Author Archive: Dawn Beutner

Saint of the Day

June 2: Saint Pothinus and Companions

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An ancient manuscript describes the martyrdoms of the Christians of the cities of Vienna and Lyons in the year 177.

According to this document, the local governor resumed the persecution of Christians under the orders of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. But, as is often the case, persecution didn’t begin with arrests and executions. Instead, Christians were first publicly ostracized; they were prohibited from using the public baths, selling in the marketplaces, and assigned other serious but lesser restrictions on their freedoms. Having turned popular sentiment against the Christians, sporadic and random mob violence against Christians soon followed.

The local authorities then arrested and tried prominent Christians. Some of those who were arrested renounced their faith out of fear, and pagans who were arrested because they were servants of Christians made up ridiculous stories about their masters because they were afraid they would be arrested and killed too.

Many Christians of these cities remained faithful, however, enduring (though sometimes also dying from) torture. The bishop of Lyons, Pothinus, was ninety years old when he was martyred.

The other Christians of Lyons and Vienna, young and old, male and female, held fast to their faith in Christ despite being brutally and publicly executed. Which, as often happens, simply prepared the way for many conversions to the faith in the future.

Holy Martyrs, help me love and forgive those who ridicule my faith and those who have abandoned the faith out of weakness.

Saint of the Day

June 1: Saint Proculus

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In the city of Bologna, Italy, a man named Proculus was executed for refusing to give up his faith in Christ. So why does the city of Bologna claim two martyrs with that name?

The first Proculus was a soldier and died in the year 304, under the Roman persecution of Christians. A few centuries later, the bishop of Bologna, also named Proculus, was arrested and killed during the invasion of the Goths, in the year 542.

The people of Bologna put the bodies of both saints in the same tomb and have asked for their intercession ever since.

Saint Proculus, ask the Lord to bless my community.

June 2020: FAQs about “Saints”

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Why did you write a book about saints?

I knew almost nothing about the saints when I became a Catholic as a young adult. But I quickly learned that good biographies of their lives helped me figure out how to live my life as a follower of Christ. Just like you and me, holy men and women of the past faced difficult relationships, indecision, bad health, and even epidemics.

Initially, I collected biographies from many books just to help me pray, but when my collection had become a book in itself, I decided to offer it to others, with the help of the wonderful people at Ignatius Press.

How did you choose the saints in your book?

Every author who writes a book about inspirational men and women has the difficult task of deciding which ones to leave out and which ones to leave in; I decided that only those men and women who have been declared saints and blesseds by the Catholic Church would be included in mine. The Church’s latest official list of saints and blesseds is called the Martyrologium Romanum (Roman Martyrology); it was last revised in 2004 and is only available in Latin. All the individuals in my book are present in the Martyrologium Romanum or have been officially declared saints or blesseds by the Church since 2004.

Although there are dozens or hundreds of saints listed for each day of the year in the Martyrologium Romanum, I selected anywhere from two to several saints for each day. All the most well-known saints are included, but almost every day also includes a martyr-saint,[1] and every pope who has been declared a saint or blessed is present.

Who are your favorite saints?

That’s like asking, “Which of your children is your favorite?” I try not to play favorites with my children, with my friends, or with the saints.

However, I have found Saints Teresa of Jesus, John of the Cross, and Therese of Lisieux most helpful in my prayer life; Saint Louis de Montfort most helpful in understanding the Blessed Virgin Mary; and the Doctors of the Church (whom I hope to write a separate book about someday) most helpful in understanding the truths of the faith.

Why have I never heard of the saints on your blog?

The best-known saints are described in my book; my daily blogs give short biographies of lesser-known saints and blesseds who are not in my book. The blogs give you an idea of the format of my book, but they also show you that there have been inspiring and holy Catholic men and women of all ages, from many countries, and from many different time periods—even though most of us have never heard of them.

[1] There are only a few days of the year where no martyr is listed in the Martyrologium Romanum.

Saint of the Day

May 31: Blessed James Salomone

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Blessed James Salomone (1231-1314) came from a noble family of Venice, Italy. But his father died when he was young, and his mother left to become a Cistercian nun, leaving James to be raised by his grandmother. Perhaps unsurprisingly, James also considered a religious vocation and decided to enter the Dominican order as a young man.

His generosity was legendary; on the way to enter the Dominicans, he gave away his money to the poor (saving only enough to buy books) and then later gave away the money he had left to help a lay-brother who needed clothing. James lived as a Dominican priest for sixty-six years, and he became well-known for his gifts as a spiritual director. Hating the notoriety, he asked for a transfer to a stricter, more remote Dominican house. It is said that hundreds of miraculous cures resulted from his prayers. He died of cancer on this date in Forli, Italy.

Blessed James, show me how to help the poor today.

Saint of the Day

May 30: Blesseds Richard Newport and William Scott

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When King James I became the king of England, Catholics had reason to hope that they would be better treated than in previous reigns. However, the Gunpowder Plot (an assassination attempt on the king’s life by a group of Catholics which failed) changed all that. While James did tolerate the presence of some Catholics to remain Catholics, as long as they swore their allegiance to him and kept quiet about their faith, he was not so tolerant toward an essential aspect of the Church: priests.

Blessed Richard Newport and Blessed William Scott were Englishmen who had been ordained as priests outside England so that they could return and serve English Catholics secretly. Both men had been arrested and exiled from England more than once for the crime of being Catholic priests. But their luck ran out. On this date in 1612, they were hanged, drawn, and quartered in London, dying as martyrs for their faith.

Holy Martyrs, show me how to help my priests.

Saint of the Day

May 29: Saint Senator

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Saint Senator was only a priest when he was sent by Pope Saint Leo the Great to attend a council in Constantinople as one of his appointed legates. He also attended, at the pope’s request, the Council of Chalcedon, an important council in the year 451 in which the Church responded to heresies about the nature of Christ. Later, he was named bishop of Milan, and he died around the year 451.

Saint Senator, help me to understand the mystery of Jesus Christ as true God and true man.

Saint of the Day

May 28: Blessed Mary Bartholomeo of Florence

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Blessed Mary de Bagnesiis (1514-1577) was born into a wealthy family in Florence, Italy. But money did not protect her from severe mistreatment at the hands of her foster-mother, who ignored and underfed her when she was a child. Mary suffered from physical maladies as a result for many years.

However, she enjoyed visiting a sister who was a Dominican nun, and she became a pious young woman who hoped to also enter religious life. She was so shocked when her father arranged a marriage for her that she broke down and became bedridden. For many years, she suffered from physical pain, some of which was caused by the quack remedies prescribed by the “doctors” that her father sent to care for her.

But Mary bore her sufferings with great patience, and she became a great peacemaker and consoler for those who came to visit her. She almost died several times, but she also experienced spiritual ecstasies. As a result of her devotion to the apostle, Saint Bartholomew, she took his name as her own and became known as Mary Bartholomea. After forty-five years as an invalid, she died in the year 1577.

Blessed Mary Bartholomea, help me to accept physical difficulties with Christ’s peace.

Saint of the Day

May 27: Saint Eutropius

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Saint Eutropius was born in Marseilles, France, and lived during the fifth century. He lived a wild life as a young man, but marriage settled him down. After his wife died, and with the encouragement of his bishop, he decided to become a priest.

As a priest, he began to live his faith much more rigorously, particularly through fasting and prayer. Shortly after the Visigoths had brutally attacked and raided the region, he was named bishop of Marseilles. His people were so devastated, spiritually and materially, that Eutropius considered fleeing the area. But instead he became a pillar of Christ-like strength to his hurting flock until his death around the year 475.

Saint Eutropius, protect me from discouragement.

Saint of the Day

May 26: Saint Lambert

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Saint Lambert was born in the late eleventh century in France. He was educated in a Benedictine abbey and decided to become a monk when he was only fourteen years old.

Lambert was a kind man and beloved by his fellow monks. He loved the life of solitude and study that was lived by the monks at Lerins abbey. However, because of his obvious gifts, he was asked to leave the monastery and serve as bishop of the city of Vence. Despite all his attempts to avoid that honor, he was ordained and governed his diocese for forty years. His people respected him for his learning, but they loved him for the many miracles that occurred through his prayers, such as the healing of the sick. He died of natural causes in 1154.

Saint Lambert, teach me how to love others with the heart of Christ.

Saint of the Day

May 25: Saint Aldhelm

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Saint Aldhelm was born in the year 640 in England into a noble family. He decided to live as a hermit, then became a monk, and eventually served as a spiritual director to other monks. When he became abbot, he reformed his abbey along the lines of the Benedictine reform that was sweeping Europe at the time. The changes he made were so successful that he established other houses, as well as churches. The first church organ in all of England was installed around the year 700 under his direction.

But Aldhelm’s building skills weren’t his only gift. He was an inspiring preacher, a poet and musician, and was widely known for his spiritual writing. When disputes arose between the Celtic Christians and the Anglo-Saxon Christians, Aldhelm was sent to Rome to discuss and resolve the differences between the two groups of people with the pope.

Aldhelm was named bishop of Sherborne in 705 and died four years later of natural causes.

Saint Aldhelm, show me how to reform my life.