Christian Today

SAINTS DECEMBER 31 St. Melania , The life of St. Melania reminds us of the fleeting character of earthly wealth. We should strive to emulate her use of wealth as well as talents to further the cause of Christ. Dec.31 ST. MELANY, ROMAN MATRON , Dec.31 STS. DONATA, PAULINA AND HILARY, MARTYRS ON THE VIA SALARIA NUOVA Dec. 31   St. Sylvester, Roman Catholic Priest and was Pope for twenty-four years and eleven months.The Council of Nicea was assembled during his reign, in the year 325, during the period in which the Roman Emperor, Constantine, built the first Roman basilicas, and the Council of Nicea clarified central Christological teachings. Pope St. Sylvester died on 31  https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/12/31/st--sylvester-i--pope.html 

  SAINTS DECEMBER 30 St. Egwin , 717 A.D. An English noble who became the bishop of Worcester, England, in 692. Chargedwith being overly strict by his clergy, Egwin went to Rome. Upon his return to England, he founded Eversham Monastery with the aid of the kingdom of Mercia. A vision of Mary prompted this founding. In 709, Egwin returned to Rome, accompanied by King Cenred of Mercia and King Offa of the East Saxons. St. Anysia, Roman Catholic Martyr of Greece. She was a wealthy woman of Salonika, in Thessaly, who used her personal funds to aid the poor. A soldier accosted her in the street and tried to drag her to a pagan sacrifice. Anysia resisted and was killed when the soldier attacked her with his sword. Dec. 30 The Martyr Saints of China, or Augustine Zhao Rong and his 119 companions , are saints of the Roman Catholic Church. The 87 Chinese Catholics and 33 Western missionaries, from the mid-17th century to 1930, were martyred because of their ministry and, in some cases, for...

SAINTS DECEMBER 29 Bl. William Howard, 1680 A.D. Martyr of England . He was born the son of Thomas, earl of Arundel, in 1616 and raised a Catholic. The grandson of Blessed Philip Howard and a member of the noble family of the Howards, William held the title of Viscount Stafford. He was made a Knight of the Bath by King Charles I (r.1624-1649), and married Mary Stafford in 1637. In 1640, William was named Baron Stafford. A county in Virginia in the United States bears his name. He was arrested on the false accusation of complicity in the so-called Popish Plot and imprisoned for two years before finally being beheaded on Tower Hill on December 29. He was beatified in 1929 St. Aileran, 664 A.D. Monk , biographer, and scholar. Also called Sapiens the Wise. Aileran was one of the most distinguished professors at the school of Clonard in Ireland. St. Finian welcomed Aileran to Clonard. In 650, Aileran became rector of Clonard, and was recognized as a classical scholar and a master of Latin a...

  SAINTS DECEMBER 28 St. Romulus and Conindrus, 450 A.D. Missionaries and bishops , honored as the first evangelizers of the Isle of Man. They were contemporaries of St. Patrick and part of the great mission labors of that era. St. Maughold, 488 A.D. Irish bishop converted by St. Patrick, also listed as Macull and Maccaldus. Originally an outlaw, he was spiritually changed by St. Patrick and performed penance and entered the religious life. Maughold was told to leave Ireland as part of his penance and set sail, landing on the Isle of Man. There he evangelized the people and was elected bishop. Sts. Eutychius & Domitian, Roman Catholic Martyrs of Ancyra , in Galatia. Eutychius was a priest and Domitian a deacon, and they died for defending the faith. Feastday Dec.28 Holy Innocents, martyrs -The Holy Innocents are the children of Bethlehem, put to death by order of King Herod, as part of his efforts to eliminate the child Jesus, whom prophecies announced as the Messiah and new K...

SAINTS DECEMBER 27 St. Fabiola, Roman Catholic laywoman, devoted herself to charitable works and aiding churches, and built the first Christian public hospital in the West, where she personally tended the sick. Feastday December 26 St. John, Apostle and Evangelis t --The “beloved disciple” was an impetuous fisherman who became a disciple of Jesus, the only one of the apostles not to be martyred. Tradition holds him to be the author not only of the fourth Gospel, but of the Johannine letters and the Book of Revelation.  https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/12/27/st--john--apostle-and-evangelist.html 

SAINTS DECEMBER 26 St. Amaethlu, 6th century. Founder and hermit. Arnaethlu also called Maethlu, lived in Wales. A church in Anglesey is named after him as the founder. St. Pope Dionysius Roman Catholic Priest and Pope . Dionysius died in Rome, was the first pope not listed as a martyr, and was buried in the cemetery of Callistus. Dec.26 St. Vincentia Maria Lopez Y Vicuna, Roman Catholic Nun and foundress of Daughters of Mary Immaculate for Domestic Servic e, a religious congregation dedicated to the ministering to working girls. Dec.26 ST. STEPHEN, FIRST MARTYR St. Stephen Stephen's name means "crown," and he was the first disciple of Jesus to receive the martyr's crown. Stephen was a deacon in the early Christian Church. Saint Stephen is known as the “Proto-Martyr,” insofar as he was the first of the early disciples to shed his blood for Christ. The account of his martyrdom by stoning is related in the Acts of the Apostles. Because of the manner of his death, he i...

SAINTS DECEMBER 25 St. Alburga, 800 A.D. Abbess and foundress , born a princess in Wessex, England. The sister of King Egbert of Wessex, Alburga displayed piety at an early age. She was married to Wulfstan of Wiltshire as part of a political alliance. She founded Wilton Abbey while married to Wulfstan. Upon his death, Alburga retired to Wilton and became the abbess. B. MARY OF THE APOSTLES, VIRGIN, FOUNDRESS OF THE SALVATORIAN SISTERS. She established the Sisters of the Divine Savior – also referred to as the Salvatorian Sisters – with the assistance of the priest Venerable Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan, founder of the Salvatorians. She later assumed the name of "Maria of the Apostles" following her solemn profession as a nun. Dec 25 St. Eugenia, Roman Catholic Martyr , Eugenia converted many others, including her mother, Claudia, and suffered martyrdom by sword for her faith in Rome, where she had gone with her mother. Her feast day is December 25th. ST. ANASTASIA, MARTY...