Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days
Featuring the Saints whose feast-day is this month
- On consecutive days this month (27th and 28th) the Christian Church celebrates, a mother and her son. The mother is Monica, and her son is Augustine. The story of their relationship and how, after a long process, they both came to share the same Christian faith is a moving one, and perhaps has a message...27th & 28th August – Monica and Augustine
- After St Paul, who was the most influential Christian writer ever? St Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430), whose feast-day is on 28th August. He lived and wrote in a time of social and spiritual chaos. The Roman Empire was collapsing, the world was about to slide into the dark ages and the Church was...28th August – Augustine of Hippo, the Christian for all seasons
- Spare a thought for John the Baptist: however rough your local sandwich bar may be, it probably doesn’t serve you locusts with a honey dip; you won’t be imprisoned for saying derogatory things about the local MP’s wife, and even the boss from hell is unlikely to have a daughter who wants to hip-hop about...29th August – The beheading of St John the Baptist
- After the Bible, John Bunyan’s wonderful Christian allegory, the Pilgrim’s Progress, is one of the most celebrated and widely-read books in the English language. It has been translated into more than one hundred languages around the world and keeps its place as a Christian classic. Names of people and places from its pages have been...30th August – John Bunyan, the man who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress
- 31st August is the feast of St Aidan, who brought Christianity to northern England. He is a strong contender for the title of the first English bishop. Not that honours meant a great deal to this austere but captivating character. In 635 he came to Northumbria at the invitation of the local ruler, Oswald. Oswald...31st August – Aidan, the man who brought Christianity to England
- Raymond Nonnatus (1204 – 40) is a good patron saint for anyone who does not take life for granted. The account of his own life begins with the story of how his mother died just before his birth, and of how Raymond was somehow extracted from her dead body just in time to save him.(‘Nonnatus’...31st August – Raymond Nonnatus, redeeming slaves from a living death
- The legend goes that St Christopher was a Canaanite who lived in the 3rd century. He was a giant of a man, of fearsome appearance. At first he decided to serve the devil, but when he discovered that the devil was afraid of Christ and His Cross, Christopher decided to serve Christ instead. A nearby...25th July – St Christopher, patron saint of motorists
- Sundays of the Month Editor: We thought you might find it helpful to know what the Sundays of each month are called… 7th July Sixth Sunday after Trinity 14th July Seventh Sunday after Trinity 21st July Eighth Sunday after Trinity 28th July Ninth Sunday after Trinity ** High Days and Holy Days for July As...High Days & Holy Days (all) for July 2024
- Most Christians in the UK have heard of the Church Mission Society or CMS. Far fewer have heard of the Revd Henry Venn (1796-1873), whose father, the rector of Clapham, founded CMS in 1799, and who himself became the greatest missionary strategist of the 19th century. Not that Henry Venn ever became a missionary himself;...1st July – Henry Venn of the CMS
- If you are thinking of turning your back on wealth and privilege, in order to do something you feel God is calling you to do, St Theobald (1017 – 1066) may be the saint for you. He was born into an aristocratic family at Provins in France. But he became a hermit with a fellow...1st July – St Theobald, choosing God, not money
- Do you ever admire relief workers? Those hardy folk who regularly appear on our TV screens, actively seeking out the disease-ridden, starving, destitute people of the world, instead of avoiding them, as most of us try and do. John Francis Regis (1597 – 1640) could be a patron saint of relief workers. It all began...2nd July – St John Francis Regis, patron saint for relief workers
- Thomas, one of Jesus’ 12 apostles, was an impulsive, confused, honest sceptic. Jesus could understand and work with such a man. Thomas’ impulsiveness was evident when Jesus prepared to visit Lazarus in Bethany. It was a dangerous trip to make, because of the Jews, but Thomas urged his fellow disciples: “Let us also go, that...3rd July – St Thomas the Apostle, confused and doubting