Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days

Can you think of a politician who deserves to be called a saint?  If no one currently living politician comes to mind, never mind – there is always King Alfred of Wessex (871-899). This remarkable and best known of all the Anglo-Saxon rulers may have dozed off and let some cakes burn while a peasant...

Odran is a suitable saint to remember as Halloween approaches, for his story involves the spirit world. British by birth, Odran (died c. 563) was one of Columba’s first companions on Iona.  Sadly, he died not long after his arrival on the island.  But Columba found comfort, for in a vision he saw Odran’s soul...

Jude the apostle and martyr (1st century) warns us in his epistle that not all ‘evil’ comes in the form of obvious ghosties and ghoulies.  He writes instead to warn the Christians of the greater danger of people who infect others with heresy and moral failure.  He writes that they are nothing more than …. ...

If you have done your best to live ‘right’, and still had nothing but trouble and heartache in your life, Alphonsus is the saint for you.   He was born in 1533, the son of a wool merchant in Segovia.  He followed his father into the profession, married, and had two children.   He was a responsible...

Modern Halloween celebrations have their roots with the Celtic peoples of pre-Christian times. In those long-ago days, on the last night of October, the Celts celebrated the Festival of Samhain, or ‘Summer’s End’.  The priests, or Druids, performed ceremonies to thank and honour the sun.  For there was a very dark side to all this:...

Sundays of the Month Editor:  Continuing our new feature, as we thought you might find it helpful to know what the Sundays of each month are called… 4th September             Twelfth Sunday after Trinity 11th September            13th Sunday after Trinity / Education Sunday 18th September           14th Sunday after Trinity 25th September          ...

St Drithelm is the saint for you if you have ever wondered what lies beyond death, or have had a near-death experience.    He was married and living in Cunningham (now Ayrshire, then Northumbria) in the 7th century when he fell ill and apparently died.  When he revived a few hours later he caused panic among...

St Giles was an immensely popular saint in the Middle Ages, and no wonder:  he was the patron saint of cripples.  In those days, there were many people who, once injured, were never really whole again.  Even today, a serious injury – either physical or mental or emotional, can leave us damaged for months, years...

The Anglican Church in Australia still honours the New Guinea Martyrs of 1942.  These brave men and women, 10 Australians and two Papuans, refused to leave their missionary work on the island as the Japanese military forces advanced.  As one tribute to them put it: ‘They knowing full well the risk, elected to stay with...

Here is a saint for anyone who thinks Christian leaders should stand up for justice – even at the risk of angering secular powers. It all began when William was an English priest serving as chaplain to Canute, king of England, (1016-35), who decided to visit Scandinavia.  William went along, and was so shocked by...

Pope Gregory never called himself ‘the Great’, but instead ‘the Servant of the Servants of God’.  Nevertheless, Gregory was one of the most important popes and influential writers of the Middle Ages.  The son of a very rich Roman senator, he left the service of the State upon his conversion as a young man.  Gregory...

Did you ever feel that God was calling you to do something big for Him, even though you were not quite sure of the details? If so, Birinus is the saint for you. He was a French Benedictine monk who in 634 was made a bishop at Genoa, and sent by Pope Honorius 1 to...