ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN APRIL
Saints celebrated on the 7th of April
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 CATHERINE THOMAS, VIRGIN
Saint Catherine Tomas was born on May 1, 1531 in Valldemosa on the Spanish island of Mallorca, where she spent her entire life. She came from simple circumstances and had a hard and unhappy childhood, because she was orphaned as a seven-year-old and raised by an uncle on her father's side who treated her like a servant. At the age of twenty, she became a canonist with the regular Augustinian canons (Canonici Regulares Sancti Augustini) in Palma. There she lived a pious life for the rest of her life.
STRANGE PHENOMENA
Catherine was exposed to a number of strange phenomena, both comforting and terrifying, and she had prophetic abilities. She also experienced visits from angels and Saints Anthony of Padua and Catherine of Siena. She was attacked spiritually and physically by dark forces and she sometimes went into trances that lasted for several days. Her wounds from these trials were treated by Saints Cosmas and Damian. Catherine was patient and steadfast in her faith in God, so she passed through all the trials she was subjected to. By her fellow sisters, she was viewed in part with amazement, in part with admiration. During the last years of her life she was in constant ecstasy.
HER HOLY DEATH
Catherine died on April 5, 1574 in Palma, aged 43 years. Her memorial day is the day of her death on April 5, but April 1 is also mentioned. Her name is in the Roman Martyrology.
(Information from katolsk.no -
http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/katpalma)
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