أعياد القديسين
3
اذار - مارس
لاتيني
March 8th
Saint John, the man of God, the monk
He was born in 1495 AD near Lisbon, Portugal. When he was forty-two years old, and after spending his life in several jobs, including farming, soldiery, and commerce, and experiencing the emptiness of a world far from God, he chose “the best lot.” He devoted himself to serving Christ by caring, spiritually and physically, for the needy and the sick. He founded many hospitals, one of them in the Spanish city of Granada, and he relied in his projects on what divine providence provided, so he was urging people to donate, saying: “Do good, for yourselves, my brothers.” Hence the name of the Order in Latin (Fate bene fratelli). Then he joined other companions, who later established the “Hospital Order of Saint John, the Man of God.” Rest in God in Granada in 1550. is considered the intercessor of nurses and patients.
March 09
Saint Francis of Romania, the nun
She was born in 1384 AD into a rich and noble Romanian family. Since her childhood, she yearned for the ascetic life, but she got married when she was a young woman at the age of thirteen to satisfy her family, so God blessed her with three children. She lived through difficult days, while political conflicts were raging in Rome, as two of her children died and her husband became disabled, so Francisca faced these conditions with great faith and was the example of a Christian wife and mother. She was famous for her generosity, as she distributed her money to the poor, and devoted herself to serving the sick and the needy. She was amazing in practicing virtues, especially humility and patience. In 1425, she founded the Congregation of Consecrated Women, according to the canons of St. Benedict. After the death of her husband, she moved to life with her devoted sisters, who chose her as the head of their monastic community. I fell asleep in 1440.
March 17th
Saint Patrick, bishop
He was born in Britain around 385 AD to a Christian family. Pirates kidnapped him when he was fifteen years old and brought him to the country of Ireland, where they sold him as a slave and made him a shepherd of cattle. When he regained his freedom, after seven years of slavery, he joined the clergy in Gaul (present-day France), was appointed bishop, and was sent to Ireland. He joyfully devoted himself to preaching the Gospel to the people of that island. He guided many of them from paganism to the Christian faith. He organized the affairs of the church there, and left a great impact on the Irish liturgy and the civilization of that country. He rested in the Lord in the year 461 in the city of Down.
March 19th
Saint Joseph, the preacher of our Lady, the Virgin Mary
This celebration finds its roots in the pages of the Bible. Saint Joseph is the last of the Old Testament fathers. God repeatedly spoke to him in a dream, just as what happened to Joseph, the son of Jacob, about whom the Book of Genesis tells us. Joseph was a carpenter from the descendants of King David (Matthew 1: 16) and fiancé to the Virgin Mary, who was found pregnant with the Holy Spirit before they cohabitated (Matthew 1: 18), so God reassured him in a dream, and explained to him the truth of her affair and her purity before Him Almighty._cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ and commanded him not to divorce her and to name the child “Jesus” (Matthew 1: 20-21), so Joseph obeyed this commandment because he was a “righteous man” (Matthew 1: 19), God chose him to be a father and nurturer of Jesus (Luke 2: 48) And a guard for him and Mary. He fled with them to Egypt when Herod tried to kill the child (Matthew 2: 13-15), then returned them to Nazareth after the danger had passed (Matthew 2: 19-23). It is clear from the Gospel of Luke that Joseph was with his holy family in Jerusalem during the Passover feast when Jesus was twelve years old (Luke 2: 41-50). The date of his death remains unknown. This saint is considered an example for the believers in their trust in God and a role model for them in obedience and chastity. He also invites us to focus on the importance of the role of every father in his family, as God wanted him to be its support and guardian.
