Better Days BroDcast

Francis was born at Xavier, in the Spanish kingdom of Navarre. He was educated in Paris and became a professor of philosophy at the College of Beauvais. At the University of Paris, he met Ignatius of Loyola, a fellow Basque, and became one of the first Jesuits, in 1534. In 1542 he was sent to India as Apostolic Nuncio to the Far East. Seven years later, after having labored ardently in the south and in Malacca, he carried the Gospel to Japan. He died in 1552, at the age of 46, while waiting for permission to enter China. He was canonized with Saint Ignatius in 1662 by Pope Gregory XV and is the Patron of Catholic Missions. (MTR) Music from SoundCloud.com. Photo by Greg Willson on Unsplash

Andrew, as the Gospel tells us, was the brother of Saint Peter, one of the first to be called by Christ, a fisherman by trade. He was the one who told our Lord about the boy with the five loaves and two fish, and about the Gentiles who had come asking to see Jesus. There are many conflicting stories about his mission after Pentecost. He has become patron of Russia and Scotland. The tradition of the X-shaped cross of Saint Andrew, part of Scotch heraldry, does not seem to have been associated with him before the fourteenth century. His cult began in the fourth century in Constantinople, one place where his body is said to be buried. His relics are said to have been transferred to southern Italy in 1210; his head to Saint Peter’s in Rome, in 1462. (MTR) Music from SoundCloud.com. Photo by David Paschke on Unsplash

Catherine, according to the legend written about her, was beheaded after an unsuccessful attempt to kill her on a spiked wheel during the reign of Emperor Maxentius. The story of her refuting 50 philosophers has led to her becoming the patron of Christian philosophers and being venerated as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. She was popular among the crusaders, who did much to spread devotion to her. She is included in the Litany of the Saints. Saint Gertrude saw her on a throne in heaven. Saint Joan of Arc heard her voice. Music from SoundCloud.com. Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

The feast of the Presentation of Mary, is based on a tradition that is without any biblical foundation for its historicity. It was first celebrated by the Pope when he was at Avignon in 1372, although the Eastern Church had celebrated it many centuries before. Pope Sixtus made it a feast for the universal Church in 1472. Pope Pius V suppressed it, but Pope Sixtus V restored it to the Roman breviary. (MTR) Music from SoundCloud.com. Photo by Lewis Westwood Flood on Unsplash

Mitch and Broden share a secret never revealed to anyone, not even to their parents.

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Elizabeth of Hungary (1207–1231), the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary, was married at the age of 13 to the saintly Louis of Thuringia, Germany, for whom she bore a son and two daughters. As queen she combined great solicitude for the poor and an austere life for herself. When her husband was killed in Sicily on his way to a crusade, her brother-in-law, Henry, usurped the throne and expelled her. Eventually, she was restored as queen, and her son, Herman, succeeded to the crown. She, however, continued her life of prayer and poverty, dying at the age of 24. The feast is now celebrated on November 17. (MTR) Music from SoundCloud.com Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Martin was born at Salaria Hungary, and became a catechumen at an early age, despite the fact that his father was a pagan. Conscripted in the Roman army, he became a Christian after a vision of Christ rewarding him for his generosity, to a poor beggar needing warm clothing. He left the army after a miraculous victory over the barbarians in which, unarmed, he led the Romans. Coming under the guidance of Saint Hilary of Poitiers, he built a monastery near that town. Later he was chosen to be bishop of Tours. Sulpicius Severus wrote a biography of Saint Martin, which has preserved the details of his life. (MTR) Music from SoundCloud. Photo by Scott Rodgerson on Unsplash

Two great friends since grade school years talk about what matters in life during these times. Recorded on Oct 26, 2020 and published the following Thursday. Photo by Frame Harirak on Unsplash

Charles Borromeo was born of a noble family in Arona, Italy. He earned a doctorate in canon law at Pavia in 1559 and forthwith was created a cardinal by his uncle, who had just become Pope Pius IV. He was made archbishop of Milan and Papal Secretary of State, and worked strenuously for the conclusion of the Council of Trent between 1560 and 1564. After that, he became the embodiment of the spirit and ideals of the Counter-Reformation inaugurated by Trent.He was strict in his efforts to reform the morals of his archdiocese, but even more committed to his own spiritual life of sacrifice and prayer. He was canonized in 1610 by Pope Paul V. (MTR) Music from Soundcloud. Photo by Evi Radauscher on Unsplash

This feast became part of the liturgy of the universal Church in the fourteenth century. Prior to that it was a long-standing practice of the Benedictines, begun during the tenth century at the Abbey of Cluny by Saint Odilon. At one time it was a practice for every priest to say three Masses on this day. (MTR) Music from SoundCloud.com. Photo by Veit Hammer on Unsplash