Category: PATRONAGE – FISHERMEN, FISHMONGERS

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Feast of St Andrew, Apostle of Christ, Martyr – 30 November

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Feast of St Andrew, Apostle of Christ, Martyr – 30 November

Saint Andrew was the brother of the Apostle Peter and like his brother was born in Bethsaida of Galilee (where the Apostle Philip was also born).   While his brother would eventually overshadow him as the first among the apostles, it was Saint Andrew, a fisherman like Peter, who (according to the Gospel of John) introduced Saint Peter to Christ.saint-andrew-the-apostle-nicolas-tournier (1).jpg

St Andrew was a fisherman who lived in Galilee during the time of Jesus.   He followed John the Baptist and listened to his teachings.   One day, John saw Jesus walking along the road.   John said to his followers, “Behold the Lamb of God.”   He told his followers to go and talk to Jesus.   He wanted them to know that Jesus was the One for whom they had been waiting.   Andrew and another disciple followed Jesus and spent an afternoon with him.   Early the next day Andrew found Simon Peter, his brother and told him, “We have found the Messiah.”

Both men gave up their work as fishermen to become apostles of Jesus.   Andrew was one of the first to be called.   He seemed to take delight in bringing others to Jesus. Saint-Andrew-Anthony-van-Dyck-Oil-Painting.jpg

Andrew was the one who told Jesus about the little boy who had the loaves of bread and the fish, the beginning of a meal that fed more than five thousand people.

It was Andrew and Philip whom the Greeks approached when they wanted to see Jesus. These events indicate that Andrew was a man who was easy to approach, a man you could trust.599px-Artus_Wolffort_-_St_Andrew_-_WGA25857.jpg

Like the other apostles, Andrew became a missionary.   He preached about Jesus in the area around the Black Sea.   Tradition tells us he preached in northern Greece, Turkey and Scythia (now the southern part of Russia).

Tradition places Saint Andrew’s martyrdom on 30 November of the year 60 (during the persecution of Nero) in the Greek city of Patras.   A medieval traditional also holds that, like his brother Peter, he did not regard himself as worthy of being crucified in the same manner as Christ and so he was placed on an X-shaped cross, now known (especially in heraldry and flags) as a Saint Andrew’s Cross.   The Roman governor ordered him bound to the cross rather than nailed, to make the crucifixion and thus Andrew’s agony, last longer.576px-The_Crucifixion_of_Saint_Andrew-Caravaggio_(1607)

Because of his patronage of Constantinople, Saint Andrew’s relics were transferred there around the year 357.   Tradition holds that some relics of Saint Andrew were taken to Scotland in the eighth century, to the place where the town of S. Andrews stands today.  In the wake of the Sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, the remaining relics were brought to the Cathedral of Saint Andrew in Amalfi, Italy.  In 1964, in an attempt to strengthen relations with the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople, Pope Paul VI returned all relics of Saint Andrew that were then in Rome to the Greek Orthodox Church.

Every year since then, the Pope has sent delegates to Constantinople for the feast of Saint Andrew (and, in November 2007, Pope Benedict himself went), just as the Ecumenical Patriarch sends representatives to Rome for the 29 June feast of Saints Peter and Paul (and, in 2008, went himself).   Thus, like his brother Saint Peter, Saint Andrew is in a way a symbol of the striving for Christian unity.st andrew apostle interesting

St Andrew’s Feast takes pride of place in the Liturgical Calendar, for in the Roman Catholic calendar, the liturgical year begins with Advent and the First Sunday of Advent is always the Sunday closest to the Feast of Saint Andrew.  Though Advent can begin as late as 3 December, Saint Andrew’s feast, today is traditionally listed as the first Saint’s day of the liturgical year, even when the First Sunday of Advent falls after it—an honour commensurate with Saint Andrew’s place among the apostles   The tradition of praying the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena 15 times each day from the Feast of Saint Andrew until Christmas flows from this arrangement of the calendar.

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The name “Andrew” is a Greek name meaning “courageous” or “manly.”   St Andrew lived up to his name.

St Andrew, pray that we live up to the name “Christian”!

St Andrew’s Patronages are here:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/11/30/saint-of-the-day-30-november-st-andrew-apostle-of-christ-martyr/St-Andrew vatican statuest andrew apostle statue snip

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Posted in PATRONAGE - ALTAR SERVERS and/or DEACONS, PATRONAGE - BACHELORS, PATRONAGE - BANKERS, PATRONAGE - BEGGARS, the POOR, against POVERTY, PATRONAGE - BREWERS, PATRONAGE - BRIDES and GROOMS, PATRONAGE - ENGAGED COUPLES, PATRONAGE - FISHERMEN, FISHMONGERS, PATRONAGE - GARDENERS, FARMERS, PATRONAGE - HAPPY MARRIAGES, of MARRIED COUPLES, PATRONAGE - LAWYERS / NOTARIES, PATRONAGE - ORPHANS,ABANDONED CHILDREN, PATRONAGE - PENITENTS, PATRONAGE - PHARMACISTS / CHEMISTS, PATRONAGE - PRISONERS, PATRONAGE - SAILORS, MARINERS, PATRONAGE - SCHOOLS, COLLEGES etc AND STUDENTS, PATRONAGE - SINGLE LAYWOMEN, PATRONAGE - TRAVELLERS / MOTORISTS, PATRONAGE - VINTNERS, WINE-FARMERS, PATRONAGE-INFERTILITY & SAFE CHILDBIRTH, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 6 December – St Nicholas (270-343) Bishop

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 6 December – St Nicholas (270-343) Bishop

The absence of the “hard facts” of history is not necessarily an obstacle to the popularity of saints, as the devotion to Saint Nicholas shows.   Both the Eastern and Western Churches honour him and it is claimed that after the Blessed Virgin, he is the saint most pictured by Christian artists.   And yet historically, we can pinpoint only the fact that Nicholas was the fourth-century bishop of Myra, a city in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor.st nicholas - Jaroslav_Čermák_(1831_-_1878)_-_Sv._Mikuláš.jpg

As with many of the saints, however, we are able to capture the relationship which Nicholas had with God through the admiration which Christians have had for him—an admiration expressed in the colourful stories which have been told and retold through the centuries.

Perhaps the best-known story about Nicholas concerns his charity toward a poor man who was unable to provide dowries for his three daughters of marriageable age.   Rather than see them forced into prostitution, Nicholas secretly tossed a bag of gold through the poor man’s window on three separate occasions, thus enabling the daughters to be married.   Over the centuries, this particular legend evolved into the custom of gift-giving on the saint’s feast.

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Fra Angelico’s St Nicholas donating the dowries

In the English-speaking countries, Saint Nicholas became, by a twist of the tongue, Santa Claus—further expanding the example of generosity portrayed by this holy bishop.saint-nicholas4st nicholas - glass

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARTYRS, ON the SAINTS, PAPAL SERMONS, PATRONAGE - against SORE THROATS, COUGHS, WHOOPING COUGH,, PATRONAGE - FISHERMEN, FISHMONGERS, PATRONAGE - MUSICIANS, PATRONAGE - PREGNANCY, PATRONAGE - THE SICK, THE INFIRM, ALL ILLNESS, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Saint of the Day – 30 November – St Andrew, Apostle of Christ, Martyr

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 30 November – St Andrew, Apostle of Christ, Martyr – Called the “First Called ” – born at Bethsaida, Galilee and was Martyred by crucifixion on a saltire (x-shaped) cross in Patras Greece (around the year 62) – Patronages:  fishermen, fishmongers and rope-makers, textile workers, singers, miners, pregnant women, butchers, farm workers, protection against sore throats, protection against convulsions, protection against fever, protection against whooping cough, Scotland, Barbados, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, Sicily, Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Patras, Burgundy, San Andrés (Tenerife), Diocese of Parañaque, Telhado, Amalfi, Luqa (Malta) and Prussia; Diocese of Victoria.ANDREW - GLASS maxresdefault

The first striking characteristic of Andrew is his name – it is not Hebrew, as might have been expected but Greek, indicative of a certain cultural openness in his family that cannot be ignored.   We are in Galilee, where the Greek language and culture are quite present.   Andrew comes second in the list of the Twelve, as in Matthew (10: 1-4) and in Luke (6: 13-16); or fourth, as in Mark (3: 13-18) and in the Acts (1: 13-14).   In any case, he certainly enjoyed great prestige within the early Christian communities.   The kinship between Peter and Andrew, as well as the joint call that Jesus addressed to them, are explicitly mentioned in the Gospels.   We read:  “As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.   And he said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men'” (Mt 4: 18-19; Mk 1: 16-17).

From the Fourth Gospel we know another important detail:  Andrew had previously been a disciple of John the Baptist and this shows us that he was a man who was searching, who shared in Israel’s hope, who wanted to know better the word of the Lord, the presence of the Lord.   He was truly a man of faith and hope and one day he heard John the Baptist proclaiming Jesus as, “the Lamb of God” (Jn 1: 36), so he was stirred and with another unnamed disciple followed Jesus, the one whom John had called “the Lamb of God”.   The Evangelist says that “they saw where he was staying and they stayed with him that day…” (Jn 1: 37-39).   Thus, Andrew enjoyed precious moments of intimacy with Jesus.   The account continues with one important annotation:  “One of the two who heard John speak and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.   He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus” (Jn 1: 40-43), straightaway showing an unusual apostolic spirit.

Andrew, then, was the first of the Apostles to be called to follow Jesus.   Exactly for this reason the liturgy of the Byzantine Church honours him with the nickname: “Protokletos”, [protoclete] which means, precisely, “the first called”.Sant_Andrea_S

The Gospel traditions mention Andrew’s name in particular on another three occasions that tell us something more about this man.   The first is that of the multiplication of the loaves in Galilee. On that occasion, it was Andrew who pointed out to Jesus the presence of a young boy who had with him five barley loaves and two fish, not much, he remarked, for the multitudes who had gathered in that place (cf. Jn 6: 8-9). In this case, it is worth highlighting Andrew’s realism.   He noticed the boy, that is, he had already asked the question: “but what good is that for so many?” (ibid) and recognised the insufficiency of his minimal resources.   Jesus, however, knew how to make them sufficient for the multitude of people who had come to hear Him.

The second occasion was at Jerusalem.   As He left the city, a disciple drew Jesus’ attention to the sight of the massive walls that supported the Temple.   The Teacher’s response was surprising:  He said that of those walls not one stone would be left upon another.   Then Andrew, together with Peter, James and John, questionedHhim: “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign when these things are all to be accomplished?” (Mk 13: 1-4). In answer to this question Jesus gave an important discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem and on the end of the world, in which He asked His disciples to be wise in interpreting the signs of the times and to be constantly on their guard.   From this event we can deduce that we should not be afraid to ask Jesus questions but at the same time that we must be ready to accept even the surprising and difficult teachings that He offers us.andrew snip

Lastly, a third initiative of Andrew is recorded in the Gospels:  the scene is still Jerusalem, shortly before the Passion.   For the Feast of the Passover, John recounts, some Greeks had come to the city, probably proselytes or God-fearing men who had come up to worship the God of Israel at the Passover Feast.   Andrew and Philip, the two Apostles with Greek names, served as interpreters and mediators of this small group of Greeks with Jesus.   The Lord’s answer to their question – as so often in John’s Gospel – appears enigmatic but precisely in this way proves full of meaning.   Jesus said to the two disciples and, through them, to the Greek world:  “The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified.   I solemnly assure you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (12: 23-24). Jesus wants to say:  Yes, my meeting with the Greeks will take place but not as a simple, brief conversation between myself and a few others, motivated above all by curiosity.   The hour of my glorification will come with my death, which can be compared with the falling into the earth of a grain of wheat.   My death on the Cross will bring forth great fruitfulness, in the Resurrection the “dead grain of wheat” – a symbol of myself crucified – will become the bread of life for the world, it will be a light for the peoples and cultures. Yes, the encounter with the Greek soul, with the Greek world, will be achieved in that profundity to which the grain of wheat refers, which attracts to itself the forces of heaven and earth and becomes bread. In other words, Jesus was prophesying about the Church of the Greeks, the Church of the pagans, the Church of the world, as a fruit of His Pasch.

Some very ancient traditions not only see Andrew, who communicated these words to the Greeks, as the interpreter of some Greeks at the meeting with Jesus recalled here but consider him the Apostle to the Greeks in the years subsequent to Pentecost.   They enable us to know that for the rest of his life he was the preacher and interpreter of Jesus for the Greek world.ANDREW ICON

Peter, his brother, travelled from Jerusalem through Antioch and reached Rome to exercise his universal mission, Andrew, instead, was the Apostle of the Greek world.   So it is that in life and in death they appear as true brothers – a brotherhood that is symbolically expressed in the special reciprocal relations of the See of Rome and of Constantinople, which are truly Sister Churches.

A later tradition, as has been mentioned, tells of Andrew’s death at Patras, where he too suffered the torture of crucifixion.   At that supreme moment, however, like his brother Peter, he asked to be nailed to a cross different from the Cross of Jesus.   In his case it was a diagonal or X-shaped cross, which has thus come to be known as “St Andrew’s cross”….Pope Benedict XVI – 14 June 2006

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Andrew is the patron saint of several countries and cities and is the patron saint of Prussia and of the Order of the Golden Fleece.  He is considered the founder and the first bishop of the Church of Byzantium and is consequently the patron saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.   The flag of Scotland (and consequently the Union Flag and those of some of the former colonies of the British Empire) feature Saint Andrew’s saltire cross. The saltire is also the flag of Tenerife, the former flag of Galicia and the Russian Navy Ensign.

The feast of Andrew is observed on 30 November in both the Eastern and Western churches and is the national day of Scotland.   In the traditional liturgical books of the Catholic Church, the feast of Saint Andrew is the first feast day in the Proper of Saints.VATICAN - ANDREW STATUE -640px-Saint_Andreas

Posted in PATRONAGE - FISHERMEN, FISHMONGERS, PATRONAGE - NEWBORN BABIES, YOUNG CHILDREN l, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 12 April – St Zeno of Verona (c 300 – 371)

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Saint of the Day – 12 April – St Zeno of Verona (c 300 – 371)  Bishop of Verona, Monk, Confessor, Reformer, believed to be a Martyr  the persecutions of  Constantius II and  Julian the Apostate – Born c 300 at Mauretania near Algiers, North Africa and died on 12 April 371.   Patronages  – anglers, children learning to speak, children learning to walk, fishermen, newborn babies, Diocese of Verona, Italy, 41 Cities.

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Statue of Saint Zeno from the Basilica of San Zeno

St Zeno of Verona came from Mauretania (Algeria and  Morocco) in North Africa, born in the year c 300.   He may have been a follower of St Athanasius of Alexandria who followed his master to Verona in about 340.  The  ancient Sermones texts on Old Testament exegesis have been attributed to St Zeno due to the style of the 90 or so Sermones attributed to Zeno has been considered evidence of his African origins.

San Zeno Altarpiece. Zeno is on the far right.
San Zeno Altarpiece. Zeno is on the far right.

He entered monastic life and would be appointed a bishop, winning converts back from Arianism, setting up a convent for  women, living a life of poverty, training priests to work in the diocese and reforming how the Agape feast was celebrated.  (The term Agape or Love feast was used for certain religious meals among early Christians that seem to have been originally closely related to the Eucharist.)   He would not allow loud groaning and wailing at funerals, supported adult  baptism  by complete immersion and  established a practice of giving medals to  the newly baptised.

He was the eighth bishops of Verona for a decade or so and is described as a ‘confessor of the faith’ in early martyrologies, may have suffered persecution under Constantius II and  Julian the Apostate  — a reference to his ‘happy death’ on 12 April, 371, indicates he may have been martyred.   Saint Gregory the Great calls him a martyr in his Dialogues.   A contemporary letter from St Ambrose of Milan refers  to Zeno’s holiness.   He is known to have lived in great poverty.

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St Zeno is the patron saint of fishermen and anglers, of the city of Verona, of newborn babies as well as children learning to speak and walk.   A saint for spiritual toddlers.   At least 30 churches and chapels bear his name.  He may have been fond of fishing in the River Adige  but the  depictions of  him with a fishing rod  are thought to refer to his  success in ‘catching converts’ for  the faith.   A fisher of men and women for Christ.Pala_di_San_Zeno_by_Andrea_Mantegna_-_San_Zeno_-_Verona_2016_(3)

In the year 589, at the same time that the Tiber overflowed a considerable quarter of Rome, and the flood over-topped the walls, the waters of the Adige, which fails from the mountains with excessive rapidity, threatened to drown or submerge a great part of the city of Verona.   The people flocked in crowds to the church of their holy patron Zeno:  the waters seemed to respect its doors, they gradually swelled as high as the windows, yet the flood never broke into the church but stood like a firm wall, as when the Israelites passed the Jordan;  and the people remained there twenty-foul hours in prayer, till the water subsided within the banks of the channel.  This miracle had as many witnesses as there were inhabitants of Verona.   The devotion of the people to St Zeno was much increased by this and other miracles.

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The Adige flowing through Verona

St Zeno’s liturgical feast day is celebrated today, 12 April but in the diocese of Verona, it is also celebrated on 21 May, in honor of the translation of his relics on 21 May 807.

Tradition states that Zeno built the first basilica in Verona, situated in the area probably occupied by the present-day cathedral.   His eponymous church in its present location dates to the early ninth century, when it was endowed by Charlemagne and his son Pepin, King of Italy.   It was consecrated on 8 December 806; two local hermits, Benignus and Carus, were assigned the task of translating Zeno’s relics to a new marble crypt.   King Pepin was present at the ceremony, as were the Bishops of Cremona and Salzburg, as well as an immense crowd of townspeople.   The church was damaged at the beginning of the tenth century by Hungarians, though the relics of Zeno remained safe. The basilica was rebuilt again, and made much larger and stronger. Financial support was provided by Otto I, and it was re-consecrated in 967, at a ceremony presided over by the Bishop Ratherius of Verona.

The present church of San Zeno in Verona is a work of the twelfth, thirteenth and early fifteenth centuries for the most part.  It is well known for its bronze doors (c 1100 – c 1200) which depict, besides stories from the Bible, the miracles of Saint Zeno, images drawn from stories, including those recorded by the notary Coronato, the facade sculpture signed by Nicholaus and an associate Guglielmus and the rose window (c 1200), which is the work of Brioloto.800px-St_Zeno's_body_(close_up)San-Zeno-1-GalleryVerona,_Basilica_di_San_Zeno,_crypt_001800px-Verona,_Basilica_di_San_Zeno,_bronze_door_004

Posted in DOMINICAN OP, PATRONAGE - BUILDERS, CONSTRUCTION WORKERS, PATRONAGE - FISHERMEN, FISHMONGERS, PATRONAGE - PRISONERS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 5 April – St Vincent Ferrer O.P. (1350-1419)

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Saint of the Day – 5 April – St Vincent Ferrer O.P. (1350-1419), called the “Angel of the Apocalypse/The Last Judgement” and the “The Mouthpiece of God.”- Dominican Priest, Missionary, Master of Sacred Theology, Philosopher, Teacher, Preacher, Logician, Apostle of Charity – born on 23 January 1350 in Valencia (part of modern Spain) and died on 5 April 1419 at Vannes, Brittany, France of natural causes.   His remains are interred in the Cathedral of Vannes.   Patronages – Archdiocese of Valencia, Builders, Prisoners, Construction workers, Plumbers, Fishermen, Spanish orphanages, Calamonaci, Italy, Casteltermini, Agrigento, Italy, Leganes, Philippines, Orihuela-Alicante, Spain, diocese of.   st vincent ferrer - header

St Vincent was born in Valencia, Spain.   However, even in utero he was performing miracles.   His mother visited a blind woman she often helped.   The lady placed her head on the mother’s womb to hear the baby’s heart beat and was instantly healed of her blindness.   The entire city was quite animated at his birth and their town square argument over his name had to be settled by the local bishop who recommended he share the name of the city’s patron saint (St Vincent of Zaragosa, a third century martyr, died 304).   Before St Vincent was three months old, Valencia was struck by a terrible famine.   The infant spoke in a perfectly intelligible manner to his mother, informing her that all the townspeople needed to carry a venerated statue in procession about the city to end the famine.   No sooner had the procession begun than rain began to fall and the famine was broken.

From his tenderest years, it was clear that God was calling St Vincent to serve Him at His Altar.   The boy was gifted with great intelligence and even more profound piety.   When Vincent joined the Dominicans, he zealously practiced penance, study and prayer.   He was a teacher of philosophy and a naturally gifted preacher called the “Mouthpiece of God.”   His saintly life was what made his preaching so effective.   Vincent’s subjects were judgement, heaven, hell and the need for repentance.  Soon he was teaching and preaching all over Spain.

But at this time, three men claimed to be pope in the 1300s and 1400s.   Kings, princes, priests and laypeople fought one another to support the different claimants for the Chair of Peter.   This chaos led to the Western Schism and then God raised up Vincent Ferrer.saint-vincent-ferrer-large

Even the holiest people can be misled.   Pope Urban VI was the real pope and lived in Rome but Vincent and many others thought that Clement VII and his successor Benedict XIII, who lived in Avignon, France, were the true popes.   Vincent convinced kings, princes, clergy and almost all of Spain to give loyalty to them.   After Clement VII died, Vincent tried to get both Benedict and the pope in Rome to abdicate so that a new election could be held.  Vincent returned to Benedict in Avignon and asked him to resign.   Benedict refused.

Vincent came to see the error in Benedict’s claim to the papacy.   Discouraged and ill, Vincent begged Christ to show him the truth.   In a vision, he saw Jesus with Saint Dominic and Saint Francis, commanding him to “go through the world preaching Christ.” For the next twenty years he travelled to England, Scotland, Ireland, Aragon, Castile, France, Switzerland and Italy, preaching the Gospel and converting many.   Many biographers believe that he could speak only Valencian but was endowed with the gift of tongues.   St Vincent also had great success in preaching to the Moors and Jews.   Countless converts came into the Church and on one single day he converted more than five thousand Jews.   His spiritual success was even more fruitful among Catholics. Hatreds, envies, wars and other divisions were all brought to an abrupt end under his guidance.   Once he raised a woman from the dead so that she could testify to all present that he was indeed the Angel of the Apocalypse (cf. Apco 14:6), sent by God to call a world seeped in sin to repentance.  He preached to St Colette of Corbie and to her nuns and it was she who told him that he would die in France.   Too ill to return home to Spain, he did, indeed, die in Brittany in 1419, at the age of sixty-nine.   Breton fishermen still invoke his aid in storms.   Vincent spread the Good News throughout Europe.   He fasted, preached, worked miracles and drew many people to become faithful Christians.

One day while Benedict was presiding over an enormous assembly, Vincent, though close to death, mounted the pulpit and denounced him as the false pope.   He encouraged everyone to be faithful to the one, true Catholic Church in Rome.   Benedict fled, knowing his supporters had deserted him.    The Great Western Schism was finally ended in 1417 when all the world universally acknowledged Martin V as rightful pope.

St Vincent was canonised by Pope Calixtus III on 3 June 1455.Palma il Vecchio, St. Vincent Ferrer, ca. 1523

Posted in ADVENT, MORNING Prayers, ON the SAINTS, PATRONAGE - ALTAR SERVERS and/or DEACONS, PATRONAGE - BACHELORS, PATRONAGE - BANKERS, PATRONAGE - BEGGARS, the POOR, against POVERTY, PATRONAGE - BREWERS, PATRONAGE - BRIDES and GROOMS, PATRONAGE - CHEFS and/or BAKERS, CONFECTIONERS, PATRONAGE - FISHERMEN, FISHMONGERS, PATRONAGE - GARDENERS, FARMERS, PATRONAGE - HAPPY MARRIAGES, of MARRIED COUPLES, PATRONAGE - LAWYERS / NOTARIES, PATRONAGE - ORPHANS,ABANDONED CHILDREN, PATRONAGE - PENITENTS, PATRONAGE - PHARMACISTS / CHEMISTS, PATRONAGE - PRISONERS, PATRONAGE - SAILORS, MARINERS, PATRONAGE - SCHOOLS, COLLEGES etc AND STUDENTS, PATRONAGE - SINGLE LAYWOMEN, PATRONAGE - STORMS, EARTHQUAKES, FIRES, DROUGHT / NATURAL DISASTERS, PATRONAGE - TRAVELLERS / MOTORISTS, PATRONAGE - VINTNERS, WINE-FARMERS, PATRONAGE-INFERTILITY & SAFE CHILDBIRTH, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 6 December – St Nicholas (270-343)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 6 December – St Nicholas (270-343)  Confessor, Bishop, Miracle-Worker, Apostle of Charity.   Also known as – • Nicholas of Bari• Nicholas of Lpnenskij • Nicholas of Lipno • Nicholas of Sarajskij • Nicholas the Miracle Worker • Klaus, Mikulas, Nikolai, Nicolaas, Nicolas, Niklaas, Niklas. Nikolaus, Santa Claus.   st nicholas header

Patronages -• against fire • against imprisonment • against robberies • against robbers • against storms at sea • against sterility • against thefts • altar servers • archers • boys • brides • captives • children • choir boys • happy marriages • lawsuits lost unjustly • lovers • maidens • penitent murderers • newlyweds • paupers • pilgrims • poor people • prisoners • scholars • schoolchildren, students • penitent thieves • travellers • unmarried girls • apothecaries • bakers • bankers • barrel makers • boatmen • boot blacks • brewers • butchers • button makers • candle makers • chair makers • cloth shearers • coopers • dock workers • educators • farm workers, farmers • firefighters • fish mongers • fishermen • grain merchants • grocers • grooms • hoteliers • innkeepers • judges • lace merchants • lawyers • linen merchants • longshoremen • mariners • merchants • millers • notaries • parish clerks • pawnbrokers • perfumeries • perfumers • poets • ribbon weavers • sailors • ship owners • shoe shiners • soldiers • spice merchants • spinners • stone masons • tape weavers  • toy makers • vintners • watermen • weavers • Greek Catholic Church in America • Greek Catholic Union • Varangian Guard • Germany • Greece • Russia • 3 Diocese • 78 Cities.

Attributes – • anchor • bishop calming a storm • bishop holding three bags of gold • bishop holding three balls • bishop with three children • bishop with three children in a tub at his feet • purse • ship • three bags of gold • three balls • three golden balls on a book • boy in a boat.   Saint Nicholas’ reputation evolved among the faithful, as was common for early Christian saints and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus through Sinterklaas.   St Nicholas was generous to the poor and special protector of the innocent and wronged.   Many stories grew up around him prior to his becoming associated with Santa Claus.

Some examples of the Miracles of St Nicholas and the reasons for various Patronages:

• Upon hearing that a local man had fallen on such hard times that he was planning to sell his daughters into prostitution, Nicholas went by night to the house and threw three bags of gold in through the window, saving the girls from an evil life.   These three bags, gold generously given in time of trouble, became the three golden balls that indicate a pawn broker’s shop.

• He raised to life three young boys who had been murdered and pickled in a barrel of brine to hide the crime.   These stories led to his patronage of children in general and of barrel-makers besides.

• Induced some thieves to return their plunder.   This explains his protection against theft and robbery and his patronage of them – he’s not helping them steal but to repent and change.   In the past, thieves have been known as Saint Nicholas’ clerks or Knights of Saint Nicholas.

• During a voyage to the Holy Lands, a fierce storm blew up, threatening the ship.   He prayed about it and the storm calmed – hence the patronage of sailors and those like dockworkers who work on the sea.

St Nicholas died in 346 at Myra, Lycia (in modern Turkey) of natural causes and his  relics are believed to be at Bari, Italy.bari-shrine3-detail

Here is the story of St Nicholas by Prosper Dom Gueranger:

Nicholas was born in the celebrated city of Patara, in the province of Lycia.   His birth was the fruit of his parents’ prayers.  Evidences of his great future holiness were given from his very cradle.   For when he was an infant, he would only take his food once on Wednesdays and Fridays and then not till evening but on all other days he frequently took the breast:  he kept up this custom of fasting during the rest of his life.

Having lost his parents when he was a boy, he gave all his goods to the poor.   Of his Christian kindheartedness there is the following noble example.   One of his fellow-citizens had three daughters but being too poor to obtain them an honourable marriage, he was minded to abandon them to a life of prostitution.   Nicholas having learned of the case, went to the house during the night and threw in by the window a sum of money sufficient for the dower of one of the daughters;  he did the same a second and a third time and thus the three were married to respectable men.

Having given himself wholly to the service of God, he set out for Palestine, that he might visit and venerate the holy places.   During this pilgrimage, which he made by sea, he foretold to the mariners, on embarking, though the heavens were then serene and the sea tranquil, that they would be overtaken by a frightful storm.   In a very short time, the storm arose.   All were in the most imminent danger, when he quelled it by his prayers.

His pilgrimage ended, he returned home, giving to all men example of the greatest sanctity.   He went, by an inspiration from God, to Myra, the Metropolis of Lycia,which had just lost its Bishop by death and the Bishops of the province had come together for the purpose of electing a successor.   Whilst they were holding council for the election, they were told by a revelation from heaven, that they should choose him who, on the morrow, should be the first to enter the church, his name being Nicholas.   Accordingly, the requisite observations were made, when they found Nicholas to be waiting at the church door:  they took him and, to the incredible delight of all, made him the Bishop of Myra.

During his episcopate, he never flagged in the virtues looked for in a bishop;  chastity, which indeed he had always preserved, gravity, assiduity in prayer, watchings, abstinence, generosity and hospitality, meekness in exhortation, severity in reproving. He befriended widows and orphans by money, by advice and by every service in his power.   So zealous a defender was he of all who suffered oppression, that, on one occasion, three Tribunes having been condemned by the Emperor Constantine, who had been deceived by calumny and having heard of the miracles wrought by Nicholas, they recommended themselves to his prayers, though he was living at a very great distance from that place:   the saint appeared to Constantine and angrily looking upon him, obtained from the terrified Emperor their deliverance.

Having, contrary to the edict of Dioclesian and Maximian, preached in Myra the truth of the Christian faith, he was taken up by the servants of the two Emperors.  He was taken off to a great distance and thrown into prison, where he remained until Constantine, having become Emperor, ordered his rescue and the Saint returned to Myra.   Shortly afterwards, he repaired to the Council which was being held at Nicaea:  there he took part with the three hundred and eighteen Fathers in condemning the Arian heresy (Tradition has it that he became so angry with the heretic Arius during the Council that he struck him in the face).St Nicholas of Myra slapping Arius at the Council of Nicaea.

Scarcely had he returned to his See than he was taken with the sickness of which he soon died.   Looking up to heaven and seeing Angels coming to meet him, he began the Psalm, In thee, O Lord, have I hoped and having come to those words, Into your hands I commend my spirit, his soul took its flight to the heavenly country.   His body, having been translated to Bari in Apulia, is the object of universal veneration.

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For St Nicholas traditional biscuits see here:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/st-nicholas-6-december/

Posted in PATRONAGE - FISHERMEN, FISHMONGERS, PATRONAGE - SAILORS, MARINERS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 14 April – Blessed Peter Gonzalez OP (1190 – 1246)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 14 April – Blessed Peter Gonzalez OP. (1190 – 1246) also known as -Pedro González Telmo, Saint Telmo, or Saint Elmo, was a Castilian Priest, and Friar of the Order of Preachers, born in 1190 in Frómista, Palencia, Kingdom of Castile and Leon.    Confessor, Preacher – Patron of  mariners, sailors, fisherman, Tui, Spain, Tui-Vigo, Spain, diocese of, Attributes – Dominican holding a blue candle or a candle with a blue flame; Dominican lying on his cloak which is spread over hot coals; Dominican holding fire in his bare hands; Dominican catching fish with his bare hands; Dominican beside the ocean, often holding or otherwise protecting a ship.   Image below – 16th-century painting of the Blessed Peter González, by Alejo Fernández, in the Alcázar of Seville

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Saint Paul had a conversion experience on the road to Damascus.   Many years later, the same proved true for Peter Gonzalez, who triumphantly rode his horse into the Spanish city of Astorga in the 13thcentury to take up an important post at the cathedral.   The animal stumbled and fell, leaving Peter in the mud and onlookers amused.

Humbled, Peter re-evaluated his motivations–his bishop-uncle had secured the cathedral post for him– and started down a new path.   He became a Dominican priest and proved to be a most effective preacher.   He spent much of his time as court chaplain and attempted to exert positive influence on the behaviour of members of the court.   After King Ferdinand III and his troops defeated the Moors at Cordoba, Peter was successful in restraining the soldiers from pillaging and persuaded the king to treat the defeated Moors with compassion.

After retiring from the court, Peter devoted the remainder of his life to preaching in northwest Spain.   Having developed a special mission to Spanish and Portuguese seamen, he is considered their patron.

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Peter Gonzalez died in 1246 and was beatified in 1741.

Although his cultus was confirmed in 1741 by Pope Benedict XIV and despite his common epithet of “saint,” Peter was never formally Canonised. Peter González was Beatified in 1254 by Pope Innocent IV.

The diminutive “Elmo” (or “Telmo”) belongs properly to the Martyr-Bishop Saint Erasmus (died c. 303), one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, of whose name “Elmo” is a contraction. However, as Erasmus is the patron saint of sailors generally and Peter González of Spanish and Portuguese sailors specifically, they have both been popularly invoked as “Saint Elmo.“