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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 in 786)
St. Apollinaris of Hierapolis (Phrygian [from what is now part of Turkey], bishop, c. 180)
St. Athelm of Canterbury (British, Benedictine abbot, archbishop, d. 923)
St. Atticus of Constantinople (from Asia Minor [now called Turkey], bishop, d. 425)
St. Carterius of Caesarea (Cappadocian [from what is now part of Turkey], 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, single laywoman of the nobility, 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 (British, 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 of Naples)
Sts. Theophilus and Helladius (North African, early deacon and layman, tortured and martyred [in a furnace])
St. Thorfinn of Trondheim (Norwegian, bishop of Hamar, d. 1285)
St. Wulsin of Sherborne (British, Benedictine abbot of Westminster, bishop, d. 1005)

[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."

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. Additional 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 26, 2004

Answers

-- ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), January 08, 2005.