7 Monthly Commemoration of St Cajetan/Conmemoracion mensual de San Cayetano 7

Our Lady Of The Rosary Pray For Us!

St Cajetan Pray For Us!

On the 7th October 1571 at Lepanto, a Christian fleet faced the overwhelmingly superior fleet of the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottomans were at the peak of their naval power in the Mediterranean and threatened to overrun Christian Europe and in this extremity Pope Pius V formed a league against them. The Christian fleet, furnished by Venice, Genoa, and Spain was commanded by Don Juan of Austria.
As early as September 17, Pope Pius enjoined the recitation of the Rosary on all Christendom for the success of the Christian arms. He had ordered all the churches to have the Forty Hours Devotion, with public processions and recitation of the Rosary. On that fateful October 7th, he himself spent the entire night in prayer.
Before moving to the attack at Lepanto the Christian sailors devoutly recited the Rosary while the Papal Legate gave the Apostolic Benediction to them. For three hours, the sixty-five thousand men, all of whom had received Holy Communion that morning, continued to recite the Rosary. Then on each ship general absolution was given for the last time by one of the chaplains. The attack began. The wind which had been against the Christians, suddenly dropped. The battle raged until late in the afternoon, when the Turks gave way. The victory gave the naval power of the enemy a blow from which it never recovered and ended their threat in the Mediterranean Sea.
Ever since the 7th October has been celebrated as the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary in gratitude for that victory.


So faced by huge odds the Chrsitian army knelt in prayer, confident in God's loving Providence, and then fought  with tremendous courage and with an unshakeable trust and faith that God would help them. It must be remembered that courage is not the absence of fear, far from it, it is in fact the overcoming of fear and the tackling of any given problem despite that fear.
So we are provided with an example of men who faced with overwhelmingly massive odds and gripped by fear, fought for what they prayed for.
Today we are faced by massive odds as well, we perhaps feel powerless against a world situation which seems to get bleaker by the day and it is very difficult not to feel unsettled. BUT we should follow the example of those men at Lepanto and have courage, pray and then go to work with a strong will and a faith in God's Holy Providence. Because if everyone pulled together and boldly redoubled their efforts to work their way out of the present situation then that situation will indeed diminish and eventually disappear through sheer hard work. On the other hand if we allow ourselves to be paralysed by fear then the situation will only get worse.
St Cajetan on his monthly day of commemoration asks us to have hope and to trust in God's bounty, to look to the future and not to surrender to our doubts and fears.

O Glorious St Cajetan, Father of Divine Providence, help all those who are unemployed, who search for employment and who fear for their jobs, lead them towards what they are looking for and pray for us all that we may be courageous in the face of adversity.

Paolo Veronese
"The Holy Virgin interceding for the Christian fleet at Lepanto"

The Feast Of Saint Cajetan in the Sanctuary of San Cayetano, Liners, Argentina

Coroncina di San Gaetano Thiene

Matteo Roselli "St Cajetan, St Andrew Avellino & St Francis interceding before the Holy Trinity" 17th century
located in the church of Sts Michael & Cajetan, Florence

Oracion Al Milagroso San Cayetano, Padre de Providencia

¡Padre mío San Cayetano!
Capellán del Padre Eterno,
que con tus manos nos das
la victoria para el cielo;
dadme pan, San Cayetano,
Santo queridísimo de Dios,
dadme hogar, dadme vestidos
y pan de aquel que comiste vos,
que como el pan es de Dios,
por eso lo pide el cristiano.
Dadme pan San Cayetano,
Santo de la Providencia, míranos con paciencia
y danos tu bendición.
San Cayetano: tu divina providencia
se extienda sobre nosotros, a fin de que nunca
nos falte ni pan, ni casa, ni abrigo,
ni alimento, ni vestido.
En el nombre del Padre, del Hijo
y del Espíritu Santo.
Amén

San Cayetano, Liniers, Buenos Aires

Scenes from outside St Cajetan's church in the Buenos Aires suburb of Liniers,

in the run up to his feast.

St Cajetan is one of the most popular saints in Argentina, especially given the economic crises they have faced and are facing. His picture with the line "Paz, Pan Y Trabajo" (peace, bread and work) is present in almost every shop and business in that country and people start to camp outside his church a month before his feast day so they can be amongst the first to enter the church on the 7th August. St Cajetan, although he was Italian, has been adopted as an honorary Porteño and his image is omnipresent in that city.

The traditional ears of wheat associated with San Cayetano in his capacity

as intercessor for the necessities of life; bread and work.

When a great ship is in harbour and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt.

But that is not what great ships are built for.

Te pedimos, Señor, que nosotros, tus siervos,
gocemos siempre de salud de alma y cuerpo;

danos trabajo y pan para nuestras mesas,
y por la intercesión de San Cayetano, nuestro patrono,

líbranos de las tristezas de este mundo y concédenos las alegrías del cielo.
Por Jesucristo nuestro Señor. Amén.

Glorioso San Cayetano, Padre de Providencia que no falte en nuestra casa, a diario, tu asistencia!

A Miraculous Image of St Cajetan averts the plague

This statue of St Cajetan which is in the cathedral of Taranto, Italy

was the channel for a miraculous event in 1656 when the plague was sweeping through Italy.

The citizens of Taranto had gathered in the cathedral to pray for divine assistance and at that moment a swelling was percieved erupting under the left eye of the statue of St Cajetan, similar to those on plague victims. From this moment on Taranto and the surrounding countryside was spared the ravages of the plague and in gratitude set up a confraternity to St Cajetan "La confraternita del glorioso Patriarca S Gaetano".

The statue which still exhibits its miraculous plague scar, can still be found in Taranto's cathedral.

One Month to Go Until St Cajetan's Feast!

A Statue of St Cajetan from Andalucia, Spain

It is now exactly a month until St Cajetan's feast day on the 7th August.

Devotees will start to put up their tents around the famous sanctuary in the Buenos Aires suburb of Liniers and the queue will start to form of people anxious to be first in line to salute the saint on his day.

Our World troubled by economic crisis and the ever present threat of unemployment needs this saint now more than ever as an example to follow of disinterested service of others and trust in God's Providence.

What can we offer the Saint in the lead up to his feast day? Perhaps we can give up our time to help someone in need, help a person who is unemployed with their CV, spread devotion to St Cajetan to give hope to those whose lives are surrounded by despair at ever finding employment, refuse to give up sending out applications for jobs even though sometimes it is so dispiriting and disheartening.

The Novena to St Cajetan starts on the 29th July, perhaps set aside a little corner and make it into St Cajetan's corner, place symbols of hope and divine assistance around the saint's image and make this the focus of your novena devotions.

This miraculous saint wishes to help and transform us

and take our prayers and supplications to God,

all that is needed is faith and trust in Divine Providence!

²⁵Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

 ²⁶Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

 ²⁷Which of you by worrying can add one cubit unto his stature?

 ²⁸And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

 ²⁹And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

 ³⁰Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

 ³¹Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

 ³²(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

 ³³But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

 ³⁴Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Matthew 6: 25-34



An etching, c. 1760, by Francesco Bartolozzi

of the vision of St Cajetan

"Una derrota no es un fracaso... Nuestra confianza en Dios, en su Providencia, nos hace sentir seguridad... Debemos seguir rezando y actuando. Dios no nos abandonará!"

De una carta de San Cayetano

"A defeat is not a failure....our confidence in God, and in his Providence, will provide our security...we must continue working and praying. God will not abandon us!"

From a letter of St Cajetan

St Cajetan Ex-Voto, acrylic on panel 2011

Glorious St Cajetan, Saint of Miracles,

pray for us and for all who invoke your aid! 

St Cajetan, after the painting by Francesco Solimena, published in 1700 by Paolo Petrini.

Below can be seen a view of Naples, where St Cajetan died and is buried

and of which he is one of the Patron Saints

St Cajetan Interceding for plague-stricken Naples

A 17th century print of St Cajetan interceding for plague victims in Naples,

with Mt Etna smouldering in the background.

When plague struck Naples, St Cajetan was one of the intercessors that the Neapolitans called upon to free them from this terrible scourge. When the plague was lifted they showed their gratitude by erecting a column with a statue of the Saint, which stands to this day in Piazza S. Gaetano.

A late 19th century Italian print of St Cajetan

"Then you shall call and the Lord will answer;

you shall cry for help, and he will say, "here I am."

Isaiah 58:9

For You, O Lord, are good and forgiving,

abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.

Psalm 86:5

Today and every day we are reminded of God's presence, love, mercy and forgiveness.

We are encouraged to ask God for assistance, yet to acknowlege that God knows the deepest needs of our hearts. In days of doubt, discouragement or pain, we are assured that God is present, listening and aware of our needs, ever ready to heal us.

Perhaps our greatest challenge is to nurture a willingness to be open to what God's response might be.

Can we let go of the outcomes that we ask for in prayer and believe that God gives us exactly what we need when we need it?

Can we rely on a trust in the abiding presence, merciful love and tender care of our extravagant God,

just as St Cajetan did?

Thy will be done, O Lord!

The 7th day of every month, a day devoted to St Cajetan

Statue of St Cajetan in Sta Maria della Pieta, Ferrara

The feast day of St Cajetan occurs every 7th August in memory of the day he died in 1547.

Devotees of St Cajetan take this further and often dedicate every 7th day of each month to him,

and sometimes every day with a seven in it, so 17th, 27th, for special acts of devotion in honour of the saint.

Perhaps incorporate this in your prayer life and use every 7 day as a marker

to take stock and reconnect with God & St Cajetan.

If you are job hunting perhaps aim to get a certain amount of things

done by the 7th, 17th or 27th

(ie. I shall send out X CVs, write Y number of covering letters etc)

so you can incorporate devotion as a complement to your job search.

Perhaps then take this "7" day off to reward yourself and recharge both physically and spiritually.

Rest tranquil and confident after you have done your best and

do not distress yourself with what you can't do,

since God will come to your aid and give you his help.

"A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord,

with the Lord for his hope.

He is like the tree by the waterside,

that thrusts its roots to the stream:

when the heat comes it feels no alarm,

its foliage stays green;

it has no worries in the year of drought,

and never ceases to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

Oracion a San Cayetano

Estatua de San Cayetano que se venera en Madrid

Por Intercesion Del Glorioso San Cayetano,

Socorrenos, Señor, con tu Providencia Misericordiosa!

Acto Penitencial

Porque a veces nos falta fe. Señor, ten piedad.

Porque a veces nos falta esperanza. Cristo, ten piedad.

Porque a veces nos falta amor. Señor, ten piedad

Glorioso San Cayetano, aclamado por todos los pueblos "Padre de Providencia"

porque socorres con grandes milagros a cuantos te invocan en sus necesidades;

acudo a tu altar, suplicando, que presentes al Señor los deseos que confiadamente deposito en tus manos.

Te pido que me ayudes a conseguir un trabajo para satisfacer mis necesidades economicas.

Haz que esta gracia, que ahora te pido, me ayuda a buscar siempre

el Reino de Dios y su justicia, sabiendo que Dios, que viste de hermosura las flores del campo

y alimenta con largueza las aves del cielo, me dara las demas cosas por añidadura. Amen

Pidamos confianza en el amor infinito del Padre, que sabe escuchar nuestras suplicas y por intermedio de San Cayetano recibamos la ayuda que mas necesitamos.



Las espigas de San Cayetano que se venden en su fiesta,
simbolo de la Providencia Divina y del pan y trabajo de cada dia