Saints & Sinners

 Saint of the day June 18

St. Marina Roman Catholic Virgin- She flourished in Bithynia in the eighth century, and served God under the habit of a monk, with extraordinary fervor. Her wonderful humility, meekness, and patience are celebrated in the lives of the fathers of the desert. Feastday: June 18

St. Aquilina, Roman Catholic Virgin and Martyr beheaded at Byblos. She was only twelve years old. Feastday: June 18 Martyr Aquilina of Byblos in Syria Commemorated on June 13

Troparion & Kontakion

The Holy Martyr Aquilina, a native of the Phoenician city of Byblos, suffered under the emperor Diocletian (284-305). Her parents raised her in Christian piety. When the girl was only twelve years old, she persuaded a pagan friend to convert to Christ. One of the servants of the imperial governor Volusian accused her of teaching others not to follow the religion of their fathers. The girl firmly confessed her faith in Christ before the governor and said that she would not renounce Him. Volusian tried to influence the young confessor through persuasion and by flattery, but seeing her confidence, he ordered her to be tortured.

They struck her upon the face, then they stripped her and beat her with whips. The torturer asked, “Where then is your God? Let Him come and take you out of my hands”.

The saint answered, “The Lord is here with me invisibly, and the more I suffer, the more strength and endurance will He give me.”

They drilled through the martyr’s ears with heated metal rods. The holy virgin fell down as if dead. The torturer thought that the girl had actually died, and he gave orders to throw her body outside the city to be eaten by dogs.

By night a holy angel appeared to Saint Aquilina, roused her and said, “Arise and be healed. Go and denounce Volusian, so that he and his plans may come to nothing.”

The martyr went to the court of the governor and stood before Volusian. Seeing Saint Aquilina, he called for his servants and ordered them to keep watch over her until morning.

In the morning he sentenced Saint Aquilina to death, saying that she was a sorceress who did not obey the imperial decrees. When they led the saint to execution, she prayed and gave thanks to God for allowing her to suffer for His Holy Name.

A voice was heard in answer to her prayer, summoning her to the heavenly Kingdom. Before the executioner could carry out the sentence, the martyr gave up her spirit to God (+ 293). The executioner feared to disobey the governor’s orders, so he cut off her head although she was already dead.

Christians piously buried the martyr’s body. Later, her relics were taken to Constantinople and placed in a church named for her.

ST. GREGORY BARBARIGO Bishop of Padua and Cardinal

Saint of the day June 17

SAINT OF THE DAY, June 17, STS. BLAISE AND DIOGEN, MARTYRS ON THE VIA SALARIA ANTICA

Bl. Emmanuel d'Abreu, Roman Catholic Jesuit Priest and Chinese Martyr. He was arrested in Tonkin and was martyred the following year with three companions. Feastday: June 17

St. Nectan. Hermit and martyr also called Nighton or Nectaran. Possibly a native of Wales or Ireland, he is best known through legends. He lived as a hermit in Devonshire, England, founding churches there and in Cornwall, England. The patron saint of Hartland, Devonshire, he was much venerated during the Middle Ages and his shrine was a popular place for pilgrims until its destruction during the Reformation in the sixteenth century. He was reported beheaded by robbers, and in some traditions was a relative of the chieftain Brychan.

St. Briavel. The patron of a parish in Dean Forest, Gloucestershire, England.

St. Herve, 575 A.D. Welsh bard who was is a popular patron in Brittany, France. Herve, sometimes called Harvey or Hervues, was the son of the bard Hyvarnion, and was born blind. Raised by his uncles because his mother was a hermitess, he was taken to Brittany. There he built an abbey at Lanhourneau, and he was venerated as a miracle worker and bard. He is invoked against eye trouble, and he is depicted with a wolf. Tales and legends associated Herve with a wolf.

St. Adulf, 680 A.D. Bishop and missionary, venerated with his brother, Butulf. They were nobles of Saxon or Irish lineage who became monks. Both went as missionaries to Germany. There Adulf was made the bishop of Utrecht. Butulf returned to England and founded a religious house in 654, becoming widely respected for his holiness.

Saint of the day June 16

Bl. William Greenwood, 1537 A.D. Carthusian martyr of England. A lay brother in the Carthusian London Charterhouse, he was arrested for opposing the policies of King Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547) and starved to death in Newgate Prison with six companions.

Sts. Quiriacus and Julitta, Roman Catholic Martyrs. Quiricus was the three year old son of Julitta, a noble widow of Tarsus. Arrested for being a Christian, Julitta enraged the Roman magistrate by scratching his face. Her punishment before execution was to watch while Quiricus was beaten to death Feastday June 16

St. Curig, 6th century. Welsh bishop in the see of Llanbadarn. Several churches in Wales are dedicated to Curig.

St. Cettin, 5th century. Bishop and disciple of St.Patrick also called Cetagh. Cettin was consecrated a bishop to help St. Patrick.

Saint of the day June 15

Bls. Thomas Green, Thomas Scryven, and Thomas Reding, 1537 A.D. English Carthusian martyrs. Thomas Green studied at St. John's College, Cambridge, entering the London Charterhouse of the Carthusians where he took vows and received ordination. Arrested for opposing King Henry VIII's (r. 1509-1547) claim of spiritual supremacy over the English Church, Thomas was imprisoned with two other Carthusians, the lay brothers Thomas Scryven and Thomas Reding, and four other companions. All were starved to death at Newgate Prison.

St. Benildis. Roman Catholic Spanish woman martyr, converted by the heroic death of St. Athanasius. A priest, St. Athanasius, died in the city of Córdoba at the hands of the Moors, the Islamic rulers of that era. Benildis converted during the martyrdom of St. Athanasius and she died at the stake the following day. 853 A.D. Feastday June 15

ST VITUS, MARTYR IN LUCANIA Little is definitively known about St Vitus, apart from the fact of his martyrdom in Lucania. Devotion to the Saint is known from the beginning of the Middle Ages. St Vitus was known for healing miracles; he is invoked especially against epilepsy and other neurological disorders. June 15

St. Trillo, 6th century. A Welsh saint of whom little is known beyond his status as patron saint of two sites in Gwynedd, Wales. In some lists he is called Drel or Drillo.

St. Edburga of Winchester, 960 A.D. Benedictine abbess, the daughter of King Edward the Elder and his third wife Edgiva, and the grddaughter of Alfred the Great. She became a nun at Winchester Abbey, then abbess, and was known for her miracles. Her shrine is at Pershore, in Worchestershire, England.

St. Vouga, 6th century. Irish bishop also called Vougar, Veho, and Fiech. He gave up his post and went to Brittany, France, where he lived as a hermit near Lesneven.

ST. BERNARD OF MENTHON, CANONS REGULAR OF SAINT AUGUSTIN

ST. GERMANA COUSIN, VIRGIN