February 14 -- today's saints

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Jmj

Today, February 14, we members of the Catholic Church family honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- saints whose souls are now in heaven:

Sts. Cyril and Methodius [baptized Constantin and Methodius] ["Apostles to the Slavs"] (Thessalonian [Greek], noblemen, biological brothers, monk-priest and archbishop, developers of Cyrillic alphabet [used in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia], died [respectively] in Rome and Moravia in 869 and 885)
St. Valentine (Roman, physician, priest [possibly bishop], martyred [beaten and beheaded] c. 269)
St. Abraham of Harran (Syrian, hermit, bishop in Mesopotamia [Iraq], died at Constantinople [Turkey] c. 422)
Bl. Angelus of Gualdo (Italian, Camaldolese hermit brother, d. 1325)
St. Antoninus of Sorrento (Italian, hermit, Benedictine abbot, d. 830)
St.Auxentius of Bithynia (Syrian, hermit, died in Asia Minor [Turkey] in 473)
Sts. Bassus, Antony, and Protolicus (Egyptian, martyred by drowning)
St. Conran (bishop, 7th century?)
Sts. Cyrion, Bassian, Agatho, and Moses (Egyptian ... priest, lector, exorcist, layman ... martyr by burning)
St. Dionysius and Ammonius (Egyptian, martyred by beheading)
St. Eleuchadius of Ravenna (Greek, bishop in Italy, d. 112)
St. John Baptist of the Conception [Juan Garcia] (Spanish, Discalced Trinitarian superior, d. 1613)
St. Lienne of Poitiers (French, friend of St. Hilary, 4th century)
St. Maro of Beit-Marun (Syrian, hermit priest, healer, abbot, friend of St. John Chrysostom, c. 435)
Bl. Nicholas Palea (Italian, nobleman, Dominican prior, great preacher, miracle-worker, d. 1255)
St. Nostrianus of Naples (Italian, bishop, c. 450)
St. Paulien (French, bishop, d. 660)
Sts. Proculus, Ephebus & Apollonius (Italian, martyred by beheading in 273)
St. Theodosius of Vaison (French, bishop, d. 554)
Bl. Vincent of Siena (Italian, Franciscan friar, companion of St. Bernardine, d. 1442)
Sts. Vitalis, Felicula, and Zeno (Roman, early martyrs)

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), February 14, 2002

Answers



-- (_@_._), February 14, 2002.

There is a long time tradition (15 years) where somebody(s) print up what seems to be thousands of red hearts on standard white paper and runs all throughout the Portland peninsula and tapes these hearts to the doors and windows of buildings.
I forget each year and when I ride through town early in the morning I'm plesently greated by all these hearts. He/ she actually visited my front door this year.
A reminder, brought to us by yet another beautiful Catholic tradition, namely honoring the Saints, to love.
I ran into an old friend today who has in the last year or two become very devout. After his period of zealousness he's come to the understanding that Christ's message resounds with nothing but love.
Such a great day of loving and once again brought to us by a Saint's tradition.
Thanks again John for reminding us of their importance to all of us.
Happy St. Valentine's day to all.

-- Chris Coose (ccoose@maine.rr.com), February 14, 2002.

You're most welcome, Chris C. Thanks for telling us about that Maine tradition. JFG

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), February 14, 2002.

I FOUND THIS PAGE:

The Origins of St. Valentine's Day

A quick quiz: St. Valentine was:

a) a priest in the Roman Empire who helped persecuted Christians during the reign of Claudius II, was thrown in jail and later beheaded on Feb. 14.

b) a Catholic bishop of Terni who was beheaded, also during the reign of Claudius II.

c) someone who secretly married couples when marriage was forbidden, or suffered in Africa, or wrote letters to his jailer's daughter, and was probably beheaded.

d) all, some, or possibly none of the above.

If you guessed d), give yourself a box of chocolates. Although the mid-February holiday celebrating love and lovers remains wildly popular, the confusion over its origins led the Catholic Church, in 1969, to drop St. Valentine's Day from the Roman calendar of official, worldwide Catholic feasts. (Those highly sought-after days are reserved for saints with more clear historical record. After all, the saints are real individuals for us to imitate.) Some parishes, however, observe the feast of St. Valentine.

The roots of St. Valentine's Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year.

Pope Gelasius I was, understandably, less than thrilled with this custom. So he changed the lottery to have both young men and women draw the names of saints whom they would then emulate for the year (a change that no doubt disappointed a few young men). Instead of Lupercus, the patron of the feast became Valentine. For Roman men, the day continued to be an occasion to seek the affections of women, and it became a tradition to give out handwritten messages of admiration that included Valentine's name.

There was also a conventional belief in Europe during the Middle Ages that birds chose their partners in the middle of February. Thus the day was dedicated to love, and people observed it by writing love letters and sending small gifts to their beloved. Legend has it that Charles, duke of Orleans, sent the first real Valentine card to his wife in 1415, when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. (He, however, was not beheaded, and died a half-century later of old age.)

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), February 15, 2002.


Jmj

On February 14, 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:

Sts. Cyril and Methodius, of Thessalonika [baptized Constantin and Methodios] ["Apostles to the Slavs"] (Greek, noblemen, biological brothers, monk-priest and archbishop, developers of Cyrillic alphabet [used in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia], died [respectively] in Rome and Moravia in 869 and 885)

St. Abraham of Carrhae [also known as Abraham of Cyrrhus] (Syrian, hermit, bishop in Mesopotamia [Iraq], died at Constantinople [Turkey] c. 422)
Bl. Angelus of Gualdo [Angelo] (Italian, Camaldolese hermit brother, d. 1325)
St. Antoninus of Sorrento (Italian, hermit, Benedictine abbot, d. 830)
St.Auxentius of Bithynia (Syrian, hermit, died in Asia Minor [Turkey] in 473)
Sts. Bassus, Antony, and Protolicus, of Alexandria (Egyptian, martyred by drowning)
St. Conran (bishop, 7th century?)
Sts. Cyrion, Bassian, Agatho, and Moses, of Alexandria (Egyptian ... priest, lector, exorcist, layman ... martyr by burning)
St. Dionysius and Ammonius, of Alexandria (Egyptian, martyred by beheading)
St. Eleuchadius of Ravenna (Greek, bishop in Italy, d. 112)
St. John Baptist of the Conception Garcia of Almodovar [Juan Bautista de la Concepcion] (Spanish, Discalced Trinitarian superior, d. 1613 [canonized 1975])
St. Lienne of Poitiers (French, friend of St. Hilary, 4th century)
St. Maro of Beit-Marun (Syrian, hermit priest, healer, abbot, friend of St. John Chrysostom, c. 435)
Bl. Nicholas Paglia of Giovinazzo [Niccola] (Italian, nobleman, Dominican prior, great preacher, miracle-worker, d. 1255)
St. Nostrianus of Naples (Italian, bishop, c. 450)
St. Paulien (French, bishop, d. 660)
Sts. Proculus, Ephebus & Apollonius (Italian, martyred by beheading in 273)
St. Theodosius of Vaison (French, bishop, d. 554)
St. Valentine of Rome (Italian, physician, priest [possibly bishop], martyred [beaten and beheaded] c. 269)
Bl. Vincent of Siena [Vincenzo] (Italian, Franciscan friar, companion of St. Bernardine, d. 1442)
Bl. Vincent Vilar David of Manises [Vicente] (Spanish, layman, martyred during Civil War in 1937 [beatified 1995])
Sts. Vitalis, Felicula, and Zeno, of Rome (Italian, early martyrs)

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), February 12, 2004.



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