St. Canute

St. Canute - January 19th

St. Canute was a strong, wise king of Denmark. He was a great athlete, an expert horseman, and a marvelous general.

At the beginning of his reign, he led a war against the barbarians and defeated them. Everywhere he conquered, he brought the Christian faith. In Gratitude for his glorious victories, St. Canute knelt at the foot of the alter and offered his crown to the King of Kings, Jesus.

He was very charitable and gentle to his people. He tried to help them with their problems. Most of all, he wanted to make them true followers of Jesus.

However, a rebellion broke out in his kingdom because of the laws he had made about supporting the Church. One day his enemies went to the church where Canute was praying. He knew they had come to harm him. At the foot of the alter, he made his confession and received Holy Communion. With all his heart he forgave his enemies. Then, as he prayed, a spear was thrown through a window and killed him.

As St. Canute offered his royal crown to Jesus for all he had received, we, too, should thank God every day and offer Him a crown made up of good deeds.

Chair of St. Peter at Rome

Chair of St. Peter at Rome - January 18th

St. Peter was the Prince of the Apostles and the first Pope. After Jesus went back to Heaven, St. Peter preached the Gospel and ruled the Church, as Jesus had told him to do. At first, he labored in Jerusalem and in Antioch, two big cities of the East. Later, he went to preach the Gospels in Rome. Rome, the great capital of the world, was a wicked pagan city. But there, with the help of God, St. Peter soon brought many souls to Jesus.

The Feast of St. Peter's Chair at Rome reminds us of the great Church St. Peter founded in that city. St Peter was martyred for the faith, but down through the ages there has always been a Bishop of Rome. He is the Pope and he rules the whole Church, as St. Peter did, in the name of Jesus. We call the successor of St. Peter the Holy Father.

We love and honor the Pope because he takes the place of Jesus on earth. Let us always pray for our Holy Father, that God may give him strength, light and consolation.

St. Anthony of Egypt

St. Anthony of Egypt - Patron of Grave Diggers - January 17th


St. Anthony was born in a small village in Egypt. When he was twenty years old, his parents died and left him a large estate and the care of his young sister. About six months later, he heard these words of Christ read in church: “If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven: and come, follow Me.” Anthony was sure that those words were meant for him. So immediately afterwards, he gave away all that he possessed. His sister entered a convent and Anthony begged an aged hermit to teach him the spiritual life. He also visited other hermits to learn and practice each one’s most outstanding virtue. Then he began his own life of prayer and penance alone with God.


When he was fifty-five, St. Anthony built a monastery to help others. He was the first to establish the religious life as it is today. Many people heard of him and sought his advice. He would tell them: “The devil is afraid of us when we pray and make sacrifices, when we are humble and good, but especially when we love Jesus very much. He runs away when we make the Sign of the Cross.”


St. Anthony visited Paul the hermit and came away holier than ever. He died at the age of one hundred and five.


We must never become discouraged when the devil strongly tempts us to do wrong. Jesus is right beside us. If we pray to Him, He will help us, and He will reward us for our love and faithfulness.

St. Honoratus

St. Honoratus – Patron of Bakers – January 16th


St. Honoratus’ father was a pagan Roman consular. When still very young Honoratus refused to worship the idols of the pagans and became a Christian. He also persuaded his brother Venantius to do the same. Honoratus was very fervent and wanted to live alone with God, but his father had plans to make him great and famous. He tried to change his son’s mind by giving him beautiful clothes and everything that he thought could delight him. Yet Honoratus was loyal to Jesus. He kept himself pure always. At last, he was able to leave home. He and Venantius left their riches and went off to serve God. But many people heard of them and came to visit them. With the intention of living alone, they asked a holy hermit, St. Caprais, to be their director, and the three of them left Gaul to set out for a desert. They suffered so much on the journey that Venantius died soon afterwards, and Honoratus himself became very sick. He realized that God willed him to return to France, and so, after he was well enough, he went back and founded a monastery there.


When the Archbishop of Arles died, St. Honoratus was made Archbishop. Although he only lived three years more, everyone loved him for his great charity.


Let us give good example to our younger brothers and sisters, so that they will find it easier to be good.

St. Paul-The First Hermit

St. Paul-The First Hermit – Patron of Weavers – January 15th

St. Paul was born of rich parents in Egypt and became an orphan at the age of fifteen. He had been taught to trust God since he was a very young child. When he was twenty years old, he had to flee to a desert because of a bloody persecution of the Christians. In his great love of God, St. Paul trusted in the Lord to provide him with what he needed to live. He dwelt under a tree that supplied him with fruit for food. A nearby spring gave him water.

When he was one hundred and ten, the great St. Anthony of the Desert went to visit him. St. Anthony tells us how he found out about St. Paul. One day he had a temptation to think that no one else but he had spent his life in the desert as a real hermit. That night God revealed to him that there was another hermit much better than he and so Anthony went to visit him. We are told that while they were talking, a raven dropped a loaf of bread. St. Paul told St. Anthony that for the past sixty years he had been receiving a half of loaf a day. “Now you have come,” he said, “and God has doubled the portion. The Lord is truly good!” After they had eaten, they spent the night in prayer.

St. Paul died at the age of one hundred and thirteen, and St. Anthony buried him.

When St. Anthony returned to his monks, he told them: “Sinner that I am, I do not deserve the name of monk! I have seen another John the Baptist, another St. Paul in the third Heaven!”

St. Paul spent all his long life in prayer and penance to gain glory in heaven. Let us, too, spend our time well, because time spent in praying and in doing our duties for Jesus will win us a treasure in Heaven.

St. Hilary of Poitiers

St. Hilary of Poitiers - Patron Against Snake Bites - January 14th


St. Hilary was born in France and raised a pagan. But he was a very intelligent man, and he thought it was foolish to worship many gods as pagans do. He obtained a copy of the Holy Bible and read it eagerly. There he learned about the one true God and about Jesus Christ Our Savoir. At last, Hilary became a Christian.


From his baptism to the end of his life, St. Hilary tried to teach people to believe in God. He also tried to encourage them to lead holy lives. He converted his wife and daughter and later was ordained to the priesthood. He became the Bishop of Poitiers, his city. During this time there was a heresy that said Jesus was not God. St. Hilary showed people how wrong it was.


He wrote many books about the Faith and traveled everywhere preaching that Jesus Christ is truly God. For this he earned the title of Doctor of the Church.


Like St. Hilary, let us be proud of our faith and defend it every time we have a chance.

St. Veronica of Milan

St. Veronica of Milan – January 13th

St. Veronica was born in a small village near Milan. Her parents were very poor but they were hard working and very pious. Because she was so poor, she never had the chance to learn how to read or write. But she learned from her devout parents how to pray. She prayed always and worked hard to help them.

Veronica wanted to become a nun, but she was very worried because she could not read or write. She used to rise at night to try to teach herself. One day Our Lady appeared to her and told her not to worry, because all she had to know were three things. The first was to be pure in intention, which meant to do all her duties only to please God. The second was to mind her own business and to hate grumbling and criticism. The third was to forget her own troubles in thinking of the sufferings of Jesus every day. Our Blessed Mother’s holy advice made Veronica very happy and she tried to practice it.

After preparing herself for three years, Veronica was admitted into the convent of St. Martha of Milan. She was assigned the duty of begging for daily food. Every moment of her life she tried to obey her superior, because she knew that if she obeyed her superior, she obeyed God.

St. Veronica died a saint at the age of fifty-two.

Let us, too, follow Our Lady’s advice; that is, let us do everything for the love of Jesus, never complain, and remember each day that Jesus suffered and died for us.

St. Aelred

St. Aelred – January 12th


St. Aelred was master of the household of King David of Scotland. He ardently desired to give himself entirely to God, but he dearly loved his many friends. It was very, very hard for him to leave them, yet in order to belong to God alone, at the age of twenty-four, Aelred entered a Cistercian monastery. There he grew fond of a very holy monk named Simon. One day, forgetting the rule of the monastery forbidding the monks to talk, Aelred spoke to Simon. In great surprise and sorrow, Simon gave him a look he never forgot. From then on, Aelred learned not to let his love for anyone come between him and Jesus.


Later Aelred was made an abbot. He wrote many books on spiritual things. In one of them, he said that we only learn to love God by sharing in His sufferings. Everyone loved St. Aelred because he was so kind and good. And in return he loved everyone for love of Jesus.


St. Aelred died at the age of fifty-seven after having served as abbot for twenty-two years.


We should choose our friends among those who love God and are close to Him. These good friends will help us always to do what is right.

St. Theodosius

St. Theodosius - January 11th

St. Theodosius was born in Asia Minor. Greatly impressed by the examples of the Patriarch Abraham, of whom he read in the Bible, he decided to imitate him. So he left his family and friends and traveled to Jerusalem to visit all the holy places. While there, he decided to submit himself to a holy hermit named Longinus, so as to serve God by obeying him. Longinus was so pleased with Theodosius’ virtues that he entrusted him with the care of a church of Our Lady. Theodosius obeyed promptly, but he grew disturbed by the great admiration the people had for him. He then retired to a mountain and fasted and prayed for years.

Many men were attracted by his holiness and he eventually built a monastery near Bethlehem.

Seeing how good and devout he was, the Patriarch of Jerusalem made Theodosius Superior General of all the religious men living in Palestine. St. Theodosius delighted in helping the poor. He and his monks set more than a hundred tables some days to serve hungry beggars. Even when food was very scarce, and the monks themselves did not have enough, he would not turn the poor people away. Even though he was very active, the Saint kept himself close to God by reading spiritual books often. He lived to be a hundred and five years old.

Let us imitate St. Theodosius’ humility by never bragging about ourselves and what we have done.

St. William

St. William – January 10th

St. William came from a wealthy French family, but even as a young boy, he did not care to waste time fooling around or being idle. He spent much time praying. When he joined the Cistercian Order, he was such a good monk that the others were inspired just by looking at him. Yet he always considered himself the least among his brethren.

St. William had a great devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He practiced penance, but he was always very happy. When he was made the Abbot of his community, he remained as humble as ever. At the death of the Archbishop of Bourges, William was chosen to take his place. But so humble was he that he cried on receiving this new honor. Yet he accepted it and did even more penance than before, to convert sinners. Although he loved to be alone with God, he traveled all over his diocese to preach, to visit the poor and the sick, to console them and bring them to Christ. When he died he was buried in ashes, as he had asked.

The more we read about the Saints, the more we find that they really became saints by praying, obeying and doing penance.