Faithful Friday – Absalom Jones
As the first pastor and founding member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Reverend Jones held an important position in the history of the Church in America…
By Ian Wilson
Category: Faithful Friday
Faithful Friday – King Ine of Wessex
Saint King Ine, and his wife, Saint Ethelburga of Kent were both devoutly religious people, supporting the church and the poor with their own money…
By Lyn Wilson
Faithful Friday: Mother Marianne Cope
By Sarah Losardo … In 1883, Mother Marianne received a letter from the Sandwich Islands – now known as Hawaii – begging for someone to take charge of their hospitals and schools. Along with six other sisters, Mother Marianne set out halfway around the world, primarily to care for those with leprosy (now called Hansen’s Disease).
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Christopher Tolkien
Christopher was born November 21, 1924 in Leeds to Edith and John Tolkien. From a young age, the boy had an aptitude for remembering the complexities of his father’s work, once stopping storytime (where The Hobbit was being read aloud) to correct his father on a few minor points…
By T.K. Wilson
Faithful Friday: Saint Adrian
Seventy years after the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons by St. Augustine of Canterbury, St. Adrian stepped onto England’s green shores to continue the work started there….
By Ian Wilson
Faithful Friday: Stephen Nguyen Van Vinh
By T.K. Wilson … Today (December 19th), the church commemorates Stephen Nguyen Van Vinh and his companions, who were martyred for their faith on this date in 1839.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: St. John of the Cross
By Ian Wilson … The celebrated mystic, St. John of the Cross, was born Juan de Yepes y Alvarez on June 24, 1542, in Fontiveros, Spain. Even as a child, John knew he wanted to live the ascetic life. After the untimely death of his father and older brother when John was only three years old, John was sent to a boarding school for poor orphaned children. There, he received a religious education, and served as an acolyte at an Augustinian monastery.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: St. Justinian
By Lyn Wilson … Saint Justinian (or Stinan) of Ramsey was a 6th Century Monk from Breton who moved to Ramsey Island in Pembrokeshire in modern day Wales.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Catherine Laboure
By Sarah Losardo … It was in Paris that she discovered the identity of the priest in her vision – St. Vincent De Paul, the founder of the Sisters of Charity. In January 1830, Zoe finally joined the Sisters of Charity in Paris, taking the name Catherine. The same year, first in July and again in November, Sister Catherine was visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary, who entrusted to her a medallion to be given to the world.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Paul I of Constantinople
By T.K. Wilson Not much is known about the early life of Paul the Confessor of Constantinople. We first learn of him as he was elected bishop of Constantinople, over the violent objections of the Arian minority on the council. However, Paul wasn’t bishop for very long. The Emperor of Constantinople at the time was […]
Read MoreFaithful Friday: St. Giulia Salzano
By Sarah Levesque … Giulia Salzano was born on October 13, 1846, in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Caserta, Italy. Her father, Diego Salzano, died when Giulia was only four years old, and she was taken in by the Sisters of Charity, with whom she stayed until she was fifteen years old.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: James the Lesser
By T.K. Wilson … James, the son of Alpheus, was one of the original Twelve Apostles called by Christ at the start of his ministry. According to tradition, he is one of Jesus’s cousins or half-brothers and brother of St. Jude. He is called “the Lesser ” or “The Just ” to avoid confusion with James son of Zebedee – though even this is disputed!
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Pope Cletus
By Lyn Wilson … Pope Cletus, sometimes known as Anacletus, was the third Bishop of Rome after St. Peter and Linus. We know very little about this man’s life and yet his name is remembered through history.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: St Aelfheah
By Ian Wilson … Born in 954 in Somerset, England, Aelfheah had everything – a noble family, wealth, food, drink, servants – yet none of those things had affected him so much as knowing and drawing nearer to God. Much to his family’s dismay, Aelfheah entered the monastery, where he was respected for his austerity and extreme piety.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Adoniram Judson
By Sarah Levesque … Adoniram Judson, missionary to Burma (Myanmar), was born on August 9, 1788 in Malden, Massachusetts. After a period of skepticism, Judson studied theology at Andover Theological Seminary in his home state…
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Juliana of Liege
By Ian Wilson … In her youth, Juliana had quickly learned Latin and memorized the works of St. Augustine and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, devoting herself to theological study; an unusual pursuit for a woman in her time. At the young age of 13, Juliana was welcomed into the order.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: St. David of Wales
By Ian Wilson … St. David’s life can be summed up by his last words: “Be joyful, keep the faith, do the little things you have seen me do”.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Reginald Heber
By Ian Wilson … There have been many hymn writers in the history of the Christian Church, but few have been as influential on church music as Reginald Heber. Heber was born on April 21st, 1783, to a wealthy and educated family, who were able to afford to give Reginald a good education. He was something of a child prodigy, translating Latin classics to English at only seven years old.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Polycarp
By Lyn Wilson … Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (in Asia Minor), was a disciple of Jesus Christ and the Apostle John. God in his mercy gave Polycarp eighty-six years on this earth before his death as a martyr. Why is Polycarp important to us today?
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Philip Melancthon
By Ian Wilson … The Lutheran Church’s first systematic theologian was born on February 16th, 1497, in Bretten, Germany. He was given the name Philip Schwarzerdt, but at the urging of his uncle, Johann Reuchlin, he changed it to the Greek name, Melanchthon, to reflect his status as a scholar.
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