Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days
Featuring the Saints whose feast-day is this month
- Legend tells us that it was St Modomnoc who first brought bees to Ireland, in the early 540s AD. Although it’s more likely that the bees had drifted over from Britain after the last Ice Age all by themselves, certainly Modomnoc did his bit to help them. Modomnoc was a 6th century abbot, probably one...*New – 13th February – Modomnoc and the bees of Ireland
- – a poem St Valentine’s Day, many believe, was named after one or more Christian martyrs and was established by Pope Gelasius 1 in 496 AD. Valentine of Rome was martyred about 269, and this day usually ‘belongs’ to him. The first recorded association of Valentine Day with romantic love (1382) is from Geoffrey Chaucer....14th February – St Valentine’s Day
- – a legend The Roman Emperor Claudius II needed soldiers. He suspected that marriage made men want to stay at home with their wives, instead of fighting wars, so he outlawed marriage. A kind-hearted young priest named Valentine felt sorry for all the couples who wanted to marry, but who couldn’t. So secretly he married...14th February – The very first Valentine card
- There are two confusing things about this day of romance and anonymous love-cards strewn with lace, cupids and ribbon: firstly, there seems to have been two different Valentines in the 4th century – one a priest martyred on the Flaminian Way, under the emperor Claudius, the other a bishop of Terni martyred at Rome. And...14th February – Valentine’s Day mystery
- Cyril and Methodius are saints for anyone with good secular qualifications, who now suspects that God may be calling them to use those skills in His service. Cyril and Methodius were brothers, born into a wealthy family in Thessalonica, in 826 and 815 respectively. Their upbringing destined them for lives of respect and influence. Methodius,...14th February – Cyril and Methodius, helping the Slavs
- If you have something big to forgive, Sigfrid may be the saint for you. This monk from Glastonbury was sent by King Ethelred to Norway and Sweden in 995. The King of Norway, King Olaf, had recently converted to Christianity, and wanted help in converting his people. Sigfrid went first to Vaxjo in Sweden, taking...15th February – Sigfrid, apostle of Sweden
- – founder of SPCK Thomas Bray was once called a ‘Great Small Man’, with good reason. This diminutive 18th century English clergyman (1658 – 1730) not only helped to establish the Church of England in Maryland, but he was also founder of the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) in 1698 and the...15th February – Thomas Bray
- – Archbishop & martyr of Uganda The Most Reverend Janani Luwum (d 1977) was the Archbishop of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi and Boga Zaire when 35 years ago this month he was murdered by the dictator Idi Amin. At the time the Church in Uganda was on the verge of centennial celebrations of its birth...17th February – Janani Luwum
- – patron of artists If you enjoy drawing or painting, Fra Angelico is the patron saint for you. This devout Dominican priest of the Early Renaissance (1387-1455) used his superlative talent to the glory of God to such an extent that even six centuries later we are inspired and blessed by his art. For while...18th February – Fra Angelico
- – sad search for acceptance and love Did you have a miserable childhood? Were your parents more absorbed in themselves than in you? Later, looking for love, did you fall for the wrong man? Perhaps you now have children of your own, and struggle to raise them. If you feel your life has been ‘wrong-footed’...22nd February – Margaret of Cortona
- – the chosen one Have you ever been in the position where someone is desperately needed – and you fit the bill perfectly? It is almost as if all your miscellaneous qualifications that never made much sense before now make PERFECT sense. And you sense that you have been chosen by God for the...24th February – Matthias the Apostle
- – the enjoyment of romance If you have been hurt in your search for romantic love, Gabriel Possenti (1838-62) may be a good saint for you. Because Possenti, born to the governor of Assisi, began by having it all. He grew up doing the mid-19th century equivalent of eBay, nightclubs, cinema and online dating, only...27th February – Gabriel Possenti