| | Saint
of the Day - AmericanCatholic.org -
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.
Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique
gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint. Learn about the Saint we honor
today and subscribe to recieve free Saint of the Day Newsletter from St. Anthony
Press. Click the button on the left. |
| | December:
Overview of the Month, Intentions, Feasts, and Focus of the Liturgy
This page contains lots of interesting and valuable information on all the topics
above and more. It's well worth a visit. Just click on the link to the left and
check it out!
The month of December is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception,
which is celebrated on December 8. The first 24 days of December fall during the
liturgical season known as Advent and is represented by the liturgical color purple.
The remaining days of December mark the beginning of the Christmas season. The
liturgical color changes to white or gold — a symbol of joy, purity and innocence.
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| | December
3 - St. Francis Xavier - AmericanCatholic.org
Jesus asked, “What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit
his life?” (Matthew 16:26a). The words were repeated to a young teacher of philosophy
who had a highly promising career in academics, with success and a life of prestige
and honor before him.
To learn more about St. Frances Xavier, click on
the link above or on the picture to the left. |
| |
December 6 - St. Nicholas - AmericanCatholic.org
The absence of the “hard facts” of history is not necessarily an obstacle to the
popularity of saints, as the devotion to St. Nicholas shows. Both the Eastern
and Western Churches honor him, and it is claimed that, after the Blessed Virgin,
he is the saint most pictured by Christian artists. And yet, historically, we
can pinpoint only the fact that Nicholas was the fourth-century bishop of Myra,
a city in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor.
To learn more about the life
of St. Nicholas, click on the link above or on the picture to the left. |
|
| December
8 - Feast of the Immaculate Conception - AmericanCatholic.org
A feast called the Conception of Mary arose in the Eastern Church in the seventh
century. It came to the West in the eighth century. In the eleventh century it
received its present name, the Immaculate Conception. In the eighteenth century
it became a feast of the universal Church.
To learn more about this feast,
click on the link above or on the picture to the left. |
| | December
12 - Our Lady of Guadalupe - AmericanCatholic.org
The feast in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the sixteenth century.
Chronicles of that period tell us the story. A poor Indian named Cuauhtlatohuac
was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. He was a 57-year-old widower and lived
in a small village near Mexico City. On Saturday morning, December 9, 1531, he
was on his way to a nearby barrio to attend Mass in honor of Our Lady.
To learn more about Our Lady of Guadalupe, click on the link above or on the picture
to the left. |
| | December
17 - Lazarus - AmericanCatholic.org
Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, the brother of Martha and Mary, was the one of whom
the Jews said, "See how much he loved him." In their sight Jesus raised his friend
Lazarus from the dead. To learn more about Lazarus, click on the link above
or on the picture to the left. |
| | December
26 - St. Stephen - AmericanCatholic.org
All we know of Stephen is found
in Acts of the Apostles, chapters six and seven. It is enough to tell us what
kind of man he was: At that time, as the number of disciples continued to grow,
the Hellenist (Greek-speaking) Christians complained about the Hebrew-speaking
Christians, saying that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is
not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select
from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we
shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to
the ministry of the word.” The proposal was acceptable to the whole community,
so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit.... (Acts 6:1-5)
For more information on St. Stephen please click on the link above or
the photo to the left. |
|
| December
27 - St. John the Apostle - AmericanCatholic.org
It is God who calls; human beings answer. The vocation of John and his brother
James is stated very simply in the Gospels, along with that of Peter and his brother
Andrew: Jesus called them; they followed. The absoluteness of their response is
indicated by the account. James and John “were in a boat, with their father Zebedee,
mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their
father and followed him” (Matthew 4:21b-22).
For more information on St.
John, please click on the link above or the |
| | December
28 - Feast of the Holy Innocents - AmericanCatholic.org
Herod “the Great,” king of Judea, was unpopular with his people because of his
connections with the Romans and his religious indifference. Hence he was insecure
and fearful of any threat to his throne. He was a master politician and a tyrant
capable of extreme brutality. He killed his wife, his brother and his sister’s
two husbands, to name only a few.
For more information on the Feast of
the Holy Innocents please click on the link above or the photo to the left. |
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|
December
29 - St. Thomas Becket AmericanCatholic.org
A strong man who wavered for a moment, but then learned one cannot
come to terms with evil and so became a strong churchman, a martyr and a saint—that
was Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in his cathedral on December
29, 1170.
To learn more about St. Thomas Becket, click on the link above
or on the picture to the left. |
|
|
December
31 - St. Sylvester AmericanCatholic.org
When you think of this pope, you think of the Edict of Milan, the emergence
of the Church from the catacombs, the building of the great basilicas, Saint John
Lateran, Saint Peter’s and others, the Council of Nicaea and other critical events.
But for the most part, these events were planned or brought about by Emperor Constantine.
To learn more about St. Sylvester, click on the link above or on the picture
to the left. |
| |
Check
out American Catholic's Saints' Calendar for the Month of December - AmericanCatholic.org
This calendar
includes saints on the General Roman Calendar as well as other holy people for
each day of the year. Some feast dates on the AmericanCatholic.org calendar fall
on days other than the official feast day.
Click
on the link above or the image to the left for more information. |
| | Learn
More About Mary Our Mother - AmericanCatholic.org
Read
what the Bible says about the Blessed Virgin Mary, what the Catholic Church believes
about Mary, and how to honor her. Click on the button on the left or the link
above to learn more about Mary Our Mother. |
