Catholic Saints & Feasts of the Liturgical Year
If a list were made of the greatest human beings who have ever lived, the Catholic saints would be at the top. Though historians often attempt to judge greatness from a subjective perspective, there must be objective criteria by which human greatness is judged. The only Being capable of establishing that criteria is God. The criteria that God has established are the virtues, as identified by Jesus and revealed by Him through the holy Gospels. The goal of this podcast is to present each saint found on the Catholic liturgical calendar in such a way so as to identify the Godly virtues that place each one on that list. The Church has already confirmed the saints’ greatness and their heroic virtues. Importantly, God chose the men and women found in these pages, not only for greatness in their lifetimes, but also as models of holiness in ours. These men and women are gifts to you, given by God through the Church. Each podecast reflection comes from the four-volume series Saints and Feasts of the Liturgical Year. These reflections can be read at our website for free: mycatholic.life. They are also available for purchase in eBook and paperback.
Episodes
January 23: Saint Marianne Cope, Virgin—USA Optional Memorial
1838–1918
Patron Saint of lepers, outcasts, those with HIV/AIDS, Hawaii
Canonized October 21, 2012, by Pope Benedict XVI
Liturgical Color: White
Quote:
I am hungry for the work and I wish with all my heart to be one of the chosen ones, whose privilege it will be to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of the souls of the poor Island...
January 22: Saint Vincent, Deacon and Martyr—Optional Memorial
Celebrated January 23 in the USA
Late Third Century–c. 304
Patron Saint of vinegar makers, wine makers, brickmakers, and sailors
Pre-Congregation canonization
Liturgical Color: Red
Quote:
We have been watching a magnificent spectacle with the eyes of faith, the holy martyr Vincent everywhere victorious. He was victorious in his words,...
January 22: Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children—USA Memorial
Moved to January 23 when January 22 is a Sunday
Liturgical Color: White or Violet
Quote:
God our Creator, we give thanks to you, who alone have the power to impart the breath of life as you form each of us in our mother’s womb; grant, we pray, that we, whom you have made stewards of creation, may remain faithful...
January 21: Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr—Memorial
c. 291–c. 304
Patron Saint of those seeking chastity and purity, engaged couples, rape victims, gardeners, young girls, and Girl Scouts
Pre-Congregation canonization
Liturgical Color: Red
Quote:
He who chose me first for Himself shall receive me. Why are you delaying, executioner?…She stood, she prayed, she bent down her neck. You could see the...
January 20: Saint Fabian, Pope and Martyr—Optional Memorial
Died 250
Patron Saint of Rome
Pre-Congregation canonization
Elected pope 236
Liturgical Color: Red
Quote:
On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” ~Mark 1:10–11
Prayer:
Saint Fab...
January 20: Saint Sebastian, Martyr—Optional Memorial
c. 255–c. 288
Patron Saint of archers, pinmakers, athletes, against epidemics, and of a holy death
Pre-Congregation canonization
Liturgical Color: Red
Quote:
The Lord Jesus, Whom I serve, has raised me, as it were, from the dead, for this very purpose, that once more I might meet you, and protest, in the presence of all the people here assemb...
January 17: Saint Anthony of Egypt, Abbot—Memorial
251–356
Patron Saint of basketmakers, gravediggers, butchers, swineherds, motorists, amputees, monks, and farmers
Invoked against skin diseases and epilepsy
Pre-Congregation canonization
Liturgical Color: White
Quote:
And the place was suddenly filled with the forms of lions, bears, leopards, bulls, serpents, asps, scorpions, and wolves, and each...
January 13: Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor—Optional Memorial
c. 315–367
Patron Saint of children academically behind, children learning to walk, mothers, and the sick
Invoked against rheumatism and snakebites
Pre-Congregation canonization
Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1851 by Pope Pius IX
Liturgical Color: White
Quote:
Let me, in short, adore You our Father, and Your Son togeth...
Read entire reflection online >>>
Baptism of the Lord—Feast
Sunday after Epiphany
Or, if Epiphany is celebrated on January 7 or 8, the following Monday
Liturgical Color: White/Gold
Quote:
It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. An...
January 7—Saint Raymond of Peñafort, Priest—Optional Memorial
1175–1275
Patron Saint of attorneys, canonists, and medical record librarians
Canonized by Pope Clement VIII on April 29, 1601
Liturgical Color: White
Quote:
Look then on Jesus, the Author and Preserver of faith: in complete sinlessness He suffered, and at the hands of those who were His own, and was numbered among the wicked. As you ...
January 6: Saint André Bessette, Religious—USA Optional Memorial
1845–1937
Patron saint of family caregivers in Canada
Canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 17, 2010
Liturgical Color: White
Quote:
God is good! How beautiful and powerful he is! He must be beautiful, because the human soul, which is a reflection of God’s beauty, is so beautiful! ~Spoken on his deathbed
Prayer:
Saint André, you w...
January 5—Saint John Neumann, Bishop—Memorial: USA
1811–1860
Patron saint of sick children and of immigrants
Canonized by Pope Saint Paul VI on June 19, 1977
Liturgical Color: White
Quote:
My heart is pierced with sorrow when I hear of the loss of one of my sheep. Lord Jesus, have mercy. Permit not that any one of those whom you have entrusted to me should be lost. O my Jesus, I will pray, fast,...
January 4—Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious—Memorial: USA
1774–1821
Patron Saint of Catholic schools, widows, loss of parents and children, and people ridiculed for their piety
Invoked against in-law problems and those who oppose the Church
Canonized by Pope Paul VI on September 14, 1975
Liturgical Color: White
Quote:
I often asked [William] when he could not speak, ‘You feel my love that you ...
Epiphany of the Lord—Solemnity
January 6, or on the first Sunday after January 1 in countries where this feast is not a Holy Day of Obligation
Liturgical Color: White/Gold
Quote:
They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold,...
January 3—The Most Holy Name of Jesus, Optional Memorial
Liturgical Color: White
Prayer:
Jesus, Name full of glory, grace, love, and strength! You are the refuge of those who repent, our banner of warfare in this life, the medicine of souls, the comfort of those who mourn, the delight of those who believe, the light of those who preach the true faith, the wages of those who toil, the healing o...
January 2—Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors—Memorial
St. Basil: 329–379
Patron Saint of monks, hospital administrators, reformers, and Russia
St. Gregory: c. 329–389
Patron Saint of harvests and poets
Pre-Congregation canonizations
Liturgical Color: White
Quote:
Much time had I spent in vanity, and had wasted nearly all my youth in the vain labor which I underwent i...
January 1—Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God—The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord
Holy Day of Obligation
(Obligatory in USA: unless it falls on Saturday or Monday)
Liturgical Color: White/Gold
Quote:
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David...
December 31: Saint Sylvester I, Pope—Optional Memorial
c. Late Third Century–335
Patron Saint of animals, harvests, and stonemasons
Pre-Congregation canonization
Liturgical Color: White
Quote: And so, on the first day after receiving the mystery of the holy baptism, and after the cure of my body from the squalor of the leprosy, I recognized that there was no other God save the Father and the Son...
December 29: Saint Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr—Optional Memorial
c. 1119–1170
Patron Saint of clergy
Canonized by Pope Alexander III on February 21, 1173
Liturgical color: White (Red only where celebrated as a Feast)
Quote:
Remember the profession, which you made and placed in writing upon the altar at Westminster, to preserve the Church’s liberties, when you were consecrated and anointed ...
December 28: Holy Innocents, Martyrs—Feast
AD 1
Patron Saints of babies, abandoned babies, children’s choirs, students, and altar servers
Invoked against ambition, jealousy
Pre-Congregation canonization
Liturgical Color: Red
Quote:
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and u...
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