Saints' Feast Days – January

• St. Vincent Deacon and Martyr
• Saint Francis de Sales Bishop & Doctor of the Church January 24^th
• Conversion of St. Paul January 25^th
• Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops January 26^th
• Saint John Bosco Priest January 31^st

Background:

Legend has it that Vincent was scourged, stretched on the rack, fixed to a fiery grate, lacerated with iron hooks, burned with hot iron, and then thrown onto the prison floor covered with broken glass. Through it all, Vincent remained at peace, for he did not fear “those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28). The legend concludes that Vincent's joy in the face of this torture was so great that it caused one of his jailer's to immediately convert. His Feast Day is the 22^nd of January.

We have been watching a magnificent spectacle with the eyes of faith, the holy martyr Vincent everywhere victorious. He was victorious in his words, victorious in the pains he endured; victorious in his confession, victorious in his tribulations; victorious when burned with fire; victorious when submerged in the waves. When his flesh, which was a kind of tribute to the victorious Christ, was thrown into the sea from the boat, it silently said, “We are cast down, but not lost.”

-Sermon od Saint Augustine

Prayer of St. Vincent, Deacon & Martyr:

Everlasting God,
to whom all hidden things are revealed,
who sent into the world Your Only Begotten Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
conceived through the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
that He might take on Himself the punishment
of our sins and by His resurrection,
snatch us from the gates of hell,
such steadfastness of faith
that confessing Christ, Your Son,
we may not perish but may be joined to Him
In the confession of Your Holy Name.
Amen.

Background:

He was born, the first of six sons, into a wealthy French family. Against his family wishes, he decided to become a priest. This followed a personal struggle with his own conscious and what he believed were signs from God.

He is remembered as a friend of the poor, his reputation as a ‘spellbinding preacher' and of course, his many pertinent spiritual writings. St Francis is the Patron Saint of writers as well as the deaf, having developed a sign language to teach a deaf man about God. His Feast Day is 24th January.

Intercessory Prayer:

O Blessed Francis,
who in your life did excel in all virtues, especially in your love of God and of your neighbour, I earnestly ask you to take me under your immediate protection, to obtain from God my perfect conversion, and that of all sinners.

O Almighty Father, teach me how to fix my eyes on heaven, that I may generously trample under foot every obstacle that presents itself in my way, and attain that degree of glory which you in your mercy hold out to me. Obtain also the favour for which I now pray: 

(State your request…)

Assist us O Lord, we beseech you, through the merits of St. Francis de Sales that, what our endeavours cannot obtain may be given to us by his intercession.

… Saint Francis de Sales, Pray for Us …

Background:

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus while he was on his way to Damascus is one of the most powerful miracles in the history of the early Church. It reveals how faith comes from grace and builds upon free cooperation with it. The doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ received proof and a clear illustration when Christ said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? The feast day of the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle is January 25^th.

Intercessory Prayer:

O glorious St. Paul, who from a persecutor of Christianity, became a most ardent Apostle of zeal; and who to make known the Saviour Jesus Christ to the ends of the world suffered with joy imprisonment, scourging, stoning, shipwrecks and persecutions of every kind, and in the end shed your blood to the last drop, obtain for us the grace to receive, as favours' of the Divine mercy, infirmities, tribulations, and misfortunes of the present life, so that the vicissitudes of this our exile will not render us cold in the service of God, but will render us always more faithful and more fervent.

V. Pray for us, Saint Paul the Apostle,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

Let us pray

O God, Who has taught the multitude of the Gentiles by the preaching of blessed Paul the Apostle: grant unto us, we beseech Thee, that we who keep his memory sacred, may feel the might of his intercession before Thee. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Background:

Saints Timothy and Titus were disciples and co-workers of St. Paul.

St. Timothy accompanied St. Paul on his travels. St. Paul consecrated him Bishop of Ephesus. According to an ancient tradition, he was stoned to death by a mob when he opposed the observance of a pagan festival.

St. Titus was Paul’s messenger to various Christian communities where disputes arose. St. Paul consecrated him Bishop of Crete.

To these two St. Paul wrote three pastoral letters, these Epistles give glimpses of the future structure of the Church. Their Feast Day is January 26^th.

Intercessory Prayer:

God our Father,
You gave Your Saints Timothy and Titus
the courage and wisdom of the apostles:
May their prayers help us to live holy lives
and lead us to heaven, our true home.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

… Saints Timothy and Titus, Pray for Us …

Background:

St. John Bosco (also called Don Bosco) was a Catholic priest who lived in Italy in the 19th century. He is most famous for his work with troubled, city-dwelling male youth who often ended up living a life of petty crime. St. John Bosco formed a club of sorts for these boys called the “Oratory”.  He catechized them in the faith and instructed them along the path of virtue. He eventually founded the Salesian Society, named after St. Francis de Sales, which saw to the founding of Salesian Homes for boys where they could live and be educated. His Feast Day is 31^st January.

Intercessory Prayer:

In need of special help,
I appeal with confidence to you, St. John Bosco,
for I require not only spiritual graces, but also temporal ones,
and particularly

(mention silently your special intentions)

May you, who on earth had such great devotion to
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary Help of Christians,
and who always had compassion for those who were suffering,
obtain from Jesus and His heavenly Mother the grace
I now request, and also a sincere resignation to the Will of God.

Amen.

… St John Bosco, Pray for Us …