she will meet Jesus and that is a reason to celebrate! When Blessed Chiara “Luce” died, she was only 18 years old and she has been an example to thousands of young people ever since.

Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano (Chiara Badano)

1971 AD (Sassello, Italy) – 1990 AD (Sassello, Italy)

29 October

“It’s for you, Jesus; if you want it, I want it, too.” Bl. Chiara “Luce”

!The saints as role models Faith is fundamentally a relationship with Jesus - God who came to live among us as a man and who so loved us that he gave his life for us. It is our relationship with a person - Jesus - that is the core of our faith and it is therefore of great value to see how others related to him before us. The saints, then, are those people who have built strong relationships with Jesus, who have put their faith in Him and who have made it their goal in life to be like Him. Seeing how they have done so under a myriad conditions and in a vast variety of ways helps us to find our own, specific way of being like Jesus and of bringing Him to all around us. !Pope Benedict XVI answered a question put to him in 2008 by saying that, “if we look at the saints, this great luminous trail on which God passed through history, we see that there truly is a force of good which resists the millennia; there truly is the light of light.” In this book our aim is to share that light and that trail in a way that is accessible to children and understandable for them. In the process of writing the short stories con-tained here, we have shared them with children between the ages of 4 to 10 and have made adjustments where necessary to get to the texts pre-sented here. The response we have encountered was one of wonder, joy and an eagerness to follow the beautiful examples of the saints’ lives. We sincerely hope that the children you will read these stories to will respond likewise. !

!Since there is great variety in the stories contained here, ranging from re-alizing that some saints expressed their love of God through art (e.g., Andrej Rublev) while for others it meant giving up their lives in exchange for their neighbors being spared (e.g., Maximilian Kolbe), there is a need for prudence when deciding which story to read to a particular child. As a result, we recommend you to first read these short stories for yourself. To supplement the stories presented here, we have also prepared color-ing pages based on the paintings that accompany them. These can be found at primo3r.com and have been a great success with the kids who have tried them so far. !Also, please, note that not all of the people written about here are saints in the Catholic canon law sense - some of them are at the beginning of the process towards being declared saints (e.g., Servant of God Antoni Gaudí), others (e.g., Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano) are further along the way, while the majority here are already recognized as saints proper. Also note that Andrej Rublev is revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion, but not in the Catholic Church. !We hope that both you and the children you will pass these stories to will get enjoyment out of the great example that our brother and sister saints have given us. !!Ján & Peter Morovič14 December 2012 Feast of St. John of the Cross

For coloring pages visit primo3r.com