Monday 31st October, Blessed Dominic Collins. Born around 1566 in Youghal, Co. Cork. In 1598, after a military career, he entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) as a Brother. He returned to Ireland in 1601, but on 17th June 1602 he was captured by the English who tried in vain to make him reject his faith. Condemned to death, he was hanged in Youghal on 31st October 1602.
Tuesday, 1st November, All Saints, “The ultimate object of veneration of the Saints is the glory of God and the sanctification of humanity by conforming one’s life fully to the divine will and by imitating the virtue of those who were preeminent disciples of the Lord. Catechesis and other forms of doctrinal instruction should therefore make known to the faithful that the relationship with the Saints must be seen in the light of the faith.”
Wednesday, 2nd November, All Souls, (Commemoration of the Faithful Departed) “Indeed, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, has honoured with great respect the memory of the dead; and ‘because it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins’ (2 Mac 12:46) she offers her suffrages for them. These consist, primarily, in the celebration of the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist, and in other pious exercises, such as prayers for the dead, alms deeds, works of mercy and the application of indulgences to the souls of the faithful”
Thursday, 3rd November, St Malachy, Born near Armagh in 1094. He became Vicar of Ceallach, the reforming Bishop of Armagh and he continued the reform as Bishop of Connor and, later, Bishop of Armagh. Earlier he had restored the monastery at Bangor and in 1142 founded the monastery at Mellifont, the first Cistercian house in Ireland. He had visited St. Bernard of Clairvaux on a journey to and from Rome in 1139. He also introduced the Canons Regular in to Ireland. In 1148 Malachy set out from Ireland to meet the Pope but died on his way at Clairvaux where he caught fever and died in the arms of Bernard and is buried in the abbey church.
Friday, 4th November, St. Charles Borromeo, 1538-84. Cardinal Archbishop of Milan at the age of twenty-one, worked for reform in his diocese, drafting the Catechism of the Council of Trent. Patron saint of catechists and seminarians.
Saturday, 5th November, St Martin de Porres, 1579-1639. Became a Dominican lay brother, spending his nights in prayer and penance, his days in the monastery, caring for the sick and the poor. He is renowned for his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.