Jmj

Today, November 6, we members of the Catholic Church family honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- saints whose souls are now in heaven:

St. Atticus (Phrygian [Turkish], early martyr)
Bl. Christina Bruso of Stommeln (German, virgin, stigmatist, mystic, d. 1312)
St. Illtyd (Welsh, abbot, c. 505)
St. Joseph Khang (Vietnamese, Domincian tertiary, catechist, tortured and martyred by beheading in 1861 [canonized in 1988])
St. Leonard of Noblac (French, nobleman, abbot, c. 559)
Bl. Margaret of Lorraine [Marguerite] (French, noblewoman, mother of three, widow, Poor Clare nun, d. 1521)
St. Melaine of Rennes ["Apostle of France"] (French, bishop, c. 535)
St. Winnoc of Wormhoult (Welsh, nobleman, Benedictine abbot, c. 717)
St. Barlaam [or Varlaam] of Khutyn (Russian, abbot, 12th century)
St. Demetrian of Cyprus (Cypriot, monk, bishop, c. 912)
St. Edwen of Anglesey (English, virgin, 7th century)
St. Efflam of Brittany (British, abbot in France, c. 700)
St. Erlafrid of Hirschau (German, Benedictine abbot, c. 830)
St. Felix of Thyniss (African, early martyr)
St. Felix of Fondi (Italian, Benedictine monk, 6th century)
St. Galla (5th century)
St. Israel (French, priest, d. 1014) St. Leonard of Reresby (English, crusader, 13th century)
St. Leonianus of Autun (Pannonian [Hungarian], monk, c. 570)
Bl. Nonius Alvarez de Pereira [Nuņes] (Portuguese, widower, Carmelite brother, d. 1431)
St. Severus of Barcelona (bishop, martyred [nails driven into temples] by Arians in 633)
Bl. Simon of Aulne (French, Cistercian brother, mystic, d. 1215)
St. Stephen of Apt (French, bishop, d. 1046)
Ten Martyrs of Antioch (Syrians, martyred by Muslims in 637 [five years after Muhammad's death])

If you have anything to share about these holy people, please reply now -- biographical episodes, prayers through their intercession, the fact that one is your patron saint -- whatever moves you. If you are interested in one of these saints and want to find out more about him/her, please ask. Information is sometimes available on the Internet.

All you holy men and women, saints of God, pray for us.
God bless you.
John


-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), November 06, 2001

Answers

-- (_@_._), November 06, 2001.

Hi John,

I read today the Holy Catholic honors All Saints of Ireland. Did you ever read that anywhere?

God Bless You.

David S

-- David S (asdzxc8176@aol.com), November 06, 2001.

I'm sorry, David. I did not come across that one anywhere.
Ireland has certainly given the world many great saints -- and you're one of them, right? (_8^D)
JFG

-- (jgecik@hotmail.com), November 06, 2001.

John, Thanks for your very generous words to me. But I have no problems telling even a holy man like yourself, that I am a pitiful sinner ! That is why I do go to confesion at least 2 a month, and I do 1.5 hours of adoration a week. The Eucharistic Adoration is what keeps me going strong mentaly. That time is the most peaceful time in world for myself, and I love doing my time in the middle of night.

John, I was unsure what that 8^d ? meant at end of your note to me, would you teach me what that means ?

Thanks, David S

-- David S (asdzxc8176@aol.com), November 06, 2001.

DS:
Tilt your head sideways, down toward your left shoulder, and look at this:

(_8^D)

Do you see that it is a glorified version of a "smiley face" -- which some people call an "emoticon" (emotion icon)?
Some people have invented dozens of different emoticons by combining various keyboard characters. (:={|) [chimp?] ... (;~l) [winker?]

Anyway, I included one in my last message to you to show that I was smiling when I was writing it.
God bless you.
John

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), November 07, 2001.

John,

Thanks, I did see the smile in your "emoticon". I often wandered what that was at bottom of Melissa posts. Now I will look again!

Thanks, David S

-- David S (asdzxc8176@aol.com), November 07, 2001.

Melissa's got a great symbol (not an "emoticon"), David.
I bet you'll figure it out. (If not, just ask.)
JFG

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), November 08, 2001.

John, Like I have said many times before, I am not the sharpest knife in drawyer [in typing, spelling etc..] I have no idea what Melissa's symbol means! But, If, I were to guess, I would guess Melissa does not eat meat. Only, because her symbol looks like a fish. [to me, anyway-- no harm mean't Melissa]

God Bless.

David S

-- David S (asdzxc8176@aol.com), November 08, 2001.

Well, David S., you got the first part right. Melissa's little design represents a fish. But she is not saying that she doesn't eat meat. Rather, she is saying that she is a Christian.

Have you noticed the small fish-shaped adhesive items stuck to the back of some peoples' vehicles? They are ancient Christian symbols.

If you look closely, some of them contain, in Greek letters, the word for fish (iota-chi-theta-upsilon-sigma). This is usually rendered in our alphabet as "ichthus" (I-CH-TH-U-S). What the persecuted Christians of the first three centuries did was to take that word and turn it into a sort of acronym, in which each Greek letter represented a word, with the result being the phrase, "Iesous CHristos THeou Uios Soter." In English, this phrase means "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior".

So, Christians could secretly let each other know their faith through the use of a drawing of a fish -- at least two intersecting curved lines. It could even be used as a sort of "password," one person drawing the upper line and the other completing the sketch. This could even be done in the dirt, by foot, and then rubbed out immediately.

I'll bet that people are still using this password in certain countries of the world wherein Islam or atheistic communism is still persecuting Christians.

God bless you.
-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), November 09, 2001.

Excuse me. I should not have used the word "Islam" in the final sentence, since a religion cannot itself persecute. I should have referred to "religiously intolerant Muslims."
JFG

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), November 09, 2001.

John, Thanks. I should of used my common sense and known that if it was from Miss Holy Rhodes, that it was something about God.

David S

-- David S (asdzxc8176@aol.com), November 09, 2001.

Jmj

On November 6, we members of the Catholic Church family honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- saints and blesseds whose souls are now in heaven:

Holy Martyrs of Antioch (Syrians, ten men, martyred by Moslems in 637 [five years after Mohammed's death])
St. Atticus of Phrygia (from Asia Minor [Turkish], early martyr)
Bl. Christina Bruso of Stommeln (German, virgin, stigmatist, mystic, d. 1312)
St. Demetrian of Cyprus (Cypriot, monk, bishop, c. 912)
St. Edwen of Anglesey (English, virgin, 7th century)
St. Efflam of Brittany (British, abbot in France, c. 700)
St. Erlafrid of Hirschau (German, Benedictine abbot, c. 830)
St. Felix of Thyniss (African, early martyr)
St. Felix of Fondi (Italian, Benedictine monk, 6th century)
St. Galla (5th century)
St. Illtyd (Welsh, abbot, c. 505)
St. Israel of Dorat (French, priest, d. 1014)
St. Joseph Hoang Luong Canh of Lang Van (Vietnamese, Dominican tertiary, catechist, tortured and martyred by beheading in 1861 [canonized in 1988])
St. Leonard of Noblac (French, nobleman, abbot, c. 559)
St. Leonard of Reresby (English, crusader, 13th century)
St. Leonianus of Autun (Pannonian [Hungarian], monk, c. 570)
Bl. Margaret of Lorraine [Marguerite] (French, noblewoman, mother of three, widow, Poor Clare nun, d. 1521)
St. Melaine of Rennes ["Apostle of France"] (French, bishop, c. 535)
St. Severus of Barcelona (bishop, martyred [nails driven into temples] by Arian heretics in 633)
Bl. Simon of Aulne (French, Cistercian brother, mystic, d. 1215)
St. Stephen of Apt [Etienne] (French, bishop, d. 1046)
St. Winnoc of Wormhoult (Welsh, nobleman, Benedictine abbot, c. 717)

If you have anything to share about these holy people, please reply now -- biographical episodes, prayers through their intercession, the fact that one is your patron -- whatever moves you. If you are interested in one of these saints or blesseds and want to find out more about him/her, please ask. Information is sometimes available on the Internet.

All you holy men and women, saints of God, pray for us.
God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), November 06, 2003.