ALL POSTS TAGGED: DOCTOR

Bede, or Venerable Bede as he is sometimes called, lived from about the year 673 until 735 in England. But his writings were so great that people still study them today.

Anthony of Padua felt that God called him to try many new and different things. As he felt the tug of God’s love, he gave up one job to work at another. He did this over and over.

“O buona ventura!” If your Italian is a little rusty, in English it means, “Oh, good fortune!” or “What good luck!” Legend claims that these are the words exclaimed by Francis of Assisi when he prayed over the four-year-old Giovanno di Fidanza in 1225. The name “Bonaventure” stuck.

Alphonsus was what we call a “gifted” student today. He was a lawyer by the time he was 16 years old! He came from a wealthy family in Naples, Italy, and had every advantage in life from the moment he was born in 1696. But his parents were spiritually devoted people, and Alphonsus was taught that the greatest blessing he had been given was his faith. He prayed often and attended Mass even on days when he was appearing in court.

When there’s a job to get done, you don’t always win a popularity contest getting people to do their share. Especially if you think you’re right and everyone else (who doesn’t agree with you) is wrong. That pretty much describes Bernard of Clairvaux. He may not have had the most friends in the world, but he sure got things done!

Not all saints start out saintly. Sometimes they have to go a little wild before they settle down to God’s work. Aurelius Augustine’s mother worried that he lived a reckless life, and she prayed continuously that he would become a Christian. It took a long time, but finally her prayers were answered.

Robert was a brilliant student who put his gifts at the service of the Church. He was born in Italy in 1542, one of 10 children. His uncle was Pope Marcellus II, and Robert decided to become a Jesuit priest at a very young age.

Hildegard of Bingen is believed to have been born in 1098 in Germany. At a young age Hildegard had a very holy teacher named Jutta. From her teacher, she learned to love God and to pray. In those days, it was very natural for Hildegard to join with her teacher, Jutta, and other holy women and become a nun when she was 15 years old. Together these women prayed and worked together in their Benedictine monastery.

Jerome was born in the country we now call Croatia sometime between 340 and 347. He was tutored at home and developed a love for education. When he was about 12, his parents sent him to Rome to study both Greek and Latin.

In 1873, Thérèse was born in the small French town of Alencon and was raised in a loving family with her four sisters. Like any child, Thérèse enjoyed playing with her cousins and siblings. When Thérèse was four her mother died, and her father moved the family to Lisieux, a town about 50 miles away, so that he and his daughters could live with his brother. Thérese's older sister, Pauline, became like a second mother to her.