Saints of the Day & More

Patron of lawyers, notaries, stained glass artists, captives of Egypt, Venice, against impenitence and insect bites. St. Mark is a Jew from Jerusalem, accompanied St. Paul and St. Barnabas, his cousin, to Antioch in the first such mission trip (Acts 12, 25), also accompanied Paul to Rome. He left them at Perga and returned to his home. (Acts 13:13). We do not know the reasons for this separation but if we know that later caused a separation between St. Paul and St. Barnabas, when St. Paul refused to accept St. Mark. St. Barnabas was so angry that he broke his missionary association with St. Paul and went to Cyprus with Mark (Acts 15.36-39). Years later, St. Paul and St. Mark returned to join in a mission trip. He was a disciple of St. Peter and interpreter of it in his Gospel, the second canonical Gospel (the first written). St. Mark wrote in Greek in simple and strong. In their terminology is understood that his audience was Christian. His gospel contains history and theology. Debate ...

St. Apollonia's feast day is February 9. In Alexandria, Egypt, where Christians were being persecuted, Apollonia was dragged from her home and beaten by crowds of pagans. In the process of her beatings, all of her teeth were knocked out. This took place around the year 249. The crowd threatened to throw her into a fire if she did not denounce God. As the legend goes, she told the crowd to wait for a brief moment, and then leapt into the flames on her own accord. St. Apollonia courageously became a martyr. Rather than give a wild crowd what they wanted, Apollonia stuck firmly to her beliefs and shows to die instead of giving in to the power of the crowd. Because Apollonia lost all of her teeth in the struggle, she is known as the patron saint of dentistry, and anyone suffering from dental problems should pray to St. Apollonia for their fast recovery. Apollonia is often seen with pincers holding a tooth. She is also sometimes portrayed with a necklace with a golden tooth at the end. ...

St. Leucius of Brindisi was in the Early Second Century. Not much is know of Leucius' early life, though it is believed that he was born in Eastern Europe, to Eudecius and Euphrodisia and was given the name of Eupressius at birth. What is known, is that the young Eupressius was educated and spent the formative years of his existence in Alexandria, Egypt. Following the death of his mother he entered monastic life. A heavenly vision, during the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin, would change his name from Eupressius to Leucius. Having already been ordained bishop, Leucius wanted to undertake a missionary apostolate in Brindisi, to liberate the pagans of the misconceptions of Christianity. Leucius left Alexandria to, what was at the time one of the largest ports of the Mediterranean, Brindisi in what is now the southern part of Italy. Leucius first came to notoriety when many pagans in Puglia, heard him preaching the Gospel during a drought. He claimed that if they had faith the r...

Saint Gregory Nazianzen Gregory was born in 329-330 near Nazianzus, in Cappadocia (Asia Minor). During his youth attended school in Caesarea of Cappadocia, and later the Christian school of Caesarea in Palestine, where he learned rhetoric, and that of Alexandria. Finally went to Athens and became a philosophy, a teacher Christians and pagans. There he began his friendship with St. Basil the Great, which was to last a lifetime. When Basil went to Cappadocia to devote himself to God, Gregory remained in Athens. However, almost secretly, one day left town and returned to Nazianzus. He received baptism and became a monastic life with Basil. On Christmas Day 361 he was ordained priest and in 372 was consecrated bishop by St. Basil Sasima, then Metropolitan of Cappadocia, while never taking his seat, having been put in charge of the Church in his hometown . On the death of the Arian emperor Valens, the Catholics of Constantinople was asked to take charge of the ecclesiastical reorganization ...

Catherine was born 282, Alexandria, Egypt. Catherine was was virgin. She was very beautiful. Once the Emperor Maximinus of Rome was taking over Egypt, he saw how beautiful she was. He want her to marry him. He asked her to marry him she refused because, she took her vows of virginity. So he got angry he sent her to be tortured. She was imprisoned and the people who visited her converted when she spoke to them. The emperor was frustrated, so he had tortured on the breaking wheel. Once she touched the wheel the wheel broke it self. Finally she was beheaded. She died on earth but born in the glory of Christ 305, Alexandria, Egypt. She has many patronages here are some of them educators, girls, jurists, knife sharpeners, lawyers,and librarians. She is part of the fourteen holy helpers. It dosen't say when or by who she was canonized. Prayer Father may the blood of Catherine of Alexandria be a seed for us to be better christians so we too can give our blood for you. We ask this through ...