SAINTS DECEMBER 21

 SAINTS DECEMBER 21

St. Andrew Dung Lac. Roman Catholic Martyr companion of St. Peter Thi. Andrew, born in 1785, was a priest in Vietnam, his homeland. He was arrested and beheaded on December 21 with Peter Thi. Feastday Dec. 21

ST. PETER CANISIUS, JESUIT AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH. "See, Peter sleeps, Judas is awake". Pope Benedict XVI quoted these words of St Peter Canisius at the beginning of Lent 2011. He called them "a cry of anguish in his historical moment", words that were destined to shake "the drowsiness of the good". Dec. 21

ST. MICAH, PROPHET, Born in the 8th century near Jerusalem, Micah was a peasant, whom God called to denounce the exploitation of the poor, the injustices committed by the powerful and corrupt, and the practice of idolatry. A prophet, he announced a great joy for Israel: the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem. Dec. 21

Bl. Adrian, Roman Catholic Dominican martyr in Dalmatia. Adrian and twenty-seven others were executed by Muslims for confessing Christ. Feastday Dec.21