Xaverian Calendar September 2011

"Let us never forget that our sanctification flows from the faithful and constant observance of the constitutions, in no better way can we fulfill the will of God which has called us by love to labor for the glory of the apostolate." [Saint Conforti on Aug. 15, 1931]
1912 - Conforti writes his 3rd Circular Letter
See September Mission and Church Intentions of the Pope
1939 - Beginning of World War II
1985 - Beginning of the Theology House in Yaounde, Cameroon

First Friday
"Let us change our life, let us make generous resolutions, let us pray that God may make them fruitful with his grace; we will then find ourselves happy in this life, and even more content in death." [Saint Conforti, 1896]
See September Mission and Church Intentions of the Pope

St. Gregory the Great, Pope, Patron saint of music
"An error quite contrary to the spirit of the Gospel is to believe that we only need to abstain from the evil in order to reach our salvation, forgetting to practice good deeds." [Saint Conforti, 1896]
1912 - Saint Conforti delivers a discourse in the Chapel of the Motherhouse for the return to China of Monsignor Luigi Calza, new Bishop-Vicar Apostolic of Western Honan. During the celebration, Saint Conforti gives the crucifix to departing China missionary Fr. A. Binaschi
1951 - The Xaverians open the Cultural Institute of the West in Mazatlan, Mexico

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
"Let us desire to reach that humility that is the foundation of Christian perfection, without which we will not please God or obtain graces from Him." [Saint Conforti, 1896]
1965 - Albert Schweitzer dies

USA Labor Day
Bl. Teresa of Calcutta, missionary and foundress of the Missionaries of Charity
"Let us work so as to increase in us the gift of faith, the lived and laborious faith which does not reject sacrifice, and brings the various steps of our journey in the path of virtue." [Saint Conforti, 1896]
1982 - Xaverians start their mission activities in Douala, Cameroon

"Let us also work to fan the heavenly flame of charity, which inspired many generous souls to the heroic martyrdom and the zeal of the apostolate." [Saint Conforti, 1896]
1924 - At the National Eucharistic Congress of Palermo, Saint Conforti gives his key-note address on 'The Eucharist and the Missions'
1967 - Xaverians arrive in Wayne, NJ

"Dearest brothers, let us enliven our faith; since we were made for God, who is the beginning and end of our life, let us offer him every single action." [Saint Conforti, 1896]
Brazil: Independence Day
1990 - A small group of Xaverians lands in Taiwan - Second Opening

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
"With our devotion to Mary, to the most noble of creatures, we do not offend God; on the contrary, we honor the Most High by venerating the wonder of wonders, the work of His omnipotence." [Saint Conforti on Feb. 15, 1931 - Antol. 428]
1967 - Xaverians offer Mass in Wayne, NJ, with the Kearns family
UN - International Literacy Day

St. Peter Claver, Patron of Colombia, called himself 'the slave of the slaves forever'
"The fear of God is not like human fear, which upsets, weakens, and discourages. Instead, the fear of God encourages someone to conquer everything, and to overcome everything rather than to offer the Lord." [Saint Conforti, 1896]
1969 - First group of Xaverians establishes a community in Taiwan for the First Opening: Frs. H. Frassineti, Zulian, De Vidi, and Marcelli

"Faith tells us that we cannot just flee vices in order to receive the eternal reward of paradise; we need to also practice virtue. It is not enough to abstain from evil deeds, but we need to do some good deeds, and in great numbers." [Saint Conforti, 1896]
1930 - Saint Conforti opens the Xaverian Minor Seminary at Massa della Lucania, Salerno, Italy
1956 - The Xaverian Sisters [Missionaries of Mary] are officially recognized by the 6th Xaverian General Chapter

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
"God, I repeat, is my strength and my defense and I am ready to drink the cup that He has prepared for me, fighting the good fight until the last moment of my life, certain of the final triumph." [Saint Conforti on June 11, 1902 - Antol. 699]
1889 - As he enters a week of retreat, young Fr. Conforti asks Fr. G. Venturini to pray for him, "so that the Lord may confirm my good projects, and give me the grace to bring to fulfillment the plans which have been in my mind for quite some time."
1918 - Saint Conforti sends the First Letter to the Bishops of Italy on the Missionary Union of the Clergy

The Most Holy Name of Mary
"Little knowledge of religion makes human beings unbelievers; much and deep knowledge makes people fervent and believers." [Saint Conforti on June 11, 1902]
1931 - Last solemn get-together of the Xaverians at the Motherhouse in Parma honoring Saint Conforti on his name's day
1958 - Founding of the Xaverian House in Khulna, Bangladesh
1996 - Opening of the Xaverian Center for studies on Conforti, in Parma

St. John Chysostom, Bishop, Patron of Preachers
"My dear people, I shall strive, with the help of divine grace, to practice all that I have recommended to you so that my ministry shall not be in vain, and to avoid being like a clanging bell, whose noise is lost and dispelled in the air." [Saint Conforti on June 11, 1902 - Antol. 362]

Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross
"I shall therefore study the heart of Christ to reform my own heart, striving to draw from him that love which tolerates all, bears all, believes all, hopes all." [Saint Conforti on June 11, 1902 - Antol. 362]
1789 - John Carroll is appointed first U.S. Bishop
1947 - Official Blessing of the House of Holliston, MA by Card. Richard J. Cushing

Our Lady of Sorrows
Blessed Paolo Manna, PIME missionary and founder
"Behold Mary on Calvary under the altar of the Cross. She gave Jesus to us and Jesus gives his Mother to us. From that moment, she understood the greatness of the mission that had been entrusted to Her. From that moment, she began to love us with unequalled love because she understood how precious our souls are." [Saint Conforti on Aug. 15, 1931 - Antol. 436]

St. Cornelius, Pope, Martyr, and St. Cyprian, first African bishop martyr
"It is not enough to give the sublime truths of our faith; they must be deeply ingrained in our lives so that faith becomes the supreme rule of our thoughts and actions. [Saint Conforti on Feb. 9, 1903]
Mexican Independence Day
1907 - Pope Pius X writes a personal letter to Conforti, asking him to accept to become auxiliary Bishop of Parma
1920 - First Regular Novitiate in the Motherhouse in Parma, with 21 novices.

St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop, Patron of catechists and catechumens
"True freedom lies in obeying the Lord and His holy law, which is the infallible rule of all our actions." [Saint Conforti on Feb. 9, 1903 - Antol. 498]
1921 - After the approval of the Constitutions, novices in Parma profess their First Profession

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
National Catechetical Sunday: Celebrated the third Sunday of September, Catechetical Sunday is set aside as a time to recognize the essential ministry of the Church.
"Let us work full of trust in the holiness of the cause which was given to us, and in the effectiveness of the means that God has put in our hands for its success." [Saint Conforti on Oct. 9, 1903]
1928 - Saint Conforti gives the mission cross to departing China missionary Fr. N. Ferrari, and greets the community of the Motherhouse as he prepares for pastoral visit to the Xaverians in China
1961 - Dag Hammarskjold, second Secretary General of the United Nations, and 1961 Peace Nobel, dies in a plane crash in the Congo while on a peacekeeping mission.

St. Januarius, Bishop, Patron of Naples
"Let us never forget that we are descendants of the Martyrs, that our fathers in the faith confessed their faith in God in front of tyrants, welcoming with open hearts even death." [Saint Conforti on Nov. 8, 1903]
1928 - Saint Conforti leaves for his visit to the Xaverians in China together with Frs. J. Bonardi and N. Ferrari

St. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and Companions, 103 Martyrs of Korea, priests, missionaries and lay people who died in the early days of the Church in Korea. Most were murdered during waves of persecutions in 1839, 1846 and 1867
"I shall tell everyone that the Gospel of Christ is the supreme code of all laws and the summary of all duties, and I shall never cease to inculcate its observance in you." [Saint Conforti on Nov. 16, 1903 - Antol. 496]
1929 - Saint Conforti gives the mission crucifix to departing China missionaries Frs. J. Henry Fassineti and A. Dagnino
1931 - Surrounded by the Xaverian community, Saint Conforti watches the premier of the missionary movie 'Our Africa'

St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
"Raise your voices and proclaim to everyone the justice of God; declare to all the duties ordered by God, both for yourselves and for others." [Saint Conforti on Nov. 22, 1903]
International Day of Peace

"Woe to those who, called to the Priesthood, do not endeavor with all their strength to attain and conserve an indefatigable study of the subjects which are needed for their most noble state. [Saint Conforti on Dec. 21, 1903]
1888 - Guido M. Conforti is ordained priest in the Parma Cathedral by Bishop Andrea Miotti
First Day of Fall

St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Capuchin priest and spiritual advisor
"I fear that I did not explain this more clearly: no one can boast to belong to the school of Jesus of Nazareth if he does not study the doctrine Jesus taught, so as to benefit from it in the encounters in life." [Saint Conforti on March 3, 1904]
1888 - Conforti celebrates his First Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fontanellato, assisted by Fr. Andrea Ferrari, future Archbishop of Milan, Italy

"There is no Religion without worship, and Christian piety, which is the first and the most beautiful reflection of this beautiful daughter of Heaven, cannot be fully accomplished without the sanctification of the holy days." [Saint Conforti on May 22, 1904 - Antol. 633]
1907 - Saint Conforti is named Auxiliary Bishop (Coadiutor) of Parma, with right of succession

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
"An hour of conversation with the divine Lover is indeed an hour well spent." [Saint Conforti on May 22, 1904]
1982 - First Xaverians arrive in Chad

Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs, Patrons of physicians
"Jesus Christ is everything in the world, and without him we cannot explain creation and the mysteries of the world." [Saint Conforti on Oct. 22, 1904]
1900 - Conforti is received in private audience by Pope Leo XIII who says: 'I bless with all my heart your mission Seminary, so that it may bring the good fruits for which it was founded.'
1958 - Beginning of the Xaverian presence in Coatbridge, Scotland

St. Vincent de Paul, Founder of the Vincentians and Daughters of Charity
"All, without distinction of the state and condition in which Divine Providence has placed us, and to the extent that it is possible for each one of us, should cooperate with Christ’s victory because we must all strive to achieve our true good and the good of others." [Saint Conforti on Oct. 12, 1904 - Antol. 354]
1931 - 22nd and last mission sending ceremony of Saint Conforti. He gives the mission cross to departing China missionary Frs. A. Poli, F. Sinibaldi, M. Frassineti, N. Vaccari, and P. Pozzobon at St. Peter's Church, Parma
1951 - The Fifth Xaverian Chapter, following the presentation of Fr. James Spagnolo, recognizes the Missionaries of Mary (Xaverian Sisters) as the fulfillment of the thoughts and wishes of Bishop Conforti of founding a female branch of the Congregation

St. Wenceslaus, Bohemian ruler and martyr and Laurence Ruiz and companions, 16 martyrs of Nagasaki, Japan
"We need to cooperate fully to the triumph of Christ, so that with his love, with his thoughts, with his precepts, he may reign in the laws, in the schools, at the office, in the fields, in the houses of important people, as well as in the homes of the poor, renewing, raising and sanctifying everything." [Saint Conforti on Oct. 12, 1904]
China: Teachers' Day
1925 - Saint Conforti presides over the week-long mission gathering of the Missionary Union of the Clergy, in Rome
1978 - Death of Pope John Paul I

Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael
"Truth and justice be the rules of your labor, and charity be the unbreakable bond that binds your hearts." [Saint Conforti on Oct. 12, 1904]
Jewish observance: Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year

St. Jerome, Scripture scholar of the early Church
"The character of Christian heroism is fortitude, while the foundations of Christian fortitude are faith and charity." [Saint Conforti, FCT 15, 129-134]
1995 - Catina Gubert, Fr. Aldo Marchiol, Fr. Ottorino Maule are killed in Burundi, Xaverian Martyrs of Burundi