Feast of the Saint John of Capistranon Christ's Captain at the Siege of Belgrade

Edit: on July 22nd, Catholic and auxiliary troops, led by St. John Capistrano, defeated the Turk at the siege of Budapest in 1456.  The seemingly invincible Turks were fresh from the disastrous fall of Constantinople, and were poised to conquer Hungary, and advance beyond.  Today is St. John Capistrano's feast!

It's also the anniversary of the 1956 uprising in Hungary against another perfidious foe, the Soviets.

These heroes of the past will be a flame to kindle the hearts of the heroes, martyrs and saints of the future.

Photo: CNA

He was a Great Franciscan and Explorer and Probably a Saint

Presently, America is celebrating Columbus Day. In many other parts of the world it is celebrated on the 12th, which is also the Feast of the Pillar of Our Lady. Unfortunately, many of countries have attempted to transform the great feast into a politically correct melange, reducing the glory and wonder of this feast, falling as it does after the feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

The tomb of Christopher Columbus- considered a saint by many- in the cathedral of Seville. The statues bearing the reliquary represent the kingdoms of Castile, Leon, Aragon and Navarre. -JDB

A good source for debating your less-than-manly opponents around the water cooler, would be to start with an excellent article by New Advent, which challenges a lot of the myths and gives a very unemotional account, unpolluted by malicious contemporary commentators.

Here's a nice writeup from TFP:

  Five Myths About Christopher Columbus

1. MYTH: Columbus was sailing to prove the world was round.

FACT: Every educated person at the end of the fifteenth century knew the earth was a sphere, a fact known since antiquity. What was in dispute was the earth’s circumference, which Columbus underestimated by one-fourth.

2. MYTH: Queen Isabella sold her crown jewels to finance the first journey.

FACT: The royal treasury of Spain was depleted after the completion of the conquest of Granada early in 1492. However, Luis de Santangel, the royal treasurer, was able to secure funding by reaching out to the Crusading societies throughout the Mediterranean, as well as other financial backers from Spain and elsewhere. The crown put up very little to finance the journey.

3. MYTH: There was a priest on board the Santa Maria in 1492.

FACT: Because of the dangers involved, there were no priests or friars on the first voyage, despite the deep piety of Columbus. Many of the paintings of the first landfall in the new world on San Salvador show a priest with Columbus—contrary to the facts. There were five priests on the second voyage: Benedictine Father Buil; the Jeronymite Father Ramon Pane; and three Franciscans.

4. MYTH: Columbus introduced slavery to the New World.

FACT: Slavery was already widespread among the native Indians when Columbus arrived. Columbus was insistent on the fair treatment of the Indians, a policy which gained him many enemies as governor of Hispaniola. Bartolome de las Casas, a Spanish friar who worked for the protection of the Indians, is quick to excoriate his fellow Spaniards in their grave abuses, but is filled with nothing but respect and admiration for Columbus. The mass subjugation and importation of Africans to the Americas did not begin until a generation after Columbus’ death.

5. MYTH: Columbus died a pauper, in chains, in a Spanish prison.

FACT: Despite the fact that the Spanish crown retracted some of the privileges promised to Columbus, he was relatively wealthy at the time of his death. Although he returned to Spain in chains in 1500 after his third voyage, the King and Queen apologized for the misunderstanding and had them removed.

St. John Bosco's Dream

Edit: today is the feast of the Saint, Dom Bosco. Here is his dream, which is one of the most poignant and fascinating things about him.

The Holy Saint John Bosco had a Prophetic Vision of Hell in 1868 A.D., (*which is recorded in its entirety below.) Many of the dreams of St. John Bosco could more properly be called visions, for God used this means to reveal His will for the Saint and for the boys of the Oratory, as well as the future of the Salesian Congregation. Not only did his dreams lead and direct the Saint, they also gave him wisdom and guidance by which he was able to help and guide others upon their ways. He was just nine years of age when he had his first dream that laid out his life mission. It was this dream that impressed Pope Pius IX so much that he ordered St. John Bosco to write down his dreams for the encouragement of his Congregation and the rest of us. Through dreams God allowed him to know the future of each of the boys of his Oratory. Through dreams God let him know the boys' state of their souls. On February 1, 1865 St. John Bosco announced that one of the boys will die soon. He knew the boy through the dream the night before. On March 16, 1865, Anthony Ferraris passed away after receiving the Last Sacraments. John Bisio, who helped Anthony and his mother during the former's last hour, confirmed the story of his part in this episode by a formal oath, concluding as foIlows: "Don Bosco told us many other dreams concerning Oratory boys' deaths. We believed them to be true prophecies. We still do, because unfailingly they came true. During the seven years I lived at the Oratory, not a boy died without Don Bosco predicting his death. We were also convinced that whoever died there under his care and assistance surely went to heaven."
Link to source...Today's Catholic World. H/t: kath.net news.

From Village Boy to Soldier, Martyr and, Many Say, Saint

Published: November 21, 2003

KURILOVO, Russia — Shoulders back, chest out, the young soldier stands as if on parade in his camouflage fatigues — his boots polished, his rifle at his shoulder, a halo around his head.
His face is the blank mask of a man for whom duty is life. It is not easy being a soldier, or a saint.
Portraits of this young man, Yevgeny Rodionov, are spreading around Russia — sometimes in uniform, sometimes in a robe, sometimes armed, sometimes holding a cross, but always with his halo.

 Related article and photo, here... Except he hasn't been canonized by the Orthodox Church yet.

New York Times Article further, here...

H/t: JonB