BL. KASPAR STANGASSINGER, PRIEST - 26 SEPTEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 26th of September

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. KASPAR STANGASSINGER, PRIEST 

He was also called Gaspar or Caspar; Redemptorist priest and teacher; born in Unterkälberstein (near Berchtesgaden), Bavaria, Germany, January 12, 1871; died in Gars am Inn, Upper Bavaria, September 26, 1899. 

Blessed Kaspar was the second of 16 children of a farmer who owned a stone quarry and participated in local politics. 

At school in Freising he encountered difficulties in his studies, but his vocation to the priesthood remained strong. During summer vacations he organised friends for group religious activities: Mass, pilgrimages, and common prayer. 

He began his theological studies in the diocesan seminary at Freising, but he transferred to the Redemptorist seminary at Gars because of his desire to become a missionary. 

He was ordained in Regensburg (Germany) on June 16, 1895. Although he preferred missionary work, out of obedience he dedicated himself wholeheartedly to his assignment as vice-director of the minor seminary of Dürrnburg (near Hallein) where he taught and provided spiritual direction to his students. 

On weekends, he served nearby parishes, preparing his homilies in front of the Blessed Sacrament and often preaching on the consolation available in the Eucharist. In 1899 (age 28), he was appointed director of the order's new seminary in Gars. Shortly after the opening of the school year, he died of peritonitis.

(Information from encyclopedia.com)

Blessed Kaspar, pray for us!