Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days
Featuring the Saints whose feast-day is this month
- 2013 marked the 1450th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the UK. It was brought by St Columba from Ireland to Iona – a tiny island off Mull, in the Western Highlands. Columba was born in Donegal of the royal Ui Neill clan, and trained as a monk. He founded the monasteries of Derry...09 Columba of Iona (c. 521 -97) – missionary to the UK
- Are you going to Cyprus on holiday this year? If so, spare a thought for the Cypriot who played such a key role in the New Testament. He was Joseph, a Jewish Cypriot and a Levite, who is first mentioned in Acts 4:36, when the early church was sharing a communal lifestyle. Joseph sold a...11 Barnabas – Paul’s first missionary companion
- 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 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 at Coimbra. It...13 Antony of Padua 1193 – 1231 – 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...*14 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...15 Evelyn Underhill – mystical writer of the 20th century
- 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 of a yeoman farmer. But Richard was...16 Richard of Chichester – wanting God more clearly, dearly and nearly
- 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...17 Fathers Day – 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...21 Summer Solstice – longest day of the year
- 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 a...22 Alban – helping a stranger in need
- May is the month when the ancient pagans used to get up to ‘all sorts’! The Romans held their festival to honour the mother-goddess Maia, goddess of nature and growth. (May is named after her.) The early Celts celebrated the feast of Beltane, in honour of the sun god, Beli. For centuries in ‘Olde England’...1st May May Day – unbridled merriment
- Is there someone in church whom you respect for their spirituality and common sense combined – someone you feel easy about approaching to ask questions? That person’s patron saint should be Philip. Philip came from Bethsaida, and was a disciple of Jesus from early on. He knew how to lead others to Jesus – he...1st May Philip, the apostle with common sense
- One thing for sure: the apostles were not self-obsessed. In fact, many a church historian has wished that they had left us just a few more personal details about themselves in the New Testament. James the Less is an excellent example. This is the name we give to James the son of Alphaeus, but –...1st May James the Less – quiet son of Alphaeus