Jmj

Today, December 29, 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. Albert of Gambron (French, hermit, Benedictine abbot, 7th century)
Sts. Callistus, Felix, and Boniface (early martyrs in Rome)
St. David (Israelite, shepherd, war hero, king of Judah and Israel, adulterer, murderer, penitent, prophet, psalmist, c. 970 BC)
Sts. Dominic, Victor, Primian, Lybosus, Saturninus, Crescentius, Secundus, and Honoratus (African, early martyrs)
St. Ebrulf of Ouche (Norman [French], courtier, hermit, abbot, d. 706)
St. Girald of Fontenelle (French, Benedictine abbot, d. 1031)
St. Marcellus Akimetes ["Marcellus the Righteous"] (Syrian, abbot, died near Constantinople c. 485)
St. Thomas a Becket (English, civil and canon lawyer, chancellor to King Henry II, archbishop of Canterbury, martyred by king's knights' swords in 1170, his feast removed from calendar by Henry VIII [who destroyed his shrine, a major pilgrimage site, and burned his relics])
St. Trophimus of Arles (Italian, bishop in France, c. 280)
Bl. William Howard (English, baron, diplomat, martyred by beheading in 1680)

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 29, 2001

Answers

[From a letter by Saint Thomas a Becket:]

"For our sake Christ offered himself to the Father upon the altar for the cross. He now looks down from heaven on our actions and secret thoughts, and one day he will give each of us the reward his deeds deserve. ... The harvest is good and one reaper or even several would not suffice to gather all of it into the granary of the Lord. Yet the diocese of Rome remains the head of all the churches and the source of Catholic teaching. Of this there can be no doubt. Everyone know that the keys of the kingdom of heaven were given to Peter. Upon his faith and teaching the whole fabric of the Church will continue to be built until we all reach full maturity in Christ and attain to unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God.

"Of course many are needed to plant and many to water now that the faith has spread so far and the population become so great. Nevertheless, no matter who plants or waters, God gives no harvest unless what he plants is the faith of Peter, and unless he himself assents to Peter's teaching. All important questions that arise among God's people arereferred to the judgment of Peter in the person for the Roman Pontiff. Under him the ministers of Mother Church exercise the powers committed to them, each in his own sphere of responsibility.

"Remember then how our fathers worked out their salvation; remember the sufferings through which the Church has grown, and the storms the ship of Peter has weathered because it has Christ on board. Remember how the crown was attained by those whose sufferings gave new radiance to their faith. The whole company of saints bears witness to the unfailing truth that without real effort no one wins the crown."

A person unofficially honored as "blessed" today is Peter de Montboissier ["Peter the Venerable"] (French, Benedictine abbot, d. 1156)
Peter reluctantly accepted his election as abbot of the famous Benedictine abbey of Cluny, France, at the age of 30. He reportedly "accepted the 'bondage of authority' though he would have preferred the 'liberty of obedience.'" As abbot, he led (for 34 years) 400 monks at Cluny and had influence over monks in 2,000 other houses in Europe and Asia.

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), December 29, 2001.

Reading about St. Thomas a Becket I Rememberd another English saint by the name of Thomas: St. Thomas More, a martyred excellent man that refused to comply to the whims of Henry VIII.

Enrique

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), December 30, 2001.

Jmj

On December 29, 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. Thomas a Becket of London (English, civil and canon lawyer, chancellor to Henry II, archbishop of Canterbury, martyred by king's knights' swords in 1170) [His feast was removed from the liturgical calendar by Henry VIII, who destroyed his shrine (a major pilgrimage site) and burned his relics.]

St. Aileran of Clonard (Irish, monastic superior, wrote theological treatises and lives of saints, d. 664)
St. Albert of Gambron (French, hermit, Benedictine abbot, 7th century)
Sts. Callistus, Felix, and Boniface, of Rome (early martyrs)
St. David of Bethlehem (Israelite, shepherd, war hero, king of Judah and Israel, adulterer, murderer, penitent, prophet, psalmist, c. 970 BC)
Sts. Dominic, Victor, Primian, Lybosus, Saturninus, Crescentius, Secundus, and Honoratus (African, early martyrs)
St. Ebrulf of Ouche (Norman [French], courtier, hermit, abbot, d. 706)
St. Girald of Fontenelle (French, Benedictine abbot, d. 1031)
St. Marcellus Akimetes of Apamea ["akimetes” means “righteous"] (Syrian, abbot, died near Constantinople c. 485)
St. Trophimus of Arles (Italian, bishop in France, c. 280)
St. Trophimus of Ephesus (missionary with St. Paul, 1st century)
Bl. William Howard of Arundel (English, baron, diplomat, martyred by beheading at about age 64 under Charles II in 1680)

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 29, 2003.