Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”—John 11:19-22

Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus, often gets a bad rap for having been much concerned with food prep and housework when Christ came to visit.

But on the feast of this earliest of Christians, the Gospel draws our attention to a more admirable trait than her hospitality: her unwavering faith in God.

In John 11, we read that Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, has died. The Lord waits four days to return to Bethany, two days after Lazarus has been interred. Not waiting for Him to enter the house, the Gospel tells us Martha went out to meet Christ.

Her greeting, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died,” carries not a hint of accusation or resentment; instead a fervent belief in the power of God emboldens Martha. In response, Christ tells Martha her brother will rise again.

I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, through he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?

Martha believes.

For most of us, it takes far less than the death of a loved one to weaken our faith in Christ.  How many of us, facing bitter disappointments or uncontrollable circumstances, can pray as Martha prayed, with perfect detachment: “Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”

At age seven Bridget received a vision of being crowned by the Blessed Mother. At ten, her mother brought her to a mission at a nearby church, where the priest preached about the sufferings of Jesus. This made a deep impression on her. That night she suddenly woke up and saw Jesus crucified. When she asked who had done this to Him, He replied, “Those who hate Me and forget My love.” From that day on, she focused her prayers on the sufferings of Christ, a practice which often moved her to tears.

The holy and selfless lives of her parents and their intense prayer life created within Bridget a strong spiritual disposition. She desired to enter the convent, but her father wanted her to marry and chose for her a husband. Despite her initial unwillingness, Bridget’s spiritual director advised her to obey her father and marry. At age fourteen, the incredibly beautiful Bridget married the devout Ulf (“Wolf” in English), Prince of Nercia. Ulf was eighteen.

Excerpted from Fr. T. G. Morrow’s book Who’s Who in Heaven. For ordering information, visit our website.

Anthony, along with the other Franciscans and the Dominicans, was given the task of correcting the errors of both the Waldensians and the Catharii. The sincere faith and simple life of the Franciscan and Dominican preachers gave power to their words. And they always obeyed the bishops and priests.

Anthony traveled simply, staying with his Franciscan brothers wherever he went. If there was no friary, he often slept outdoors with a rock to support his head. Providence soon brought him to the north Italian town of Rimini, where the Catharii were very strong. Two years earlier a saintly bishop preaching there had barely escaped with this life. When Anthony first arrived, however, as humble and poor as the Catharii, he was barely noticed. In fact the Catharii convinced the people not to go out to hear him at all.

That all changed when Anthony decided that is would be easier to preach to the fish in the nearby river tan to Rimini’s hard-hearted villagers. So, according to the legend, he began calling out, “Hear the word of God you fishes of seas and rivers, since the heretics refuse to listen.” Fish of all kinds came together before him near the bank, with their heads turned in his direction.

Anthony invited them to thank God for their existence, the water where they lived, and their food. He noted how they had been spared during the flood, and had given nourishment to Jesus more than once, as mentioned in the Gospels, and thus had been favored by God. The fish seemed to listen as he called to them loudly, “Blessed be God, since the fishes of the water give Him more honor than the heretics, and the animals who have no reason pay more attention to His word than unbelieving man.”

Those walking by noticed and began to listen. Seeing his crowd grow, Anthony continued to explain the faith to the fish, hoping in this way to teach the people gathered there as well. Many became convinced of the Catholic faith by this event, and afterward many more came to hear him and were converted.

Excerpted from Fr. T. G. Morrow’s book Who’s Who in Heaven. For ordering information, visit our website.

Born in Siena, Italy, on May 29, 1769, Anna was the daughter of a pharmacist named Louis Gianetti. her mother, Maria Santa, was a devout Catholic from a poor family. Due to the failure of Louis’s business when Anna was six, the family moved to Rome’s Monti quarter. From that time on they were quite poor. Anna was raised to pray the Rosary and work hard. Because they were poor, Anna attended school only long enough to learn how to read. She never learned to write.

As Anna grew older, she became more and more attractive. By age seventeen she began spending extra time adorning herself, reading romantic books, and attending dances. While she loved the attention she received and all the parties, Anna didn’t forget her faith, even attending weekday Masses at times. Soon she began to see the dangers in her beauty, combined with her continued partying, and decided it was time to marry.

Anna’s mother dreamed her daughter would marry a prince and bring the family to his castle, but instead the one God sent was a servant of the Chigi Palace–Domenico Taigi. He was quite religious, a man who tried to be honest and avoid sin. A prince, however, he was not. Rough and lacking in good manners, Domenico was stubborn and blustery. They were married on January 7, 1790.

The couple moved into two rooms on the ground floor of the palace where Domenico worked. Anna again fell into vanity, dressing in fancy clothes, rings, and necklaces–now, supposedly, to please her husband.

Before long Anna realized that she had become too worldly; she wanted to please others more than God. Perhaps she was moved to convert by the words of Scripture: “Let not your be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of fine robes, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious” (1 Pet. 3:3, 4). Her soul was at stake. She decided she must change.

Excerpted from Fr. T. G. Morrow’s book Who’s Who in Heaven. For ordering information, visit our website.