Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days

To St Luke, a Gentile, we owe the beautifully written Gospel of Luke, and the Book of Acts.  He was a Greek physician, a disciple of St Paul, a companion on some of his missionary journeys, and an inspired writer. Luke’s gospel focuses on the compassion of Christ. His gospel contains some of the most...

by David Winter ‘Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, bless the bed that I lie on’ – my grandma taught me that one. At least it meant I never forgot the names of the writers of the four Gospels. This month Luke, the writer of the third of them, has his feast day – 18th October....

Of the 54 Roman emperors who ruled AD 30 to 311, only about a dozen made the effort to persecute Christians. One of these was the Emperor Trajan, who ruled AD 98 to 117, though he was half-hearted about it. He decreed that Christians, although guilty of “anti-state behaviour”, were not to be hunted out...

If you love languages, then Henry Martyn is the saint for you. Born in 1781, and schooled in Truro, he went on to St John’s College in Cambridge, where he proved a brilliant student. He planned on becoming a lawyer, but at Cambridge he met Charles Simeon, the Vicar of Holy Trinity Cambridge, and a...

When you are out and about on the road far from home, ever feel tempted to pop in and explore an unfamiliar church?  If so, think of Donatus as your patron saint – and beware.  You don’t know what you may be letting yourself in for…. In 829 Donatus, an Irish monk, had completed a...

Do you value your Bible?  If so, Felix of Thibiuca (247 – 303) is a good patron saint for you.  The year was 303, and Diocletian was emperor in Rome.  In February of that year he decided that Christians were NOT a good thing. So he issued an edict:  all copies of the Christian Scriptures...

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… 1st September              14th Sunday after Trinity 8th September             15th Sunday after Trinity / Education Sunday 15th September           16th Sunday after Trinity 22nd September          17th Sunday after...