St. Mary of Mount Carmel / Blessed Sacrament Parish
648 JAY ST., UTICA, NY 13501 – 315-735-1482
(4th century) Who would think that a saint would have something in common with Harry Potter? Today’s saint lived under the stairs in his family home just like the famous hero of the J. K. Rowling’s famous series. St. Alexis belonged to an important family of Rome. As a youth he devoted himself to the […]
(1756–1846) Today’s saint was born with the name Julie Frances Catharine Postel, in Barfleur in Normandy, France. While studying with the Benedictine nuns at Volognes, she decided to devote her life to the service of God and her neighbor and took the vow of chastity. At age 18, Postel opened a school for girls in […]
(1217–1274) St. Bonaventure was born in Umbria, the “green heart” of the Italian peninsula, in the town of Bagnoregio. His father, Giovanni di Fidanza was doctor and probably well off for those times. That did not preclude any health issues for Bonaventure (then known by his given name, Giovanni). His mother, Maria di Ritello, was […]
St. Henry received a strong Christian education as a child. Born in Bamberg in 973, he was the son of the Duke of Bavaria. Among his teachers was St. Wolfgang, bishop of Ratisbon (now called Regensburg). Henry became duke when his father died and later became king of Germany in 1002, when his cousin Otto […]
(993–1073) John was born in Florence, Italy, around the year 993. As a member of a noble family, he enjoyed every advantage as a youth. When his older brother Hugh was murdered, however, he became grief stricken and vowed to avenge him. On Good Friday John saw his brother’s murderer and drew his sword to […]
Call to worship God is like a generous, wasteful farmer or gardener — throwing seed all over good and bad ground. God plants so generously in order to insure that there is growth and that life comes to fruition. Today’s scriptures call us to receive the seeds of God’s bountiful love in the rich soil […]
“Van Gogh: The Sower” Van Gogh’s “The Sower of Seed” In 1888, Vincent Van Gogh painted a series of pictures of a lonely figure moving across a plowed field, a favorite subject of the artist: a broad gesture of the right hand indicates that sowing is taking place. The real protagonist of the paintings, which […]
(c.480-c.547) Anyone travelling the highway from Rome to Naples undoubtably will notice at about the 80-mile point a huge complex on a hill on the east side of the road. If so, that traveler has caught a glimpse of one of the most important sites of the Medieval world, The Abby of Monte Cassino. What […]