St. Optatus

Feast date: Jun 04

The church remembers St. Optatus on June 4. As a convert from paganism, he is best known for his opposition to the heresy of Donatism, and his six treatises composed against them. One of them, against Parmenian, is still extant, and was mentioned by St. Jerome in his De Viris Illustribus as having been composed in six books. The treatise stresses the need for unity and is conciliatory in tone, but it criticizes Donatist teachings on Baptism, and stresses that the Church cannot be limited to Africa but is “catholic.”

Optatus was highly praised by such contemporaries as Augustine and Fulgentius of Ruspe. He died in 387 A.D. as Bishop of Milevis, Numidia, in Africa.

St. Francis Caracciolo

Feast date: Jun 04

“Zeal for Thy house has consumed me!”

Born in Villa Santa Maria, Italy on October 13, 1563, Francis Caracciolo was given the name Ascanio at his baptism.  His mother was a relative of St. Thomas Aquinas. He lived a virtuous life as a youth and seemed inclined towards a religious vocation. When he was 22 he contracted a form of leprosy which he begged God to cure him of.  He promised to follow what seemed clear to him as his calling to the priesthood immediately upon being cured.

He was cured instantly upon making the promise, and left immediately for Naples to study for the priesthood.  On his ordination he joined the confraternity of The White Robes of Justice, who were devoted to helping condemned criminals to die a holy death, reconciled with God.

Five years after he went to Naples, a letter was delivered to him which was in fact addressed to another Ascanio Caracciolo, a distant relative.  The letter was an appeal from Father Giovanni Agostino Adorno, of Genoa, to this other Ascanio to join him in founding a religious order. Reading the lettter he realized that the vision of Fr. Adorno was in total compliance with his own ideas for a religious institute and he interpreted this as a sign of God’s plan.

He responded to the letter and the two men spent a few weeks together in retreat to draw up the institutions and rule. The congregation was approved by Pope Sixtus V on July 1, 1588.

The congregation lives both and active and contemplaive life, perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament being one of the pillars of their life.  They work with the sick, poor, prisoners and as missionaries. In addition to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, they have a fourth which forbids them to seek or accept ecclesiastical honors.

Upon making his profession, Caracciolo took the name Francis in honor of the saint of Assissi. He was noted for his ardent devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, often being found in ecstasy, and frequently repeating the words of the Psalm, “Zeal for Thy house has consumed me.” He died of a severe fever on the eve of Corpus Christi in Agnone, on June 4 in 1608, with his oft-repeated words on his lips.  Those same words were found burned into the flesh of his heart when his body was opened after his death.

He was canonized by Pope Pius VII on May 24, 1807.

St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs of Uganda

Feast date: Jun 03

St. Charles and many other martyrs for the faith died between November 15, 1885 – January 27, 1887 in Namugongo, Uganda. St. Charles and his companions were beatified in 1920 and canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1964.

In 1879 Catholicism began spreading in Uganda when the White Fathers, a congregation of priests founded by Cardinal Lavigerie were peacefully received by King Mutesa of Uganda.

The priests soon began preparing catechumens for baptism and before long a number of the young pages in the king’s court had become Catholics.

However, on the death of Mutesa, his son Mwanga, a corrupt man who ritually engaged in pedophilic practices with the younger pages, took the throne.

When King Mwanga had a visiting Anglican Bishop murdered, his chief page, Joseph Mukasa, a Catholic who went to great length to protect the younger boys from the king’s lust, denounced the king’s actions and was beheaded on November 15, 1885.

The 25 year old Charles Lwanga, a man wholly dedicated to the Christian instruction of the younger boys, became the chief page, and just as forcibly protected them from the kings advances.

On the night of the martyrdom of Joseph Mukasa, realizing that their own lives were in danger, Lwanga and some of the other pages went to the White Fathers to receive baptism. Another 100 catechumens were baptized in the week following Joseph Mukasa’s death.

The following May, King Mwanga learned that one of the boys was learning catechism. He was furious and ordered all the pages to be questioned to separate the Christians from the others.  The Christians, 15 in all, between the ages of 13 and 25, stepped forward. The King asked them if they were willing to keep their faith. They answered in unison, “Until death!”

They were bound together and taken on a two day walk to Namugongo where they were to be burned at the stake. On the way, Matthias Kalemba, one of the eldest boys, exclaimed, “God will rescue me. But you will not see how he does it, because he will take my soul and leave you only my body.”  They executioners cut him to pieces and left him to die alone on the road, which took at least three days.

When they reached the site where they were to be burned, they were kept tied together for seven days while the executioners prepared the wood for the fire.

On June 3, 1886, the Feast of the Ascension, Charles Lwanga was separated from the others and burned at the stake. The executioners slowly burnt his feet until only the charred remained. Still alive, they promised him that they would let him go if he renounced his faith. He refused saying, “You are burning me, but it is as if you are pouring water over my body.”  He then continued to pray silently as they set him on fire. Just before the flames reached his heart, he looked up and said in a loud voice, “Katonda! – My God!,” and died.

His companions were all burned together the same day all the while praying and singing hymns until they died.

There were 24 protomartyrs in all. The last of the protomartyrs, a young man named John Mary, was beheaded by King Mwanga on January 27, 1887.

The persecutions spread during the reign of Mwanga, with 100 Christians, both Catholics and Protestants, being tortured and killed.

St. Charles Lwanga is the patron saint of African Catholic Youth Action.

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Feast date: Jun 03

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is also known as the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, which translates from Latin to “Body of Christ.” This feast originated in France in the midthirteenth century and was extended to the whole Church by Pope Urban IV in 1264. This feast is celebrated on the Thursday following the Trinity Sunday or, as in the USA, on the Sunday following that feast.

This feast calls us to focus on two manifestations of the Body of Christ, the Holy Eucharist and the Church. The primary purpose of this feast is to focus our attention on the Eucharist. The opening prayer at Mass calls our attention to Jesus’ suffering and death and our worship of Him, especially in the Eucharist.

At every Mass our attention is called to the Eucharist and the Real Presence of Christ in it. The secondary focus of this feast is upon the Body of Christ as it is present in the Church. The Church is called the Body of Christ because of the intimate communion which Jesus shares with his disciples. He expresses this in the gospels by using the metaphor of a body in which He is the head. This image helps keep in focus both the unity and the diversity of the Church.

The Feast of Corpus Christi is commonly used as an opportunity for public Eucharistic processions, which serves as a sign of common faith and adoration. Our worship of Jesus in His Body and Blood calls us to offer to God our Father a pledge of undivided love and an offering of ourselves to the service of others.