A Pleasing Sacrifice To God

This morning we remember Blessed Elías del Socorro Nieves, who was martyred on this day in 1928 and beatified by Saint John Paul II in 1997. Padre Nieves defied an order from the Mexican government to leave his town of ministry. After spending 14 months living in a cave and ministering by night, he was arrested and shot. 

Before Padre Nieves died, his murderer said, “Let’s see if dying is anything like saying Mass.” To this, the martyr answered, “You are speaking the truth. To die for our religion is a pleasing sacrifice to God.”

In his homily for the beatification of this holy man, St. John Paul II said:

The life and martyrdom of Fr. Nieves, who did not want to abandon his faithful despite the risks he was taking, are in themselves an invitation to renew faith in God who can do everything. He faced death with fortitude, blessing his executioners and witnessing to his faith in Christ. The Church in Mexico today has a new and a powerful intercessor who will help her to renew her Christian life; his Augustinian brothers have one more example to imitate in their constant search for God in fraternity and in service to the People of God; for the whole Church he is an eloquent example of the fruits of holiness which the power of God’s grace produced in him.

Blessed Elías del Socorro Nieves, you were a man filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and these gifts prepared you for martyrdom. Please pray for us today, that we might be like you in imitating God’s perfect sacrifice.

Blessed Paul VI, Pray For Us!

Pope Paul VI, predecessor to Saint John Paul II, was beatified in Saint Peter’s Square yesterday. The beatification took place at the close of the Synod on the Family, which is fitting. Blessed Paul VI's teachings are pivitol for families in the modern world.

In his historic encyclical, Humanae Vitae, Paul VI described God’s loving design for marriage. He wrote:

Marriage…is far from being the effect of chance or the result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator, whose purpose was to effect in man His loving design. As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone, develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives.

Saint John Paul II, the “pope of the family,” honored Blessed Paul VI by taking his name, and he did much to make Paul VI’s teachings known and understood. 

Let us honor Blessed Paul VI ourselves, by asking him to pray for married couples to remain strong in their unions and open to new life.

The American St. Thérèse

Today we are overjoyed to celebrate the first beatification to ever be held in the United States! Soon-to-be blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich will be beatified today at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey.

The “American St. Thérèse” died in 1927 at the age of 26. Her life was short, but she lived it with great love. She prayed often, served much, and she wrote and taught as a Sister of Mercy.

Blessed Miriam Teresa is a beautiful model for young people attempting to discern God’s will, and so we ask her to pray for those who seek the Lord’s guidance, that they may hear His call and have the courage to follow it.

Bringing God To Souls and Souls To God

...in total gift of herself to God and neighbor, Mother Teresa found her greatest fulfillment and lived the noblest qualities of her femininity. She wanted to be a sign of "God's love, God's presence and God's compassion," and so remind all of the value and dignity of each of God's children, "created to love and be loved." Thus was Mother Teresa "bringing souls to God and God to souls" and satiating Christ's thirst, especially for those most in need, those whose vision of God had been dimmed by suffering and pain. 

-Blessed John Paul II, Beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta

On this day of your feast, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, please pray for us, that we too may be signs of God's love, presence, and compassion in the world. 

Did You Know?: Blessed John Paul II and the Saints

Did you know that Blessed John Paul II canonized and beatified more people than any other Pope in Church History?

He celebrated 147 beatification ceremonies during his pontificate, proclaiming 1,338 Blesseds; and he celebrated 51 canonizations, proclaiming 482 saints. That total exceeds the number of canonizations and beatifications made by all other Popes combined!

These Saints were welcomed into the presence of God after death because they lived heavenly lives on earth. In recognizing them, Blessed John Paul II inspired the Church with countless models of truth and holiness. In his 1993 encyclical, Veritatis Splendor, he wrote:

The Church proposes the example of numerous Saints who bore witness to and defended moral truth even to the point of enduring martyrdom, or who preferred death to a single mortal sin. In raising them to the honour of the altars, the Church has canonized their witness and declared the truth of their judgment, according to which the love of God entails the obligation to respect his commandments, even in the most dire of circumstances, and the refusal to betray those commandments, even for the sake of saving one's own life.

To view a list of these Saints and Blesseds, check the Holy See’s website. And in order to learn more about the Saints and Blesseds canonized and beatified by Blessed John Paul II, check back here at Open Wide the Doors.