Jmj

Today, December 4, 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. John Damascene ["Doctor of Christian Art"] (Syrian, financial officer of Muslim ruler, defender of art vs. iconoclasts, priest, theologian, orator [called Chrysorrhoas = Golden Stream], last Greek Church Father, first Christian Aristotelean, Doctor of the Church, d. 749)
St. Bernardo degli Uberti (Italian, Benedictine abbot, cardinal bishop, papal legate, d. 1133)
St. Cyran (French, hermit, 7th century)
Saint Felix of Bologna (Italian, bishop, d. 429)
Bl. Francis Galvez, Bl. Jerome de Angelis, and Bl. Simon Yempo (Spanish / Sicilian / Japanese ... Franciscan missionary priest / Jesuit missionary priest / lay catechist [converted Buddhist monk] ... martyred by burning in 1623)
St. Maruthas (Mesopotamian [Iraqi], teacher in Syria and Persia, bishop, composer of hymns, c. 415)
St. Melitus (from Asia Minor [Turkish], bishop, c. 295)
St. Osmund of Salisbury (French, count [part of Norman invasion force of 1066], chancellor of England, bishop, d. 1099)

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), December 04, 2001

Answers

[Love this excerpt from an "Exposition of the orthodox faith" by St. John of Damascus/Damascene:]

"The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God, as John the theologian and evangelist says: 'But as many as received him, he gave them the power to be made the sons of God....' Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death, so that we may also share their crowns of glory."

-- (_@_._), December 04, 2001.

John, Is today 12/4 the feastday of

St Ada.

St. Barbara

Bl. Jerome de Angelis, in the Holy Catholic Church ?

God Bless You.

David S

-- David S (asdzxc8176@aol.com), December 04, 2001.

Jmj

Interesting, David ... I have a different answer for you about each of the three.

(1) Thank you for making me look harder for St. Ada. One of my sources mentioned her name, without any information, so I foolishly decided not to list her above. Here is what I should have noted, which I found by looking at an extra source:
St. Ada (French, abbess, 7th century)

(2) I did mention Bl. Jerome de Angelis (in conjunction with Bl. Francis Galvez and Bl. Simon Yempo, above)

(3) I decided not to mention "St. Barbara" yesterday, because, according to one of my sources, the "Barbara" formerly on the universal Church calendar was probably not a historic personage. The source says this: "While there were undoubtedly beautiful converts named Barbara, this saint is legend, and [devotion to her] developed when pious fiction was mistaken for history."

God bless you.
John

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), December 05, 2001.

Jmj

On December 4, 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:

St. John of Damascus [better known as John Damascene] ["Doctor of Christian Art"] (Syrian, financial officer of Muslim ruler, defender of art vs. iconoclasts, priest, theologian, orator [called Chrysorrhoas = Golden Stream], last Greek Church Father, first Christian Aristotelean, Doctor of the Church, d. 749)

St. Ada of Le Mans (French, abbess, 7th century)
Bl. Adolph Kolping of Kerpen [Adolf] (German, diocesan priest, died at age 52 in 1865 [beatified 1991])
St. Bernard degli Uberti of Florence [Bernardo] (Italian, Benedictine abbot, cardinal bishop, papal legate, d. 1133)
St. Cyran of Brenne (French, hermit, 7th century)
Saint Felix of Bologna (Italian, bishop, d. 429)
Bl. Francis Galvez of Utiel [Francisco], Bl. Jerome de Angelis of Castrogiovanni [Girolamo], and Bl. Simon Yempo of Nozo (Spanish / Sicilian / Japanese ... Franciscan missionary priest / Jesuit missionary priest / lay catechist [converted Buddhist monk] in Japan ... martyred by burning in 1623 [beaitified 1867])
St. John Calabria of Verona [Giovanni] (Italian, impoverished and fatherless, priest, founded Congregation of the Poor Servants of Divine Providence, founded Poor Sister Servants of Divine Providence, d. 1954 [canonized 1999])
St. Maruthas of Maiferkat (Mesopotamian [Iraqi], teacher in Syria and Persia, bishop, composer of hymns, c. 415)
St. Melitus of Pontus (from Asia Minor [Turkish], bishop, c. 295)
St. Osmund of Salisbury (French, count [part of Norman invasion force of 1066], chancellor of England, bishop, d. 1099)

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), December 04, 2003.