Saint of the Day: St. John Eudes

Founder of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (1601-1680)

His life

+ John was born in France and after his ordination to the priesthood he spent years serving giving missions and retreats.

+ In 1637, John published The Life and Kingdom of Jesus in Christian Souls, which contained the essence of his spirituality and theology.

+ Greatly devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he also promoted devotion to the Blessed Virgin at a time when devotions were often ignored by lay Catholics. 

+ In 1643, he founded a new religious community of priests and brothers, the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (the Eudist Fathers). He later established a community of sisters: the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge.

+ Saint John Eudes died in 1680 and was canonized in 1925.

For prayer and reflection

“You are one with Jesus as the body is one with the head. You must then have one breath with him, one soul, one life, one will, one mind, one heart, and he must be your breath, heart, love, life, your all.”—Saint John Eudes

Spiritual bonus

On this day, we recall the faith and witness of Sarah the Matriarch. Mentioned in the Book of Genesis, Sarah was the wife of the Patriarch Abraham and the mother of Isaac. 

Prayer

O God, who wonderfully chose the Priest Saint John Eudes
to proclaim the unfathomable riches of Christ,
grant us, by his example and teachings,
that, growing in knowledge of you,
we may live faithfully by the light of the Gospel.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

(from The Roman Missal)
Saint profiles prepared by Fr. Silas Henderson, S.D.S.