Saint of the day and Feast days.

[odhiambo]

Prayer to St Raphael the Archangel
O God, send the Archangel Raphael to our assistance.
May he who stands forever praising you at your throne
present our humble petitions to be blessed by you.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

[odhiambo]

Let us also remember today
Saint Magloire
Abbot of Dol in Brittany
Saint Magliore was born in Brittany or Nothwestern France towards the end of the fifth century (other references record the place of birth as Glamorgan , Wales and that it was later that the Saint travelled to Brittany with Saint Samson)
While he was still young, his parents placed him under the tutelage of Saint Samson who was his first cousin and was bishop of the monastery of Dol in Brittany. He was ordained a priest, and then made Abbot of a monastery at Lanmeur. He held this position for 52 years.
When Saint Samson died, he was elected to replace him at Dol as its Abbot.
Towards the end of his life, he built an abbey on Sark in the Channel Island Great Britain, where he died.
The saint was also known for miracles.
Saint Magloire
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

October 25

Today we remember
Saints Chrysanthus and Daria.
Among many other Saints

[odhiambo]

Saints Chrysanthus and Daria
Chrysanthus was Egyptian, son of a patrician ( aristocrat). Daria was his wife.
Chrysanthus was taken from Alexandria to Rome where he was baptized.
He married Daria, a priestess of Minerva, and converted her.
Both were denounced as Christians.
Chrysanthus’s bravary under torture was such that Claudius, a tribune, his wife Hilaria and their two sons as well as seventy soldiers were all converted.
All of them were slain.
Both suffered the same fate of torture and stoning to death in a sandpit off the Salarian Way in 283 in Rome ( according to other sources, Chrysanthus was actually buried alive after the stoning)
Christians found praying at their tombs on Via Salaria were also martyred.
Saints Chrysanthus and Daria,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

26th October

Today is the Memorial of
Saint Evaristus.
Among many other Saints

[odhiambo]

Saint Evaristus
Pope and martyr.
Pope Saint Evaristus was the fifth bishop of Rome, probably holding office from 99 to 107/108. He was also known as Aristus.
Little is known about his reign with certainty. According to the Liber Pontificalis (Book of the Popes which gives a history of the popes beginning with Saint Peter and continuing down to the fifteenth centuary in the form of biographies) ,his father was an Hellenic Jew from Bethlehem.
According to the fourth century writer Eusebius, Evaristus died in the twelfth year of the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan(98-117), after holding office for eight years. This means he was elected bishop around the year 99.
The ninth century’s Liber Pontificalis however , puts his episcopacy significantly earlier, relating that Evaristus was elected bishop at Rome during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian(81-96).
Both Jews and Christians were heavily persecuted in this period.
Evaristus reportedly followed Clement I as the fourth successor of Saint Peter.
He reportedly died a martyr and was buried in the Vatican, on Vatican Hill ( Mons Vaticanus), near the tomb of Saint Peter.
Saint Evaristus,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

27th October

Today we remember
Saint Frumentius
Among many other Saints

[odhiambo]

Saint Frumentius
Frumentius was born in Tyre, Phoenicia, present day Lebanon.
As a child, while on a voyage to Ethiopia with his uncle and brother Edesius (Aedeius), they were shipwrecked on the Ethiopian shore of the Red Sea. All the passengers were murdered but Frumentius and his brother were spared, possibly on account of their age.
They were taken to the King at Axium.
The King liked the two brothers and he treated them well, and gave them a good education. He later made Edesius his cup bearer and Frumentius, who was a little older than Edesius, he made his treasurer and Secretary of State.
When the King was dying, he thanked the two brothers for their services and gave them their freedom.
The Queen however asked them to remain at court and assist her in governing the country until the young Prince became of age. They agreed and stayed on as part of the Queen’s Court She on her part, permitted them to introduce Christianity to the country and opened trade between Ethiopia and the West.
When the young Prince reached his majority, Edesius wanted to return to Tyre. Frumentius accompanird him as far as Alexandria, Egypt.
While in Alexandria, Frumentius convinced Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, to send a bishop and missionaries from Alexandria to Ethiopia.
Saint Athanasius, considering Frumentius the best candidate for bishop for Ethiopia, consecrated him bishop of Ethiopia. The year was 328
Frumentius converted many to Christianity, including the princes Ezana and Sheazana, and established a firm foothold in Ethiopia for the faith.
He is called “Abuna” or “ the father of Ethiopia”
He died in 383 in Ethiopia  and was proclaimed a Saint.
Saint Frumentius
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

Has anyone ever read about the possibility of the Arc of the Covenant being in Axium in Ethiopia?

[Shin]

Has anyone ever read about the possibility of the Arc of the Covenant being in Axium in Ethiopia?

I'm sorry to say I do not know anything about it. I remember years ago I used to be interested in reading articles about the search for it, but it has been too long for me to remember anything.

Now that you've mentioned it, if I ever come across any of the saints speaking about its location, I think I'll remember to make note of it.

Saint Frumentius pray for us! All saints pray for us!

[odhiambo]

Saint Frumentius
Frumentius was born in Tyre, Phoenicia, present day Lebanon.
As a child, while on a voyage to Ethiopia with his uncle and brother Edesius (Aedeius), they were shipwrecked on the Ethiopian shore of the Red Sea. All the passengers were murdered but Frumentius and his brother were spared, possibly on account of their age.
They were taken to the King at Axium.
The King liked the two brothers and he treated them well, and gave them a good education. He later made Edesius his cup bearer and Frumentius, who was a little older than Edesius, he made his treasurer and Secretary of State.
When the King was dying, he thanked the two brothers for their services and gave them their freedom.
The Queen however asked them to remain at court and assist her in governing the country until the young Prince became of age. They agreed and stayed on as part of the Queen’s Court She on her part, permitted them to introduce Christianity to the country and opened trade between Ethiopia and the West.
When the young Prince reached his majority, Edesius wanted to return to Tyre. Frumentius accompanird him as far as Alexandria, Egypt.
While in Alexandria, Frumentius convinced Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, to send a bishop and missionaries from Alexandria to Ethiopia.
Saint Athanasius, considering Frumentius the best candidate for bishop for Ethiopia, consecrated him bishop of Ethiopia. The year was 328
Frumentius converted many to Christianity, including the princes Ezana and Sheazana, and established a firm foothold in Ethiopia for the faith.
He is called “Abuna” or “ the father of Ethiopia”
He died in 383 in Ethiopia  and was proclaimed a Saint.
Saint Frumentius
Pray for us!

The fact that through Saint Frumentius, Ethiopia was able to embress Christianity, is said to fulfill a famous prophecy of Isaiah uttered some 800 years before Christ:
The LORD says to Israel, "The wealth of Egypt and Ethiopia will be yours, and the tall men of Seba will be your slaves.
They will follow you in chains. They will bow down to your and confess. God is with you. He alone is God"
Isaiah 45:14
The African Bible

[odhiambo]

Today is the Memorial of
Saint Simon and Saint Jude
Among many other Saints

[odhiambo]

Saint Simon and Saint Jude
Apostles

The Apostle Simon was called the Canaanite by his companions in order to distinguish him from Saint Peter who was also called Simon. He most likely came from Cana in Galilee where Our Lord was present at the wedding feast and worked His first miracle by changing water into wine. In fact, the Greeks and the Copts are said to hold that Simon was the bridegroom in that marriage feast in Cana. Simon was also called the Zealot because of his hard adherence to Jewish law.
Simon was one of the first disciples of Jesus.
He went to Egypt and Mesopotamia to preach the Gospel. Afterward he went to Persia where he met Saint Jude and both of them were martyred there.
Saint Jude is named Thaddeus which means the “brave one”. He was the brother of Saint James the Less and is generally thought to have been a cousin of Jesus. His mother, Mary of Cleophas, was a sister of the Blessed Virgin who accompanied Our Lady to Calvary.
After Pentecost, Jude preached the Gospel mainly in Palestine and later went to Persia and Armania and together with Simon converted many people to the faith.
Saint Jude is the author of the Epistle of Saint Jude. It is said that he had a humble and loving nature. Although he was a cousin of the Lord, he did not glory in it, instead he called himself “the servant of Christ Jesus” He was filled with a holy zeal to defend the faith and to spread the Gospel of Christ.
Saint Jude is often invoked as the saint of desperate cases, and countless favors are obtained through his intercession. Thousands of people all over the world turn to him for help in their difficulties and they do experience his protection and care. In moments of doubt, uncertainties and temptations, he is ever ready to come to the assistance of those who invoke him with faith and trust.
Very little is known for certain about the life and death of saints Simon and Jude. What we know has come down to us from different traditions. It is said that they brought conversion to many countries and that their teachings were accompanied by many miracles and cures. This made the priests of the local deities jealous and they tried many times to kill them but were not unsuccessful. It was said that in a certain town, the priests captured the apostles and brought them before the king, demanding their death. They placed fierce serpents which they had brought along with them, before the apostles that they might be bitten and killed. The serpents instead, turned round and wound themselves around the priests attacking them viciously. The apostles picked up the serpents and placed them back in their cages without coming to any harm. Many people, who witnessed this occurrence, accepted the teachings of the apostles and became believers.
Narratives regarding the death of the apostles Simon and Jude differ from one another, although all agree that they died martyrs for the faith.
It is generally believed that Simon was cut into two with a saw and Jude was beheaded. Their remains were later transferred to the basilica of St. Peter in Rome.
Saint Simon,
Pray for us!
Saint Jude,
Pray for us!

This account is from “Saints For All
Lives of Saints for Every Week”
Paulines Publications Africa

[Patricia]

Jesus inspired devotion to St. Jude when he directed St. Bridget of Sweden to turn to St. Jude with great faith and confidence. In accordance with his surname, Thaddeus (which means generous, courageous, kind), Our Lord said, “He will show himself most willing to give help.”

The renowned St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who died in 1153 and who was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1830, is reputed to have had a strong personal dedication to St. Jude.

St. Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand. This represents the imprint of the divine Countenance that was entrusted to him by Jesus. King Abagar of Edessa asked Jesus to cure him of leprosy and sent an artist to bring him a drawing of Jesus. Impressed with Abagar’s great faith, Our Lord pressed his face on a cloth and gave it to St. Jude to take to Abagar and cure him. The King was cured and converted to Christianity along with most of his subjects.

Thank you Odhiambo for your post on this saint. I have heard a lot about his novenas but never really knew much about him. Your post  piqued my interest and I then sent his novena to a woman who was complaining to me today about her daughter who is finding trouble getting a good marriage match.  

[odhiambo]

Thank you Odhiambo for your post on this saint. I have heard a lot about his novenas but never really knew much about him. Your post  piqued my interest and I then sent his novena to a woman who was complaining to me today about her daughter who is finding trouble getting a good marriage match.  

My pleasure Patricia
Saint Jude is a special one of mine ever since I can remember. He has come through for me a number of times.

[Shin]

I always like hearing about when the meanings of the names of saints match their characters.