St Aidan

Feast Day: August 31 Born: (around) 590 :: Died: 651 Aidan of Lindisfarne was born in Ireland. As a young boy, he studied under St. Senan and later became a monk. He lived at the great monastery of Iona, which St. Columban had founded. He was a humble man, who was greatly loved and respected and was the kind of person anyone would love to call "friend". When St. Oswald became king of North England he asked for missionaries to preach to his pagan people who did not believe in God. The first missionary to go soon came back complaining that the English were rude, stubborn and wild. The monks got together to talk about the situation. "It seems to me," St. Aidan said to the returned monk, "that you have been too harsh with those people." He then explained that, as St. Paul says, first teach them simple lessons, then when the people have grown stronger on the Word of God, they can begin doing the more perfect things of God's holy law. When the monks heard such wise words, they turned to Aidan. "You should be the one to go to North England to preach the Gospel," they said and Aidan went willingly. He humbly took on his new job with a spirit of prayer. As he began preaching, King St. Oswald himself translated Aidan's sermons into English until the saint learned the language better. St. Aidan knew the bible well and always traveled on foot preaching and helping the people. He did much good and was greatly loved by the people. After thirty years of St. Aidan's ministry, any monk or priest who came into the village was greeted with great joy by all the villagers. On the island of Lindisfarne, St. Aidan built a large monastery and King Oswald made him the first bishop there. So many monks from this monastery later became saints that Lindisfarne became known as the Holy Island. Slowly, the work of these eager missionaries changed North England into a civilized, Christian land. St. Aidan died in 651. We can learn from St. Aidan's life that the witness of a joyful, kind person is a powerful influence on others. When we find it difficult to see the good in people, we can whisper a prayer to St. Aidan and he will help us.

St Pammachius

Feast Day: August 30 Born: (around) 360 :: Died: 410 Pammachius was a well-known Christian politician in Rome. When he was a young student, he became friends with St. Jerome and they remained friends all their lives. His wife Paulina, was the second daughter of St. Paula, another good friend of St. Jerome. Then Paulina died in 397, and St. Jerome and St. Paulinus of Nola wrote Pammachius letters filled with sympathy, support and the promise of prayers. Pammachius was heart-broken and he spent the rest of his life serving in the hospice (rest house) that he and St. Fabiola built. There, pilgrims coming to Rome were welcomed and made comfortable. Pammachius and Fabiola willingly accepted the poor, the sick and the handicapped. Pammachius felt that the spirit of his wife who had died was with him as he performed his works of mercy. Paulina had been known for her love for the poor and suffering. Her husband now believed that by caring for them, he was paying her the best possible compliment he could. St. Pammachius was much gentler with his words and ways than the fiery St. Jerome. He often suggested to Jerome that he soften or reword his letters, but Jerome usually did not listen. For example, a man named Jovinian was going about with false teachings. Jerome wrote a strict article clearly marking Jovinian's mistakes. When Pammachius read the article he asked Jerome to reword the strong language. St. Jerome thanked his friend for his concern, but refused to make the corrections. Once when St. Jerome and a man named Rufinus had a big quarrel, Pammachius tried to help them settle the disagreement but as usual, Jerome refused to listen. St. Pammachius knew how to be a good friend. He was always helpful and honest. We can ask him to help us be true to our friends as he was. He had a little Church built in his house, which today is the Passionist Church of Saints John and Paul. St. Pammachius died in 410 when the Goths took over Rome

Beheading John The Baptist

Feast Day: August 29 Born / Died: Around the same time as Jesus St. John the Baptist was a cousin of Jesus. His mother was St. Elizabeth and his father was Zechariah. The first chapter of Luke's Gospel tells of the wonderful event of John's birth. John preached a baptism of repentance, preparing people for the Messiah. He baptized Jesus in the Jordan River and watched with quiet joy as the Lord's public ministry began. John encouraged his own disciples to follow Jesus. He knew that Jesus' fame would grow, while his would fade away. In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, St. John the Baptist calls himself a voice crying in the desert to make straight the path of the Lord. He invited people to get ready, to prepare themselves to recognize the Messiah. His message is the same to each of us today. King Herod and his wife refused to obey God. They wanted to make their own rules for their lives. So St. John the Baptist told them what they were doing was wrong. Because he was honest and would not agree to do wrong, it made Herod's wife angry and she asked her husband for the head of John the Baptist. Yet John would have had it no other way. He would not remain silent while sin and injustice were happening. He asked people to be sorry for their sins, obey God and be His friend as true happiness comes only from God. Mark's Gospel, chapter 6:14-29, tells of the cruel death of John the Baptist. What suffering John agreed to bear for teaching the truth.

St Augustine

Feast Day: August 28 Born: 354 :: Died: 430 St. Augustine was born in Tagaste in modern Algeria. This famous son of St. Monica spent many years living a wicked life and in false beliefs. He was one of the most intelligent persons who ever lived. Augustine was brought up in a Christian atmosphere by his mother. But he became so proud and bad that in the end he could not see or understand holy truths anymore. His mother Monica prayed daily for her son's conversion. The marvelous sermons of St. Ambrose made their impact too. Finally, Augustine became convinced that Christianity was the true religion. Yet he did not become a Christian then, because he thought he could never live a pure life. Then one day, he heard about two men who had suddenly changed and became good Christians after reading the life of St. Anthony of the Desert. Augustine felt ashamed. "What are we doing?" he cried to his friend Alipius. "Unlearned people are taking heaven by force. Yet we, with all our knowledge, are so weak that we keep rolling around in the mud of our sins!" Full of bitter sorrow, Augustine went into the garden and prayed, "How much longer, Lord? Why don't I stop committing sins now?" Just then he heard a child singing, "Take up and read!" Thinking that God wanted him to hear those words, he picked up the Bible and opened it. His eyes fell on St. Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 13. It was just what Augustine needed. Paul says to stop living bad lives and to live like Jesus. That did it! From then on, Augustine began a new life. He was baptized and ordained a priest and later became a bishop. He was a famous Catholic writer and started the Augustinian order. He became one of the greatest saints who ever lived. On the wall of his room, he had the following sentence written in large letters: "Here we do not speak evil of anyone." St. Augustine corrected strong false teachings, lived a simple life and cared for the poor. He preached very often, and prayed with great feeling right up until his death. "Too late have I loved you," he once cried to God. But Augustine spent the rest of his life in loving God and leading others to love him, too.

St Monica

Feast Day: August 27 Born: 332 :: Died: 387 St. Monica was born in Tagaste, northern Africa and she was the mother of St. Augustine. She was brought up as a good Christian. Her strong training was a great help to her when she married Patricius the pagan (a person who does not believe in God). Patricius admired his wife, but he made her suffer because of his bad temper. Still Monica never answered back and never complained about him to anyone. Instead she prayed for him fervently. God heard her prayer and Patricius finally agreed to become a Christian in 371. He was baptized on his deathbed in 372. His mother, too, became a Christian. St. Monica's joy over the holy way in which her husband had died soon changed to great sorrow. She found out that her 19 year old son Augustine was living a bad, selfish life. This clever young man had turned to a false religion and had formed wicked habits. Monica prayed and cried and did much penance for her son. She begged priests to talk to him. Augustine was brilliant but very stubborn. He did not want to give up his sinful life. But Monica would not give up either. When he went to Rome without her, she followed him. At Rome, she found he had become a teacher in Milan. So Monica went to Milan. And in all those years, she never stopped praying for him. What love and faith! After years of prayers and tears, her reward came when Augustine was converted. He not only became a good Christian, as she had prayed. Augustine also became a priest, a bishop, a great writer and a very famous saint. St. Monica died in Ostia, outside Rome, in 387 with her son Augustine at her bedside.

St Elizabeth founder of The Daughters of the Cross

Feast Day: August 26 Born: 1773 :: Died: 1838 Elizabeth was born in France and came from a very good family. Then during the time of the French Revolution, Elizabeth's family lost everything they owned. But this intelligent young woman of nineteen studied law so she could fight her family's case in court. Being a good lawyer, she won the case and was able to save her family. The village shoemaker exclaimed: "All you have to do now is marry a good republican!" But Elizabeth had no intention of marrying anyone republican or noble. On the back of a picture of Our Lady, she had written: "I dedicate and consecrate myself to Jesus and Mary forever." Elizabeth soon joined the convent and became a nun, with the help of St. Andrew Fournet, she started a new religious order called the Daughters of the Cross. As a little girl, her favorite game was building castles in the sand. Many years later, this holy French woman had to take charge of building many convents for the Daughters of the Cross. "I guess building was meant to be my business," she joked, "since I started it so young!" This new order taught children and cared for the sick. Elizabeth would face any danger to help people. Once she found a tramp lying sick in a barn. She brought him to the convent hospital and did all she could for him until he died. The next morning the police chief came to tell her she could be arrested for sheltering a man who was a criminal. Elizabeth was unafraid. "I only did what you yourself would have done, sir," she said. "I found this poor sick man, and took care of him until he died. I am ready to tell the judge just what happened." ` Of course, the saint's honesty and charity won her great respect. People admired her straight, clear answers. By 1830, Elizabeth had opened over sixty convents. The order's co-founder, St. Andrew Fournet, died in 1834. St. Elizabeth wrote to the sisters, "This is our greatest and most sad loss." Then four years later St. Elizabeth died on August 26, 1838.

St Louis IX King of France

Feast Day: August 25 Born: 1214 :: Died: 1270 Louis was born in France and was the son of King Louis VIII of France and Queen Blanche. When Prince Louis was small, his mother hugged him tightly and said, "I love you very, very much, my dear son. But I would rather see you dead at my feet than ever to have you commit a mortal sin." Louis never forgot those words. He grew to treasure his Catholic faith. When he was twelve, his father died and he became the king. Queen Blanche ruled until her son was twenty-one. Louis became a remarkable king. He married Margaret, the daughter of a count. They loved each other very much. They had eleven children. Louis was a good husband and father. And as long as his mother, Queen Blanche lived, he showed her great respect. Busy as he was, the king found time for daily Mass and the recitation of the Divine Office. He was a Third Order Franciscan and lived a simple lifestyle as a good Catholic. He was generous and fair. He ruled his people with wisdom, charity and true Christian principles. He knew how to settle arguments and disputes. He listened to the poor and the needy. He had time for everybody, not only for rich and important people. He supported Catholic education and built monasteries. King Louis never used bad language and did not allow anyone in the castle to use it either. St. Louis felt it was his duty to help the suffering Christians in the Holy Land. He wanted to be part of the Crusades and protect them. Twice he led an army against the Turks. The first time, he was taken prisoner. But even in jail, he behaved as a true Christian knight. He was unafraid and noble in all his ways. He was freed and returned to take care of his kingdom in France. Yet as soon as he could, he returned to fight the enemies of the faith again. But on the way, this greatly loved king became sick with typhoid fever. A few hours before he died, he prayed, "Lord, I will enter into your house, worship in your holy temple, and give glory to your name." St. Louis died at the age of 56, on August 25, 1270.