Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days
Featuring the Saints whose feast-day is this month
- Antony of Padua knew St Francis of Assisi. Both men were true followers of Christ in a time of great religious confusion and social turmoil. Like Francis, Antony (1193 – 1231) was born into a wealthy family. Antony’s father was a nobleman of Lisbon, Portugal, who sent his son at 16 to study the Bible...13th June Antony of Padua, friend of St Francis of Assisi
- If Richard Baxter were alive today, he would probably be contributing to the Thought for the Day on Radio 4, because he had a gift for the sound-bite. Try these memorable quotes: Preaching a man a sermon with a broken head, and telling him to be right with God is equal to telling a man...14th June Richard Baxter, English Puritan church leader
- For anyone interested in Christian mysticism, Evelyn Underhill may be a good place to begin. She died on 10th June 1941 after a life full of remarkable achievements: author of more than 30 books that explored the intersection between the spiritual and the physical, the first woman ever to lecture to the CofE clergy, the...15th June Evelyn Underhill, mystical writer of the 20th century
- Trying to explain the doctrine of the Trinity has kept many a theologian busy down the centuries. One helpful picture is to imagine the sun shining in the sky. The sun itself – way out there in space, and unapproachable in its fiery majesty – is the Father. The light that flows from it, and...16th June Trinity Sunday, celebrating our God who is Three Persons
- Wanting God more clearly, dearly and nearly Ever wonder where the prayer … ‘May I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly, day by day’ comes from? Richard of Chichester, a bishop in the 13th century, wrote it. He began life as Richard de Wych of Droitwich, the son...16th June Richard of Chichester
- In the UK, USA and Canada, the third Sunday in June is Father’s Day. It’s a good time for sons and daughters to take their father to his favourite restaurant, or to watch a favoured sport, or whatever else he enjoys doing. How will you celebrate it this year? If your own father cannot be...16th June Fathers’ Day, a time to celebrate male role models
- June, of course is the month of the summer solstice, the month of the Sun. Sol + stice come from two Latin words meaning ‘sun’ and ‘to stand still’. As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky. The Summer Solstice results in the longest...21st June Summer Solstice – longest day of the year
- Alban was the very first Christian martyr in Britain – or at least the first we know of. A ‘martyr’ is someone who has died for the faith – the word literally means ‘witness’. He was probably killed during the persecution under the emperor Diocletian in the early years of the fourth century, in the...22nd June St Alban, Britain’s first Christian martyr
- On June 22nd the Church remembers St Alban, who was put to death on that day in 250AD, on the site of the town in Hertfordshire that now bears his name and has a splendid cathedral which houses his shrine. Christianity was struggling to survive in third century Britain under Roman rule. In the middle...22nd June St Alban, British martyr under the Romans
- St Alban should be the patron saint of anyone who impulsively offers to help a stranger in need… and finds their own life turned upside down as a result. The story goes that Alban was a Roman citizen quietly living in England in the third century. Then, miles away in Rome, the emperor, Diocletian ordered...22nd June St Alban, helping a stranger in need
- John the Baptist is famous for baptising Jesus, and for losing his head to a woman. He was born to Zechariah, a Temple priest, and Elizabeth, who was a cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus. John was born when his mother was advanced in years, and after the foretelling of his birth and the...24th June John the Baptist, preparing the way for the Messiah
- The two most famous apostles are remembered this month, for they share a feast day. St Peter (d. c. 64AD), originally called Simon, was a married fisherman from Bethsaida, near the Sea of Galilee. He met Jesus through his brother, Andrew. Jesus gave him the name of Cephas (Peter) which means rock. Peter is always...29th June St Peter, the ‘rock’