Jmj

Today, January 8, 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. Abo (Iraqi, perfumer, convert from Islam, martyred by beheading in Georgia 786)
St. Apollinaris of Hierapolis (Phrygian [Turkish], bishop, c. 180)
St. Athelm (English, Benedictine abbot, bishop, d. 923)
St. Atticus (Constantinopolitan [Turkish], bishop, d. 425)
St. Carterius (Cappadocian [Turkish], priest, martyred in 304)
St. Ergnad of Ulster (Irish, nun, 5th century)
St. Erhard of Ratisbon (Irish, missionary bishop in Bavaria, c. 686)
St. Eugenian of Autun (French, bishop, martyred by Arian heretics in 4th century)
St. Frodobert (French, Benedictine abbot, c. 673)
St. Garibaldus of Ratisbon (Bavarian, monk, bishop, c. 762)
St. Gudula of Brussels (Belgian, noblewoman, laywoman who never married, d. 712)
Sts. Lucian of Beauvais, Maximian, and Julian (Roman, missionaries [priest and disciples], martyred c. 290)
St. Maximus of Pavia (Italian, bishop, d. 511)
St. Patiens of Metz (French, bishop, 2nd century)
St. Pega (English, hermitess, c. 719)
St. Severinus of Noricum (hermit in Egypt, travelling preacher and healer in central Europe, died in Austria in 482)
St. Severinus of Septempeda (Italian, early bishop)
Sts. Theophilus and Helladius (Libyan, deacon and layman, tortured and martyred [in a furnace])
St. Thorfinn (Norwegian, bishop, d. 1285)
St. Wulsin of Sherborne (English, Benedictine abbot, bishop, d. 1005)

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), January 08, 2002

Answers

[From the 2nd-century bishop, St. Appolinaris:]

"We therefore grossly deceive ourselves in not allotting more time to the study of divine truths. It is not enough barely to believe them, and let our thoughts now and then glance upon them. That knowledge which shows us heaven, will not bring us to the possession of it, and will deserve punishments, not rewards, if it remain slight, weak, and superficial. By serious and frequent meditation it must be concocted, digested, and turned into the nourishment of our affections, before it can be powerful and operative enough to change them, and produce the necessary fruit in our lives. For this all the saints affected solitude and retreats from the noise and hurry of the world, as much as their circumstances allowed them."

-- (_@_._), January 08, 2002.

Jmj

On January 8, 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. Abo of Baghdad (Iraqi, perfumer, convert from Islam, martyred by beheading in Georgia 786)
St. Apollinaris of Hierapolis (Phrygian [Turkish], bishop, c. 180)
St. Athelm of Canterbury (English, Benedictine abbot, archbishop, d. 923)
St. Atticus of Constantinople (from Asia Minor [Turkish], bishop, d. 425)
St. Carterius of Caesarea (Cappadocian [Turkish], priest, martyred in 304)
St. Ergnad of Ulster (Irish, nun, 5th century)
St. Erhard of Ratisbon (Irish, missionary bishop in Bavaria, c. 686)
St. Eugenian of Autun (French, bishop, martyred by Arian heretics in 4th century)
St. Frodobert of Moutier-la-Celle (French, Benedictine abbot, c. 673)
St. Garibaldus of Ratisbon (Bavarian, monk, bishop, c. 762)
St. Gudula of Brussels (Belgian, noblewoman, laywoman who never married, d. 712)
Sts. Lucian, Maximian, and Julian, of Rome (Italian, missionaries [priest and disciples] in France, martyred c. 290)
St. Maximus of Pavia (Italian, bishop, d. 511)
St. Patiens of Metz (French, bishop, 2nd century)
St. Pega of Mercia (English, hermitess, c. 719)
St. Severinus of Noricum (hermit in Egypt, travelling preacher and healer in central Europe, died in Austria in 482)
St. Severinus of Septempeda (Italian, early bishop)
Sts. Theophilus and Helladius (Libyan, deacon and layman, tortured and martyred [in a furnace])
St. Thorfinn of Trondheim (Norwegian, bishop, d. 1285)
St. Wulsin of Sherborne (English, Benedictine abbot, bishop, d. 1005)

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), January 08, 2004.