Saint of the day and Feast days.

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August 28

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Augustine
Among many other Saints

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Saint Augustine
Bishop of Hippo
Father and Doctor of the Church
Doctor of Grace.
Augustine was born on 13 November 354 at Tagaste, in Algeria, northern Africa. He was the first born of Patricius, a pagan Roman official and Monica, a Christian woman. He was given the name Aurelius Augustinus. His parents had two other children after him; a boy named Navigius and a girl, Perpetua. The children were raised in the Faith by their mother. Saint Augustine tells us in his confessions that his mother taught him as soon as he could speak and she also taught him to fear death and judgment. He was not baptized as a child because in those days it was the custom for parents to put off baptism of their children. They were afraid that during the growing up period, the child may be so sinful that it would "spoil" his baptism. So they put it off until he was a man and had got over his youthful and sinful ways.
When he was a school boy, he fell very ill and there was a chance that he could die. Saint Augustine says in his book that he begged his mother for baptism. She sent for the priest but before he came, he got better so she again put off the baptism for later.
Augustine had his primary school near home. At the age of 13, he went to secondary school far away from home ( ? at Madura). There is where, as per his confessions, he fell in with bad companions. From his simplified Confessions by Malachy Cullen O.S.A., I quote:

“…I became an animal. I burned for all the pleasures of hell. All my thoughts were of lust and impurity .And though I was rotten inside, I was clean outside. I wore fine clothes, used perfume and thought myself a very fine person….”

After secondary school, he stayed at home for sometime while his father raised the funds to send him to the University of Carthage to study law.
At the age of seventeen, Augustine went to University of Carthage in Tunisia with the aim of studying Law and becoming a Lawyer but once there, he gave up Law, turning instead to Literary interests such as Public Speaking which he loved and excelled in, as indeed he did in all things.
Augustine, abandoning his faith completely, took a mistress with whom he lived for 15 years and who bore him a son, Adeodatus, in 373.
Augustine and his friend Honoratus, joined a party in the University that called themselves Manichaeans. This group did not believe in God. They were the “intellectuals”, clever people who knew it all and believed only what they can prove by reasoning. ( ? Modernists).
After the death of his father, Augustine returned home and opened his own school at Tagaste. When his best friend died, he packed up and went back to Carthage. After teaching at Carthage for some years, Augustine went to Rome in 383 and from there he went to teach in Milan.
In Milan, Augustine met Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan. He described saint Ambrose as the “most learned man of his time and the greatest orator in Italy” Augustine started going to Mass to hear Ambrose preach, not for what he said, but for the way he said it. Gradually, his heart began to open to the Truth of the Church. His mother joined him in Milan. With the influence of Saint Ambrose, Augustine returned to his Christian Faith and was baptized on the Eve of Easter in 387.
Together with his mother, brother and several others, he lived a community life of prayer and meditation.
Later in 387, he started back to Africa; unfortunately Monica died at Ostia.modern Italy where they had gone to board a ship that would take them to North Africa.
Overcome with grief for his mother, Augustine stayed in Italy for a time, writing and praying.
At home in Tagaste, in 388, Augustine sold all his possessions and distributed the money to the poor. He founded a monastery for himself and his followers, and led a life of apostolic poverty in prayer, a life of penance. He studied and did charity work among the poor. His son, Adeodatus died in 389.
In 391, while visiting Hippo Regius , a city in North Africa, he was seized by a crowd, carried to the Bishop Valerius and ordained a priest. He was allowed to preach by the Bishop.
Saint Augustine next became coadjutor to Bishop Valerius and when the old bishop died around 395, he succeeded to the See of Hippo. He occupied this seat for 34 years. During his Bishopric, Saint Augustine had to confront numerous crises caused by the heresies of the time, viz:
The Donatists, Pelagians, the Manichaeans and other heresies.
Saint Augustine is known as the Doctor of Grace for his defense of Church doctrine concerning grace against the Pelagians.
He is honored as the patron of theologians, printers and brewers, and is invoked against sore eyes.
When Augustine was an old man, a savage tribe from Spain, the Vandals, invaded North Africa. They killed Christians, burnt towns and cities in their wake. They surrounded Hippo where Augustine lay dying.
The Saint prayed to God. He asked God to save the city and to quickly end his life here on earth. God did as requested. Hippo was saved.
Saint Augustine, in final preparation to meet God, asked his brothers to write down Psalm 51 in big letters and to hang it on the wall beside his bed. This is part of the Song of Sorrow King David made for his sins:

Have mercy on me O God, in your goodness.
In your mercy, wipe away my guilt.
Purify me from my sins…

With these words on his lips, Saint Augustine died on 28 August 430.
He was 76 years old.
Saint Augustine,
Pray for us!

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Augustine was a voluminous writer. His works include
113 Books
218 Letters
500 Sermons
His earliest writings were the Dialogues, composed before his baptism.
One of his best known work is Confessiones (Confessions), a personal account of his earlier life.

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Prayer to Saint Augustine
Holy Augustine,
Sinner and saint,
Pray for us sinners.
Help us to follow your way.
Make us know the truth of the words
 that you spoke to God:
“Late have I loved you,
O Beauty so ancient and so new,
Late have I loved you….
You have made us for yourself,
O Lord, and our hearts are restless
until they rest in You.”

Father Malachy Cullen O.S.A.
Saint Paul Publications-Africa

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“Late have I loved you,
O Beauty so ancient and so new,
Late have I loved you….

“Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you”

Saint Augustine.

Just beautiful prayers this. Ever since I read them, they have become my prayers too!

[Patricia]

St. Ambrose was sent by God at just the right time to St. Augustine to bring about his conversion.  What a great, merciful God who seeks his lost sheep!   

[martin]

St Monica inspires so much hope for parents who pray fo the conversion of their children.

St Augustine inpsires hope for all great sinners who put their trust in God's mercy and repent.
Thanks be to God for these two great saints.

St Monica ora pro nobis.

St Augustine ora pro nobis.

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St Monica inspires so much hope for parents who pray fo the conversion of their children.

St Augustine inpsires hope for all great sinners who put their trust in God's mercy and repent.
Thanks be to God for these two great saints.

St Monica ora pro nobis.

St Augustine ora pro nobis.

Yes, I particularly love these two saints.

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August 29

Today we remember the

Beheading of Saint John The Baptist.

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Beheading of Saint John The Baptist.
We read about the cruel death of Saint John in the Gospels.
According to the Gospel of Saint Mark, When Herod Antipas married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip who was yet living, Saint John the Baptist boldly reprimanded him. Afraid that John's preaching would start a revolt, Herod had him arrested and imprisoned.
Although Herod feared John, he knew John was a holy and rightous man. He had no intention of killing him. Not so, however for Herodius, a woman, full of vengeance and  jealousy. She looked for any chance to have him killed. This opportunity came when Herod gave a grand birthday party to the elite of Galilee and her daughter Salome danced to entertain the revellers.
Salome's dancing so pleased Herod that he promised her anything she desired. Herodias prompted her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Herod granted her wish and John was killed.
Here is how the Evangelist Saint Mark puts it:

"The king was greatly distressed but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in prison. He brought the head back on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb."

Mk 6:26-29
Thus John died, beheaded at Machaerus. He was buried at Sebaste in Samaria.
His relics are in Saint Sylvester’s church, Rome, Italy, and at Amiens, France .
The day for this feast is taken from the date when the Church of St. John was dedicated at Sebaste, in Samaria. This church is located at what is traditionaly thought to be the burial site for Saint John.
Saint John the Baptist,
Pray for us!

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August 30

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Felix and Saint Adauctus
Among many other Saints.

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Saint Felix and Saint Adauctus
Roman Martyrs.
Felix was a priest in Rome at the time of Emperor Diolcatian's persecution of Christians. According to SQPN, he was ordered to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods but he refused. When Felix prayed, the idols all fell down and shatterred. He was subsequently arrested and subjected to tortures. Later he was condemned to death by heheading. According to tradition, on the way to the site of his execution, Felix encountered a bystander who who was a Christian. He was so impressed by Felix's faith that he publicy proclaimed his own Christianity. He too was ordered put to death with Felix. Both were accordingly beheaded. Since the name of this other Christian martyr is unknown, he was called Adauctus, which means " the added one" because his martyrdom was added to that of Felix.
Saint Felix,
Pray for us!
Saint Adauctus,
Pray for us!

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August 31

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Among Many other Saints

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Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Cardinal, Mercedarian.
Raymond was born in 1204 at Portella, Catalonia in Spain. During his birth, his mother died and so he was delivered by emergency caesarian section. This is how he acquired the surname Nonnatus ( non natus is Latin for not born).
Raymond belonged to the Spanish nobility. He was well educated. His father wanted him to join the royal court in Aragon but Raymond had his own plans. He wanted a religious life.
He joined the young Order of Mercedarians at Barcelona under their founder St Peter Nolasco, receiving the priestly habit from him.
 Remember that this Order was founded in 1218 to ransom Christian captives who were enslaved by the saracens. Raymond succeeded Peter as the second Master general of Mercedarian Order or Chief Ransomer. He went to Algeria to ransom slaves. He spent his entire estate ransoming Christians from Muslim captors. When he had no more money left he surrendered himself as hostage for several slaves. Raymond preached to his Muslim captors and succeeded in converting several of them. When the governor learned of this, he was tortured but he would not stop preaching. I read from Our Sunday Visitor Encyclopedia Of Saints that inorder to stop his constant preaching, the prison official ordered red hot spike to be driven through his lips and padlock inserted to keep him quiet. Raymond was eventually ransomed by Peter Nolasco and returned to Barcelona, in 1239. On his return , He was named Cardinal by Pope Gregory IX. He died of a fever the following year on 31 August 1240 at Cardona, a short distance from Barcelona. He was on his way to Rome. He was 36 years old. He was buried at the chapel of Saint Nicholas near his family farm.
Raymond was beatified on 5 November 1625 by Pope Urban VIII and canonized by Pope Alexander VII in 1657.
He is the patron saint of midwives.

Saint Raymond Nonnatus,
Pray for us!

[Shin]

What a name, no? He sounds like a great patron for the pro-life movement.

[Patricia]

Yes, indeed. St. Raymond pray for us!