August 30

Weekend Bulletin
Children’s Bulletin

Deacon’s Digest
Saints & Intercessors…

This past week has been just filled with the feast days and memorials of several great saints. As Catholics, we pray through the Saints for our intentions and those of others and for the world. We started on Monday with the Feast of St Bartholomew, Apostle and Martyr. In Scripture, Bartholomew is also called Nathaniel. When Philip tells him that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, Bartholomew (Nathaniel) objects by saying "can anything good come from Nazareth?". Jesus replies to this statement by saying "Here is a true disciple of Israel, in whom there is no duplicity". Bartholomew, amazed by this statement, asks Jesus how he knows him and Jesus says "Before Philip called you I saw you sitting under a fig tree". This is enough for Bartholomew - he exclaims that Jesus is the Son of God and the King of Israel - this is the earliest acclamation of Jesus as Messiah in the Gospels. Bartholomew is the patron of plasterers, house painters, glove makers and is one of the patrons of farmers. On Thursday we celebrated St Monica - mother of St Augustine. Monica is credited with praying her son into the Church and into heaven. She prayed constantly for his conversion and that he would live a moral life. Augustine was a very well educated and intelligent man but was suspicious of religion. In the end, his mother's prayers worked and he changed his life forever. St Monica is the patroness of mothers and is a shining example of patience and persistence in prayer. Friday was the feast day of St Augustine of Hippo, one of the most widely celebrated and read saints in our Church. Augustine was born in North Africa and spent his youth living a life of dissipation and pleasure seeking. He fathered a child out of wedlock and refused to marry the mother. He spent much of his time in drinking and worldly pursuits until he finally converted to Christianity. He was a well educated man and quickly became a priest and was ordained a Bishop. He is credited with adding much philosophy and theology to the treasure of the Church and is considered a Doctor of the Church. He is believed to be the first African canonized as a saint and is the patron of brewers, printers, theologians and of people with sore eyes. The first community of Europeans in the New World was named after him - St Augustine, Florida. On Saturday we celebrated the Memorial of the Death of John the Baptist. John, a cousin of Jesus, is credited with baptizing many people to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. He lived an ascetic life in the desert and was known for calling people to live proper Godly lives. He was eventually arrested for chastising King Herod because he had married his own brother's wife. At Herod's birthday party Salome, daughter of his wife, danced for Herod and he promised her she could have anything she wished for. She asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter and Herod made it so. John is known as the last prophet of the Old Covenant and was instrumental in getting people to follow Jesus. John is the patron saint of conversion, builders, tailors and more. So, there you have it - one week in our Church with four great saints! If you are looking for a particular saint to intercede for a specific cause you can easily find the patron of your prayer by visiting www.catholic.org and searching for patron saints. I pray daily for the intercession of John the Baptist, Ignatius of Loyola, Katharine Drexel, St Michael the Archangel and St Charles Lawanga. I also ask three saintly deacons, Ephrem, Stephen and Lawrence, to assist me in the ministries I am involved in as a deacon. How about you? Who will be your intercessors?