Christian Today

Saint of the day May 05 St. Aventinus, 1180 A.D. Hermit and companion of St. Thomas Becket. A hermit in Tours, France, he was ordained a deacon by St. Thomas and accompanied him to the Synod of Tours in 1163. When Thomas was martyred In 1170 Aventinus went to Touraine, France, remaining there until his death.   Bl. John Haile, 1535 A.D. Martyr of England, a companion in death of St. John Houghton at Tyburn. He was an elderly secular priest, the vicar of Isleworth, Middlesex, when he was arrested by King Henry VIII’s men. John was executed at Tyburn. He was beatified in 1886.   St. Echa, 767 A.D. Anglo-Saxon priest hermit, also called Etha. He was Benedictine who lived at Crayk, near York, England. Hermits such as Echa served as a link to the early Desert Fathers of Egypt.   Bl. Edmund Ignatius Rice, 1844 A.D. The founder of the Congregation of the Brothers of the Christian Schools often called the Irish Christian Brothers. Edmund was born in Wescourt, Irela...

 Saint of the day May 04 Bl. Carthusian Martyrs, 1540 A.D. English monks of the Carthusian Order put to death by King Henry VIII because of their continued allegiance to the pope and the authority of the Holy See. These martyrs, eighteen in all, were beatified in 1886.   St. Augustine Webster, 1535 A.D. One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales canonized in 1970. Augustine was a Carthusian prior of the Charterhouse at Axholme, England. He was arrested in London and martyred at Tyburn.   St. John Houghton, 1535 A.D.  Protomartyr of the English Reformation. A native of Essex, he served as a parish priest after graduating from Cambridge. He then became a Carthusian and the prior of the Carthusian Charterhouse of London. As an opponent of King Henry VIII’s Acts of Succession and Supremacy, he was arrested with other Carthusian but was released temporarily. He then refused to swear to the Oath of Supremacy, the first man to make this refusal. Dragged through...

 Saint of the day May 03 May 3 St.  Ethelwin, (d. eighth century).  Ethelwin, Second bishop of Lindsey, England. He accompanied St. Egbert to Ireland, where he died. Feast day: May 3.   St. Scannal, 563 A.D. Disciple of St. Columba and an Irish missionary. He was associated with the region of CellColeraine.   St. Gluvias, 6th century. Monastic founder and brother of St. Cadoc of Llancarfan, Wales. Gluvias labored in Cornwall, England, where he may have started an abbey. He is also called Glywys. Sts. Timothy & Martha, Roman Catholic Martyrs, husband and wife, in Antinoe (modern Egypt). Timothy was a reader in the Egyptian Church who was ordered to hand over the Scriptures to Roman officials. When he refused, he was arrested and condemned with his wife of a mere three weeks, Martha. They were nailed to a wall and lingered for nine terrible days during which they gave encouragement to each other. Feastday May 3 St. James the Lesser, author of the fir...

 Saint of the day May 02- St. Ultan, 686 A.D. Benedictine abbot. The brother of Sts. Fursey and Foil Ian, he followed them into the monastic life, entering the community of monks at Burgh Castle, near Yarmouth, East Anglia, England. He subsequently went to France to escape the predations of the Mercians and was greeted with enthusiasm by St. Gertrude of Nivelles. After serving as chaplain to Gertrude's nuns, be became the founding abbot of Fosses Monastery on land given to him by Sts. Gertrude and Ita. He also ruled Peronne.   St. Neachtian. Irish confessor. He was a friend of St. Patrick, possibly a relative, and was supposedly present when Patrick died. St. Zoe, wife of Exsuperius, also known as Hesperus, both Christians, and slaves. When they refused to eat food offered to the Gods by their master on the birth of their son, they and their two sons, Syriacus and Theodulus, were tortured and then roasted to death in a furnace. Feastday May 2nd St. Athanasius, Roman Catho...

  Saint of the day April 30- St. Cynwl, 6th century. A hermit, the brother of St. Deinoil, noted fir his austere life in southern Wales. Several churches in the region were dedicated to Cynwl.   St. Forannan, 932 A.D. Irish bishop of Domhnach-Mor, Ireland, no longer listed as a diocese. With twelve companions he went to Belgium and founded an abbey at Waulsort, on the Meuse River, becoming abbot in 962. Forannan introduced the Benedictine rule to Waulsort. Forannan went to Belgium in response to a dream.   Bl. Francis Dickenson, 1590 A.D. English martyr. He was born in Yorkshire, England, and was a convert to the Church. After being ordained at Reims, France, in 1589, he returned to England and was promptly arrested. Francis was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Rochester. He was beatified in 1929.   St. Gerard Miles, 1590 A.D. Martyr of England with Blessed Francis Dickinson. He was born in Lancashire, England, and went to Douai and Reims where he ...

 Saint of the day April 23 St. George, Patron of England s holy truth. St. George was a brave martyr who was victorious over the devil.  He was a soldier in the army of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and he was one of the Emperor's favorite soldiers. Now Diocletian was a pagan and a bitter enemy to the Christians. He put to death every Christian he could find. George was a brave Christian, a real soldier of Christ. Without fear, he went to the Emperor and sternly scolded him for being so cruel. Then he gave up his position in the Roman army. For this he was tortured in many terrible ways and finally beheaded.   So boldly daring and so cheerful was St. George in declaring his Faith and in dying for it that Christians felt courage when they heard about it. Many songs and poems were written about this martyr. Soldiers, especially, have always been devoted to him. We all have some "dragon" we have to conquer. It might be pride, or anger, or laziness, or greediness, or som...

  Saint of the Day - Calendar of Saints - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints.html