Christian Today

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 31  St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, 651 A.D. Aidan of Lindisfarne, born in Ireland, may have studied under St. Senan before becoming a monk at Iona. At the request of King Oswald of Northumbria, Aidan went to Lindisfarne as bishop and was known throughout the kingdom for his knowledge of the Bible, his learning, his eloquent preaching, his holiness, his distaste for pomp, his kindness to the poor, and the miracles attributed to him. He founded a monastery at Lindisfarne that became known as the English Iona and was a center of learning and missionary activity for all of northern England. He died in 651 at the royal castle at Bamburgh.   Bl. Richard Bere, 1537 A.D. English martyr. Born at Glastonbury, he studied at Oxford and the Inns of Court before entering the Carthusians in London. When he and his fellow monks voiced their opposition to the planned divorce of King Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon, they were starved to death in Newgat...

STS. JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA AND NICODEMUS, DISCIPLES OF THE LORD Doctors of the Law… It’s hard enough for ordinary, simple people to open their hearts to a God who often reveals himself in unexpected, disconcerting ways. Often, it’s even harder for the learned who are esteemed as teachers of their people. It’s tempting to think that once we’ve studied and taught enough, we know it all, even about God. But, as we discover in two men who appear in the Gospels together at Jesus’ tomb, nothing is impossible for God. The Gospels describe Joseph of Arimathea as “a rich man” (Mt 27:57); a “respected member of the council,” or Sanhedrin (Mk 15:43), the governing body of the Jewish people that would have been the legal and religious reference point for the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and as a “good and righteous man” (Lk 23:50). “He was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly” (Jn 19:38); after all, Jesus was a controversial rabbi who disturbed the religious sensibilities of many of Joseph’s colleagues in...

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 30  St. Rumon . Rumon, also known as Ruan, Ronan, and Ruadan, was probably a brother of Bishop St. Tudwal of Trequier, but nothing else is known of him beyond that he was probably an Irish missionary and many churches in Devon and Cornwall in England were named after him. Some authorities believed he is the same as the St. Ronan (June 1) venerated in Brittany and believed consecrated bishop by St. Patrick, but others believe that he and St. Kea were British monks who founded a monastery at Street Somerset.  Bl. Edward Shelley, 1588 A.D. English martyr of Warminghurst. He sheltered priests and was hung at Tyburn. Edward was beatified in 1929.   St. Loaran , 5th century.  Irish disciple of St. Patrick. He is sometimes listed as the bishop of Downpatrick, Ireland.   Bl. Richard Leigh, 1588 A.D. English martyr. Born in London, circa 1561, he studied at Reims and Rome and was ordained a priest in 1586. Returning to Eng...

  ST. PAMMACHIUS, MEMBER OF THE ROMAN SENATE STS. FELIX, PRIEST AND ADAUTTO, MARTYRS ON THE VIA OSTIENSE

  ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 29 St. Velleicus , 8th century. Anglo-Saxon abbot also listed as Willeic. He journeyed to Germany to assist in the evangelization of the region as a disciple of St. Swithbert and served as abbot of Kaiserswerth, on the Rhine.   St. Sebbi , 694 A.D. Also listed as Sebbe, he became the king of Essex (or the East Saxons) following the conversion of the kingdom by St. Cedd in 664. He ruled at a time when there was relative peace and the realm was under the domination of Mercia, a nearby kingdom. Sebbi abdicated after ruling thirty years and became a monk in London. He died there and was buried in the old St. Paul’s.   St. Edwold, 9th century. A hermit who was the brother of St. Edmund the Martyr, King of East Anglia, England. Edwold lived as a recluse in Cerne, Dorsetshire.   Bl. Richard Herst, 1628 A.D. English martyr, also called Hurst. Born near Preston, Lancashire, England, he was well known as a farmer until being ar...

  ST. SABINE, ROMAN MARTYR IN THE HOMONYM CHURCH ON THE AVENTINO Sabina lived in the second century. A Roman noble, she was was killed in hatred of the faith by decapitation. According to the best information available, Sabina was a Pagan, given in marriage to a Senator, Valentinus. She converted to Christianity through the influence of a slave girl, Serapia. Persecution and martyrdom Together, at night, Sabina and Serapia descended into the catacombs, where at that time the Christians gathered in secret to escape persecution. The second century AD was in fact one of the bloodiest periods for the early Christian communities, which were repeatedly subjected to violence and abuse. When Serapia was captured and tortured to death, Sabina came out into the open. Taken before the prefect Elpidius, who pressed to make her abjure her faith, the woman was stalwart in her rejection of the pressure, repeatedly affirming her steadfast faith in Jesus Christ. She was then sentenced to death by b...

 Bl. Teresa Bracco, In WW II an enraged soldier throttled her until she choked. He shot her twice with his revolver and to vent his rage, crushed part of her skull with his boot. Teresa had fulfilled her intention: "I would rather be killed than give in".Aug. 28 Bl. Aurelio da Vinalesa , Aurelio was a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. Martyred during the Second Spanish Republic.Aug. 28 Bl. Laurentia Herasymiv, was a nun who joined the Sisters of Saint Joseph in 1933 and was Martyred Under Communist Regimes in Eastern Bloc.Aug. 28

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 28 St. Edmund Arrowsmith, 1628 A.D.  St. Edmund Arrowsmith (1585 - 1628) Edmund was the son of Robert Arrowsmith, a farmer, and was born at Haydock, England. He was baptized Brian, but always used his Confirmation name of Edmund. The family was constantly harrassed for its adherence to Catholicism, and in 1605 Edmund left England and went to Douai to study for the priesthood. He was ordained in 1612 and sent on the English mission the following year. He ministered to the Catholics of Lancashire without incident until about 1622, when he was arrested and questioned by the Protestant bishop of Chester. He was released when King James ordered all arrested priests be freed, joined the Jesuits in 1624, and in 1628 was arrested when betrayed by a young man he had censored for an incestuous marriage. He was convicted of being a Catholic priest, sentenced to death, and hanged, drawn, and quartered at Lancaster on August 28th. He was canonized as one of...

  ST. AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HYPPO AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH Augustine’s mother, St. Monica, reared him in the Catholic faith, but he did not follow her example. A lively, witty and exuberant teenager, Augustine undertook the study of rhetoric, giving brilliant performance and showing enormous promise. He loved life and its pleasures, displayed a profound gift for friendship, experienced passionate love, adored the theater, sought  fun and entertainment. In Carthage, where he went to study, he fell in love with a girl. Since she was of a lower social class, he took her as his concubine, but did not marry. They had a son, Adeodatus (whose name means “God-given”). Augustine, a father at 19, remained faithful to his common-law wife and took responsibility for the “family” ménage. On reading Cicero's  Hortensius , Augustine’s whole way of seeing the world experienced a change. Happiness, Cicero taught him, consists of things that do not perish: wisdom, truth, virtue. Augustine d...

  St. Margaret the Barefooted-Roman Catholic Laywoman Wife and model of charity. She was born into a poor family at San Severino, Ancona, Italy. Married at fifteen, she suffered through ill treatment from her husband with prayer, while begging alms for the poor and sick. She walked as barefooted as the lowliest beggar. Feastday Aug 27 Patron of brides, difficult marriages, victims of abuse, widows

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 27  St. Decuman, 706 A.D. Hermit martyr, also called Dagan. He was Welsh, and he lived as a recluse in Somersetshire, England. There he was murdered in a fashion that led to his veneration as a martyr. St.  Etherius, 602 A.D.  Bishop of Lyons, France, who welcomed St. Augustine when he was on his way to England. Pope St. Gregory I the Great  recommended Etherius to St. Augustine. Etherius is some-times listed as Alermius.   St. Malrubius . Martyred hermit of Merns, Scotland. He was slain by Norse invaders who landed in his area and razed the countryside.

  ST. MONICA, MOTHER OF ST. AUGUSTINE, BISHOP Of Berber stock, Monica was born in northern Africa in 331, in the town of Thagaste, to a wealthy family with strong Christian traditions. She learned the teachings of Sacred Scripture with great devotion: prayer and assiduous practice of the sacraments forged her interiority, and she was active in the service of the Church community. She married Patricius, an ambitious, irascible pagan who was unfaithful unfaithful to her. Gentle, benevolent, and capable of finding the right moment in dialogue, with her “method” of waiting, patience and prayer - which she suggested to friends who confided in her their own problems and misunderstandings with their spouses - succeeded in winning over her husband and leading him to the faith. Wife and mother At the age of 22, she gave birth to her firstborn, Augustine, who was followed by Navigius, and a daughter whose name has been lost. Monica reared them in a Christian household. Widowed at 39, she was...

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 26  St. Bregwin, 764 A.D. Also Breguivine, the twelfth archbishop of Canterbury, England.  He served from 761 until his death. His letters to St. Lullus of Mainz are extant and Eadmer wrote his life.   Bl. Thomas Percy , 1572 A.D. English Martyr, born in 1528. Earl of Northumberland from 1537, Thomas initially enjoyed an excellent relationship with Queen Elizabeth I (r. 1558-1603). Thomas also served Queen Mary (r. 1542-1587). Queen Elizabeth bestowed the Order of the Garter on him in 1563. He then became involved in the Rising of the North and fled to Scotland but was sold to Queen Elizabeth for two thousand pounds. For three years he languished in a prison, refusing fervently to abjure his faith in return for his freedom. Thomas was finally beheaded at York and was beatified in 1896.   St. Pandwyna, 10th century. A Scottish or Irish saint also called Pandonio. A church is dedicated to her in Cambridgeshire, England.

  ST ZEPHIRIN, POPE ST. MAXIMILIAN, MARTYR ON THE VIA SALARIA ANTICA ST. ALEXANDER, MARTYR OF BERGAMO

A Tale of Two Churches - Crisis Magazine : In a year filled with craziness across the United States and the formerly Christian world, two things in particular—apparently unrelated—have hit me especially hard: the burning of Mission San Gabriel in the eponymous town in Southern California, and the retrogression in status of Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia from museum to mosque. Of course, there were other …

 St. Patricia ,  fled to Italy to escape marriage and became a virgin consecrated to God in Rome. She returned to constantinople, distributed her wealth to the poor, and then went back to Italy;, where she died soon after, at Naples. She is a patron of Naples, and like St. Januarius there, a vial believed to be filled with her blood reportedly liquefies thirteen hundred years after her death. Feast Aug. 25 St. Genesius, During a stage performance before Emperor Diocletian in Rome, the actor Genesius portrayed a catechumen about to be baptized in a play satirizing the Christian sacrament. In the midst of the ceremony he was suddenly converted to Christianity. When presented to the Emperor, he declared his Christianity. Enbraged, Diocletian had him turned over to Plautian, prefect of the praetorium, who tortured him in an effort to force him to sacrifice to the pagan gods. When Genesius persisted in his faith, he was beheaded. Genesius is the patron of actors. Feast day is Aug....

ST. LOUIS, KING OF FRANCE The seventh crusade When, in 1248, Louis IX went to liberate the Holy Land, he embarked with his bride, Margaret of Provence, but he was taken prisoner. Once released and returned to his realm, he undertook great reforms, including in particular the interdict of the judicial duel (or trial by ordeal). He funded hospitals and monasteries and realized his great project: building the "Sainte-Chapelle" as a shrine of light and colored glass intended to accommodate the relics, especially the thorns of Christ’s crown, which he had acquired from from the Byzantine Emperor. To his sister, Blessed Isabel, he gave the lands of Longchamp to build the abbey for the Sisters of Saint Clare. Louis IX, king of France His reign saw an era of great cultural, intellectual and theological evolution. Saint Louis loved to host his Saint Bonaventure and Saint Thomas Aquinas at his table. With Robert of Sorbon, he founded the Sorbonne University in 1257. He followed with gr...

Go to Mass - Crisis Magazine : There have been countless reforms proposed for the Catholic Church. There seems to be a disenchantment with God, Church, and worship that can only be described as an attack on the divine. Those inside and outside the Church attempt to expound on the elephant in the room or the enemy that is tearing her apart. …

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 24  St. Yrchard, fifth century. Scottish bishop and disciple of St. Ternan also called Yardcard. Yrchard served as a missionary among the Picts.

  ST BARTOLOMEW, APOSTLE ST. JEANNE ANTIDE THOURET, VIRGIN, FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY SAINT EMILY DE VIALAR In the service of the poorest of the poor Santa Emily consecrated her life to the poor, whom she welcomed in her home, involving some of her companions in a true charity organization. Together with them, in 1832, in Gaillac, she inaugurated a new form of religious life devoted to the service of all the poorest of the poor - caring for them in their every sort of misery - as well as attending to the education of very young girls. The support of the Archbishop of Albi, François-Marie de Gauly, would give the Institute of St. Joseph of the Apparition such momentum, that it would spread within the span of a few years to all continents. In 1951, the Church proclaimed her a Saint, and transferred her remains to Gaillac in 1972, where it is now offered for the veneration of the Christians of the land where she was born. 42 institutes worldwide Emily de Vialar died on Augus...

 St. Philip Benizi,  Roman Catholic Servite cardinal and preacher.Aug. 23

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 23  St. Tydfil , 480 A.D. Welsh martyr, reportedly from the clan of Brychan. She was slain by a group of pagan Picts or Saxons and is venerated at Merthyr-Tydfil, Glamorgan. Wales.   St. Ebba, 870 A.D. Abbess of Coldingham, England, on the Scottish border, called “the Younger.” She and her nuns were martyred by Danes in an invasion. She mutilated her face to discourage rape by the invading Danes. The raiders set fire to Coldingham, killing all of the nuns.   St. Eugene , 6th century. Irish missionary to England who became the first bishop of Ardstraw, in Tyrone, Ireland, now Derry. He is also listed as Eoghan, Enny, and Owen. He was born in Leinster, Ireland, and was a relative of St. Kevin of Glendalough. Kidnapped as a child, he spent years as a slave before returning to Ireland. There he helped St. Tigernach found Clones Monastery in 576.

  ST. ROSE OF LIMA, VIRGIN, DOMINICAN ORDER, TERTIARY STS. ZACHARY AND ELIZABETH, PARENTS OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST STS. ABBONDIO AND IRENEAUS, MARTYRS ON THE VIA TIBURTINA

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 22  St. Sigfrid. Sigfrid, who died in the year 690, was a deacon at Wearmouth Abbey. He was known for his knowledge of scripture and for his frail health. He was elected coadjutor abbot in 688 on the death of St. Erstwine while Abbot St. Benedict Biscop was in Rome. Sigfrid died soon after St. Benedict.   St. Andrew the Scot , 877 A.D. Archdeacon and companion of St. Donatus. Andrew and his sister, St. Bridget the Younger, were born in Ireland of noble parents. They were educated by St. Donatus, and when Donatus went on a pilgrimage to Italy, Andrew accompanied him. In Fiesole, through a miracle, Donatus was elected bishop. Andrew was ordained the archdeacon of Fiesole, serving Donatus for fortyseven years. He also founded a monastery in Mensola, Italy. Andrew died shortly after Donatus, but his sister, St. Bridget the Younger, was carried by an angel to his bedside, all the way from Ireland.   St. Arnulf , 9th century. Herm...

  ST. TIMOTHEUS,ROMAN MARTYR ON THE VIA OSTIENSE ST. SYNFORIANUS, MARTYR OF AUTUN ST. PHILIP BENIZI, PRIEST OF THE SERVANTS OF MARY

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Preview: Three Martyred Saints in 1595 : It's really kind of crazy of me to prepare to talk about three great martyrs in the time Matt Swaim and I will have on the Son Rise Morn...

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 21  St. Hardulph . A hermit of Leicester, England, possibly the recluse of Breedon, mentioned in the life of St. Modwenna. A church was dedicated in hid honor.

  ST. PIUS X, POPE

 Roman Catholic Martyrs of Thrace, A group of thirty-seven martyrs who suffered in Thrace, in modem northern Greece. Their feet and hands were sliced off and then they were cast into a furnace. Feastday Aug. 20 Sts. Leovigild and Christopher, Martyrs of Cordoba, Spain, put to death under the Muslim ruler of Cordoba, Abd al-Rahman II. Leovigild was a priest and Christopher was a monk. Feastday Aug 20

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 20  St. Edbert , 960 A.D.  King of Northumbria, England, the successor of St. Ceolwulph. He reigned for two decades and then became a Benedictine monk at York.   St. Herbert Hoscam, 1180 A.D. Archbishop and patron saint of Conze, Italy. He was English by birth but served as prelate of the Basilicata area.   St. Ronald, 1158 A.D. A warrior chieftain in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. According to tradition, he made a vow to build a church, fulfilling the pledge by erecting the cathedral of St. Magnus at Kirkwall. Ronald was later murdered by a group of rebelling warriors and was venerated as a martyr at Kirkwall.

  ST. BERNARD, ABBOTT AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH A family gathered together in prayer Bernard was born in 1090 at Fontaine, in France, of a good family. When he was 22, after having studied grammar and rhetoric, he entered the monastery founded by Robert of Molesme at Citeaux (in Latin, Cistercium -- the order centred around the monastery were thus known as Cistercians). Twelve companions joined him, including four brothers, an uncle, and a cousin. Following his example, many of his relatives undertook to enter religious life. Jesus and Mary For Bernard, the monastic life should involve work, contemplation, and prayer; and revolve around two fixed points: Jesus and Mary. For the Cistercian abbot, Christ is all: “When you discuss or speak, nothing has any flavour for me, if I have not heard you resound the Name of Jesus (Sermons on the Song of Songs, XV). And Mary, St Bernard writes, leads us to Jesus: “In dangers, In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary....

  St. Andrew the Tribune, The "Great Martyr," and the leader of converts in the Roman army,  his men faced a battle with a Persian host. Calling upon Christ for aid, the Romans were victorious. Andrew and some of his troops became Christians as a result and were discharged from military service.  they were arrested by the military governor and executed in the Taurus Mountains of Cilicia. August 19 Bl. Peter Zuniga , Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr of Japan. A Spaniard from Seville, he grew up in Mexico, where his father was the sixth Viceroy of the Spanish colony. Upon his return to Spain, he joined the Augustinians, and, after ordination, he requested to be sent to Japan and the missions there. Going first to the Philippines in 1610, he was later assigned to Japan, arriving there in 1620. Two years later, he was arrested and, with Blesseds Louis Flores, Joachim, Firayama, and the captain and crew which had transported them, was put to death. The crew was beheaded while ...

  Bl. Bartholomew Monfiore, Bl. James Denshi, Bl. Paul Sanchiki, Roman Catholics and martyrs of Japan. Japanese crew members of Blessed Joachim Firayama's ship. Arrested for his Christian faith, he was beheaded at Nagasaki. Feastday Aug. 19 Bl. John Foyamon, Roman Catholic Martyr of Japan. A scribe on the ship carrying Blessed Peter Zufliga, he was beheaded at Nagasaki with Blesseds John Yano and John Nangata. Feastday Aug. 19 Bl. Thomas Koyanangi, Roman Catholic Japanese martyr. Arrested as a passenger on the ship of Blessed Joachim Firayama-Diz, he was beheaded at Nagasaki, Feastday Aug. 19

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 19 St. Mochta, 535 A.D. Bishop of Ireland. He was born in Britain but was brought to Ireland as a child. There he became a disciple of St. Patrick. During a visit to Rome, Mochta was made a bishop by Pope St. Leo I. He founded Louth Monastery with twelve companions and was probably consecrated by St. Patrick. He died at the age of ninety, the last known disciple of St. Patrick.   St. Sebald , 770 A.D. Patron Saint of Nuremberg. Hermit, missionary, and a patron saint of Nuremberg. Most likely an Anglo-Saxon from England, he arrived on the Continent and became a hermit near Vicenza, Italy, and then participated in the missionary enterprise of the times, assisting in the work. of St. Willibald in the Reichswald. Many miracles were attributed to him, including turning icicles into firewood.   St. Credan , 780 A.D. A Benedictine abbot of Evesham, England, in the reign of King Offa of Mercia.

  ST. JOHN EUDES, PRIEST, FOUNDER OF THE EUDISTS ST. SIXTUS III, POPE ST. MAGNUS, MARTYR IN LATIUM

  ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 18  St. Daig Maccairaill, 586 A.D. Monastic founder and bishop, also called Dagaeus and Daganus. He was the son of Cayrill and a disciple of St. Finian. Daig Maccairaill founded a monastery at Iniskeen, Ireland. He is called “one of the Three Master Craftsman of Ireland.”    St. Hugh the Little, 1255 A.D. Martyred nine year old of Lincoln, England, reportedly a victim of ritual killing by English Jews. King Henry III conducted the investigation of the crime which resulted in eighteen or nineteen Jews being hanged. Hugh had been scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified. Miracles supposedly accompanied the recovery of the lad’s body from a well, and the martyrdom became part of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The feast of the saint is no longer kept by the Church, and the entire account of the young saint is considered an example of the anti Semitism which was rampant throughout the Middle Ages. In art, he was depicted bound in c...

  ST. HELENA, EMPRESS It was the richness of soul, more than material wealth and prestige, that characterized the actions of Saint Helena, and that even before her conversion as an adult. Humility, generosity, and dedication to her neighbor emerge from the scant information we have available about her life. Humble origins, marriage, and the birth of Constantine Helena was probably born in the middle of the third century, in the town of Drepanum in Asia Minor. Later, after her son had become Emperor, the town was renamed Helenopolis in her honour. According to St Anselm, as a young woman she worked as a stable maid. Helena’s modesty and virtue attracted the attention of a young Roman official, Constantius Chlorus, who took her as his wife in spite of the difference in their social status. She accompanied Constantius to Balkans, and sometime after the year 270, gave birth to her only son, Constantine. Divorce and obscurity Constantius continued to rise through the ranks of the Roman ...