Saint Raymond Nonnatus

Born 1200 or 1204 at Portello in the Diocese of Urgel in Catalonia; died at Cardona, 31 August, 1240. 

He was taken from the womb of his mother after her death, hence his name (Non natus - not born).  Of noble but poor family, he showed early traits of piety and great talent. His father ordered him to tend a farm, but later gave him permission to take the habit with the Mercedarians at Barcelona, at the hands of the founder, St. Peter Nolasco. 

Raymond made such progress in the religious life that he was soon considered worthy to succeed his master in the office of ransomer. He was sent to Algiers and liberated many captives.  When money failed he gave himself as a hostage. He was zealous in teaching the Christian religion and made many converts, which embittered the Mohammedan authorities. 

Raymond was subjected to all kinds of indignities and cruelty, was made to run the gauntlet, and was at last confined and sentenced to impalement.  To prevent him from preaching for Christ, his lips were pierced with a red-hot iron and closed with a padlock. He was ransomed by his order and in 1239 returned to Spain.  After his arrival in Spain, in 1239, he was made a cardinal by Gregory IX. 

He is invoked by women in labor and by persons falsely accused. The appendix to the Roman ritual gives a formula for the blessing of water, in his honor, to be used by the sick, and another of candles.

Taken from The Catholic Encyclopedia

Saint Peter Nolasco

In the early 13th century the Muslims still held much of Spain, and in sudden raids from the sea they carried off thousands of Christians, holding them as slaves in Granada and in their citadels along the African coast. A hero of these unfortunates was Saint Peter Nolasco, born about the year 1189 near Carcassonne in France. When he went to Barcelona to escape the heresy then rampant in southern France, he consecrated the fortune he had inherited to the redemption of the captives taken on the seas by the Saracens. He was obsessed with the thought of their suffering, and desired to sell his own person to deliver his brethren and take their chains upon himself. God made it known to him how agreeable that desire was to Him.

Because of the large sums of money he expended, Peter became penniless. He was without resources and powerless when the Blessed Virgin appeared and said to him: “Find for Me other men like yourself, an army of brave, generous, unselfish men, and send them into the lands where the children of the Faith are suffering.” Peter went at once to Saint Raymond of Pennafort, his confessor, who had had a similar revelation and used his influence with King James I of Aragon and with Berengarius, Archbishop of Barcelona, to obtain approbation and support for the new community. On August 10, 1218, Peter and two companions were received as the first members of the Order of Our Lady of Ransom, dedicated to the recovery of Christian captives. To the three traditional vows of religion, its members joined a fourth, that of delivering their own persons to the overlords, if necessary, to ransom Christians.

The Order spread rapidly. Peter and his comrades traveled throughout Christian Spain, recruiting new members and collecting funds to purchase the captives. Then they began negotiations with the slave-owners. They penetrated Andalusia, crossed the sea to Tunis and Morocco, and brought home cargo after cargo of Christians. Although Peter, as General of the Order, was occupied with its organization and administration, he made two trips to Africa where, besides liberating captives, he converted many Muslims. He died after a long illness on Christmas night of 1256; he was canonized by Pope Urban VIII in 1628. His Order continues its religious services, now devoted to preaching and hospital service.

Taken from Lives of the Saints

Induction into the Mercedarian Third Order

On Saturday, March 6th, I was invested into the Third Order of the Mercedarians (Order of The Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy) during Solemn Vespers in their friary chapel less than a mile from the seminary.  I have been friends with the Mercedarians for many years, so I am happy to now be part of the "Mercedarian family."

The term "Third Order" designates persons who live according to the Third Rule of a Roman Catholic religious order.  Their members, known as Tertiaries, share in the spirit of some religious institute and strive for Christian perfection under the higher direction of the same institute. They also share in the merits of the prayers and good works of all the members of the Mercedarian Order. 

The Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy is a Roman Catholic religious order established in 1218 by St. Peter Nolasco for the redemption of Christian captives from Muslim Spain.  One of the distinguishing marks of the Order is that, since its foundation, its members are required to take a Fourth Vow to exchange themselves for another who is in danger of losing their Faith.

Singing Vespers in the friary chapel:

"Almighty God, pour out your blessing upon this brother of ours, whom you have wished to incorporate into the Mercedarian family, to imitate Christ with greater fidelity: sustained by the solicitious protection of Mary, our Mother, of Saint Peter Nolasco and all the Saints, and encouraged by the example of each other, enable him to persevere in this noble goal."

"Receive this scapular of the Order; may it always remind you of the way of holiness and increase your love of the Virgin Mary and of the Mercedarian Family."

Incensing the altar at the Magnificat:

The Mercedarian Fathers and Brothers in Philadelphia:

Visit to St. John Neumann Shrine in Philadelphia

Saint John Neumann was a Redemptorist missionary to the United States who became the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia (1852-60) and the first American bishop to be canonized. While Bishop of Philadelphia, Neumann founded the first Catholic diocesan school system in the United States.

His shrine in Philadelphia is very beautiful:

"Upon arriving in Philadelphia, Bishop Neumann visited the prison where two brothers awaited their execution.  These stubborn men refused the Bishop's assistance.  Bishop Neumann remained with these men until at last by his prayers and meekness their hard hearts were softened.  They asked for the Sacraments and reconciled with God before their execution."

Bishop Neumann learned Gaelic to hear the confessions of Irish immigrants:

His body lies behind glass under the main altar of the shrine: