12/30/2021 – St. Anysia
Martyr of Greece. She was a wealthy woman of Salonika, in Thessaly, who used her personal funds to aid the poor. A soldier accosted her in the street and tried to drag her to a pagan sacrifice. Anysia resisted and was killed when the soldier attacked her with his sword.
12/29/2021 – St. Thomas Becket
There is a romantic legend that the mother of Thomas Becket was a Saracen princess who followed his father, a pilgrim or crusader, back from the Holy Land, and wandered about Europe repeating the only English words she knew, “London” and “Becket,” until she found him. There is no foundation for the story. According to […]
12/28/2021 – Holy Innocents
Herod “the Great,” king of Judea, was unpopular with his people because of his connections with the Romans and his religious indifference. Hence he was insecure and fearful of any threat to his throne. He was a master politician and a tyrant capable of extreme brutality. He killed his wife, his brother, and his sister’s […]
12/27/2021 – St. John the Evangelist
Saint John the Divine as the son of Zebedee, and his mother’s name was Salome [Matthew 4:21, 27:56; Mark 15:40, 16:1]. They lived on the shores of the sea of Galilee. The brother of Saint John, probably considerably older, was Saint James. The mention of the “hired men” [Mark 1:20], and of Saint John’s “home” […]
12/26/2021 – St. Stephen
Saint Stephen was one of the first ordained deacons of the Church. He was also the first Christian martyr. The Greek word from which we derive the English word martyr literally means witness. In that sense, every Christian is called to bear witness to Jesus Christ, in both their words and their actions. Not all […]
12/25/2021 – Christmas, the Birthday of Jesus Christ
The announcement of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord from the Roman Martyrology draws upon Sacred Scripture to declare in a formal way the birth of Christ. It begins with creation and relates the birth of the Lord to the major events and personages of sacred and secular history. The particular events contained […]
12/24/2021 – St. Paula Cerioli
Paola Elisabetta Cerioli (28 January 1816 – 24 December 1865), born Costanza Cerioli Buzecchi-Tasis, was an Italian Roman Catholic widow and the founder of both the Institute of Sisters of the Holy Family and the congregation of the Family of Bergamo. Pope Pius XII beatified her on 19 March 1950 while Pope John Paul II […]
12/23/2021 – St Servulus
According to St. Gregory the Great, Servulus was a beggar in Rome, afflicted with palsy since infancy, who lived on alms he solicited from people passing St. Clement’s Church. He spent his lifetime giving thanks to God for His goodness, despite the squalor and pain of his life. His feast day is December 23rd.
12/22/2021 – St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini was born as Maria Francesca Cabrini on July 15, 1850 in Sant’ Angelo Lodigiano, Lombardy, Italy. She was born two months premature and the youngest of thirteen children. Unfortunately, only three of her siblings survived past adolescence and Frances would live most of her life in a fragile and delicate state […]
12/21/2021 – St. Thomas the Apostle
Saint Thomas is one of the original Twelve Apostles chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ to be His follower. We learn from the gospels that the Apostle Thomas was deeply devoted to our Lord throughout His earthly ministry and that he remained a faithful servant to Him after His Ascension into Heaven. Empowered by the […]