Once again our Saint of the Day is thanks to a request from Lucy -- 'though I think she made the request on behalf of her little brother. Today we will hear about St. Simon the Apostle.
St. Simon was born in the first century in the area of Canaan (see the Gospels of Matt. and Mark). In Luke's Gospel, he is called "the Zealot" - we don't know if this was because of his political views or just because he was zealous for the Kingdom of God. Simon is one of the leas known of the Apostles -- probably because he shares his name with the much better known Simon, called Peter. Simon never speaks in the Gospels and he wrote no epistles, so he left no legacy aside from his status as one of the twelve. Some people also think that Simon the Apostle is the same person as the Simon who is called "brother of the Lord" in the Gospels, but there is nothing in the Gospels to support this.
Eastern traditions say that it was Simon's wedding feast that Jesus attended and tuned the water into wine.
After Pentecost, the Apostles took the Gospel message out to the ends of the known world. We do not know for certain where Simon went to preach, but legend says that he and St. Jude (also a lesser-known Apostle) teamed up to preach in Persia - present day Iraq. He is believed to have been martyred for the faith -- legends differ on whether it was by crucifixion or being cut in half.
Simon shares his feast day with St. Jude on Oct 28.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Servant of God Dorothy Day
It has been my practice with my November "Saint of the Day" posts to feature only Canonized Saints or those who have been declared Blessed. However, at the suggestion of my cousin Jill, today I will depart from my usual practice and feature Servant of God Dorothy Day.
Dorothy Day was born in 1897. Her family moved into a tenement flat in Chicago in 1906 because her father was out of work. This began her understanding of how people feel when they fail. Her father was anti-...Catholic, but in Chicago Dorothy met Catholics and formed a positive impression of the Church. As a young women, she moved to New York and worked for socialist publications and worked to change the social order. In 1926, she had a baby with her common law husband. She did not want her daughter to flounder as she had and arranged for her to be baptized in the Catholic Church. Later that year, she was received into the Church herself.
Dorothy Day was born in 1897. Her family moved into a tenement flat in Chicago in 1906 because her father was out of work. This began her understanding of how people feel when they fail. Her father was anti-...Catholic, but in Chicago Dorothy met Catholics and formed a positive impression of the Church. As a young women, she moved to New York and worked for socialist publications and worked to change the social order. In 1926, she had a baby with her common law husband. She did not want her daughter to flounder as she had and arranged for her to be baptized in the Catholic Church. Later that year, she was received into the Church herself.
In the winter of 1932, she traveled to Wash. DC to report on a radical protest called the Hunger March, calling for jobs, unemployment insurance, old age pensions, relief for mothers and children, health care and housing. Although she sympathized with these goals, she was kept on the sidelines by her Catholic Faith as the march was organized by the Communist Party. She prayed to be shown a way to use her talents to serve workers and the poor. She soon met Peter Maurin and together they started the Catholic Worker newspaper and soon after the Catholic Worker Movement.
Long before her death in 1980, Day was considered a saint by many. Her canonization process was started in 1997, the 100th anniversary of her birth.
For more on her life and the Catholic Worker Movement, see http://www.catholicworker.org/dorothyday/ddbiographytext.cfm?Number=72
Long before her death in 1980, Day was considered a saint by many. Her canonization process was started in 1997, the 100th anniversary of her birth.
For more on her life and the Catholic Worker Movement, see http://www.catholicworker.org/dorothyday/ddbiographytext.cfm?Number=72
Bl. Nathalan
I put this on FaceBook yesterday, and forgot to copy it here:
On the third day of All Saint's, my Auntie gave to me . . . an apology. Sorry, Nathan, there is no St. Nathan that I can find . . . but I did find a Nathalan and two Nathaniels. Since I like my Saints obscure, in honor of my nephew, Nathan, I will tell you about Blessed Nathalan.
Bl. Nathalan was a hermit and a bishop -- I would think that it would be difficult for a hermit to fulfill the episcopal obligations of a Bishop, but what do I know? He was born near Aberdeen, Scotland to a noble family. As a hermit, he was known for performing several miracles during a famine. Later he became Bishop of Tullicht and built churches and conducted missionary activities.
His feast day is January 19.
On the third day of All Saint's, my Auntie gave to me . . . an apology. Sorry, Nathan, there is no St. Nathan that I can find . . . but I did find a Nathalan and two Nathaniels. Since I like my Saints obscure, in honor of my nephew, Nathan, I will tell you about Blessed Nathalan.
Bl. Nathalan was a hermit and a bishop -- I would think that it would be difficult for a hermit to fulfill the episcopal obligations of a Bishop, but what do I know? He was born near Aberdeen, Scotland to a noble family. As a hermit, he was known for performing several miracles during a famine. Later he became Bishop of Tullicht and built churches and conducted missionary activities.
His feast day is January 19.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
St. Bernard, man not dog
For our second Saint this month, we will visit with St. Bernard (the man, not the dog) at Natasha's request. As with Lucy, there are actually several St. Bernards, but I will focus on the one for whom the dogs are named as I have already mentioned the dogs and some may be wondering why we have dogs named after a Saint.
St. Bernard of Montjoux (sometimes called St. Bernard of Menthon) was born around the year 1000 (one source says 923, one says 1000, on says 1020 - who really knows?). His actual birthplace is also unclear. What is undisputed is that he was a priest whose "parish" seemed to be a good portion of the Alps. He ministered to and Catechized the people who lived in that area whose isolation, up until then, had kept them mostly pagan. He also opened hospices in the Alpine passes to minister to pilgrims from France and Germany who passed through the snowy Alps on their way to and from Rome. The canons who man these hospices, even today (although there were only about 35 left in the congregation as of 2012), often would have their dogs accompany them on rescues of stranded travelers -- giving us the distinctive St. Bernard breed of dogs we know today.
The dogs are still on site at the hospice today, but only as pets as helicopters are now used for rescues.
St. Bernard's feast day is May 28. He is the patron of mountaineers and rock climbers.
St. Bernard of Montjoux (sometimes called St. Bernard of Menthon) was born around the year 1000 (one source says 923, one says 1000, on says 1020 - who really knows?). His actual birthplace is also unclear. What is undisputed is that he was a priest whose "parish" seemed to be a good portion of the Alps. He ministered to and Catechized the people who lived in that area whose isolation, up until then, had kept them mostly pagan. He also opened hospices in the Alpine passes to minister to pilgrims from France and Germany who passed through the snowy Alps on their way to and from Rome. The canons who man these hospices, even today (although there were only about 35 left in the congregation as of 2012), often would have their dogs accompany them on rescues of stranded travelers -- giving us the distinctive St. Bernard breed of dogs we know today.
The dogs are still on site at the hospice today, but only as pets as helicopters are now used for rescues.
St. Bernard's feast day is May 28. He is the patron of mountaineers and rock climbers.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Saint Lucy
Since Lucy (via Theresa) was the first to ask, The first Saint I will profile this month is St. Lucy. There are actually several Saints with the name Lucy, but I will stick with the one that most everyone knows - and likely the first St. of that name.
St. Lucy was martyred during the persecutions of Christians at the beginning of the fourth century and she probably died in Syracuse (Italy, not NY). She has been venerated for 17 centuries along with Agatha, Agnes and Cecilia as one of the four great virgin martyrs of the early Church. There is not much that is known about her life, but many legends have sprung up about her. One legend says that a pagan suitor praised her beautiful eyes, so she plucked them out and handed them to him. Another is that her eyes were torn out by her executioner -- both would account for her being invoked as the patron saint of blindness and diseases of the eyes (and those pretty holy cards where she carries her eyes on a plate).
Her feast day is December 13, and is still celebrated in many European countries today . . . even in places that are primarily Protestant.
St. Lucy was martyred during the persecutions of Christians at the beginning of the fourth century and she probably died in Syracuse (Italy, not NY). She has been venerated for 17 centuries along with Agatha, Agnes and Cecilia as one of the four great virgin martyrs of the early Church. There is not much that is known about her life, but many legends have sprung up about her. One legend says that a pagan suitor praised her beautiful eyes, so she plucked them out and handed them to him. Another is that her eyes were torn out by her executioner -- both would account for her being invoked as the patron saint of blindness and diseases of the eyes (and those pretty holy cards where she carries her eyes on a plate).
Her feast day is December 13, and is still celebrated in many European countries today . . . even in places that are primarily Protestant.
Friday, October 31, 2014
All Hallow's Eve
Happy All Hallows Eve! Tomorrow is the Feast of All Saints. I love learning the stories of those who have gone before us "marked with the sign of faith." As a tribute to our Heavenly siblings, I hope to post a Saint story each day of November (except Nov 14-16 when I will be cloistered on the Cum Christo Women's 151st Weekend). If any of you have a particular Saint or Blessed that you would like me to feature, comment or message me.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Surprise!
I have been doing a lot of work at my rental property lately. The free-standing deck in the back yard was rotted and needed to be torn out. Rather than re-build the deck, I would like to put in a patio as I think it will require less maintenance over time. I am also taking out the perennial garden as the tenants have just let it go to weeds (breaks my heart!). In order to put in a patio, the ground where the deck used to be and the garden plot both need to be leveled, which is what is requiring all the work. The other day when I was there, I started pulling the weeds out of the garden area to make the dirt easier to move. I got a real surprise when I found a pair of Surprise Lilies just about to bloom hidden among the weeds. Mom gave me these bulbs when we first put in the perennial garden. What a blessing to find them still there. I dug them up and put them in a pot on my patio. I hope to replant them in my current garden bed this fall when I plant other bulbs for spring blooms.
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