Double (1955 Calendar): August 19
St. John Eudes (1601-1680) was born the town of Ri, on a farm in Northern France. He was a parish missionary, who founded two religious communities; he also was a great promoter of the devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At the age of 24, he was ordained a priest.
Between 1627 and 1631 he offered to take care of those sickened by the several plagues of that time. At the age of 32, he became a parish missionary and was known for his gifts as a preacher and a confessor. St. John Eudes preached over 100 parish missions, some lasting several months at a time.
After much prayer, St. John Eudes decided to leave the religious community after he realized the greatest need of the time was for seminaries. That year, he founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (called the Eudist Fathers), which was devoted to the formation of the clergy by conducting diocesan seminaries. St. John Eudes founded several seminaries in Normandy. He also founded the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge to help abandoned women.
St. John Eudes is known for his writings especially The Ideal Confessor, The Wonderous Childhood of the Holy Mother of God, The Admirable Heart of Mary, and The Apostolic Preacher.
Above all, St. John Eudes taught that Jesus was the source of all holiness and Mary was the example of a Christian life. He died in 1680. He was beatified by Pope St. Pius X, and Pope Pius XI, in the holy year of 1925 and on the day of Pentecost (May 31 that year), placed him among the Saints while also extending his Office and Mass to the universal Church.
Prayer:
O God, Who didst wondrously inflame blessed John, Thy Confessor, to promote the public worship of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and through him didst will to found new religious families in Thy Church: grant, we beseech Thee, that we who venerate his merits may also be taught by the example of his virtues. Through the same our Lord.
Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal
3 comment(s):
St John Eudes also wrote a great book On The Admirable Heart of Mary, and another on The Sacred Heart Of Jesus. See Two Hearts Ablaze for Tom's post, and the links to those books, which are a must read
Oh. Thank you for mentioning those! Have you read either of them?
Tom is reading Admirable Heart of Mary and it is very good so far. He has been borrowing it from the library. SHHHH!!! I might make it a Christmas gift to him. He loves the book
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