A Personal Aesthetic
For a number of years, I've wanted to develop more fully a plan for personal religious practice. Of course, I've had a personal practice ever since I began to actively practice the Christian faith in my teenage years. I've had times of prayer, Bible reading, praying the rosary and Eucharistic adoration (since becoming Catholic), etc. I've developed patterns. But I've felt for some time a desire to create a more complete and personalized plan that would more richly draw on elements that are meaningful to me and give me an overall richer religious practical life throughout the year.
I've had some idea of where I've wanted to go with this. I'm a medievophile, and I've always been attracted to celebrations of various feasts and saint's days in the Church year that were practiced in medieval Europe - like having a great bonfire to celebrate the Nativity of John the Baptist, for example. But I've never had a clear idea of how to go about creating a plan of practice that draws on these kinds of things. I've thought about trying to motivate people in my local Catholic community to be interested in reviving some of the medieval celebrations and practices, but I'm not really that great at creating movements of that sort, and I'm aware that my aesthetic tastes are not particularly in vogue these days!
Recently, I've come to the point where I feel I can actually put together the sort of personal plan that I've been thinking about for some time. And, interestingly, the key that has really helped me get to this point has come from my visits to Oak Spirit Sanctuary (OSS), a local pagan community. (You can read about my experiences with this community here.) Neo-Paganism, at least the sort practiced at OSS, tends to be very eclectic and creative in nature. It always has been since the movement got started. Pagans typically draw on lots of sources for their beliefs and practices - particularly reconstructions of what we know about pre-Christian European religions. There's often a lot we don't know about these traditions, and so pagans have had to be creative at filling in gaps, taking bits of historical information and making something modern and viable. And they've tended to draw from a variety of historic cultures to create a practice that is often an amalgam of ideas, myths, holidays, celebrations, and practices from all these cultures. Pagans also tend to be individualistic, with individuals often creating their own patterns of solitary practice. It is this individualism and eclecticism that has given me the inspiration and example I've needed to see in my mind how I might go about creating a more complete plan for myself. I don't need to try to get other people to do what I want to do; I can develop my own practice as an individual. And I don't need to be hampered by an obsession with historical accuracy as I draw on historic medieval customs of various cultures; I am allowed to be eclectic, to create something that draws on history but is ultimately my own.
Eclecticism is also a characteristic within the Catholic Church. Different callings, different personalities, different cultures, have created a variety of devotional practices, a diversity of rites, different religious orders, etc. Such diversity is greatly encouraged within the Church. But, for some reason, it took observation of a pagan community to really help me to get a full idea of my possibilities.
Since this is a personal plan that is meant to reflect my own personality and aesthetic, I can include anything in it that helps to make it my own (provided it is consistent with my Catholic worldview, the rules of the Church, and with wisdom and prudence), but I find that there are a few sources that I want especially to draw on to develop this plan. As I said earlier, I am drawn to medieval culture and customs. I also find things like myth and fantasy, mystical/transcendent music, and other things of this sort to be very conducive to my spiritual life and my relationship with God. I am drawn to rituals and seasonal celebrations. A lot of things that resonate with my personality are found in medieval Christianity. I've also always been attracted to the aesthetic of paganism - which is not surprising, considering that Neo-Pagan culture draws on a lot of the same sources that an interest in medieval Christianity would lead one to.
With regard to the "pagan" part of this aesthetic, see two previous articles I have written (here and here) which provide some analysis of certain aspects of paganism from a Catholic point of view. It is a long-standing Catholic tradition to recognize that God has been at work in all human societies, not just Christian ones, and that we are enriched by recognizing and drawing on aspects of the divine life and beauty that are reflected in the ideas and practices of all human cultures. (See, for example, the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate for some magisterial reflections on how this works with regard to non-Christian religions.) But it is important to be clear here. Insofar as "pagan" represents a worldview that is contrary to or alternative to Catholicism, I am a Catholic, and my personal practice and aesthetic will of course be solidly Catholic. There can be no syncretism. There can be nothing adopted that is out of accord with the rules of the Church or that conflicts with a Catholic worldview - like polytheism or idolatrous practices, or magic and divination (as these are defined in Scripture and the Catechism), or other things condemned in Scripture and in Catholic teaching. But insofar as aspects of pagan beliefs, practices, and culture are consistent with Catholicism and reflect the creativity and inspiration of God as it has been at work in the pagan world, the Church (in the words of Nostra Aetate) "exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men." The Church is enriched by "recognizing, preserving, and promoting the good things, spiritual and moral," that are found in pagan culture, and my personal spirituality is enriched in the same way - especially as many aspects of the pagan aesthetic resonate strongly and deeply with my own.
As I draw on these various cultural sources for my practice, I appreciate the guidance of the Church with regard to popular piety. The USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) has a helpful document devoted to this subject. In the section on "the relationship between popular devotions and culture," the document says this:
Popular devotions arise in the encounter between the Catholic faith and culture. As the Church brings the faith into a culture, there are two kinds of transformation that take place. First of all, by introducing the Catholic faith, the Church transforms the culture, leaving the imprint of the faith on the culture. At the same time, however, the Church assimilates certain aspects of the culture, as some elements of the culture become absorbed and integrated into the life of the Church. This twofold process can be seen in the development of popular devotional practices. "In genuine forms of popular piety, the Gospel message assimilates expressive forms particular to a given culture while also permeating the consciousness of that culture with the content of the Gospel." 21
The Catholic faith is thus able to enter into every culture, and people are able to live the faith in their own cultures, once these cultures have been purified of elements foreign to the Catholic faith. While this inculturation of the faith takes place in the liturgy, popular devotions carry the faith a step deeper into the everyday life of a particular culture. When properly ordered to the liturgy, popular devotions perform an irreplaceable function of bringing worship into daily life for people of various cultures and times. "The liturgy is the criterion; it is the living form of the Church as a whole, fed directly by the Gospel. Popular piety is a sign that the faith is spreading its roots into the heart of a people in such a way that it reaches into daily life." 22 Popular devotions allow the practice of the faith to pass beyond the bounds of the Church's official liturgy and to permeate more thoroughly the daily lives of people in their own culture.
(I must add as well that any drawing on cultural sources in the development of private devotion, as I put it elsewhere, "must be done with great care and prudence, with spiritual guidance, following Church teaching, rules, and authority, properly avoiding occasions of scandal or any inclination towards confusion or syncretism, etc." I should also add that the USCCB in the quotation above, when it talks about cultures being "purified of elements foreign to the Catholic faith," is specifically referring to the practice of Catholics within a culture. In other words, it is saying that when Catholics draw on elements of their culture to incorporate into their devotion, those elements must be purified of things foreign to their Catholic faith.)
What I want to do for the rest of this article is to lay out the particularities of my personal plan. I will start by laying out some customs for my general, regular religious practice. After this, I will lay out a personal yearly calendar rooted in seasons and feast days and the customs I wish to incorporate into my celebration of them. I will no doubt adapt, alter, add, delete, and change things from time to time as time goes by, and those changes will be reflected in edits made to my outlines below. As I share all of this, I hope that it might be interesting to others and perhaps provide some inspiration to others who also might benefit from developing more consciously or systematically their own personal plan of practice - whether they resonate in particular with my aesthetic or are inclined to go in some other direction.
A Regular Practice
Every morning when I wake up, I say morning prayers. I say the Our Father, I express thanks to God, I express praise, I lift up all my prayer requests, etc. I ask for the intercession of a variety of saints connected to various things I am praying for. During breakfast, I alternate reading from the Bible with reading from some other source (right now I'm reading a classic work on Church history).
I alternate in the afternoons, typically, between going for a walk and praying a rosary. When I pray the rosary, I typically do so in a church or chapel where I can combine the rosary with Eucharistic adoration (spending time in the presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament).
A couple of nights a week, I do family worship with my children, which involves reading from the Bible, praying, and singing a hymn. On Sundays, and often at least one other time during the week, I attend Mass. After Mass on Sundays, I have a time of "catechesis" with my children. I am involved in music ministry at my local parish as a cantor (a singer who helps lead singing at Mass) and as a member of one of our choirs. I am involved in teaching ministry as well.
Occasionally, I pray parts of the Divine Office, also known as the Liturgy of the Hours (most often the Office of Readings, or sometimes the Evening Prayer or Vespers), usually on special occasions. I also engage in days of fasting or celebration for particular purposes on occasion. Also on occasion, I pray a novena or some other special form of prayer.
I often listen to music. I watch movies and TV shows. I read books on theology, philosophy, Church history, and other subjects, as well as novels. I go for walks and spend time in nature. These may not seem obviously to be part of my religious practice, but they are ways in which I connect with God and he communicates himself to me. I also attend events frequently at OSS.
I follow the Church's liturgical calendar, observing seasons, feast days, and saint's days.
These things have been part of my religious practice for years. I intend to keep all of this, but I would like to enhance my regular practice by adding some further ritual elements to it. I hesitated to use the word "ritual" here, because I think it is a word more commonly used in pagan contexts than in Catholic ones to describe a person's daily religious or devotional practices. But it is a word I have come to use in my own thinking, and it is a usefully descriptive word, so I would like to use it here as well. Just to be clear, here is the meaning of the term as given in the first few paragraphs of the "Ritual" Wikipedia article. It fits exactly with how I am using the term.
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or revered objects. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, but not defined, by formalism, traditionalism, invariance, rule-governance, sacral symbolism, and performance.
Rituals are a feature of all known human societies. They include not only the worship rites and sacraments of organized religions and cults, but also rites of passage, atonement and purification rites, oaths of allegiance, dedication ceremonies, coronations and presidential inaugurations, marriages, funerals and more. Even common actions like hand-shaking and saying "hello" may be termed as rituals. (Footnotes and embedded links removed.)
So a "ritual" is simply a set of prescribed actions that have some kind of symbolic meaning.
Below is an outline of a ritual for regular practice. It is something I can do on a regular basis. Some days I may do very little if any of it. Some days I may do some parts of it and not others. Some days I may do the whole thing. The form of it may vary with particular occasions (especially connected to events on my yearly calendar or in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church - see the next section below).
Designate a particular sacred spot. This could be an existing shrine in or near a church or other sacred place, or it could be something I create in my own space. If I am creating a spot in my own space, I can designate it by creating or recognizing a circle of stones or trees, if I am outside, or an inside shrine if I am inside (decorated with a cross, pictures of saints, perhaps a rosary and other sacred objects, including some meaningful objects I've acquired at OSS). I will anoint the place with holy water as a way of designating it as a place where I want to focus particularly on the presence of God, call God's presence to me, and worship God within it. If I can, I will light a candle or burn incense as a tangible way to express my acknowledgment of God's presence and to symbolize my prayers as they rise to God. I will make the sign of the cross and pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary. (With regard to all the prayers in the ritual, I can simply speak them, or I can sing them or chant them, or I can play music connected to them - such as this version of the Hail Mary from Catholic musician John Michael Talbot.)
I will also recite, chant, or sing, if I have time, St. Patrick's Breastplate. (A wonderful musical version of this can be found in the song "Encircling" from the neo-Celtic Christian band Iona.
I would also like to acknowledge God's presence within the natural world around me by making honorable reference to different aspects of nature. I will recognize and welcome the elements of earth, air, fire, and water (as symbolic of the general substance and forces of the natural world). I will use tangible symbols to represent them, such as salt water, a feather, and a red stone (salt is earth, water is water, the red stone is fire, the feather is air). I will also acknowledge plants, animals, the ecosystem, the sun, moon, stars, etc. Going along with this same theme, I can also recite or chant or sing St. Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Creatures. (A nice musical version of this can be found in "All Creatures of Our God and King" by Fernando Ortega. And of course this is a classic hymn as well.) I will also acknowledge the saints (especially the saint of the day), my Confirmation/patron saint St. Thomas More, and others who have died - including friends, relatives, ancestors, and spiritual ancestors (those who have had significant influence upon me). I will acknowledge and welcome their presence in spirit, pray for them, and ask for their intercession. I will remember living friends and family as well. In addition, I will welcome and acknowledge the myths, symbols, stories, and other forms of art that have been meaningful to me and through which God has connected with me.
If there is a particular focus on a particular day - a saint's feast day, another sort of feast day, a day commemorating some other sacred object or event or figure or something meaningful to me, some particular thing I am praying for, etc. - I will do something meaningful in connection with that focus. I will read about the saint of the day, or I will read or listen to something else that connects me to whomever/whatever it is that the day is focusing on. I will lift up particular prayers. I may do some other activity in connection to that focus (such as the activities mentioned on several of the days on my yearly calendar below) either during the ritual or sometime during or around the day.
I will then do some singing/chanting (including something appropriate to the particular day if possible). I may add some drumming and/or dance. I will then close out my ritual, bringing the time to a conclusion. I will bid farewell to this particular time of worship and all whom I have welcomed into it, but with the recognition that I go from this time into the rest of my daily life which is always lived in the presence of God and under his protection and in the presence of all the created beings I have connection to in this world, in purgatory, and in heaven. I will conclude with the Salve Regina (or, perhaps sometimes, the Anima Christi - see the musical arrangement from JMT here) and the sign of the cross.
One of the main elements of the ritual is that I am praying using symbols and symbolic actions (a historic Catholic practice). First, I designate a spot for the devotion and then mark the beginning of the devotion. I acknowledge God's presence and put myself into a frame of mind in which I am focusing on his presence. God is always present, but I am now focusing on that in a more direct way. I use a candle or incense as a symbol to express God's presence and my prayers. I use St. Patrick's Breastplate to pray to God for his protection, grace, help, and blessing.
I also think about the various elements of God's created world all around me and acknowledge them. When I talk about "welcoming" them, it simply means that I am focusing attention on them, consciously being aware of them, acknowledging them, and being grateful for them. I recognize the beauty and dignity that they have as creations of God. God alone is worshiped, and honor appropriate to creatures, which points to the glory of God their Creator, is given to the aspects of the created world. The use of material elements like salt water, etc., are simply symbolic ways to express all of this. They make it more tangible, which is helpful for physical beings like us.
Honor (dulia) is given to the saints as well. I "welcome" those who have died in the sense of acknowledging them as I practice this devotion, honoring them, praying for them, and asking for their intercession. I also "welcome"—that is, I am aware of and acknowledge—the myths, stories, symbols, and other forms of art that God uses to display aspects of his beauty to me and help me to know him better. I use music to praise God and honor the saints and the creation. That music can take different forms—classic hymn-singing, chanting, etc. Drumming and dance can be used as a way to enhance the music and express praise, joy, and devotion, always maintaining appropriate reverence and respect.
At the end of the ritual, I "say farewell" to all I have welcomed—that is, I recognize that this particular time of devotion with its particular attention and focus has come to an end and I am going out into the rest of my life, but a life always lived with awareness of God's presence and under his grace and protection, and in communion with the saints and with the rest of creation.
Here is a more scripted outline for the ritual (with ChatGPT's help in turning my ideas into an outline form). I can fill this in with more detail as I wish or as appropriate as I carry out the ritual. (From time to time, I may post on this page additional rituals as I develop them.)
Opening:
Begin by standing at your designated sacred spot, whether it's a shrine in a church, a circle of stones or trees outdoors, or an indoor shrine adorned with sacred objects. Take a moment to center yourself and become aware of the presence of God.
Anointing and Symbolic Acts:
Making the Sign of the Cross
Anointing with Holy Water: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. I ask for Your blessing upon this sacred space. May it be a place where Your presence dwells, O God."
Lighting the Candle (or Burning Incense): "I light this candle (or burn this incense) as a symbol of Your presence with me, O Lord. May my prayers rise like incense before You."
Praying the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be: "Our Father, who art in heaven..." "Hail Mary, full of grace..." "Glory be to the Father . . ."
St. Patrick's Breastplate: "I bind unto myself today..."
Acknowledging God's Presence in Nature:
Earth (Salt): "Blessed be God who formed the earth."
Water (Water): "Blessed be God who gave us water."
Fire (Red Stone): "Blessed be God who created fire."
Air (Feather): "Blessed be God who gives us breath."
Plants, Animals, Ecosystem, Sun, Moon, Stars, etc.: "Blessed be God who created the vast diversity of life and the universe. May we always marvel at Your creation."
Canticle of the Creatures (St. Francis of Assisi): "Most High, all-powerful, good Lord..."
Acknowledging Saints and Spiritual Figures:
"I welcome the saints, especially [mention any specific saints or the saint of the day], and all who have gone before me in faith."
"I honor my Confirmation/patron saint, St. Thomas More, and others who have inspired and guided me."
Prayers for the Departed and Intercession: "I pray for those who have died, [mention names if desired], and ask for the intercession of all the saints in heaven."
Acknowledging Art and Symbolic Stories:
"I welcome the myths, symbols, stories, and art that have deepened my understanding of You, O God."
Special Focus of the Day:
[Mention any special intention or focus for today, and carry out any activity associated with that focus.]
Singing and Chanting [appropriate songs, hymns, and/or chants] If desired, incorporate drumming and/or dance as expressions of praise and joy.
Closing:
Bidding Farewell: "I bid farewell to this sacred time of worship and to all whom I have welcomed into it. May I carry Your presence with me always, O God."
Salve Regina or Anima Christi: "Hail, Holy Queen..." "Soul of Christ, sanctify me..."
Final Prayer for Blessing: "May your blessing, Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, come upon me and remain with me always. Amen."
Sign of the Cross: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
My Yearly Calendar
I've also decided to express my aesthetic in a calendar for the year. For its overall structure, the calendar draws on two main sources - the liturgical calendar (Latin Rite) of the Catholic Church (as published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) and the Wheel of the Year.
The liturgical calendar lays out the official worship cycle of the year for the whole Church. My personal calendar follows its basic structure and draws heavily from it. It goes beyond it as well, as there are days celebrated on my calendar that are not in the liturgical calendar. (And I remember some people on this personal, informal calendar who are not canonized saints but are simply people I wish to acknowledge, honor, and remember.) And there are days on the liturgical calendar that aren't in my personal calendar. As a Catholic, I am both an individual practitioner of religion and also a member of the universal Church (and a member of a particular local diocese and parish church). My personal calendar reflects my personal aesthetic, but it does not replace the role of the Church's official calendar in my life. I celebrate the whole of the liturgical calendar, even the days that I have not chosen to put into my personal calendar. It is also important to note that, in the Catholic view, all expressions of popular or personal piety should lead back to the universal Church and her liturgy, especially to the Mass and the Eucharist (which is the source and summit of the Christian life). The public liturgy of the Church is the center of our practice which all other popular or personal practices are oriented towards. And the practice of the Church is broader than my personal aesthetic. For example, I focus heavily on the Middle Ages, but the Church is not tied to any one period of history. My personal aesthetic represents what my personality tends to be drawn to, but my overall practice, as a Catholic Christian who is a member of the universal Church, goes beyond this.
The Wheel of the Year comes out of Neo-Pagan culture. But much of it is rooted in medieval or ancient festivals and celebrations, often seasonal in nature, many of which were or are also celebrated by Christians. Many festivals in the Wheel have Christian counterparts, or they are derived from festivals whose origins or histories have mixed pagan and Christian influence. In my calendar, I have amalgamated the festivals and seasons of the Wheel with the Catholic liturgical calendar in a way that is consistent with a Catholic worldview and that suits my personal aesthetic.
As I have noted, I have drawn heavily on historic medieval and local popular traditions to fill out the customs and practices associated with particular days in the calendar, but, in accordance with a respectful spirit of eclecticism, I have adapted aspects of these traditions and customs to make them my own.
So here is my personal yearly calendar:
Advent
This season involves preparation for the celebration of Christ's first coming at Christmas and also for his second coming in the future. On each Sunday in Advent (there are four of them), the Advent wreath is lit. The lighting is accompanied by prayers and the singing of hymns. From December 17 to December 24, the O Antiphons are sung. (See here.) I like to use the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) for Advent Sundays along with the lighting of the wreath.
Sts. John of Damascus and Barbara (Dec. 4)
John of Damascus was one of the great Eastern Doctors of the Church. Barbara was a 3rd-4th century martyr widely honored in the Middle Ages.
St. Nicholas (Dec. 6)
In honor of St. Nicholas, a special gift will be given to someone in need. Also, in honor of a medieval tradition, it would be appropriate to hold an informal meeting in the home in which children will preach and the adults will be the listeners.
St. Ambrose (Dec. 7)
A great Doctor of the Church and the one who baptized the great St. Augustine of Hippo.
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Dec. 8)
A day to celebrate the fullness of God's grace given to Mary, through the sacrifice and merits of Christ, whereby she was kept free from inheriting the condition of original sin.
St. Lucy (Dec. 13)
A widely recognized and honored early martyr. Her name is derived from the word for "light," and her feast is near the Winter Solstice, and so there has been a tradition of girls on this day making a procession bearing candles in her honor. Special buns called "Lucy buns" are, in some places, consumed on this day.
St. John of the Cross (Dec. 14)
A great mystic and Doctor of the Church. Listen to Loreena McKennitt's rendering of his "Dark Night of the Soul" here.
St. Peter Canisius (Dec. 21)
Another great Doctor of the Church. Canisius defended the Catholic faith at the time of the Protestant Reformation. He was known for advocating a more empathatic and positive approach to dialogue with Protestants, something I greatly admire and value. On this day, there will be special prayer made for loving dialogue and for unity between Catholics and Protestants. I can also listen to John Michael Talbot's song "One Faith".
Christmas / Yule / Midwinter / Winter Solstice
At this season, we celebrate the Incarnation and birth of God into the world. This is therefore one of the most central feasts of the Church. It is a time of great festivity and joy. It is also the time of the Winter Solstice, when the tide is turned and winter, which has been advancing, begins to retreat as spring and summer begin to make their advance. In nature, therefore (at least in the Northern hemisphere), death begins to come to an end and the world tends towards rebirth. This pattern in nature is significant in itself but also points us to the great rebirth that will come as Christ's Incarnation and Passion conquer death and hell.
In the churches, there is the great Christ Mass (and Eve of Christ Mass). I typically sing with the choir on Christmas Eve. The Christmas season continues until the Feast of Epiphany (traditionally this was twelve days - hence the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas). At OSS, there is a Yule celebration that focuses on the natural aspects of the season and their connection to spiritual rebirth in our lives. Traditions include things like Christmas caroling, wassailing, having a Christmas tree, possibly a Yule log, as well as decorating with holly, ivy, and mistletoe.
Also, less importantly but still worth mentioning, in the world of Arthuriana, it is at Christmas that Arthur pulls the sword out of the stone and is first recognized as king (though his full and formal recognition and coronation does not take place until Pentecost).
This is also a good time to remember that, while winter is a time of darkness and death, it is also a season created by God with a beauty of its own that we should celebrate and enjoy.
St. Stephen (Dec. 26)
He was the first Christian martyr. His feast day is featured in the Christmas song "Good King Wenceslaus." In some times and places, mumming has been a common tradition on this day and during the Christmas season in general. Christmas caroling is a form of mumming, but it can also include putting on a more dramatic performance (and other things as well). Since the song "Good King Wenceslaus" is associated with this day and with the Christmas season, perhaps a brief dramatic rendition of the events recounted in the song could be performed, accompanied by singing the song itself.
Since I mentioned mumming, here is the classic song "The Mummer's Dance" by Loreena McKennitt (although she is singing about mumming in the springtime).
St. John the Apostle (Dec. 27)
One of the Twelve Apostles and the author of the Gospel of John and other New Testament books.
Holy Innocents (Dec. 28)
This day commemorates the killing of the innocent children of Bethlehem by King Herod as he was trying to kill the child Jesus. On this day, it is appropriate to specially honor children. Perhaps children can form a choir and sing on this day.
St. Thomas Becket (Dec. 29)
One of the most famous martyrs of the Middle Ages. He was Archbishop of Canterbury and was martyred by King Henry II. The movie Becket was made about him. It's a good movie, I think, if not eniirely historically accurate in everything. The martyrdom of Becket began a tradition of pilgirmage to visit his relics at Canterbury Cathedral. This is the origin of the great Canterbury pilgrimage tradition which was one of the most popular in the Middle Ages, especially in England. Geoffrey Chaucer's famous work The Canterbury Tales focuses on a group of pilgrims making a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Thomas in Canterbury. This would be an approprate day to make a pilgrimage. In Missouri, I might go to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows in Starkenburg, MO.
Holy Family (Dec. 31)
This is a feast to celebrate Mary, Joseph, and Jesus as a family. A good time for family activities. Also a good time to ask for the intercession of the Holy Family for our families and all families. There is a tradition of writing "✝ J.M.J. ✝" at the top of documents, notes, etc., during this day to remember the Holy Family and ask for their blessing.
Mary, Holy Mother of God (Jan. 1)
A feast to focus on Mary's role as Mother of God, which is the foundation of her being "full of grace" and thus of all her other unique attributes. As with all Marian feast days, this is a good day to pray a rosary, sing hymns connected to Mary, visit Marian shrines, etc.
Sts. Basil and Gregory Nazianzen (Jan. 2)
These are two great Fathers and theologians of the early Church. One tradition associated with St. Basil's Day is to bake bread and put coins inside of it to rememeber Basil's habit of putting coins inside bread that was to be distributed to the poor.
St. Genevieve (Jan. 3)
It has been traditional to make a procession in her honor. As she is one of the patron saints of Paris, it is good on this day to lift up prayers for France and to celebrate French culture.
In the musical Camelot, Guenevere prays to St. Genevieve out of anxiety as she anticipates meeting her future husband, King Arthur.
St. Edward the Confessor (Jan. 5)
He was an Anglo-Saxon king who ruled England from 1042 through 1066. He was a popular English saint in the High Middle Ages.
Epiphany
This feast celebrates the coming of the Magi to honor the child Jesus. This is symbolic of Jesus appearing as a light to all the nations of the earth. It has been customary for the choir I am a part of in my local parish church to have a special Epiphany concert each year to mark the end of the Christmas season. It is also customary to eat King cake and to hide a small figure of the child Jesus inside it to be found by one of the eaters.
Baptism of the Lord
This feast celebrates the occaion of Jesus's baptism by John the Baptist. It is a good occasion to remember one's own baptism and how it is made effective by the work of Christ. Anointing oneself with holy water is a reminder of one's baptism.
St. Hilary (Jan. 13)
One of the great theologians of the early Church and defender of the doctrine of the Trinity.
St. Anthony the Great (Jan. 17)
St. Anthony's life was one of the earliest exemplars and inspirations for the development of monasticism in the early Church. This is a good day to fast as a reminder that our ultimate attachment should not be to this world but to God and the heavenly kingdom.
St. Sebastian (Jan. 20)
One of the great martyrs of the early days of the Church, widely celebrated in the Middle Ages. He is the patron saint of athletes and cyclists, among many other things. This is a good day to go for a bicycle ride in his honor, if it is not too cold outside.
St. Agnes (Jan. 21)
Another popular martyr from the early Church. One custom associated with her at some times and places (but not endorsed by the Church) has been that young girls have hoped to discover, on the eve of her feast day, who their future husbands will be. (This custom was immortalized in John Keats' s poem The Eve of Saint Agnes.) This would therefore be a good time to lift up a special prayer for one's future life and vocation. St. Agnes is also the patron saint of the Girl Scouts, so eating girl scout cookies on this day would be a good (and enjoyable!) way to honor her.
Another custom of this day is that two lambs are blessed by the Pope, the wool of which will eventually be used to weave pallia, which are garments given by the Pope to newly appointed metropolitan archbishops as a sign of his recognition of their jurisdiction and unity with the See of Rome.
Sts. Timothy and Titus (Jan. 26)
Both of these men worked closely with St. Paul in his missionary work. St. Paul points out Timothy's youth and exhorts him not to let that stop him from boldly carrying out the work of preaching Christ. In his honor, this is a good day to pray for the vocations and ministries of young people. Titus is the patron saint of the United States Army Chaplain Corps, so this is a good days as well to pray for the armed forces.
St. Thomas Aquinas (Jan. 28)
One of the greatest philosophers and theologians of all time. His major works of theology/philosophy are the Summa Theologica and the Summa Contra Gentiles.
Candlemas / St. Brigid's Day / Imbolc
Candlemas celebrates the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple after his birth and the purification of his mother Mary according to the Law of Moses. It gets its popular name "Candlemas" because it has been traditional to bring candles to the church to be blessed on this day. The candles symbolize Jesus as the light of the world.
The Feast of Candlemas, because of close proximity, has also become bound up with the feast day of St. Brigid of Kildare, an early leader in the Church in Ireland and one of Ireland's patron saints. There is also a pagan Irish goddess named Brigid. The history of these two have become bound up with each other and their identities have become mixed, a good example of how Christianity and elements of earlier paganism often became intertwined in the history of European societies. The celebration of St. Brigid is also bound up with the broader celebration of the beginning of spring - it taking place halfway between the winter and the spring equinoxes (at least in the Northern hemisphere) - and is also called the feast of Imbolc. As spring advances, so the light increases, and that light is celebrated by means of candles, thus linking all the aspects of this season together.
Besides the blessing of candles, a couple of other customs associated with this season are the use of St. Brigid's Crosses and the visiting of holy wells. OSS has a yearly Imbolc celebration.
Sts. Blaise and Ansgar (Feb. 3)
St. Blaise was a 4th century physician and martyr. St. Ansgar was a 9th century missionary to Northern Europe. It is traditional in some places to invoke St. Blaise's intercession for a special blessing of throats on St. Blaise's Day.
St. Agatha (Feb. 5)
She is a highly honored 3rd-century martyr. Combining a few historic traditions, I will make a procession while ringing a bell in her honor on her day.
St. Scholastica (Feb. 10)
She was the sister of St. Benedict of Nursia. As a patron saint of education, it would be fitting to have a special blessing and prayer for students on her day.
Our Lady of Lourdes (Feb. 11)
In 1858, the Virgin Mary made several appearances to Bernadette Sourirous at Lourdes, France. (Bernadette's feast day is April 16.) Mary is thus honored under the title "Our Lady of Lourdes." In this capacity, she is the patron saint of my parish church. This is a good day to make special prayers for healing of body, mind, and spirit using holy water brought from Lourdes or other holy water.
Sts. Valentine, Cyril, and Methodius (Feb. 14)
St. Valentine was a 3rd-century martyr, and, of course, his day is well known. Sts. Cyril and Methodius were 9th-century missionaries to the Slavs. They and the mission they established are the origin of the Cyrillic alphabet (named after St. Cyril).
Ash Wednesday and Lent
The season of Lent is a time of penance in preparation for Easter, as you can read about here. Throughout the season, there is to be a special focus on fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. The season begins with Ash Wednesday, on which it is customary to receive ashes on one's forehead as a sign of entering into this penitential season. This season ends with Palm Sunday and Holy Week, culminating on Easter Sunday.
The Chair of St. Peter (Feb. 22)
This feast is a celebration of the role of the Pope as the successor of St. Peter and head bishop of the Catholic Church.
St. Polycarp (Feb. 23)
St. Polycarp was a disciple of St. John the Apostle and an early martyr of the Church. It is appropriate on this day to read the letter we have from him or the account of his martyrdom written by contemporaries in the Martyrdom of Polycarp.
St. David of Wales (March 1)
He is the patron saint of Wales, and so it is appropriate to honor Welsh culture on this day. Daffodils and leeks are associated with him.
St. Chad of Mercia (March 2)
Anglo-saxon monk, bishop, and evangelist to various Anglo-Saxon peoples.
St. Ciarán was a hermit and bishop in Ireland around the time of St. Patrick.
Sometimes the Celtic god Cernunnos is associated with him. Not much is known about Cernunnos historically, but he is often thought of as a god of nature, animals, the forest, etc. He is also often treated as a masculine counterpart to the feminine Goddess. As a mythic symbol, therefore, he makes a nice personification of the beauty of the divine life of God portrayed in a limited and partial way in a masculine image, as I also use Aprhodite as a personfication of the beauty of the divine life portrayed in a limited and partial way in a feminine image (see Aphrodisia below on July 28). (Of course, if Cernunnos is to be used as a mythic symbol, it goes without saying that there can be no syncretistic worship of this symbol. It is simply a form of art that can be used to direct us to God once "baptized" into a Christian context.) As a personification of nature and the forest, he is also a good reminder and occasion to celebrate these things. I can honor nature and the forest, and ultimately the One who is the God of nature and the forest, by pouring a cup of water out over the ground. The mythic symbol of Cernunnon, like that of Aphrodite, also has particular relevance to me because of its association with my personal history, Cernunnos being mentioned in the game Conquests of Camelot (see an earlier article for the importance of this game in my early spiritual development. Also see here, here, and here for more on how mythic symbols, taken non-literally, can be used as a way of connecting to God. See also the entries below for J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.)
Sts. Perpetua and Felicity (March 7)
Two widely-recognized martyrs of the early Church during the time of the Roman persecutions. There are some particularly noteworthy human elements in their stories. Perpetua had recently given birth, and Felicity was pregnant, while they were imprisoned and awaiting martyrdom. We actually have portions of Perpetua's diary written during this time and other eyewitness testimony, which you can read in the classic work The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicity.
St. Patrick (March 17)
He hardly needs much of an introduction! Born in Britain, kidnapped by Irish pirates and made a slave in Ireland, he later returned to Ireland as a missionary to bring the gospel to the Irish people. We actually have a couple of writings from him, including his famous Confession in which he recounts aspects of his life and mission, and his Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus, in which he writes against a leader named Coroticus who raided in Ireland and ended up killing and enslaving some of Patrick's Irish converts. Ways of celebrating this day can include wearing green, enjoying Irish dance, going to a St. Patrick's Day parade, and finding clovers. This is also a good day to read St. Patrick's Breastplate or listen to Iona's musical version of it ("Encircling") or John Michael Talbot's "Christ as a Light". I can also watch the short VeggieTales version of Patrick's life.
Sts. Cyril of Jerusalem and Edward the Martyr (March 18)
St. Cyril was bishop of Jerusalem in the middle of the 4th century. We have his lectures he would give to people who were in the process of joining the Catholic Church. Because of this, it would be appropriate on this day to have a special prayer and blessing over students, converts, and the RCIA program (the program by which people join the Catholic Church).
Edward was King of England in the 10th century and was murdered, after which he was declared a martyr, and he had a popular following in England in the Middle Ages.
St. Joseph (March 19)
St. Joseph, of course, was the husband of the Virgin Mary and the foster father of Jesus. Being a father to Jesus, he is also a father to the universal Church. He is also patron saint of the dying. On this day, it is appropriate to remember and pray for the universal Church and for those who have died.
St. Cuthbert (March 20)
He was a 7th century monk and bishop, associated with a number of places in England, including the famous abbey at Lindisfarne. St. Cuthbert had a love of animals and apparently made laws to protect ducks in particular during his lifetime, so ducks are associated with him. Therefore this is a good day to honor ducks in some way, or to make a donation for the preservation of wildlife habitats, etc.
Jonathan Edwards (March 22)
Jonathan Edwards was a Puritan pastor, philosopher and theologian. I view him as one of history's greatest philosophers and theologians, even though he was a Protestant. His thought has been enormously influential and formative for me, and he is one of my personal heroes.
Palm Sunday, Holy Week, the Sacred Triduum, and Easter / the Spring Equinox / Ostara
Here we come to the holiest time of the Christian year. Palm Sunday celebrates the coming of Christ into Jerusalem and begins Holy Week. Holy Thursday begins the Sacred Triduum, a single liturgical celebration that takes place over three days - from Thursday evening to Sunday evening. Holy Thursday celebrates the institution of the Eucharist. Good Friday commemorates the death of Christ. Holy Saturday remembers the time Jesus spent in death. On Saturday night there is the Easter Vigil, in which the Church celebrates the beginning of Easter. (It is also traditional for those who have been preparing for baptism to be baptized at this service, and for those in general who have been preparing to join the Catholic Church to be received into her.) And Sunday is Easter, the highest feast of the year, which celebrate's Jesus's resurrection. The season of Easter then lasts over the next fifty days, until the Feast of Pentecost.
On the Wheel of the Year, the celebration of Ostara, which is a celebration of the Spring Equinox, takes place around this time. In the Northern Hemisphere at this time, winter is leaving and spring is beginning, so this is a time to celebrate the new season and the general theme of light after darkness, rebirth after death, etc. This ties in very naturally with the Christian celebration of Easter, obviously, and most likely the two words - "Easter" and "Ostara" - are etymologically and historcally related. (The non-English-speaking Christian world calls Easter "Passover" or some form of this word.) Easter is celebrated in the springtime because that is when Jesus died and rose from the dead historically, but the connection with spring (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) is an obvious and providential one. Many of the symbols and customs of Ostara - for example, eggs and egg-hunts - are also connected to Easter, and their associations with themes of spring and new life are evident. OSS has an event celebrating Ostara.
Hocktide (Tuesday after Easter)
This was a popular medieval celebration connected to worker's holidays and the economic cycles of the year. One interesting custom associated with it is that, as the Wikipedia article puts it, "women capture and tie up men and release them for a fee which goes to support the local church." Sounds like fun to me, and a good fundraiser!
The Annunciation (March 25)
This day celebrates the announcement to Mary by the angel Gabriel that she would give birth to Christ. It was often called "Lady Day" in the Middle Ages. As with all Marian feast days, this is a good day to pray a rosary, sing hymns/songs associated with Mary, visit Marian shrines, etc. This would be a good day in particular to focus attention on the divine life and beauty manifested in Mary through the grace of God, and so I might visit the shrine at OSS on or around this day.
St. Isidore of Seville (April 4)
One of the great Doctors of the Church in the 6th and 7th centuries. He was Archbishop of Seville in Spain. He attempted to create a catalog of the entire breadth of human knowlede in his Etymologiae. Because of this, he has been named the patron saint of the internet. So this would be a good day to say special prayers for or have a special blessing of the internet.
Vesak (April 8)
This day is a Buddhist celebration of the life, death, and enlightenment of the Buddha. There are many areas where Buddhist teaching is in agreement with Catholic teaching, and these rays of truth in Buddhism can be a source of wisdom and inspiration for Christians (they have been for me personally), and so I want to honor Siddhartha Gautama and these positive contributions of Buddhism on this day. The Vatican II document, Nostra Aetate, in section #2, comments on Buddhism, saying that "Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination." The Buddha came to the profound realization that this world is not the ultimate reality, and to think it is or treat it as such (what Christians would call "idolatry") is pure illusion and is the cause of suffering. Instead, we must learn (and Christians would add that we can only do so with the help of God's grace) to remove our ultimate attachment from this world and seek in its place the Ultimate Reality. As the Buddha put it,
"There is, O Bhikkhus [monks], an unborn, unoriginated, uncreated, unformed. Were there not, O Bhikkhus, this unborn, unoriginated, uncreated, unformed, there would be no escape from the world of the born, originated, created, formed.
Since, O Bhikkhus, there is an unborn, unoriginated. uncreated, unformed, therefore is there an escape from the born, originated, created, formed". (Udana, VIII, Patalagami, section #3, translated from the Pali by Dawsonne Melanchthon Strong [London: 1902, found here at the Sacred Texts website, reduced to HTML with some corrections by Christopher M. Weimer], clarification in brackets added)
This is a good day to contemplate this insight of the Buddha. It is customary in some places to honor the day by bringing flowers, candles, and other things. As flowers wither and candles burn out, we are reminded of the impermanence of this world. If I could make (and then wipe out) one of those famous sand mandalas, that would be appropriate, but that's not going to happen with my artistic skill! I might also watch Little Buddha around this time.
St. Martin I (April 13)
He was a 7th-century Pope martyred for his opposition to the Monothelite heresy. This is a good day to remember our duty to stand up for the truths of the faith and other important truths, and in general for what is right, no matter what the cost or what opposition we face.
Pink Moon Lunar
Around this time, OSS celebrates a Lunar. A "Lunar" is, as the name suggests, a celebration of a full moon. In April, the full moon is called a "pink moon".
St. Bernadette Soubirous (April 16)
The Virgin Mary appeared to her several times at Lourdes, France. (See the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes on Feb. 11.)
St. Anselm of Canterbury (April 21)
One of the great theologians and philosophers of the Middle Ages and a Doctor of the Church. He was also Archbishop of Canterbury in the 11th and 12th centuries. This would be a good day to read some selections from his works. Read also these two wonderful articles on Anselm on the Clerk of Oxford blog here and here.
Sts. George and Adalbert (April 23)
St. George was 2nd and 3rd century martyr who was widely popular in the Middle Ages (and still is today as well). There is a very famous story about him slaying a dragon. In general, in the Middle Ages, he was often looked on as a model of chivalry. He was very popular in England and in the Middle East. This would be a good day to consider the virtues of chivalry.
St. Adalbert was a 10th-century Czech bishop and martyr.
St. Mark (April 25)
St. Mark was a companion of the apostles and a missionary of the early Church. He was a disciple of St. Peter and also worked with St. Paul, and he is the author of the Gospel of Mark. He brought the gospel to Egypt and helped establish the famous Church of Alexandria. This would be a good day to celebrate Egyptian culture in some way, and perhaps also to visit a Coptic church.
St. Catherine of Siena (April 29)
A great 14th century mystic and Doctor of the Church. Perhaps read a bit from her famous Dialogue.
May Day / Beltane / Walpurgisnacht
It has been a longstanding tradition in European cultures to celebrate during the month of May, for obvious reasons well articulated in Sir Thomas Malory's 15th-century work Le Morte d'Arthur:
In May, whan every harte floryshyth and burgenyth—for, as the season ys lusty to beholde and comfortable, so man and woman rejoysyth and gladith of somer commynge with his freyshe floures, for wynter wyth hys rowghe wyndis and blastis causyth lusty men and women to cowre and to syt by fyres . . .
The Wikipedia article on "May Day" sums up some of the classic traditions of this day (May 1) and season: "Traditions often include gathering wildflowers and green branches ('bringing in the May'), weaving floral garlands, crowning a May Queen (sometimes with a male companion), and setting up a Maypole, May Tree or May Bush, around which people dance and sing. Bonfires are also a major part of the festival in some regions" (footnotes removed).
This season has had different names in different places and cultures. In Gaelic culture, it has been known as Beltane. In Germanic lands, the season became associated with St. Walpurga and is called Walpurgisnacht.
This has always been one of my favorite holidays because of its festive and celebratory nature and because of its strong associations with Medieval and Renaissance culture, with Arthuriana, and with Robin Hood. It is customary for Catholics during this season to crown images of the Virgin Mary with a wreath of flowers as Queen of Heaven and Earth. (Mary is the ultimate May Queen!) The Maying tradition plays an important role in Arthurian legend, and Queen Guenevere in particular is often associated with this tradition. Sometimes the Robin Hood legends have also been associated with this season. In late Medieval and Renaissance England, parishes would sometimes have "parish ales" around this time (May and June) during which Robin Hood stories would sometimes be enacted or people play the role of Robin Hood, Maid Marian, etc. Sometimes the May Queen of the Maying festivities has been associated with Maid Marian (and with Queen Guenevere) and the May King with Robin Hood. In addition to other traditions, therefore, this is a good time read King Arthur and Robin Hood stories, or watch related movies, or even put on short Robin Hood plays. In general, this is a good time to "go a-Maying." OSS has a Beltane festival at this time of the year. This is also a good time to listen to "The Mummer's Dance" by Loreena McKennitt and other May songs.
This would also be a good time, if possible, to attain some oil from St. Walpurga's tomb for healing of body, mind, and spirit, going along with the May festivities which are a great source of renewing of the spirit.
St. Athanasius (May 2)
Great 4th century bishop and Doctor of the Church. Known for his courageous defense of the Divinity of Christ at a time when that doctrine was currently under attack by ecclesiastical and political leaders of the day. This is a good day to recite the Nicene Creed and to listen to the song To the Mystery by Michael Card. I might also read some of Athanasius's great work On the Incarnation. As the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation are at the heart of the Christian worldview, this is a good day also to refelct on how the Christian worldview reveals to us the heart of reality itself.
Philip and James (son of Alphaeus, also known as James the Lesser) were two of the original Twelve Apostles.
St. John of Beverley (May 7)
English bishop of Hexham and York in the 7th and 8th centuries. Respected for his moral virtues and for his attention to scholarship and education.
The Ascension of the Lord (May 9)
This feast celebrates the ascension of Jesus into heaven after his resurrection. Good day to sing hymns associated with the ascension.
Our Lady of Fatima (May 13)
This feast celebrates the Virgin Mary's appearances to three children in Portugal in 1916-1917. Good day to read the story of these appearances and consider the meaning of them.
St. Matthias (May 14)
St. Matthias was chosen by the Church shortly after the resurrection of Christ to become an apostle as a replacement for Judas Iscariot.
St. Bertha (May 15)
6th-century Queen of Kent in Anglo-Saxon England, wife of St. Ethelbert (whose feast day is May 20). She was a great help to the establishment of the mission of St. Augustine of Canterbury to bring the gospel to the Anglo-Saxons.
Rogationtide (a week before Pentecost)
A time to request God's protection and blessing on the Church. It is appropriate on this day to make a procession around the local parish church as a form of prayer for protection and blessing on the local church. To showcase Christ's victory over evil, the procession might include the image of a dragon being led in defeat.
Pentecost / Whitsunday
This day celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Church. At the Mass on this day, there is a special chant-song that is sung focusing on the Holy Spirit. You can listen to Catholic singer John Michael Talbot's rendition of this here. This is a day for honoring the Third Person of the Trinity and the importance of the gift of the Spirit for the life of the Church and for the world.
The Feast of Pentecost also ends the Easter season.
The Feast of Pentecost is also a central feast in Arthurian legend. This was the day of Arthur's coronation, wedding, and the founding of the fellowship of the Round Table. In the stories, it was Arthur's custom to wait for some adventure to present itself before beginning the Pentecost feast (and other feasts). Galahad arrives at King Arthur's court on this day and brings the number of the knights of the Round Table to completion. This was also the feast on which the Holy Grail appeared to King Arthur's court, beginning the great Grail Quest.
St. Dunstan (May 19)
A very important saint in Medieval England. As his Wikipedia article says, he was "successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury."
Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church (May 20)
This feast celebrates the Virgin Mary in her capacity as Mother of the Church. As Mother of Christ, she is also mother of all of us who are in Christ.
St. Ethelbert of Kent (May 20)
6th and 7th century King of Kent in Anglo-Saxon England. Although a pagan at the time, Ethelbert allowed St. Augustine of Canterbury to set up a mission to preach the gospel to the Anglo-Saxons in Kent. He later became a Christian himself.
St. Rita of Cascia (May 22)
14th and 15th century wife and then Augustinian nun. Bees are associated with her, so this would be good day to observe bees and to consider their importance for the wellbeing of the world (and perhaps make a donation dedicated to their protection).
St. Bede the Venerable (May 25)
Great 8th-century historian of England and the English Church. His work is one of the most important historical works we possess on English history from the times of Celtic Britain down to Bede's own time. He wrote many other things as well and is a Doctor of the Church.
St. Augustine of Canterbury (May 26)
Great 6th and 7th century missionary to the Anglo-Saxons. He was sent to preach the gospel in England by Pope St. Gregory the Great and his mission (during his life and in continuation after his death) had a significant hand in the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. His story is told in the Venerable Bede's great History of the English Church and People (see previous entry).
The Most Holy Trinity (first Sunday after Pentecost)
As its name suggests, this day celebrates the Holy Trinity, which is at the heart of the Christian worldview.
Blessed Lanfranc (May 28)
Another great medieval (11th century) Archbishop of Canterbury (he was succeeded by St. Anselm).
St. Joan of Arc (May 30)
Joan of Arc is, of course, a widely-known saint. She has a fascinating story. God called her to rescue the French from English invasion in the 15th century. In the end, she was captured by the English and burned as a heretic after an unjust trial. She appealed to Rome but her appeal was illegally denied. After her death, her mother appealed her case and her conviction was overturned. Eventually, she was canonized as a saint. Ingrid Bergman starred in a movie about her which I like and often watch around this time.
The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (May 31)
This feast celebrates the visit of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth.
St. Justin Martyr (June 1)
Great 2nd-century philosopher, apologist, and martyr.
Corpus Christi (often, where I live, celebrated the Sunday after Trinity Sunday)
This feast celebrates the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of the Christian life. In the Eucharist, Christ makes himself present to us in a unique and substantial way and gives us himself and his grace (his divine life). It is the application to us of the power and merits of his sacrifice on the cross. It is customary on this day in many places for a Eucharistic procession to take place in the local parish. My local parish, Our Lady of Lourdes, has one each year which I enjoy participating in.
St. Boniface (June 5)
Known as the "Apostle to the Germans," St. Boniface was a very important 8th-century Anglo-Saxon missionary to the Germanic tribes on the continent. You can read some of his correspondence here.
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (the Friday after Corpus Christi)
This feast is a celebration of the love of Christ. It would be appropriate to attend Mass on this day and perhaps pray one of the hours of the Divine Office.
The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the Saturday after the Feast of the Sacred Heart)
This feast celebrates the divine life manifested in Mary's life of love to God and neighbor. Praying a rosary and visiting a Marian shrine would be approrpriate on this day, as well as singing Marian hymns/songs. Mary, in this capacity, is also the patron saint of my diocese.
St. Medard (June 8)
5th and 6th century Bishop of Noviomagus Veromanduorum (modern Noyon in France). He is associated with the weather. On St. Swithun's feast day on July 2 (St. Swithun, too, is associated with weather), it would be appropriate to have a ritual making special prayers for good weather throughout the year.
St. Columba (June 9)
Columba was a very important 6th-century missionary to Scotland. He founded the famous abbey at Iona, one of the centers of early Celtic Christianity. You can read about his life in this 7th-century biography. This is a good day to remember and celebrate Iona Abbey and Celtic Christianity.
St. Barnabas (June 11)
St. Barnabas was a companion of the first apostles and especially of the Apostle Paul. He was known for his empathy and tendency to encourage people. (The Apostles even gave him the name Barnabas which means "Son of Encouragement".) This would be a good day to focus on saying and doing things to encourge the people around you.
St. Anthony of Padua (June 13)
Great 13th-century Franciscan brother. He is the patron of lost items, so this is a good day to pray for things that have been lost to be restored.
St. Alban (June 20)
First Christian martyr in Britain and widely celebrated in the Middle Ages. This is a good day to celebrate Christianity in Britain.
Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More (June 22)
Both John Fisher and Thomas More were martyrs of the English Reformation, killed by Henry VIII. John Fisher was a bishop and cardinal. Thomas More was a lawyer and had been Chancellor of England. They were both killed for refusing to accept Henry VIII's claim to be supreme head over the Church in England and his claim to have lawfully married Anne Boleyn. Thomas More is my Confirmation saint. I chose him because he exhibited in his personality a combination of serious conviction, reasonable common sense, a love of scholarship, and a good sense of humor. His contemporary Robert Whittington described him this way (in 1520):
More is a man of an angel's wit and singular learning. He is a man of many excellent virtues (if I should say as it is); I know not his fellow. For where is the man (in whom is so many goodly virtues) of that gentleness, lowliness and affability? And, as time requireth, a man of marvelous mirth and pastimes, and sometime of as sad gravity, as who should say, ‘a man for all seasons’.I often watch the great movie A Man for All Seasons, which is about the life and death of Thomas More, around this time.
Midsummer / Litha / Summer Solstice / Nativity of St. John the Baptist
The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year. Ever since the Winter Solstice, the days have been getting longer. From this point on until the next Winter Solstice, the days will start getting shorter. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Summer Solstice takes place at the end of June. So this feast is a celebration of this longest day of the year and also of the beginning of the turn of the year towards winter. There is great light and life, but also a tendency toward the darkness and death of winter, which will, eventually, be reversed into the new light and life of spring. There is therefore an image here of life, death, and rebirth. Some traditions portray this turn towards winter using mythic symbolism, as this article from the Boston Public Library website describes:
The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, and in some traditions, Litha is when a battle between light and dark takes place. In this battle, the Oak King and the Holly King battle for control. During each solstice, they battle for power, and the balance shifts. The Oak King, who represents daylight, rules from the winter solstice (Yule) to Litha. During this time, the days steadily get longer. However, during Litha, the Holly King wins this battle, and the days get steadily darker until Yule.This festival is called by some Litha, a name for this time of the year which is rooted in ancient Anglo-Saxon usage. Across European societies, this season is typically celebrated with bonfires and feasting. OSS has such a celebration each year.
This festival, for Christians, is also associated with the birth of St. John the Baptist, a light who came into the world to point the way to Christ, but who, like the sunlight after the solstice, had to eventually decrease (so that Christ, who brings new life from death, could increase) (John 3:30).
St. Æthelthryth (June 23)
7th-century Anglo-Saxon saint, founder and abbess of Ely Abbey.
St. Cyril of Alexandria (June 27)
Great Doctor of the Church and defender of the unity of Christ's person against Nestorianism at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 AD.
St. Irenaeus (June 28)
Important 3rd-century Bishop of Lyons in Gaul and Doctor of the Church. His book, Against Heresies, was a very important contribution to Catholic theology and apologetics in this early period of Church history.
Obviously, Peter and Paul are hugely important figures in the early Church. Peter was an early disciple of Christ and was made by Christ head of the college of the apostles and leader of the Church under him. St. Paul was one of the Church's greatest early missionaries who brought the gospel to the Gentile world (and wrote much of the New Testament).
St. Junipero Serra (July 1)
Spanish Franciscan missionary to California in the 18th century.
St. Swithun (July 2)
St. Swithun was a very popular saint in the later Middle Ages (also mentioned in C of C). He was Bishop of Winchester in England. He is associated with the weather, and so on this day it is appropriate to hold a ritual making prayers for good weather throughout the year. There is a popular tradition associated with him which is expressed in this popular verse (quoted in his Wikipedia article):
St. Swithun's day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St. Swithun's day if thou be fair
For forty days 'twill rain nae mare
St. Thomas (July 3)
One of the Twelve Apostles of Christ.
St. Benedict (July 11)
One of the major founders of the monastic tradition in the West. Good day to read some of his famous Rule. and to celebrate the monastic tradition and the evangelical counsels. This would also be a good day to wear or make use in some way of a St. Benedict Medal.
St. Bonaventure (July 15)
Great 13th-century Franciscan Doctor of the Church.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (July 16)
The Virgin Mary under her aspect of Patroness of the Carmelite Order.
July Lunar
Celebration of the full moon in July at OSS.
St. Margaret of Antioch (July 20)
4th-century martyr popular in the Middle Ages.
St. Mary Magdalene (July 22)
Early follower of Jesus and one of the first witnesses of Jesus's resurrection.
St. Bridget of Sweden (July 23)
14th-century mystic and saint.
St. Charbel (July 24)
19th-century Eastern Catholic Maronite monk and saint. This would be a good day to make a special prayer for the reunion of the Catholic Church and the separated Eastern churches.
St. James the Greater (July 25)
One of the Twelve Apostles and the first of them to be martyred. Son of Zebedee and brother of St. John the Apostle. Some of his relics are in the Cathedral of St. James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and this is the basis of the historic and widely popular (both in the Middle Ages and today) Camino de Santiago pilgrimage tradition. This is good day or time period to make a pilgrimage (and if you can actually walk the Camino, all the better!).
St. Christopher (July 25)
3rd-century martyr who is the patron saint of travelers. This is good day to make a special ritual or prayer for travels and travelers throughout the year. Getting one's mode of transportation blessed would also be a good activity. This is also a good day to wear a St. Christopher medal.
Sts. Joachim and Anne (July 26)
Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is a good day to make a special prayer for grandparents.
Aphrodisia (July 28)
As I discuss in this article, because of my personal history, the mythical symbol of Aphrodite has come to me to be a meaningful personification of the beauty of the divine life of God portrayed in a limited and partial way in a feminine image. It would be appropriate on or around this day to celebrate that personification by visiting OSS and praying a rosary. (Praying a rosary is appropriate because the Virgin Mary is the ultimate example of the divine life displayed in a created being, as she is, in a special way, full of grace and hyperdulia is paid to her. Also, unlike Aphrodite, who is simply an artistic symbol, the Virgin Mary is a real person.) It is appropriate to make use of the symbols of a dove and an apple as well. (Again, see here, here, and here for more on how mythic symbols, taken non-literally, can be used as a way of connecting to God. See also the entries below for J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. And, again, we must note that if Aphrodite is to be used as a mythic symbol, it goes without saying that there can be no syncretistic worship of this symbol. It is simply a form of art that can be used to direct us to God once "baptized" into a Christian context.)
Sts. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus of Bethany (July 29)
Three followers of Christ during his earthly lifetime, mentioned in the Gospels. Lazarus was raised from the dead by Jesus. Because of the story about Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42, it is appropriate on this day to consider the importance of balance in one's life.
St. Peter Chrysologus (July 30)
5th-century Bishop of Ravenna and Doctor of the Church.
St. Ignatius of Loyola (July 31)
Great leader in the Church at the time of the Counter-Reformation and the founder of the Jesuits. This is a good day to pray the Anima Christi and/or sing JMT's musical version of it here.
Lughnasadh / Lammas
This is a historic festival celebrating the beginning of the harvest season. One historic custom involves hiking up hills or mountains, so this is a good time for hiking. It is also a good time for eating blueberries or blackberries, as well as celebrating bakeries and baked goods (in connection to the Lammas side of the festival). Visiting holy wells is also a custom. OSS has a Harvest Homecoming Festival which takes place about halfway between Lughnasadh and Mabon (see below).
St. Sidwell (August 2)
She was a virgin martyr from Exeter in the 8th century who was popular in that region of England in the Middle Ages. She is mentioned in C of C. She is associated with holy wells, so this would be a good day to visit a holy well in her memory (and in celebration of the gift of water - so necessary and foundational for life - and of Jesus as the eternal water of life). To me, St. Sidwell (along with her sister St. Juthware - Nov. 18) represents the whole culture of saint legends in the Middle Ages.
St. Oswald (August 5)
He was one of the great Anglo-Saxon kings in England. A tradition holds that, after his death, his arm was taken by a raven to an ash tree, resulting in the ash tree being preserved agelessly in strength. These symbols link his story to classic Germanic mythology. It is approriate to make use of the raven and the world tree - Yggdrasil - as symbols in his honor on this day, as his traditions link to these mythic symbols.
Transfiguration (August 6)
This feast celebrates the revelation of Jesus's glory to his disciples on Mt. Tabor, revealing beneath of surface of his ordinary humanity the reality of God's life and plan at work in the world.
St. Dominic (August 8)
St. Dominic was a great 13th-century teacher of the Church and the founder of the Dominican Order.
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (August 9)
Born as Edith Stein, she was a 20th-century Jewish convert to Catholicism. She was a philosopher and a Carmelite nun. She was murdered as a Catholic of Jewish origin in 1942 in the Auschwitz-Birkenau gas chambers. This is an appropriate day to remember the evils and horrors of the Holocaust and to pray for its victims - their souls, families, etc.
St. Lawrence (August 10)
A widely-recognized and honored 3rd-century martyr. He is remembered partly for his pluck and cheek in the face of persecution. When he was asked to hand over the treasures of the church to the Roman authorities, he distributed the church's goods to the poor and then, in the words of his Wikipedia article (footnotes and embedded links removed in both quotations), he "presented the city's indigent, crippled, blind, and suffering, and declared that these were the true treasures of the Church: 'Here are the treasures of the church. You see, the church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor!'" He was sentenced to die by being slowly roasted. "The prefect was so angry that he had a great gridiron prepared with hot coals beneath it and had Lawrence placed on it, hence Lawrence's association with the gridiron. After the martyr had suffered pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he cheerfully declared: 'I'm well done on this side. Turn me over!' From this, St. Lawrence derives his patronage of cooks, chefs, and comedians." Such pluck is a powerful way of thumbing one's nose at evil, as if to say, "You might seem to be powerful and have the upper hand, but Goodness is greater than you and shall win in the end!" So this is a good day to contemplate the superiority of good over evil and the ultimate victory of goodness.
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15)
This feast celebrates the fact that God raised Mary up to heaven in soul and body at the end of her life, a fitting testimony to the fullness of grace that was in her. There is a special Mass to honor the day.
St. Stephen of Hungary (August 16)
He was a 10th and 11th century king of Hungary.
St. Bernard (August 20)
He was a great 12th-century Doctor of the Church, abbot, mystic, hymn-writer, and devotional writer.
Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 22)\
This feast, as the name suggests, celebrates Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth.
St. Bartholomew (August 24)
One of the Twelve Apostles.
St. Monica (August 27)
The mother of St. Augustine of Hippo (see below), she is remembered for her faithfulness in praying for her son and her husband that they would be brought to the faith (both of which prayers were eventually answered). This is a good day to pray for one's friends and family that they might be brought to the faith. One might also pray a novena to Monica around this time for the same intention.
St. Augustine of Hippo (August 28)
One of the greatest theologians and philosophers in the history of the Church. His thinking and the example of his life have had tremendous influence on the theology and the life of the Church. He is known as the Doctor of Grace because of his teachings on the grace of God. This is therefore a good day to contemplate the amazing grace of God. As a former Calvinist become Catholic, I remember that Augustine is revered as a great theologian among Calvinists as well (and among many Protestants). This is a good day to pray for all followers of Augustine and his doctrines of grace, that they might find full unity in the faith and Church of Christ, and, in the meantime, learn to appreciate God's grace and the doctrines of grace as they are lived in each others' communities.
The Passion of St. John the Baptist (August 29)
This feast celebrates the life and the death of St. John the Baptist.
St. Aiden of Lindisfarne (August 31)
St. Aiden was a 7th-century Irish missionary to the Anglo-Saxon Northumbrians. He founded the famous priory on Lindisfarne which was a major center of Celtic Christianity. This is a great day to celebrate the legacy of Celtic Christianity and the legacy of Lindisfarne. One might listen to the song "Lindisfarne" by the neo-Celtic band Iona.
J.R.R. Tolkien (Sept. 2)
Great Catholic writer of myth and fantasy, author of the The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. The father of the modern fantasy genre. He believed that God has given us humans the power to "sub-create" - that is, to take what God has created and to make of it creations of our own within God's world. He believed in the power of myths, symbols, and stories to communicate God and his truth. He spoke of Christianity as the "true myth" - that all the truth and beauty and meaning that are portrayed in a fictional manner in stories and myths come into the real world in Christianity, in which "Legend and History have met and fused." (This quotation comes from Tolkien's great essay "On Fairy-Stories," in which he lays out his overall vision of what myths and stories are and how they work.) Tolkien's philosophy of myth has had a profound and formative influence on my own thinking and has greatly influenced my religious practice. His thinking has helped me develop the framework from which I can understand how to draw religious meaning and value from myths, stories, and symbolism.
St. Gregory the Great (September 3)
One of the greatest Popes in history. He was a great pastor, advisor, administrator, and theologian. He is one of the great Doctors of the Church. It was he who sent St. Augustine of Canterbury to England to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons, so he is, in a sense, the "grandfather" of English Catholicism.
Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 8)
In medieval England, this was the day on which a great pilgrimage was made to the shrine of St. Mary in Glastonbury. Glastonbury is a special place shrouded in history, myth, and legend. It was the site of an important medieval church and abbey. It has come to be associated with King Arthur and Avalon. It is a sacred place for many today - especially the ruins of the old abbey and the famous Glastonbury Tor. Today is an appropriate day to celebrate the legacy of this place in honor of the Blessed Virgin.
St. John Chrysostom (September 13)
One of the greatest theologians and biblical teachers of the early Church (he lived in the 4th and 5th centuries).
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14)
This feast celebrates the cross of Christ. It also commemorates the Empress St. Helena finding the true cross during the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the year 320. One custom on this day has a cross anointed with basil (a symbol of royalty) and taken to the four corners of the parish church for a blessing and as a sign of the sanctification of the world through the cross.
Sts. Cornelius, Cyprian, and Ninian (September 16)
St. Cornelius was a martyr pope from the 3rd century. St. Cyprian was a great theologian and martyr of the Church at the same time period. One of his great books was On the Unity of the Church, so this is a good day to pray for the unity of the Church in mind, heart, and body throughout the world. St. Ninian was a 5th-century British missionary who preached the gospel to the Pictish people of Scotland.
Sts. Robert Bellarmine and Hildegard of Bingen (September 17)
Robert Bellarmine was a great 16th and 17th century Doctor of the Church. Hildegard of Bingen was, as her Wikipedia page puts it (footnotes and embedded links removed), "a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and as a medical writer and practitioner during the High Middle Ages. She is one of the best-known composers of sacred monophony, as well as the most recorded in modern history. She has been considered by a number of scholars to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany." It would be appropriate on or around this day to listen to some of her musical works or to read some of her writings.
St. Januarius (September 19)
3rd and 4th century martyr. It is claimed that his blood liquifies on a regular basis, so this is something that is interesting to keep an eye out for (see the discussion of this in the Wikipedia article).
St. Matthew (September 21)
A converted tax collector and one of the Twelve Apostles.
Michaelmas (September 29)
This feast celebrates not just St. Michael but also the other archangels - Gabriel and Raphael. It has been customary on this day to eat goose and blackberry pie. This is a good day to hold a special ritual or say a special prayer in honor of the archangels and for their protection.
Mabon
This feast is a celebration of the Autumnal Equinox. It is also a second celebration of the season of harvest. In Bavarian German culture, this festival has come to take the form of Oktoberfest. OSS has a Harvest Homecoming Festival which takes place about halfway between Lughnasadh and Mabon.
September Lunar
OSS celebrates the full moon in September.
Sts. Cosmas and Damian (September 26)
3rd-century Arabian twin brothers who were medical doctors and became martyrs. One custom on this day is to give children bags of candy (since the brothers are associated with the protection of children). This is also a good day to remember and say a prayer for the medical profession and all doctors.
St. Wenceslaus (September 28)
10th-century Prince of Bohemia and martyr. He is the subject of the famous Christmas song "Good King Wenceslaus".
St. Jerome (September 30)
One of the great Doctors and biblical scholars of the early Church (4th-5th centuries).
St. Therese of Liseaux (October 1)
19th-century Doctor of the Church. She died young (age 24). She is famous for her "little way" philosophy for living the Christian life in love to God and neighbor. She is often known as "the little flower." From her famous writing, The Story of a Soul (as found on her Wikipedia page): "Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love."
Guardian Angels (Oct. 2)
As its name suggests, this feast commemorates the guardian angels (every person has a guardian angel for protection). Obviously, this is a good day to honor our guardian angels by means of a ritual, a prayer, or in some way. It is also a good day to pray for their protection.
St. Francis of Assisi (Oct. 4)
One of the Church's most famous saints (12th and 13th centuries), and justly so. His life was a model of someone who took the gospel seriously and wanted to live it out to the full in his life. He focused attention on living simply and caring for those in need. He founded an order among his followers that became known as the Franciscans. He is famous for preaching to the birds and taming a wolf, and so it is customary in many places to have a special blessing for animals and pets on or around his feast day. He was a great lover of nature and "Sister Mother Earth," as you can see from his famous Canticle of the Creatures. This is a good day to remember and honor the natural world and to consider how we might protect and preserve it. One might read, around this time, Pope Francis's encyclical on the protection of nature, Laudato Si (On Care for Our Common Home), as well as his recent follow-up Apostolic Exhortation, Laudate Deum, and one might think about ways in which one can better live in harmony with the natural world. St. Francis was also a practitioner of interreligious dialogue. He went across enemy lines during the Crusades to sit and talk with the Sultan of Egypt. This is therefore also a good time to pray for unity among people of all religions and cultures and for interreligious dialogue and the sharing of lives across religious boundaries and to consider ways in which we can further these goals in our own lives.
St. Denis (October 9)
He was a 3rd-century missionary to Gaul, Bishop of Paris, and martyr. He is one of the patron saints of France, so this is a good day to remember and honor French culture.
St. Paulinus of York (Oct. 10)
7th-century evangelist in England and Bishop of York and later Rochester.
St. Teresa of Avila (Oct. 15)
Great 16th-century mystic, reformer, and Carmelite nun. Two of her famous spiritual and mystical works are The Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle. She is one of the most influential mystics and guides to spiritual life in Church history, and a Doctor of the Church.
St. Ignatius of Antioch (Oct. 17)
2nd-century martyr, Bishop of Antioch, and disciple of the Apostle St. John. We have several letters from him which he wrote while on his way to be martyred (you can find them here under "Ignatius of Antioch"). As a very early writer in Church history, he is an important witness to the teaching of the Church in the time immediately after the time of the apostles.
St. Luke (Oct. 18)
He was a medical doctor, the author of the Third Gospel, companion of the Apostle Paul, and the author of the Book of Acts. It is appropriate on this day to pray for the medical profession and doctors and also to pray for missionaries and the preaching of the gospel throughout the world.
Alfred the Great and St. Cedd (Oct. 26)
Alfred was one of the greatest of the Anglo-Saxon kings. St. Cedd was a monk, bishop, and evangelist to various Anglo-Saxon peoples (and brother of St. Chad whose feast day is March 2). This is a great day to remember and celebrate the historic Anglo-Saxon culture.
Two of the Twelve Apostles.
All Saints Day / Halloween / Samhain / All Souls Day (Oct. 31, Nov. 1, and Nov. 2)
All Saints Day is a day that celebrates all people who have died and are in heaven - whether they are canonized formally as saints or not. Celebrations for this day begin the day before on All Saints Eve (All Hallows Eve, or Halloween). The day after (Nov. 2) is All Souls Day, which commemorates all who have died and involves prayers for them that their souls might reach heaven.
These celebrations are also bound up with the changing of the seasons, as this time of year is (in the Northern Hemisphere) between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice and marks the point in the year when the days start to be colder and darker.
In Celtic cultures, this time, with its commemoration of the dead and of the changing of the seasons, has historically been called Samhain. It has also been popularly believed by many (though not, of course, with the endorsement of the Church, especially as divination is forbidden) that the veil between the spirit world and our world is thin during this time so that there is more contact with spirits. Samhain is one of the major festivals on the Wheel of the Year. It is the direct opposite of Beltane in terms of the seasons.
The Church holds special Masses for All Saints Day and All Souls Day. The whole month of November is held as a time to remember those who have died, and people will often bring pictures of loved ones into the parish church to be remembered during the month. This is also a time when there will be special opportunities for Catholics to gain indulgences for those who have died. There are many other customs as well by which people in various cultures honor the dead. OSS has a Samhain festival around this time.
The Eve of All Saints Day, Halloween, is, of course, typically (in some places) celebrated by children dressing up in costumes and going door to door to ask for candy. The theme of commemoration of the dead and the world of spirits and souls beyond our world is evident in the "vibe" of the celebrations.
St. Winifred (Nov. 3)
A virgin martyr of Wales from the 7th century. She was popular in the Middle Ages, especially in England. There are holy wells associated with her, probably the most famous being at Holywell in Wales. This shrine is a famous pilgrimate site and is sometimes known as the "Lourdes of Wales" because of its reputation for being a place of healings.
November Lunar
OSS has a Lunar to celebrate the November full moon around this time.
St. Martin of Tours (Nov. 11)
A 4th-century martyr and Bishop of Tours, he was a highly popular saint many places in Europe (including England) during the Middle Ages. One custom on his day involves a procession with lanterns. Grapes are also associated with him. One can also read the Life of St. Martin by St. Gregory of Tours. The "oldest church building in Britain still in use as a church" and the "oldest existing parish church in the English-speaking world" is dedicated to him. It was a church used by St. Bertha of Kent (May 15) when she was the Christian wife of her pagan husband Ethelbert of Kent (May 20) in a then-pagan land.
St. Josaphat (Nov. 12)
17th-century Eastern Catholic martyr. His feast day is a good time to pray for the union of the Catholic Church with the separated Eastern churches.
St. Albert the Great (Nov. 15)
One of the great philosophers and Doctors of the Middle Ages. He was the teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas (Jan. 28). As he is a patron saint of philosophers, this would be a good day to say a special prayer of thanks to God for reason and philosophy. St. Albert the Great is also one of the two patron saints of the Philosophy Club at Fr. Tolton Catholic High School in Columbia, MO (the other being St. Catherine of Alexandria - Nov. 25). It would be appropriate for members of the club to have a celebration sometime around both of these feast days (as they are not far apart).
St. Margaret of Scotland (Nov. 16)
11th-century Scottish queen known for her charity.
St. Gregory of Tours (Nov. 17)
6th-century Bishop of Tours and historian of early French history.
St. Juthware (Nov. 18)
She was martyred in Halstock, Dorset, in the 8th century, and was popular in that region of England in the Middle Ages. She is mentioned in C of C. Her sister was St. Sidwell (Aug. 2). The two of them to me represent the whole culture of saint legends in the Middle Ages. Cheese is associated with her.
St. Edmund the Martyr (Nov. 20)
Edmund was King of East Anglia. During his reign, a large Viking army invaded East Anglia and the two forces met in battle. Edmund was killed at that time. One story says that he was captured by the Vikings and ordered to renounce Christ. When he refused, he was killed. Later on in the 11th century, a Danish ruler of England named Canute converted to Christianity and helped to found the Abbey at Bury St. Edmunds. A shrine to St. Edmund was established there which became one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in England.
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Nov. 21)
This feast celebrates the presentation of the Virgin Mary in the temple in Jerusalem by her parents, Sts. Anne and Joachim.
St. Cecilia (Nov. 22)
She was a 3rd-century virgin martyr. She is the patron saint of music and musicians. This is a good time to contemplate and celebrate the enormously important role of music in human life as a wonderful gift from God. It is one of the greatest forms of art. It is the bearer of a unique beauty. It has a special power to connect us to the transcendent and to God. It is one of the most deeply meaningful things in my life. Around this time each year, the Diocese of Jefferson City has an event called the St. Cecelia Sing, where choir members from various choirs around the diocese come to sing together. As a member of one of the choirs at Our Lady of Lourdes parish, I look forward to this each year.
C.S. Lewis (Nov. 22)
C.S. Lewis is another 20th-century Christian writer who has had a profound influence on my thinking and practice. Like Tolkien (see Sept. 2 above), he had a profound philosophy of myth and myth's connection to truth. He himself was greatly influenced by Tolkien, who was a good friend of his. In his non-fiction writings as well as in his fiction (The Chronicles of Narnia, the Space Trilogy, Till We Have Faces, etc.), he made positive use of myths as a way of conveying truth and beauty. Like Tolkien, Lewis saw Christianity as the "true myth":
I was by now too experienced in literary criticism to regard the Gospels as myths. They had not the mythical taste. And yet the very matter which they set down in their artless, historical fashion--those narrow, unattractive Jews, too blind to the mythical wealth of the Pagan world around them--was precisely the matter of the great myths. If ever a myth had become fact, had been incarnated, it would be just like this. And nothing else in all literature was just like this. Myths were like it in one way. Histories were like it in another. But nothing was simply like it. And no person was like the Person it depicted; as real, as recognizable, through all that depth of time, as Plato's Socrates or Boswell's Johnson (ten times more so than Eckermann's Goethe or Lockhart's Scott), yet also numinous, lit by a light from beyond the world, a god. But if a god--we are no longer polytheists--then not a god, but God. Here and here only in all time the myth must have become fact; the Word, flesh; God, Man. This is not "a religion," nor "a philosophy." It is the summing up and actuality of them all. (C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life [New York: Harcourt, Brace, & World, Inc., 1955], 234-236)
Sts. Clement I and Columban (November 23)
Pope St. Clement I was Bishop of Rome in the 1st century, the fourth Pope in the line starting with St. Peter. We have a letter from him. St. Columban was a 6th and 7th century Irish missionary to continental Europe.
Christ the King (Nov. 24)
This feast celebrates the fact that Jesus Christ is King over the entire universe, including human societies. It is appropriate on this day to pray that human individuals and human societies will submit to Christ as King and follow him.
St. Catherine of Alexandria (Nov. 25)
3rd and 4th century martyr. One thing she is remembered for is how she used her excellent skills of philosophy and argumentation to dispute with critics of Christianity. Like Albert the Great (Nov. 15), she is a patron saint of philosophers. She is one of the two patrons of the Philosophy Club at Fr. Tolton Catholic High School in Columbia, MO (the other being Albert the Great - Nov. 15). It would be appropriate for members of the club to have a celebration sometime around both of these feast days (as they are not far apart).
Thanksgiving (Nov. 28)
A day to celebrate with gratitude all the gifts - spiritual and temporal - we receive from God.
St. Andrew (Nov. 30)
He was the brother of St. Peter and one of the Twelve Apostles. One way of celebrating his feast is to pray the St. Andrew Novena. This is a custom I follow each year.
Published on the feast of St. Alban.
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