Christian Today

31st July - S : Founder of the Jesuits. St Ignatius was born in 1491, the youngest son of a Basque nobleman. As a young man he was a soldier and was wounded at the Battle of Pamplona against the French. During a long convalescence he read the lives of the saints, and decided to dedicate himself to God. After a year's retreat at Manresa in Catalonia he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and then from 1524 to 1534 he studied, beginning with Latin grammar with the schoolboys of Barcelona and ending by earning his Master of Arts degree at the University of Paris, at the age of 43.

30th July - Saint Peter Chrysologus - Independent Catholic News : Bishop. His name means 'Peter the golden-worded'. Born in around 380, he was Bishop of Ravenna from about 433 AD until his death in 450. Peter was born in Imola, where he was ordained a deacon by Cornelius, Bishop of Imola. Pope Sixtus III appointed him to the See of Ravenna in about the year 433. He was a counsellor of Pope Leo I. Known as 'The Doctor of Homilies' - Peter was known for his short but inspired sermons.

Bl. Richard Featherstone - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Richard Featherstone, Roman Catholic Priest and English Martyr. Richard served as a chaplain to Queen Catherine of Aragon and tutor to the princess Mary I. In the crisis which attended the king's efforts to secure divorce from his wife, Richard spoke openly in her defense and was arrested for treason and executed at Tyburn. Feastday July 30

Bl. Edward Powell - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Edward Powell, Roman Catholic Priest and English Martyr, a councilor to Queen Catherine of Aragon, wife of King Henry VIII. A Welshman. opposed the spiritual supremacy of Henry VIII. For this he spent six years in prison before being hanged, drawn, and quartered at Smithfield, London. Feastday July 30

St. Martha Wang - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Martha Wang, Roman Catholic Martyr of Tonkin, Vietnam, who was arrested carrying letters from the imprisoned martyrs, Blesseds Joseph Tshang and Paul Tcheng. She was beheaded with them at Tsingai. Feastday July 29th.

Bl. Urban II - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Urban II, Urban supported the Christian conquest of Spain from the Moors, and at the council of Claremont in 1095, he declared the Truce of God and preached the first crusade. Feastday 7/29

Death is Overcome: The Power of the Resurrection : At Easter, we celebrate the Resurrection in a particular way, but this celebration is not meant only for that one day in spring when we can eat chocolate again after a forty-day fast. Rather, every Sunday is to be a reminder of our Easter celebration and of the Lord’s Resurrection. Every Sunday, therefore, when we …

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28th July - St Pantaleon the Healer - Independent Catholic News : Physician, confessor, and martyr. Pantaleon was born in the city of Nicodemia, now Izmit, in northern Turkey near the Black Sea. His mother, Eubula, was a devout Christian while his father, Eustorgius, did not convert until much later. Sadly, Eubula died while Pantaleon was still quite young. While he had been exposed to Christianity, Pantaleon did not practice his faith. His father Eustorgus, sent him to study under a famous physician,

St. Innocent I - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Innocent I, Roman Catholic Pope, succeeding Pope St. Anastasius I, on December 22, 401. Innocent emphasized papal supremacy and strongly favored clerical celibacy. Feastday July 28th.

Europe, Islam, and Saint James the Moor-slayer | Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views

27 July - Saints Aurelius and Natalia - Independent Catholic News : Martyrs. These were two members of a group of five Christians martyred at Cordoba in Spain, by the Muslim Emir Abd ar-Rahman II in about 852. Aurelius was the son of a Muslim man and a Spanish woman who was a secret Christian. Natalia also came from a Muslim and Christian family. Aurelius had a relative, Felix who became Muslim for a time but then returned to his Christian faith and married a Christian

PLEASE PRAY! Catholic priest savagely beheaded by ISIS terrorists DURING MASS in France! - Europe - International - News - Catholic Online

The Secular West’s Impotence in the Face of Radical Islam : We are now aware that a martyrdom of a Catholic priest, Fr. Jacques Hamel, has taken place in France. It was only a matter of time before ISIS began its assault on Catholicism in Europe, and eventually, the United States. Other than in the Middle East and Asia, Christians have not been the primary target of …

Responding to “Spiritual but Not Religious” Christians : Over the last several years I have encountered a fair number of Christians who claim they are “spiritual but not religious.” In other words, they do not identify with a particular Christian denomination, using the Bible alone to guide their faith. It’s an ideology that says religious institutions are outdated and unnecessary. People may reach …

Bl. Rudolf Acquaviva - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Rudolf Acquaviva, Roman Catholic Jesuit Priest and Martyr. he was the nephew of Claudius Acquaviva, the fifth master general of the Jesuits, and he followed his uncle into the Society of Jesus. In 1549, he was sent to India, going to the court of Mogul Akbar near Agra. He became superior of the Salsette mission. Rudolf was martyred at Salsette, near Goa, by Hindus, with four companions, including Alfonso Pacheco. Feastday: July 27

Sts. Natalie & Aurelius - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Sts. Natalie & Aurelius, Roman Catholic Martyr for her Faith with her husband Aurelius. According to his biography by St. Eulogius of Toledo, Aurelius was the son of a Moor and a Spanish woman, and was orphaned as a child. He was secretly raised a Christian by his aunt during the Moorish persecution of Christians. He married a half Moorish woman, Sabigotho, who took the name Natalie when he converted her to Christianity. They were both beheaded for practicing their religion openly together with George, a monk from Jerusalem whom Aurelius had befriended. FeastdayJuly 27th

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Another July Martyr--From Wales : Blessed William Davies was beatified with the other 84 Martyrs of England and Wales in 1985 by Pope John Paul II. According to the Catholic ...

Bl. John Ingram - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. John Ingram, Roman Catholic Jesuit Priest and English Martyr, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered. Feastday July 26

Bl. William Ward - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. William Ward, Roman Catholic Priest and English Martyr. On July 26, he was executed at Tyburn. Feastday July 26

Number of U.S. mosques up 74% since 2000 : A survey finds 2,106 mosques in the U.S. in 2010 and most of their leaders say American society is not hostile to Islam.

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Five Martyrs on July 26 : Blessed John Ingram and Blessed George Swallowell in 1594. Blesseds Edward Thwing and Robert Nutter in 1600. Blessed William Ward ...

25th July - St James the Apostle and St Christopher - Independent Catholic News : James was the brother of John the Evangelist. He is sometimes called James the Greater, to distinguish him from James the Lesser, who may have been shorter in stature. James and his brother John were called by Jesus as they worked with their father in a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had already called another pair of brothers from a similar occupation: Peter and Andrew.

St. James the Greater - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. James the Greater Roman Catholic Apostle and is the patron saint of Spain and, according to legend, his remains are held in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. Feastday July 25

St. Theodemir - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Theodemir, Roman Catholic Monk and Martyr of Spain. He was martyred at Cordoba under Muslim Emir Abd al-Rahman II (r. 822-852), because he would not recant his Christian faith. Feastday July 25

St. Lewina - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Lewina, Martyred virgin of England, a Briton slain by invading Saxons. In 1058, her relics were translated from Seaford, in Sussex, England, to Berques in Flanders, Belgium. Feastday July 24

Bl. Joseph Fernandez - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Joseph Fernandez, Roman Catholic Dominican Martyr of Vietnam. He was sent there in 1805 as an ordained priest and appointed provincial vicar of the mission. He was beheaded. Feastday July 24

Bl. Maria Angeles of Saint Joseph - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Maria Angeles of Saint Joseph was a Carmelite nun at the monastery of Guadalajara, Spain. She was one of hundreds of martyrs during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. Feastday July 24

Bl. Maria Pilar Martinez Garcia & Companions - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Maria Pilar Martinez Garcia & Companions, Roman Catholic Carmelite nun, with Maria Ange­les Valtierra and Teresa Garcia y Garcia. They were killed in Guadalajara, Spain, by communists in the civil war. Maria Pilar Martinez was an older nun from Tarazona, Zaragoza.Feastday July 24

24th July - St John Boste

 and St Sharbel Makhluf

 - Independent Catholic News : St John Boste�� - Priest and martyr. John Boste was born at Dufton, in Westmoreland, and studied at Oxford. After he became a Catholic in 1576, he went to Reims and was� ordained priest in 1581. ��Fr John went back to England where he worked in the north celebrating Mass and administering the Sacraments to recusant Catholics. He became the object of a massive manhunt and was finally captured and taken to London. ��There he was tortured on the rack and returned to Dryburn near Durham.

St. Bridget of Sweden - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Bridget of Sweden (1303 – 23 July 1373); born as Birgitta Birgersdotter, also Birgitta of Vadstena, or Saint Birgitta (Swedish: den heliga Birgitta), was a mystic and saint, and founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after the death of her husband of twenty years. Outside of Sweden, she was also known as the Princess of Nericia[1] and was the mother of Catherine of Vadstena. She is one of the six patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia, Saints Cyril and Methodius, Catherine of Siena and Edith Stein. Feastday July 23

Martyrs of Bulgaria - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Martyrs of Bulgaria, Roman Catholic Martyrs caught in the war between the Byzantine Empire and the pagan Bulgars. Many were slain in battle, while others were put to death for the faith. Feastday July 23

St. John Cassian - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Saint John Cassian (c. 360 – 435 AD), John the Ascetic, or John Cassian the Roman  was a Christian monk and theologian celebrated in both the Western and Eastern Churches for his mystical writings. Cassian is noted for his role in bringing the ideas and practices of Christian monasticism to the early medieval West. Feastday July 23

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22nd July - Saint Mary Magdalene - Independent Catholic News : Patron of repentant sinners and the contemplative life. One of the followers of Christ, Mary Magdalene has been identified as the woman who anointed Jesus' feet with a precious oil. She was the first person to see the Risen Christ. On Easter Day she was weeping near the empty tomb when she saw a man who she thought was a gardener. He asked her why she was weeping. She replied: 'Sir if you have carried him away tell me where to and I will come and take him.'

St. Theophilus - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Theophilus, Roman Catholic Admiral and Martyr. An officer in charge of the Byzantine fleet stationed at Cyprus, he was captured in battle against an Arab fleet, despite the pleas of his officers to retreat when the cause was hopeless. He spent one year in a Muslim prison and was then martyred after he refused to abjure the Christian faith. Feastday July 22

St. Mary Magdalene - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Mary Magdelene Roman Catholic, First person to see the resurrected Jesus. Feastday July 22

Sts. Philip Evans & John Lloyd, Martyrs - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Sts. Philip Evans & John Lloyd, Roman Catholic Jesuit Priests and English Martyrs, they were tried for being priests and coming to England and Wales contrary to the provisions of the law, and were declared guilty of treason for exercising their priesthood.Feastday July 22

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21st July - Saint Victor of Marseilles - Independent Catholic News : Martyr. The tomb of Saint Victor in Marseilles, was one of the most popular pilgrim shrines in western Europe, from the 9th century onwards. According to early writings about him, he was a Christian soldier martyred at Marseilles in about 290, during the persecutions of Maximian. His feast today is still kept in many parts of the Christian world.

St. Julia of Troyes - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Julia of Troyes, Roman Catholic Martyr of Troyes, France. Taken captive by the Romans, she was given to Claudius, a soldier. Julia converted him to Christ, and they were beheaded as martyrs. Feastday July 21

20th July - Saint Kinga (Kunigunde) - Independent Catholic News : Princess. St Kunigunde or Kinga, was born in 1226 in Hungary. Her family was distinguished for its political power as well as its holy women. Her aunts included St Elizabeth of Hungary, St Hedwig and St Agnes of Prague. Her sisters included St Margaret and Blessed Yolande. At the age of 15 she became engaged to the man who was to become the next King of Poland, Boleslaw V.

St. Paul of St. Zoilus - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Paul of St. Zoilus, Roman Catholic Spanish martyr. Paul was a deacon of Cordoba, Spain, and a member of the community of St. Zoilus in that city. He devoted much of his effort to bringing aid to those Christians imprisoned by Muslim officials. Seized by members of the ruling Islamic government, he was beheaded. Feastday July 20

19th July - Saint Arsenius and St Mary MacKillop - Independent Catholic News : Monk. Born in Rome, in 354, Arsenius is said to have been a deacon, and later a tutor to the Emperor Theodosius' children in Constantinople. He was rewarded with money, servants and possessions and lived a luxurious life. But after ten years he felt God calling him, gave everything away to join a group of desert monks near Wadi Narun in Egypt. According to ancient accounts, when he arrived in the community, Saint John the Dwarf, to whose cell he was led, took no notice of him

What Does God Want with Me? : When I was a young nun, I used to read the lives of the saints, hoping to find someone like me: someone who had to eat six times a day and get nine hours of sleep; someone who was not robust enough to make all the sacrifices that the “ordinary” saint seemed able to make. …

What Does God Want with Me? : When I was a young nun, I used to read the lives of the saints, hoping to find someone like me: someone who had to eat six times a day and get nine hours of sleep; someone who was not robust enough to make all the sacrifices that the “ordinary” saint seemed able to make. …

St. John Plessington - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. John Plessington, Roman Catholic Priest and English Martyr, he was imprisoned for two months, and then hanged, drawn and quartered for the crime of being a Catholic priest. Feastday July 19

St. Justa and Rufina - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Sts. Justa and Rufina, Roman Catholic Virgins and Martyrs (Feast - July 19) These martyrs were two Christian women at Seville in Spain who maintained themselves by selling earthenware. Not to concur in idolatrous superstitions, they refused to sell vessels for the use of heathen ceremonies and when the worshipers broke up their stock-in-trade, Justa and Rufina retorted by overthrowing the image of a false goddess. Whereupon the people impeached them for their faith before the governor. The prefect, after they had boldly confessed Christ, commanded them to be stretched on the rack and their sides to be torn with hooks. An idol was placed near the rack with incense, that if they would offer sacrifice they should be released; but their fidelity was not to be shaken. Justa died on the rack; the judge ordered Rufina to be strangled, and their bodies to be burned. Feastday July 19

St. Aurea - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Saint Aurea, Roman Catholic Martyr of Spain. Aurea was born in Cordoba, Spain. She was widowed there and became a Christian. Entering a convent at Cuteclara, she was denounced by her family to the Moorish authorities. Aurea was beheaded. Feastday July 19

18th July - Saints Edburga of Bicester and Edburga of Winchester - Independent Catholic News : These were two early English saints. St Edburga of Bicester died around 650. She was a nun and probably an abbess. The base of a shrine dedicated to her can still be seen in the church at Stanton Harcourt in Oxfordshire. Her namesake, St Edburga of Winchester, lived 300 years later. She was a daughter of Edward the Elder, King of Wessex and grand daughter of King Alfred the Great. She became

St. Marina - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Marina, Roman Catholic Martyr of Orense, in Spanish Galicia, Spain.Marina and her sisters were baptized by the bishop of Braga Saint Ovidius (Ovid, Ovidio) and brought up in the Christian faith. When they were twenty, they were accused of being Christians and brought before their father the governor. He recognized them as his own daughters, and asked them to renounce their faith, promising them luxuries. The sisters refused and were imprisoned. They managed to escape and were ultimately martyred for their faith. A spring of water gushed out of the spot where they were beheaded; the spot was called Aguas Santas ("Holy Waters"). Feastday July 18

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: The Blessed Martyrs of Compiegne : From my article published in the July/August 2013 issue of OSV's The Catholic Answer Magazine, based on a mini-pilgrimage I took whi...

16th July

 - Our Lady of Mount Carmel - Independent Catholic News : Today is the patronal feast of the Carmelites. The Order of Carmelites takes its name from Mount Carmel in Israel, which was the first place dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and where a chapel was erected in her honour before her Assumption into heaven. 16 July is also the feast of the 'Scapular of Mount Carmel' On that day in 1251, pious tradition says, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Saint Simon Stock, General of the Carmelites at Cambridge in England,

13th July - Saint Mildred - Independent Catholic News : Abbess. This early English saint was the daughter of Merewald, king of Mercia and Ermenburga, princess of Kent. St Mildred went to a convent school near Paris. Her parents wanted to arrange a marriage for her, but she refused and became a nun at Minster-in-Thanet. The abbey had been built by her mother on land provided by Egbert of Kent in compensation for murdering her brothers.

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St. Athanasius - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Athanasius, Bishop and victim of political turmoil. He was born about 830, the son of the duke of Naples, and he spent his younger years repairing the city, which had suffered during the Saracen occupation. He also ransomed Christians from Islamic captors. Feastday July 15

Bl. Thomas Tunstal - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Thomas Tunstal, Roman Catholic Priest and English Martyr. He spent six years in confinement until being hanged, drawn, and quartered. Feastday July 13

12th July - Saint Veronica - Independent Catholic News : Traditionally, St Veronica was a woman of Jerusalem who was so filled with compassion when she saw Jesus carrying his cross on the way to Golgotha, that she wiped his face with her veil. Legends say an image of his face was left on the cloth. There are many stories about St Veronica. One associates her as the woman suffering from an issue of blood who Jesus healed. Another claims she was Martha, sister of Lazarus.

Jesus Turns Tragedy Into Triumph : One of the greatest miracles, aside from the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, was Jesus returning His friend Lazarus to life. Lazarus was already dead for four long days and buried within the tomb sealed by a huge rock. Jesus had a special love and affection for Lazarus and his two sisters, Martha and …

St. John Jones - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. John Jones, Roman Catholic Priest and English Martyr. arrested, severely tortured and scourged kept in prison for two years, then hanged, drawn, and quartered at Southwark, London. John Jones' dismembered remains were fixed atop poles on roads leading to Newington and Lambeth. Feastday July 12

Bl. David Gonson - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. David Gonson, Roman Catholic Knight of St. John and English Martyr . David was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Southwark. Feastday July 12

St. John Wall - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. John Wall, Roman Catholic Priest and English Martyr, and imprisoned for five months. He was martyred by being hanged, drawn, and quartered at Redhill. Feastday July12

English Historical Fiction Authors: Thomas Becket: The Blood of a Martyr : by E.M. Powell On July 12 1174, King Henry II of England did public penance in Canterbury for the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becke...

11th July - Saint Benedict - Independent Catholic News : Abbot and founder of Subiaco and Monte Cassino; author of the Rule which bears his name; Patriarch of Western Monasticism; and patron of Europe. St Benedict was born at Nursia in Umbria around 480 and was educated in Rome. At about the age of 20, he went to live as a hermit in a cave in the mountains of Subiaco. Many men followed his example and he set up twelve monastic communities, each with 12 monks.

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The True Meaning of ‘Born Again’ Isn’t What You Think : Most of us have heard the phrase born again Christian. It is usually employed by evangelical Christians to refer to those who are viewed as authentically Christian—usually defined as involved as making some sort of personal commitment to Christ.

URGENT: Tell Congress to Pass the Conscience Protection Act NOW!

St. Abundius - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Abundius , Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr of Spain who faced Islamic persecution. Abundius, who was a pastor in Ananelos, was arrested in Córdoba, Spain, when he refused to abandon his Christian faith. Brought before the Caliph, the Muslim ruler of the city, he preached about Christianity and the Church. the Caliph condemned him and beheaded him. Feastday July 11

10th July - Saints Rufina and Secunda; St Alexander - Independent Catholic News : Martyrs. These early Christian saints were the daughters of Asterius, a Roman senator. He arranged for them to marry Armentarius and Verinus and, because all four were Christian, the matches seemed perfect. However, when the Emperor began persecuting Christians, the two young men renounced their faith. The women refused to do this and ran away. They were captured and scourged at the orders of

St. Peter Tu - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Peter Tu, Roman Catholic Martyr, a Vietnamese who became a catechist and was arrested by authorities. He was beheaded. Feastday: July 10

Martyrs of Damascus - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Martyrs of Damascus. Eight Franciscan and three Maronite martyrs slain in a Druse uprising in 1860 in Damascus, Syria. When they refused to accept the Muslim faith, they were executed. Pope Pius XI beatified them in 1926. Feastday July 10

Martyrs of Gorkum - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Martyrs of Gorkum, A group of nineteen martyrs put to death with great cruelty by Protestant Calvinists in Gorkum, Holland. There were ten Franciscans, two Premonstratensians, a Dominican, a Canon Regular, four secular priests, and one layman in the group.

St. Adrian Van Hilvarenbeek - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Adrian Van Hilvarenbeek, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr. One of the Martyrs of Gorkum, Adrian was arrested with Jacob Lacops and Andreas Wouters. The three were taken to Briel and charged with refusing to deny papal supremacy in religious matters and for teaching others about the Blessed Sacrament. Feastday: July 9

St. Mary Hermina Grivot - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Mary Hermina Grivot, Roman Catholic Nun and Martyr in China. Feastday: July 9

St. Marie Amandine - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Saint Marie Amandina Roman Catholic Nun and Martyr of China Feastday July 9

Bl. Adrian Fortescue - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Adrian Fortescue, Roman Catholic English Martyr, he refused to take the Oath of Supremacy supporting Henry VIII' s separation for Rome, Adrian was placed in the Tower of London. Permitted no trial and condemned by Parliament, Adrian was beheaded along with Thomas Dinglay. Feastday July9

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: The Nuns of St. John in England : On the blog of the Museum of the Order of St. John, Nancy Mavroudi writes about the nuns of the Order: If we were to generalise, we wou...

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Knights of Malta, English Catholic Martyrs : Once Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell started the Attainder process, no one was safe. Today's beatified martyrs were arrested and conde...