Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days

Archbishop of Canterbury & Reformation Martyr If you have ever been caught up in a great event at work, which has gone on to change your own life, then Thomas Cranmer is the saint for you. He was the first ever Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, following King Henry VIII’s decision to pull away from Rome,...

 the good-natured carer Families are divided in two kinds of people: givers and takers. Blessed is the family with at least one ‘giver’, that someone of a cheerful, generous nature who does not panic when you ask them for help. These kindly saints are on hand when you need them, not fleeing with the cry...

Archbishop of San Salvador, martyr 1980 Oscar Romero was a bit of a modern Thomas Becket – loyal to the authorities until he was given great responsibility for the Church. Then, like Becket, there was trouble. In Romero’s case, it all began when he was born Cuidad Barrios in El Salvador back in 1917. Devout...

This beautiful event (Luke 1:26-38) took place in Nazareth, when Mary is already betrothed to Joseph. The Archangel Gabriel comes to Mary, greets her as highly favoured, tells her not to be afraid, that she will bear a son Jesus, and that her elderly cousin Elizabeth is already pregnant (with John the Baptist). The church...

 & Mother Church The Fourth Sunday in Lent was called ‘Mid-Lent’ or ‘Refreshment Sunday’, when the rigors of Lent were relaxed more than was normal for a feast day. It is called Mothering Sunday as a reference to the Epistle reading for the Day (Galatians 4:21-31).  The Lenten Epistles follow from each other with teaching...

Rupert is the saint for you if you like The Sound of Music – or salt with your food! Rupert (d c 710) was bishop of Worms and Salzburg, and it was he who founded the great monastery of St Peter in Salzburg in the eighth century, thus firmly establishing Christianity in that city. True,...

and his ladder to Paradise Is there something down at, say, B&Q, which reminds your friends of you?   John Climacus (d 649) had a thing about ladders.  He was a monk in Palestine who was only seen out at the weekends (at church, not B&Q); during the week he prayed and wrote in solitude. He...

John Donne (1572 – 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier, secretary and finally Dean of St Pauls Cathedral in London. But he is most remembered for his poetry, for he is seen as the greatest of the 17th-century ‘metaphysical’ poets. Donne was born in 1572 into a Roman Catholic family in London at a...

1          Brigid of Ireland – Abbess of Kildare, c 525 2          The Presentation of Christ in the Temple/ Candlemas 3          Anskar – Archbishop of Hamburg, missionary in Denmark/Sweden 3          Blaise – bishop of Sebastea 4          Phileas – Christian bishop/martyr of Egypt 6          The Martyrs of Japan – courage amidst persecution 8          Kew –...

– compassion and love Brigid, you could say, was the female Patrick of Ireland. Historical facts about this first abbess of Kildare (d.c. 525) may be scarce, but her ‘Lives’, written from the 7th century, tell many anecdotes and miracles which over the centuries have become deeply rooted in Irish folklore. Brigid came from a...

– the Presentation of Christ in the Temple In bygone centuries, Christians said their last farewells to the Christmas season on Candlemas, 2nd February. This is exactly 40 days after Christmas Day itself. In New Testament times 40 days old was an important age for a baby boy: it was when they made their first...

– the busy evangelist Anskar (801-865) should be the patron saint of any Christian who loves doing mission… and who discovers that evangelists meet the most amazing people, and that their lives are full of surprises…. It was the 9th century, and Anskar had grown up in a noble family in Amiens. He decided to...