ST TITUS BRANDSMA, PRIEST AND MARTYR - 27 JULY

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JULY

Saints celebrated on the 27th of July

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.

ST TITUS BRANDSMA, PRIEST AND MARTYR

Born at Bolsward (The Netherlands) in 1881, Saint Titus Brandsma joined the Carmelite Order as a young man. Ordained a priest in 1905, he earned a doctorate in philosophy in Rome. He then taught in various schools in Holland and was named professor of philosophy and of the history of mysticism in the Catholic University of Nijmegen, where he also served as Rector Magnificus. He was noted for his constant availability to everyone.

HE FOUGHT FOR FREEDOM OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION AND OF THE CATHOLIC PRESS

He was a professional journalist and in 1935 he was appointed ecclesiastical advisor to Catholic journalists. Both before and during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, he fought, faithful to the Gospel, against the spread of Nazi ideology and for the freedom of Catholic education and of the Catholic press. 

HE WAS ARRESTED

For this he was arrested and sent to a succession of prisons and concentration camps where he brought comfort and peace to his fellow prisoners and did good, even to his tormentors. In 1942, after much suffering and humiliation, he was killed at Dachau. He was beatified by John Paul II on November 3, 1985 and canonised by Pope Francis on May 15, 2022.

PRAYER:

Loving God, your servant, Titus Brandsma, laboured zealously in your vineyard and gave his life freely because of his faith in you. Through his intercession I ask for your mercy and help. Father, Titus never refused when he was asked for help by your people. In his name, I come to you with my needs:

(mention requests.)

Lord, help me always to imitate the great faith, generous love, and burning zeal of Titus Brandsma. 

Mary, Mother of Carmel, pray for us.

Titus Brandsma, Carmelite and Martyr, pray for us.

Amen.