The Church’s calendar often has some intriguing episodes of feast days. This past week and next week we have an Apostle, the only priest who had the stigmata, twin medical doctors, the Eight North American Martyrs, the Prince of the Heavenly Army, and one of the four great western doctors of the Church, the saint who gave us the Latin Vulgate Bible. How’s that for variety!
Saint Matthew, the tax collector, was singularly called by Jesus to follow Him. “And when Jesus passed on from hence, he saw a man sitting in the custom house, named Matthew; and he saith to him: Follow me. And he rose up and followed him” (Matt. 9:9). A very humble account to be sure, given by Matthew himself. Saint Matthew is also an evangelist. He is the writer of the first of the four Gospels. Notice, he “rose up” immediately and “followed Him.” Then, he invited his friends, other publicans no doubt, and held a banquet for his honored Guest. He died a martyr in Africa while saying Mass, slain by a lustful king who was angry over the Apostle’s allowing the young virgin Iphigenia to consecrate her body and soul to the true God. His feast day is September 21.
Saint Padre Pio on the 23rd. He bore the wounds of Christ for fifty years, the only priest to be chosen as such a victim soul. Well known also for the gift of bilocation, Padre Pio, who died in 1968, may have been the greatest miracle worker in the history of the Church, or at least one of the greatest. I wrote a fairly long “short biography” for him on our website. It is here https://catholicism.org/saint-pio-of-pietrelcina.html
Saints Cosmas and Damien were twin brothers, Arabs, who devoted their skills as physicians to serving the Christian poor free of charge. In fact, they charged no one, living off charity. They were martyred under the Roman persecution of Decius in the year 303 and they are buried in a church named in their honor in Rome. Their feast day is September 26.
The Eight North America Martyrs. You can read a detailed account of their lives and missions on this website at https://catholicism.org/eight-na-martyrs.html. Our brothers and sisters just returned from the Auriesville pilgrimage of Reparation, a seventy mile trek. The shrine in New York at Aurieville honors the place where three of the eight martyrs shed their blood for the Catholic Faith. The feast day of the Eight North American Martyrs is also September 26.
Then, we have an angel, Saint Michael the Archangel. The title Archangel is only given to Michael in the Bible. My opinion is that he is a Seraph, one of the Seven Who Stand Before the Throne of God. You can read why I believe this and much more about Saint Michael on our website here https://catholicism.org/september-29-saint-michael-the-seraph-one-of-the-seven-who-stand-before-the-throne.html Saint Michaels’ feast day is September 29.
Finally, on September 30, the Church honors the great Saint Jerome. Brother Francis wrote an inspiring biography of this doctor to whom he was very devoted, so much so, in fact, that he memorized all of the four Gospels in Saint Jerome’s Vulgate Latin. You can read this biography, the only one Brother Francis wrote, on our website here https://catholicism.org/jerome-life.html.
Isn’t the universal Church wonderful in the variety her liturgical feast days!
