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Found 27 resource(s) in 'Holy Days', for August 2025.
High Days and Holy Days in August 2025
Sundays of the Month 3rd August Seventh Sunday after Trinity 10th August Eighth Sunday after Trinity 17th August Ninth Sunday after Trinity 24th August Tenth Sunday after Trinity 31st August Eleventh Sunday after Trinity ** Editor: Kings and mystics, writers and martyrs – August does well with its feast days that remember outstanding Christians. 1 ... (10781 words)1st August – Ethelwold, the Wessex saint
St Ethelwold (c.912 – 84) did great things for the church at Winchester, which in those days was the principle town of Wessex. He began as a simple monk, eager to restore the Rule of Benedictine in England, a major reform for the church of the time. So, after serving at the abbey in Glastonbury,... (268 words)4th August – Sithney, the saint who preferred mad dogs to women
You know how some men find some women’s interest in romance and clothes hard to cope with? Well, Sithney (or Sezni) should be the patron saint of all such men. According to a Breton folk legend, Sithney was a hermit of long ago, minding his own business, when one day God told him that he... (180 words)4th August – Jean-Baptiste Vianney Curé d’Ars, spiritual guide
Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the saint for those whose passion is to help people find peace with God. Vianney was born near Lyons in 1786, the son of a peasant farmer. With no money for schooling, he first became a shepherd. But, like David in the Bible, his deep personal faith and zeal soon drew him... (321 words)5th August – Oswald’s faith, courage and humility
Many Christians have dreamed of doing something spectacular for God, which would be remembered for centuries afterwards. Oswald, who lived from 605 to 642AD, was in a position to do so. He was a King, whose father, Aethelfrith, was a great warrior who laid the foundations of the great kingdom of Northumbria. But Aethelfrith was... (777 words)6th August – The Transfiguration, a glimpse of glory
The story is told in Matthew (17:1-9), Mark (9:1-9) and Luke (9:28-36). It was a time when Jesus’ ministry was popular, when people were seeking Him out. But on this day, He made time to take Peter, James and John, His closest disciples, up a high mountain. In the fourth century, Cyrillic of Jerusalem identified... (440 words)6th August – The Transfiguration of Jesus
It’s an unusual story. One day, Jesus is with three disciples on a high mountain in Galilee, when His appearance dramatically changes. Also, Moses and Elijah suddenly appear, and from a cloud comes the voice of God. What is this all about? This event was witnessed by James, Peter, and John. They were close friends... (387 words)*NEW 7th August – John Mason Neale, hymn writer and re-writer
If you are the sort of person who looks at the small print beside hymns in the hymnal, then you may recognise the name J. M. Neale. For not only did he write some of our most beloved hymns, but he also translated many dozens more from the Latin, old German, or old French. J.... (223 words)8th August – Dominic, the saint who believed in learning
If you enjoy reading the Bible and in encouraging others to have faith in God, then Dominic is the patron saint for you. His passion for helping Christians to learn and proclaim their faith led him to found the Order of Preachers, or Black Friars, because of the black cape they wore over white habits.... (345 words)9th August – Mary Sumner, founder of the Mothers’ Union
The Mothers’ Union is now more than 140 years old. It has accomplished a staggering amount in that time, and nowadays numbers more than four million members, doing good work in 83 countries. That is a far cry from the modest circle of prayer for mothers who cared about family life, which is how it... (445 words)10th August – Laurence of Rome and the gridiron
Laurence was a deacon of the Church in Rome who was martyred in 258. His story is found in the very ancient Depositio Martyrum, which tells us that he was closely associated with Pope Sixtus II, who was martyred just a few days before him during the persecution of the Emperor Valerian. We also know... (339 words)11th August – Clare of Assisi, prayer and simplicity
In the year 1212 Clare, the 18-year-old daughter of a local Count, heard a young preacher called Francis. A few years earlier he had caused a sensation in the centre of the town where they both lived, Assisi in Italy, by stripping himself of his wealthy clothes and declaring that from now on he would... (445 words)11th August – Clare, choosing the riches of poverty
Clare (1194 – 1253) was the famous virgin foundress of the Minoresses or Poor Clares. Born at Assisi of the Offreduccio family, Clare grew up to hear the teaching of St Francis of Assisi, and at 18 she renounced all her possessions and joined him at the Portiuncula, where she became a nun. Soon Francis... (337 words)13th August – Octavia Hill, social reformer & co-founder of National Trust
The urgent need for decent, affordable housing is a hot topic these days. It was an even more urgent need in Victorian London, where the homes of the poor were tiny, cold, damp, and infested with lice and vermin. Water came from an outside pump, and filthy outside toilets were shared with several dozen neighbours.... (427 words)13th August – Florence Nightingale, nurse and social reformer
If you have a strong sense of calling from God, then you will well understand Florence Nightingale. At the age of 16 she felt God was calling her to some great lifework, and so she determined to avoid marriage, and thus be available to obey Him. Florence had been born in Italy in 1820, while... (415 words)13th August – Radegund, victim of domestic abuse
St Radegund (518-87) is a saint for anyone who has suffered domestic abuse. She is also a reminder that domestic abuse can occur in any family, however wealthy, and can span the generations, so that some women go straight from violent father to violent husband. Radegund was born in 518, the daughter of Berthaire, king... (359 words)14th August – Maximilian Kolbe, Christian witness in WW2
Some people’s lives seem to epitomise the suffering of millions, but also to shine with a Christian response to it. One such person was Maximilian Kolbe, 1894 – 1941, a Franciscan priest of Poland, and publisher extraordinary. Maximilian was born at Zdunska Wola, near Lodz, where his parents, devout Christians, worked in a cottage weaving... (592 words)15th August – ‘Shall we not love thee, Mother dear?’
The Church responds with a resounding ‘Yes’ to that question, as we celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary on 15thAugust. (Usually her feast day is on the 16th.) An ancient name for this day is the transition of Mary – her crossing over to eternal life – or the assumption of Mary. But her story begins... (332 words)16th August – Laurence Loricatus, saint who couldn’t forgive himself
Have you done something bad which haunts you? Does the memory of it still follow you through each day – and keep you awake at night? If so, then Laurence Loricatus (c. 1190 – 1243) is the saint for you. He was born at Facciolo (Apulia) and as a youth he killed a man. After... (254 words)17th August – Jeanne Delanoue, caring for the poor
Some people are pushy and a bit grasping. They get on your nerves. Pray that they go on to find God’s will for their lives, for then all that pushiness is put to good use. Take Jeanne Delanoue. She was born at Saumur in 1666, and grew up small, authoritarian, and quite frankly, a bit... (243 words)23rd August – Rose of Lima, nothing was ever enough
How will you become a better person than you are now? Have you ever denied yourself in order to try and please God? No matter what your dedication, it is unlikely that your efforts will ever have outshone those of Rose of Lima (1586 – 1617), who in 1671 became the first saint of America,... (606 words)27th & 28th August – Monica and Augustine
On consecutive days this month (27th and 28th) the Christian Church celebrates, a mother and her son. The mother is Monica, and her son is Augustine. The story of their relationship and how, after a long process, they both came to share the same Christian faith is a moving one, and perhaps has a message... (298 words)28th August – Augustine of Hippo, the Christian for all seasons
After St Paul, who was the most influential Christian writer ever? St Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430), whose feast-day is on 28th August. He lived and wrote in a time of social and spiritual chaos. The Roman Empire was collapsing, the world was about to slide into the dark ages and the Church was... (437 words)29th August – The beheading of St John the Baptist
Spare a thought for John the Baptist: however rough your local sandwich bar may be, it probably doesn’t serve you locusts with a honey dip; you won’t be imprisoned for saying derogatory things about the local MP’s wife, and even the boss from hell is unlikely to have a daughter who wants to hip-hop about... (283 words)30th August – John Bunyan, the man who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress
After the Bible, John Bunyan’s wonderful Christian allegory, the Pilgrim’s Progress, is one of the most celebrated and widely-read books in the English language. It has been translated into more than one hundred languages around the world and keeps its place as a Christian classic. Names of people and places from its pages have been... (394 words)31st August – Aidan, the man who brought Christianity to England
31st August is the feast of St Aidan, who brought Christianity to northern England. He is a strong contender for the title of the first English bishop. Not that honours meant a great deal to this austere but captivating character. In 635 he came to Northumbria at the invitation of the local ruler, Oswald. Oswald... (710 words)31st August – Raymond Nonnatus, redeeming slaves from a living death
Raymond Nonnatus (1204 – 40) is a good patron saint for anyone who does not take life for granted. The account of his own life begins with the story of how his mother died just before his birth, and of how Raymond was somehow extracted from her dead body just in time to save him.(‘Nonnatus’... (213 words)
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