O Lord my strength and my Redeemer, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight. I offer praise to You for the grace You have bestowed on Your humble missionary, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. May I have the same joyful vigor that Father Seelos possessed during his earthly life to love You deeply and live faithfully Your gospel. Amen
Born in Füssen, Germany, January 11, 1819, Francis entered the diocesan seminary of St. Jerome at Dillingen, Germany, in 1842. Soon after meeting the missionaries of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) in Dilligen, he entered the congregation to minister to the German speaking immigrants in the United States. Arriving in New York in 1843 he was ordained a priest in Baltimore, Maryland in 1844. He began his pastoral ministry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as assistant pastor of his confrere Saint John Neumann, serving also as Master of Novices and dedicating himself to preaching. Francis became a full-time itinerant missionary preacher, preaching in both English and German in a number of different states. He contracted yellow fever while ministering to the sick in New Orleans, Louisiana during an outbreak of the disease, dying October 4, 1867.
Listen below as Fr Paul discusses the life of Blessed Francis Xavior Seelos whose memorial feast we celebrate October 5th.
In addition to showing a short video (which may be viewed at: Seelos) Fr Paul provided a refection on Blessed Seelos’ cheerfulness (which may be viewed at: Cheerfulness).
Discerning our mission:
Listen below as Lee Morison gives helpful guidance in discerning what we are called to do.
Lee also provided a summary which may be found at: Mission Guidance