Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days

Mark, whose home in Jerusalem became a place of rest for Jesus and His 12 apostles, is considered the traditional author of the second gospel.  He is also usually identified as the young man, described in Mark 14:51, who followed Christ after his arrest and then escaped capture by leaving his clothes behind. Papias, in...

Tertullian was born in Carthage, North Africa, about 155 AD. He had pagan parents and his father may have been a centurion. Carthage was a prestigious Roman colony and Tertullian was given a good education in Greek, Latin, literature, history and philosophy. On arrival in Rome, Tertullian probably worked as a lawyer. In Rome, he...

If you have ever been in trouble for simply doing good, then Zita is the saint for you.  Born in 1218 to poor but devout parents in Monsagrati, Zita was sent at the age of 12 to work as a servant for the rich Fatinelli family in nearby Lucca. Zita was pious, generous and hard-working....

Many of us can show great dedication in pursuit of a career that will bring us a good salary or position.  Peter Chanel should be the patron saint of anyone who shows quiet determination in doing what they believe to be God’s call upon their life; regardless of the harsh personal consequences. Chanel was born...

Catherine of Siena, who was born 1347, should be the patron saint of anyone who has grown up in a large family, and mastered the two vital skills for survival:  how to stand up for yourself, and how to make peace with others. Catherine had siblings!  At least 19 of them.  Her father was a...

Editor:  As the church year does not change, much of this material has appeared before.  New material is marked with an asterisk. 1          St David’s Day (two options) 2          Chad – Bishop of Lichfield and missionary c 672 4          Casimir 5          Eusebius *5        SHROVE TUESDAY 6          ASH WEDNESDAY 7          Perpetua and Felicitas 8           Woodbine Willie...

On 1st March Wales celebrates its patron saint, David – or, in Welsh, Dewi or Dafydd. He is indisputably British, and is revered wherever Welsh people have settled. As with most figures from the so-called ’Dark Ages’ (he lived in the sixth century), reliable details about his life are scarce, but there are enough for...

1st March is St David’s Day, and it’s time for the Welsh to wear daffodils or leeks. Shakespeare called this custom ‘an honourable tradition begun upon an honourable request’ – but nobody knows the reason.  Why should anyone have ever ‘requested’ that the Welsh wear leeks or daffodils to honour their patron saint? It’s a...

Chad (d 672) should be the patron saint of any modern bishop whose consecration is questioned by another bishop.   Chad was consecrated a bishop, then deposed – and then re-consecrated! It all began when Oswiu, king of Northumbria, made him bishop of the Northumbrian see.   But due to a scarcity of appropriate bishops, two dubious...

Casimir is a good patron saint for anyone whose father drives them crazy.  For he did not let an unhappy background stop him from becoming the person he wanted to be.  Yet Casimir’s father, the King of Poland back in 1458, was no picnic as a dad. For if you think your teens were difficult,...

Ever wonder why we eat pancakes just before Lent?  The tradition dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, when Christians spent Lent in repentance and severe fasting. So on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the church bell would summon them to confession, where they would be ‘shriven’, or absolved from their sins, which gives us Shrove Tuesday.  ...

Eusebius is the saint for you if you believe in the Bible, and also in providing hospitality.  He was born of a good family in Cremona, Italy, in the fourth century, and felt called to become a monk.  As Eusebius was ascetic by nature, he sought out St Jerome in Rome, who advocated an austere...