Saint of the day and Feast days - Part 2

[CyrilSebastian]

               St. Margaret of Scotland     
   
               it was interesting to learn that Queen Margaret of Scotland and her spouse, King Malcolm, served orphans       
               and the poor on their knees during Advent and Lent.

[Poche]

               St. Margaret of Scotland     
   
               it was interesting to learn that Queen Margaret of Scotland and her spouse, King Malcolm, served orphans       
               and the poor on their knees during Advent and Lent.

St Margaret also used to kiss the wounds of the sick and suck the puss out. 

[Poche]

St. Dorothy
St. Dorothy, (i.e., the gift of God), a virgin from Caesarea in Cappadocia, allegedly suffered a martyr's death under Diocletian. Her relics are honored in a church dedicated to her honor in the Trastevere section of Rome. (On the door of St. Dorothy's Church the names of those who had not received holy Communion during Easter time used to be posted.) Her feast was introduced into the Roman calendar during the Middle Ages.

A very edifying story is related in connection with her name. As Dorothy was being led to execution because of her faith in Christ, she prayed, "I thank You, 0 Lover of souls, for having called me to Your paradise." A certain Theophilus, an official of the Roman governor, jestingly retorted, "Farewell, bride of Christ, send me apples or roses from your Bridegroom's garden of bliss." Dorothy answered, "I most certainly will."

While devoting herself to prayer during the few moments permitted before receiving the death stroke, she beheld a vision of a beautiful youth who carried three apples and three roses in a napkin. She said to him, "I implore you to take these to Theophilus." Soon the sword severed her neck, and her soul returned to God.

As Theophilus was mockingly telling his friend of Dorothy's promise, a young man stood before him holding a linen in which were wrapped three beautiful apples and three magnificent roses.

"See, the virgin Dorothy sends you these from the garden of her Bridegroom, even as she promised you." Highly astonished, for it was February and everything in nature was frozen, Theophilus received the gifts and cried out: "Truly indeed, Christ is God." And soon he too died a martyr's death for publicly confessing the faith.

[Shin]

St. Dorothy, pray for us!

[CyrilSebastian]

                  St. Honestus           
 
                   The feast day of St. Honestus is February 16th.     
                   St. Honestus was a disciple of Saturnius of Toulouse and a native of Nimes.     
                   He evangelized in Spain.   
                   He was martyred at Pampeluna.

[CyrilSebastian]

          St. Isabel of France     
   
          Isabel of France was a French princess.   
          She was the daughter of King Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile.   
          Isabel refused offers of marriage.       
          She continued her life of virginity dedicated to God.     
          She ministered to the sick and the poor.   
          She founded the Franciscan Monastery of the Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary.   
          The feast day of St. Isabel of France is February 26th.

[CyrilSebastian]

                   Saint David       
   
                   St. David was the son of King Sant of South Wales.     
                   He was ordained a priest and later studied under St. Paulinus.   
                   Later, he was involved in missionary work.       
                   He founded a number of monasteries.       
                   St. David is revered as the patron of Wales.     
                   Many monasteries flourished as a result of his leadership and good example.
 

[CyrilSebastian]

                 St. Frances of Rome     
           
                  Frances of Rome is an Italian saint who was a wife, mother, organizer of charitable services     
                  services, and a Benedictine oblate. She founded a religious community of oblates.   
                  Frances was born in 1384 in Rome. With her sister-in-law Vannozza, Frances visited the         
                  poor and took care of the sick.   
                  On August 15, 1425, the feast of the Assumption of Mary, she founded the Olivetan Oblates of Mary.     
                  Frances died in 1440. Her feast day is March 9.     
   
                   

[CyrilSebastian]

                 St. Martin of Braga     
 
                 St. Martin of Braga (520-580) was a bishop and evangelist.         
                 He made a pilgrimage to Palestine and then settled in Spain.     
                 He converted many Areans. He built Dumium Monastery.     
                 He then became bishop of Braga.     
                 His feast day is March 20th.

[CyrilSebastian]

               St. Zosimus     
     
               St. Zosimus was born in Sicily.       
               He served as a monk for thirty years before receiving election as abbot.     
               He was also made bishop of Syracuse.     
               He became involved with caring for the poor.     
               The feast day of St. Zosimus is March 30.

[CyrilSebastian]

                     St. Zosimus of Syracuse was born around the year 570 to wealthy parents who   
                     had prayed for years to receive the gift of a child. He died in 660.

[Shin]

Today is St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle's feast day my friends.

Please enjoy the extracts on the virtue of modesty from his writings.

'I am surprised that after telling me in your first letter that you will stay where you are as long as I wish and that you are leaving yourself entirely in my hands to do with you all that I wish (the best frame of mind you could have), you would write me quite the opposite five days later.  You must have a very changeable mind. Because this is a temptation, you must try to recognize it and to humble yourself for such weakness. Let your knowledge of it make you resolve never to follow your mind's whims. This is extremely important for you.'

St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle

'There are amusements that will not be discussed at length here, because they are not at all permitted to Christians, either by the laws of religion or by the rules of decorum. Some of these are ordinarily available only to wealthy people, such as balls, dances, and the comedies of the theater. There are others that are more commonly available to artisans and the poor, such as watching charlatans, clowns, tightrope walkers, puppeteers, and so forth.'

St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle

'Although in the world theater is considered a refined form of amusement, the fact is that it is a shame and an embarrassment to Christianity. In fact, are not those who abandon themselves to this kind of work and make it their profession considered publicly infamous? Can you love a profession that covers with embarrassment those who practice it? Is that art not something infamous and shameful in which the skill of the actors consists in exciting in themselves and in others various shameful passions for which a wellborn person can feel nothing but repulsion?

If there is singing going on, the only airs one hears are those that strengthen these same passions. Is there anything conformable to refinement or to decorum in the costuming, the nudity, and the license taken by actors and actresses? Is there anything in their gestures, their words, and their postures that is not unbecoming for a Christian not only to do but even to see? It is, then, entirely against propriety to take pleasure in this form of amusement.'

St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle

'Recreation ordinarily consists in conversing in an open, frank manner and recounting interesting, pleasant things that provide occasions of laughter and entertainment for the group. However, you must take care that these stories do not include anything vulgar or anything suggesting a lack of good education. Rather, they must be told in an uplifting manner, which ought to make the simplest tale striking, interesting, and pleasing to others.'

St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle

[odhiambo]

St Margaret also used to kiss the wounds of the sick and suck the puss out. 

That was a bit much surely?

[Shin]

Well, I wonder would there have been other ways of sufficiently removing the pus and drain boils and ulcers medically feasible back then?

What do you think?

I don't know much about medicine or historic medical practices but it's interesting to try to read a little about it.

[odhiambo]

Well, I wonder would there have been other ways of sufficiently removing the pus and drain boils and ulcers medically feasible back then?

What do you think?

I don't know much about medicine or historic medical practices but it's interesting to try to read a little about it.

I don't know Shin, she did it for God and all that was in her mind I am sure was Jesus saying:
"...Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me...." Matthew 25:40. No wonder of course that she is a saint.
The fact that I am repelled shows you what a long road I have ahead of me

[Shin]

When I first heard of it years ago I was repelled too. I think only when replying to your question today that I really felt differently, so I am really glad you asked, and I am think in time you will feel differently too since after all it's a gift to feel so!

I know she's not the only one who did so, other saints and simple nuns have done so as well, so I think there's something to it being a medical practice of the past or of poor people when they couldn't clean out boils other ways.

There are saints who did this had the wounds of those they tended miraculously heal. So while on the natural level it is repulsive at first, I think that I should not be so squeamish, and think on the supernatural level.