The real Santa Claus

Thanks to our advanced technology, a group of scientists scanned the skull of St. Nicholas of Bari/Myra

He doesn't look like the jolly old fat guy we see every Christmas no?

But the myth about Santa Claus started with the real life of this holy man who gave a poor man the money for the dowry of his daughters.

And unlike the jolly old Santa, St. Nicholas is a bit of a hot head himself.  How so?

He threw a punch at the heretic Arius himself during one of the sessions of the Council of Nicea!  Nice...

Notice the crooked nose?  It is often called a boxer's nose because an injury like that is common among boxers.  Speculations about as to how the saint got it, but one thing is for sure.  We know how the saint looks like.

It seems our contemporary artists have an idea of how the saint looks like.  Take this picture of the saint's statue from his basilica in Bari I found in the Internet. This same statue is used in a procession held every year in his honor commemorating the translation of his relics to the town.

For a more detailed description about the saint's life and his "newfound" looks, click here.

Below is the BBC Documentary about the life and the quest to see the real face of St. Nicholas.

Dear cosplayers, please imitate this saint

Pleeeeeeaaaaasssssseeee!!!

The practice of striving to put into practice in one's own life the virtues that the saints practiced in theirs. This is one of the reasons why the Church canonizes saints, to give the faithful secure patterns of holiness in every period of Christian history and on every level of human society.
                                                             Fr. John Hardon, SJ, Moden Catholic Dictionary

And for the biblical basis of imitating the saints, click here.

This is the WRONG way to imitate the saints.

 

 

 

April 2 is the feast of two saints!

Today is the feast of the boy martyr from the Visayas, the missionary catechist, St. Pedro Calungsod, my namesake.

I still prefer this image of the saint.  It shows the instrument of his glorification / martyrdom, much like how our Lord chose to have the five wounds remain on His Body after the Resurrection.  This was how martyrs are represented in Christian iconography.

Look near the feet of the image.  See the blood?

And it was in 2005 that one of my fave pope's went to his eternal reward.

If you are not into superheroes, you wouldn't understand this meme.

But just the same, saints are superheroes, and St. John Paul is one!

ORA PRO NOBIS DEO!!!

The best image of St. Pedro Calungsod

FINALLY!

Someone probably read my blog post about the correct way to illustrate a martyr saint.

Now you have this image!

Photos are courtesy of Cebu Cathedral Lectorate Ministry Pilgrimage & Fellowship

Here is the wonderful image.

You can see the Emeritus archbishop of Cebu, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal sitting at the back.

Here St. Pedro Calungsod is shown holding the instruments of his martyrdom including the mortal wounds that sent him to God. You can also see the other elements shown in other representations of the teenage martyr like the palm and the Doctrina Cristiana.

His feet are also astride meaning he is on the move as he is a missionary catechist. Take note that he has two wounds, one of his chest and the other on his head, all based on eye witness accounts of his martyrdom.

Here is a close-up

Beautiful isn't it?

This is the right way to represent a martyr!

If I find commercial versions of this, I am definitely going to buy one and donate it to our parish church!

Ask your parish priest to have one like this!

She is coming back!

Mark your calendars!

The Feast of St. Joseph

Foster Father of Jesus Christ

Husband of the Blessed Mother, the ever Virgin and Immaculate Mary

Protector of the Holy Family

Patron of the Universal Church

The only man God called "Father"

***

Oh, Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.


Oh, Saint Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most Loving of Fathers.


Oh, Saint Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss his fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath.


Saint Joseph, Patron of departed souls – pray for me. Amen.

The Litany of St. Joseph

(one of a few litanies officially recognized by the Church to be said publicly. This was sanctioned by Pope St. Pius X in 1909.)

V/ Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

V/ Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

V/ Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

V/ Jesus, hear us. R/ Jesus, graciously hear us.

V/ God, the Father of Heaven, R/ have mercy on us.

V/ God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, R/ have mercy on us.

V/ God, the Holy Spirit, R/ have mercy on us.

V/ Holy Trinity, One God, R/ have mercy on us.

R/ for ff:     * pray for us.

Holy Mary,
St. Joseph,
Renowned offspring of David,
Light of Patriarchs,
Spouse of the Mother of God,
Chaste guardian of the Virgin,
Foster father of the Son of God,
Diligent protector of Christ,
Head of the Holy Family,
Joseph most just,
Joseph most chaste,
Joseph most prudent,
Joseph most strong,
Joseph most obedient,
Joseph most faithful,
Mirror of patience,
Lover of poverty,
Model of artisans,
Glory of home life,
Guardian of virgins,
Pillar of families,
Solace of the wretched,
Hope of the sick,
Patron of the dying,
Terror of demons,
Protector of Holy Church,

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, R/ spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, R/ graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world. R/ have mercy on us.

He made him the lord of his household. R/ And prince over all his possessions.

Let us pray. O God, in your ineffable providence you were pleased to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of your most holy Mother; grant, we beg you, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom on earth we venerate as our Protector: You who live and reign forever and ever. R/ Amen.

Pray for us St. Francis de Sales!

“The test of a preacher is that his congregation goes away saying, not 'What a lovely sermon' but, 'I will do something!'”

“There was never an angry man that thought his anger unjust”

"If prayer is a colloquy, a discourse or a conversation of the soul with God, by it, then, we speak to God and He again speaks to us."

“Make friends with the angels, who though invisible are always with you. Often invoke them, constantly praise them, and make good use of their help and assistance in all your temporal and spiritual affairs.”

“If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently and replace it tenderly in its Master's presence. And even if you did nothing during the whole of your hour but bring your heart back and place it again in Our Lord's presence, though it went away every time you brought it back, your hour would be very well employed.”

"Truly CHARITY has no limit; for the LOVE OF GOD has been poured into our hearts by His Spirit dwelling in each one of us, calling us to a life of DEVOTION and inviting us to bloom in the garden where He has planted and directing us to radiate the beauty and spread the fragrance of His Providence."

A beautiful video about the ultimate Pinoy Catholic

He is one of my patron saint and the patron of this blog...

because...

When the opportunity presents itself for you to stand up for your Faith and for the Lord... ask San Lorenzo's advice.

His decision led him to a horrible death but brought him to eternal salvation!

To die for the faith is a gift to some; 

to live the faith is a call for all.

That is the theme of the Beatification Mass of St. Lorenzo and companion martyrs, the first one outside of the Eternal City.

And that is the call for every Christian by virtue of his Baptism and strengthened through his Confirmation.

San Lorenzo, ipanalangin mo ang iyong minamahal na Bayan!