Christian Today

 Dec 13 Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html  Reading of the day A reading from the Book of Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11 In those days, like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah whose words were as a flaming furnace. Their staff of bread he shattered, in his zeal he reduced them to straits; By the Lord's word he shut up the heavens and three times brought down fire. How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Whose glory is equal to yours? You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses. You were destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD, To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob. Blessed is he who shall have seen you and who falls asleep in your friendship. Gospel of the day From the Gospel according to Matthew 17:9a, 10-13 As they were coming d...

  St Lucy https://www.indcatholicnews.com/saint/353

  Gospel in Art: Saint Lucy, Virgin, Martyr https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/53911

  St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr of Syracuse - Information on the Saint of the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/12/13/st--lucy--virgin-and-martyr-of--syracuse.html

  Dec.13 — The Untold Story of Saint Lucy: The Girl of Light Who Defied Da... https://youtu.be/U9YVJooyhS0?si=_1uvwX57XuCy9wAv

SAINTS DECEMBER 13 ST. ARISTON, MARTYR OF PORTO, Dec. 13 St. Lucy, was a young Roman Catholic martyr who lived in Syracuse lost her life during the persecution of Christians in the early fourth century. Her veneration spread to Rome so that by the sixth century the whole Church recognized her courage in defense of the faith. Patron of Blindness St. Lucy was martyred on December 13, 304. At her trial, the judge reportedly became enamored of her beautiful eyes, and she, to halt his passion, tore them out and sent them to him on a platter. Hence, St. Lucy - a name derived from the Latin for light, lux - is invoked as protector of the eyes.  Feastday Dec 1 3 https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/12/13/st--lucy--virgin-and-martyr-of--syracuse.html  St. Elizabeth Rose, Roman Catholic Nun. Benedictine abbess, the foundress of the convent of Sainte-Marie-du-Rozoy, near Courtenay, Loiret, France. Dec. 13  

  Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, St Finial https://www.indcatholicnews.com/saint/373

 Dec 12 Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html  Reading of the day A reading from the Book of Zechariah 2:14-17 Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they shall be his people, and he will dwell among you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. The LORD will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land, and he will again choose Jerusalem. Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the LORD! For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling. Gospel of the day From the Gospel according to Luke 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly trou...

  Gospel in Art: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/53904

  B. Mary Virgin of Guadalupe - Information on the Saint of the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/12/12/b--mary-virgin-of--guadalupe.html

 SAINTS DECEMBER 12 St. Alexander, Martyr and companion of St. Epimachus. Alexander and Epimachus lived in Alexandria, Egypt. They were taken prisoner during the reign of Emperor Decius, then tortured and burned to death. Four women shared their martyrdom: Ammonaria, Mercuria, Dionisia, a mother, and another woman. Dec. 12 St. Abra, Consecrated virgin, the daughter of St. Hilary of Poitiers, born before he became a bishop. Little is known about Abra, who became a consecrated virgin, dedicated to good works among the Christians of Poitiers, in France. Abra died at the age of eighteen.Dec. 12 Bl. Thomas Holland, 1642 A.D. English martyr. Also known as Thomas Sanderson and Thomas Hammond , he was born at Sutton, near Prescot, Lancashire, England, in 1600. Thomas left England to study at St. Omer, France, and Valladolid, in Spain, and entered the Jesuits after ordination in 1624. Going home, circa 1635, he worked to aid the Church in the isles for seven years until his arrest in London...

  Pope: Cultural diplomacy can build bridges and overcome prejudices - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-12/pope-leo-xiv-christian-archaeology-culture-peace-ecumenism.html

  Zayed Award judges: Human fraternity is a mission for everyone - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2025-12/zayed-award-judges-human-fraternity-is-a-mission-for-everyone.html

  St Daniel the Stylite https://www.indcatholicnews.com/saint/352

 Dec 11 Thursday of the Second Week of Advent Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html  Reading of the day A rading from the Book of Isaiah 41:13-20 I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, “Fear not, I will help you.” Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel; I will help you, says the LORD; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and double-edged, To thresh the mountains and crush them, to make the hills like chaff. When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off and the storm shall scatter them. But you shall rejoice in the LORD, and glory in the Holy One of Israel. The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open up rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the desert into ...

  Gospel in Art: Saint Damasus I, Pope https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/53898

"A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"   When an attendant, Catesby, offers to help him withdraw and find a horse, Richard refuses, choosing instead to "stand the hazard of the die" and continue fighting, desperately trying to kill Henry Tudor and end the battle. He is eventually killed, the last English king to die in battle.   Modern Meaning and Usage In modern English, the expression is used as an idiom (often humorously) to emphasize how important an otherwise ordinary or insignificant item becomes in a specific moment of urgent need, eclipsing all other considerations.    

 SAINTS DECEMBER 11 St. Cian, 6th century. A Welsh hermit, believed to have been a servant of St. Peris. St. Pens. Patron saint of Llanberis, Wales. No documents on his life are extant. Pope Saint Damasus I Roman Catholic Priest. All lovers of Scripture have reason to celebrate this day. Damasus was the pope who commissioned Saint Jerome to translate the Scriptures into Latin, the Vulgate version of the Bible. Feastday December 11

  St Eulalia https://www.indcatholicnews.com/saint/350

 Dec 10 Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html  Reading of the day A reading from the Book of Isaiah 40:25-31 To whom can you liken me as an equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things: He leads out their army and numbers them, calling them all by name. By his great might and the strength of his power not one of them is missing! Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"? Do you not know or have you not heard? The LORD is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound. Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagle...

  Gospel in Art: Come to me, all who labour, and I will give you rest https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/53891

 SAINTS DECEMBER 10 ST. MAURUS, MARTYR ON THE VIA SALARIA-Dec 10.Saint Maurus' attributes is a crutch, in reference to his patronage of cripples. He was invoked especially against fever, and also against rheumatism, epilepsy, and gout. He is also sometimes depicted with a scale, a reference to the implement used to measure a monk's daily ration of bread, given to him by Benedict when he left Montecassino for France. Dec.10 St. Eustace White, 1591 A.D. One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. He was born in Louth, Lincolnshire, England. Converted to the faith, he studied for the priesthood at Reims, France, and in Rome. After ordination in 1588, he returned to England. Eustace was taken prisoner because of his missionary work and executed at Tyburn, England. Bl. Thomas Somers, 1610 A.D English martyr. Born in Westmoreland, England, he worked for a time as a schoolmaster. Leaving England, he went to Douai, France, where he studied for the priesthood and received ordination ...

  St Juan Diego https://www.indcatholicnews.com/saint/349

  Gospel in Art: It is not the will of my Father that one of these little ones should perish https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/53883

  St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin - Information on the Saint of the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/12/09/st--juan-diego-cuauhtlatoatzin.html

  Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html Dec 09 Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html Reading of the day A reading from the Book of Isaiah 40:1-11 Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins. A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; The rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. A voice says, "Cry out!" I answer, "What shall I cry out?...

 SAINTS DECEMBER 09 Martyrs of Saragossa, Two groups of Roman Catholic martyrs put to death at Saragossa, Spain, by the Romans during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian.  Roman prefect named Dacian. exiled all Christians from the city, and when they started toward the gates of Saragossa, they were massacred by Dacians Roman troops. Feastday Dec.9 ST. LEOCADIA,VIRGIN AND MARTYR, ST. LEOCADIA was a native of Toledo, and was apprehended by an order of Dacian, the cruel governor under Diocletian in 304, Dec 9 St. John Roberts, 1610 A.D. Benedictine member of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. He was born in Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd, Wales, and studied at Oxford. John became a Catholic and went to Paris in 1598, Studying and becoming a Benedictine priest in 1602. He then returned to England and aided so many victims of the plague of 1603 that he became quite famous. He left England for a time to establish a seminary but then returned to London. He had many adventures until his...