Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days
Featuring the Saints whose feast-day is this month
- Clare (1194 – 1253) was the famous virgin foundress of the Minoresses or Poor Clares. Born at Assisi of the Offreduccio family, Clare grew up to hear the teaching of St Francis of Assisi, and at 18 she renounced all her possessions and joined him at the Portiuncula, where she became a nun. Soon Francis...11th August Clare – choosing the riches of poverty
- Some people’s lives seem to epitomise the suffering of millions, but also to shine with a Christian response to it. One such person was Maximilian Kolbe, 1894 – 1941, a Franciscan priest of Poland, and publisher extraordinary. Maximilian was born at Zdunska Wola, near Lodz, where his parents, devout Christians, worked in a cottage weaving...14th August Maximilian Kolbe – Christian witness in WW2
- Have you done something bad which haunts you? Does the memory of it still follow you through each day – and keep you awake at night? If so, then Laurence Loricatus (c. 1190 – 1243) is the saint for you. He was born at Facciolo (Apulia) and as a youth he killed a man. After...16th August Laurence Loricatus – saint who couldn’t forgive himself
- How will you become a better person than you are now? Have you ever denied yourself in order to try and please God? No matter what your dedication, it is unlikely that your efforts will ever have outshone those of Rose of Lima (1586 – 1617), who in 1671 became the first saint of America,...23rd August Rose of Lima – nothing was ever enough
- 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 – Mother and Son
- 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
- When you go back to work after the August Bank Holiday this month, 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...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....31st August Raymond Nonnatus – redeeming slaves from a living death
- High Days and Holy Days for July As saints’ days do not change from year to year, most of these have appeared on this site before. The one with an asterisk is new this year. For the first half of each year (Advent to Whitsuntide) our focus is on what God has done for man,...High Days and Holy Days for July (all articles)
- 1st July St Theobald – choosing God, not money 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...1st July St Theobald – choosing God, not money