Christian Today

  SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 30  ST. JEROME, PRIEST AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH , Saint Jerome (c. 347 – 30 September 420) was a Latin Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, who also became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia. He is best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate), and his commentaries on the Gospel of the Hebrews. His list of writings is extensive. ST. SIMEON, EARL OF CRÉPY ST. FRANCIS BORGIA, JESUIT St. Enghenedl, 7th century. Welsh saint venerated in a church in Anglesey, Wales.   St. Honorius of Canterbury, 653 A.D. Archbishop of Canterbury, England, a native of Rome, sent to the British Isles by Pope St. Gregory I the Great. Honorius was Benedictine who went to England at the request of St. Augustine of Canterbury. He succeeded to the see in 627. Honorius was consecrated by St. Paulinus, and he consecrated Sts. Felix and Ithamar, th...

SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 29  St. Theodota, Roman Catholic Martyr and penitent , she was converted and refused to obey the decree of the local prefect for all citizens of Philipopolis, Thrace (modern southeast Balkans), to participate in the festival of Apollo. Hundreds of Christians followed her lead, and she was arrested and put to torture, she was finally stoned to death. Feastday Sept 29 St. Rhipsime, Roman Catholic Virgin martyr who was put to death with a group of fellow virgins in Armenia. Brought before King Tiridates. Rhipsime refused the royal favors and was put to death by being roasted alive. Gaiana and all of the other maidens except one, called Christiana, were massacred by Armenian soldiers. Christiana later became a missionary in Georgia. Feastday Sept 29 Bl. Miguel de Aozaraza Roman Catholic Dominican priest. and a Martyr of Japan . Feastday Sept 29 B. NICOLA OF FORCA PALENA, JEROLAMIN Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels Bl. Richard Ro...

  Let Us Be Frank About Our Future https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/let-us-be-frank-about-our-future?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=novashare via @CrisisMag Let Us Be Frank About Our Future Fifty years ago, the percentage of religiously unaffiliated Americans was about five percent of the population, meaning that in just two generations that cohort has increased 500 percent, and most of that has been just in the last twenty-five years. The religiously unaffiliated —also known as “nones”—today account for about one quarter of American adults, or about 59 million people. The majority of those are what sociologist Stephen Bullivant calls, in his  new book , “nonverts”: those who go from identifying with a religion to identifying as a “none.” And sixteen million of those nonverts were raised Catholic. Do you have any serious proposal for bringing those millions of nonvert Catholics back to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church? I sure don’t. ...

 PARIS FASHION WEEK 09-28-2023 #PFW https://twitter.com/i/events/1705365801321033728 

  Pro-lifers on Trial and the Denial of Reality https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/pro-lifers-on-trial-and-the-denial-of-reality?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=novashare via @CrisisMag

SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 28  ST . WENCESLAUS, DUKE OF BOEMIA, MARTYR, Born in Prague in 907, Wenceslaus became Duke of Bohemia at a very young age. He converted his nation to Christianity. He was reconciled with an enemy when he offered to fight a personal duel rather than fight a war. He was martyred by his brother, who sought to overthrow him.  Bl. Magdalena of Nagasaki, Japan . Magdalene turned herself into the authorities and declared herself a follower of Jesus Christ. At age 23, she died on October 16, 1634 after thirteen days of torture, suffocated to death and suspended upside down in a pit of offal on a gibbet (??? tsurushi, "reverse hanging"). STS. LORENZO RUIZ AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS , A Filipino-Chinese husband and father, Lorenzo Ruiz testified to the Lord under torture with extraordinary courage. He and his companions were martyred in 17th century Japan. He is the patron saint of the Philippines. St. Lorenzo Ruiz, Martyr of Japan with Michael Aozaraza, ...

SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 27  STS. ADOLPH AND JOHN, MARTYRS OF CORDOBA, Sts. Adolphus and John, Roman Catholic Martyrs of Spain, brothers and residents of Seville, the sons of an Islamic father and a Christian mother. Caught in the persecutions conducted by the Muslim Caliph of Córdoba, Abdal-Rahman II, Adolphus and John were martyred in Córdoba. Feastday Sept 27 ST. VINCENT DE PAUL , PRIEST, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE MISSION AND THE DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY, PATRON OF ALL THE ASSOCIATIONS OF CHARITY, St. Vincent de Paul, (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660) was a priest of the Catholic Church who dedicated himself to serving the poor. St. Barrog, 7th century. Disciple of St. Cadoc, in Wales, also called Barroq and Barnoc. He was a hermit who lived on Barry Island, off the coast of Glamorgen.    

SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 26  STS. COSMAS AND DAMIAN, MARTYRS , Being Christians, they were filled with the spirit of charity and never took money for their services. At Egaea in Cilicia, where they lived, they enjoyed the highest esteem of the people. When the persecution under Diocletian broke out, their very prominence rendered them marked objects of persecution. Being apprehended by order of Lysias, governor of Cilicia, they underwent various torments about the year 283. Their feast day is September 26th. They are patron saints of pharmacists. St. Noel Roman Catholic Jesuit Martyr in 1643 was sent as a missionary to the Huron Indians in New France. He became assistant to Father Charles Garnier at the Indian village of Etarita in 1649 and was murdered on December 8 by an apostate Indian while returning from a visit to neighboring Ste. Marie. He is one of the martyrs of North America. Feastday Sept 26th. ST SENATOR, MARTYR OF ALBAN S. NILUS, ABBOTT, FOUNDER OF THE EXARCHI...

SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 25  Bl. Mark Criado, Trinitarian martyr. He was born in Andujar, Spain, in 1522, and joined the Trinitarians in 1536 . Mark was martyred by the Muslim Moors in Almeria. St. Egelred , 870 A.D. Benedictine monk at Crayland Abbey, Great Britain. He died with the abbot and many fellow monks at the hands of invading Danes.   ST. FIRMIN, BISHOP OF AMIENS AND MARTYRS St. Vincent Strambi. Roman Catholic Priest and Bishop . He was expelled from his See when he refused to take an oath of alliance to Napoleon in 1808. St. Finbar. He was the son of an artisan and a lady of the Irish royal court. Born in Connaught, Ireland and baptized Lochan, he was educated at Kilmacahil, Kilkenny, where the monks named him Fionnbharr (white head) because of his light hair; he is also known as Bairre and Barr. He went on pilgrimage to Rome with some of the monks, visiting St. David in Wales on the way back. Supposedly, on another visit to Rome the Pope wanted to co...

SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 24   Martyrs of Chalcedon, A group of forty-nine Christians slain in Chalcedon during the reign of Emperor Diocletian . Records indicate that the martyrs were members of the choir in the church of Chalcedon. ST.PACIFIC OF SAN SEVERINO, FRANCISCAN FRIAR, Carlo Antonio Divini was born in San Severino in 1653; he was orphaned at a young age. He entered the Franciscan order, taking the name Pacificus, and began a long apostolate of service in his own region. His health was poor, and he died in 1721. He was canonized in 1836.   Sts. Chuniald and Gislar, 7th century. Irish or Scottish missionaries to southern Germany and Austria. They labored as disciples of St. Rupert of Salzburg.   Our Lady of Mercy  B. COLUMBA RAWSKI, ABBESS Feast of Our Lady of Ransom http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/ladyransom.html  

SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 23  Bl. William Way, 1588 A.D. Martyr of England . Born in Exeter, England, he went to Reims, France, where he was ordained in 1586. Using the name Flower, William started his labors, but was arrested within six months. He was executed at Kingston-on-Thames by being hanged, drawn, and quartered.    St. Andrew and Companions, Martyred by the Saracens. Andrew, with John, Peter, and Anthony, were deported from Sicily to Africa by the Saracens (Muslims), who occupied that land at the time. In Africa, they were tortured brutally and martyred for defending the faith. Feastday Sept 23 St. Thecla , she was a native of Iconomium who was so impressed by the preaching of St. Paul on virginity that she broke off her engagement to marry Thamyris to live a life of virginity. St. Linus, He succeeded St. Peter as Pope about the year 67. St. Irenaeus says he is the Linus mentioned by St. Paul in the second letter to Timothy, chapter 4, verse 21, and that...

SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 22  St Maurice was the head of the famous Theban Legion, a unit of Roman soldiers composed of Christians. They were martyred by the Emperor Maximian when they refused to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods ahead of an important battle.    Martyrs of the Theban Legion, While serving in France, the legion marched to Agaunum, where it encamped for pagan rituals. Maurice, a commander, and Exuperius, Candidus , Innocent, Vitalis, two Victors, and the men of the legion refused to worship pagan deities, or possibly refused to massacre the local innocent populace. They were supposed to be pressured to obey by witnessing the beheading of some of their officers, but refused to offer sacrifices to the Roman gods. Reportedly, Maximian brought in another legion to slay the 6,600 Christians. A basilica, St. Maurice-en-Valais, was built from about 369-391 to commemorate this remarkable martyrdom. ST. EMERITA, MARTYR ON THE VIA OSTIENSE ST. BASILLA, MART...

  Mozambique: At least 11 Christians massacred by IS https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/48063

  SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 21  ST. MATTEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST , From tax collector to Apostle and Evangelist: this is the arc of Saint Matthew's life. He was called Levi, which means “God's gift”. He was a contemporary of Our Lord Jesus. The Church celebrates him on September 21. Saint Matthew is the patron of bankers, accountants, and bill collectors.   https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/09/21/st---mattew--apostle-and-evangelist.html  ST. PAMPHILUS, MARTYR ON THE VIA SALARIA ANTICA,  ST. EPHIGENIA St. Thomas Dien, Roman Catholic Martyr of Vietnam . A native of Vietnam, he entered the seminary program of the Paris Foreign Missions but was put to death before he could complete his studies. Thomas was flogged and strangled. Feastday Sept 21 St. Francis Jaccard, Roman Catholic Martyr of Vietnam. Born in Onnion, Savoy, France, Francis was sent by the Seminary for Foreign Missions in Paris to Vietnam in 1826. He was martyred by strangulation. Feas...

SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 20  St. Eusebia, Roman Catholic Benedictine abbess and Martyrs, slain with her community by the Muslim Saracens at Saint-Cyr, France. Forty nuns died with Eusebia . Feastday Sept. 20 St. John Charles Cornay, Martyr of Vietnam. He was born in Loudon, Poitiers, France. and joined the Paris Society of Foreign Missions. Sent to Vietnam he worked there until his arrest after being denounced as a Christian by a bandit. He was kept in a cage for months and subjected to hideous cruelties before being beheaded. Feastday Sept 20 STS. ANDREW KIM TAEGO˘N, PAUL CHÔNG HASANG AND COMPANIONS, The first Korean priest and a lay apostles give their names to a group of 103 martyrs whose fearless witness stands at the origins of the Church in Korea. Their feast day is September 20.   St. Lawrence Imbert, Bishop and martyr of Korea . Lawrence was born in France and was a member of the Paris Society of Missions. He was tortured to death with Sts. Peter Maubant,...

  Nigeria: Armed men abduct priest and six others https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/48034 via @icn_uk Nigeria: Armed men abduct priest and six others Amy Balog Sep 18th, 2023 Fr Marcellinus Obioma Okide © ACN Source:  ACN A Catholic priest and six other people were abducted yesterday (17th September) by gunmen while travelling in south Nigeria. Father Marcellinus Obioma Okide was en route to his parish, St Mary Amofia-Agu Affa in Udi, Enugu State, when he was kidnapped by unknown militants whom local media suspect were Fulani herdsmen. Following the incident on Sunday evening, Father Wilfred Chidi Agubuchie, Enugu diocesan chancellor and secretary, has issued a fervent appeal for prayers, hoping for the swift and safe release of the priest. In the statement seen by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Father Agubuchie said he was praying to Jesus Christ for Father Okide to be freed and for the protection of the whole nation. He added that he was hoping for the criminals' chan...

 The Moral Message of La Salette https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/the-moral-message-of-la-salette?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=novashare via @CrisisMag  

 SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 19  St. Januarius, Roman Catholic bishop of Benevento during the Emperor Diocletion persecution. Bishop Januarius went to visit two deacons and two laymen in prison. He was then also imprisoned along with his deacon and lector. They were thrown to the wild beasts, but when the animals did not attack them, they were beheaded. What is believed to be Januarius' blood is kept in Naples, as a relic. It liquifies and bubbles when exposed in the cathedral. Feastday Sept 19 Bl. Thomas Akafuji, Roman Catholic Japanese martyr. A Japanese nobleman and devoted Christian, Thomas served as catechist to Blessed Leonard Kimura until his arrest by government authorities. Condemned for being a Christian, he was burned alive at Nagasaki. Feastday Sept 19 St. Theodore of Tarsus, 690 A.D. Archbishop of Canterbury , England, and a memorable figure in the English Church. A native of Tarsus, Turkey, he was a Greek by descent. After studying in Tarsus and Athens, Gre...

SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 18  St. Dominic Trach, Roman Catholic Vietnamese martyr and a priest member of the Dominican Third Order. Caught up in the persecution against Christians, Dominic was beheaded. Feastday Sept.18 St. John Macías, O.P. Roman Catholic, Spanish-born Dominican laybrother who evangelized in Peru in 1620.Feastday Sept 18 Bl. Carlo Erana Guruceta, Roman Catholic Marianists. Martyred with Blessed Fidel Fuidio Rodriguez and Blessed Jesus Hita Miranda during the Spanish Civil War. Feastday Sept 18 St. Methodius of Olympus, Roman Catholic Bishop and martyr , famous for his writings. St. Jerome wrote of his martyrdom at Chalcis, in modern Greece. Feastday Sept 18 St. Ludmilla of Bohemia, Roman Catholic Czech saint and martyr venerated by the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics. She was born in Mělník as daughter of a Slavic prince Slavibor. Saint Ludmila was the grandmother of Saint Wenceslaus, who is widely referred to as Good King Wenceslaus. Feastday Sept 18...

  SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 17  St. Ariadne, Martyr of Phrygia . Ariadne was a slave in the household of a Phrygian prince. When pagan rites were performed in honor of the prince's birthday, she refused to take part. hunted by the authorities, she entered a chasm in a ridge. The chasm opened miraculously before her and closed behind her, providing her with a tomb. St. Justin Martyred priest condemned for burying the remains of other Christian martyrs. He was executed and his relics were translated to Frisingen, Germany. Feastday, September 17 St. Columba, A Roman Catholic virgin and martyr of Cordoba Spain. She served as a nun at Tabanos until the Moorish persecution started in 852. Going to Cordoba, she refused to deny the faith and was beheaded. Feastday Sept. 17 St. Emmanuel Trieu, Martyr of Vietnam, an ordained priest . A native Vietnamese, he joined the army but was ordained and worked under the auspices of the Foreign Mission of Paris. While visiting his mother,...

SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 16  St. Euphemia, Roman Catholic Martyred virgin of Chalcedon . The traditions surrounding her death state that she was tortured and then slain by a wild lion because she refused to attend a pagan ceremony. A church was erected in her honor in the fifth century. Feastday, September 16 St. Rogellus, Roman Catholic Martyr with his disciple, Servus Dei . He was a monk in Spain who was put to death at Cordoba by the Moors for publicly attacking the Muslim faith. His young disciple suffered with him. Feastday, September 16 Bl. Paul Fimonaya, Roman Catholic Martyr of Japan The son of Blessed Michael Fimonaya. Paul was a Dominican tertiary who was arrested for being a Christian and was beheaded at Nagasaki. Feastday, September 16 St. Cornelius whose feast day is September 16th. A Roman priest, Cornelius was elected Pope to succeed Fabian in an election delayed fourteen months by Decius' persecution of the Christians. The main issue of his pontificate was...

SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 15  Sts. Emilas & Jeremiah, Roman Catholic Spanish martyrs of Muslim controlled Cordoba , Spain, by Caliph Abd-al-Rahman II . Emilas was a deacon. The young men were beheaded. Feastday Sept. 15 St. Valerian, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr . The massacre of the martyrs of Lyons with their bishop, St. Pothinus, took place during the persecutions of Marcus Aurelius in the year 177. Marcellus, a priest, we are told, by Divine intervention, managed to escape to Chalon-sur-Saone, where he was given shelter. His host was a pagan, and seeing him offer incense before images of Mars, Mercury, and Minerva, Marcellus remonstrated with and converted him. While journeying toward the North, the priest fell in with the governor Priscus, who asked him to a celebration at his house. Marcellus accepted the invitation, but when he found that Priscus was preparing to fulfill religious rites, he asked to be excused on the ground that he was a Christian. This raised...

 SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 14  St. Caerealis & Sallustia, Roman Catholic Martyrs.   A soldier and his wife martyred in Rome. They were converted by Pope St. Cornelius. Caerealis and Sallustia were slain during the persecution conducted by Emperor Trajanus Decius. Feastday Sept 14 St. Gabriel Taurin Dufresse, Roman Catholic Martyr of China, and a priest of the Society for Foreign Missions of Paris at the age of twenty-four. In 1776 he arrived in China to undertake his missionary labors in the country's Szechwan Province. The renewed persecution of Chinese Christians in 1784 led to Father Dufresse's arrest. He soon escaped from prison and was taken in by a Chinese Catholic family. He subsequently surrendered himself to the pagan authorities after an auxiliary bishop instructed all the priests staying with families to turn themselves in rather than expose their hosts to the danger of arrest. Father Dufresse was imprisoned and then exiled to Macao. In 1789 he mana...

  On Death and Life https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/on-death-and-life?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=novashare

 ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH . John Chrysostom, or “golden-mouthed,” placed his gift with words at the service of the Word. He became the bishop of Constantinople, where his clear preaching earned him enemies. The great preacher, who died in exile, is one of the most prolific of the Fathers of the Church.  Feastday Sept 13 https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/09/13/st--john-chrysostom--bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church.html

 https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/why-is-the-west-in-such-a-mess Why Is the West in Such a Mess? The crisis of legitimacy we are currently experiencing is but a symptom of the slow death of Western civilization Men despise religion. They hate it and are afraid it may be true. The cure for this is first to show that religion is not contrary to reason, but worthy of reverence and respect. Next make it attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show that it is. —Blaise Pascal  The crisis of legitimacy  we are currently experiencing is but a symptom of the slow death of Western civilization.  That, in a nutshell, is the key message of a host of distinguished contemporary writers and historians, including James Burnham, Patrick Buchanan, Walter Laqueur, Claire Berlinski, Christopher Caldwell, Theodore Dalrymple, Bruce Thornton, and, more recently, Douglas Murray and Jonah Goldberg.  These authors have published books variously titled   Suicide of th...