ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN NOVEMBER
Saints celebrated on the 6th of November
Prayer to the Angels and the Saints
Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.
In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.
Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.
BL. THOMAS KINTSUBA JIHYOE, PRIEST, RELIGIOUS, AND MARTYR
Born near Omura, Japan, Blessed Thomas Kintsuba Jihyoe amazed his Jesuit instructors with his perfect mastery of the Latin language.
In 1622 he left his native land to enter the Order of Augustinian Hermits in the Philippines. After being ordained a priest, he secretly returned to Japan in 1630. The ongoing persecution against Japanese Catholics intensified in 1632.
THE HOLY PRIEST TOOK ON EMPLOYMENT AS A HORSE-GROOM
Father Thomas took the daring step of obtaining employment as a horse-groom at the Nagasaki stable of one of the leaders of the persecution. This position made it possible for Father Thomas to go out by night across Nagasaki, administering the sacraments and teaching the faith.
Eventually, news of Father Thomas’ true identity reached the ears of his employer. By this time, however, the priest, aware of the danger, had fled to the mountains.
A "WANTED" POSTER
The persecutor hired an artist to paint a seventeenth-century equivalent of a “Wanted” poster, a depiction of Father Thomas that was widely distributed to hasten his capture.
As a fugitive, the priest won many converts, until a spy discovered him. Father Thomas was tortured and put to death in a pit (1637).
“Wisdom of the Most High, ordering all things with strength and gentleness, come and teach us the way of truth.”
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