Holy Mass images...: apostles

Showing posts with label apostles. Show all posts

Saint James the Great, Apostle

feast day: July 25

about:
- also known as "Saint James the Greater" or "Saint James the Great"
- son of Zebedee and Salome
- brother of Saint John the Apostle (also known as "Saint John the Evangelist")
- patron of laborers, Chile, Nicaragua, rheumatism, Spain

links/ sources:
- "James, son of Zebedee" (WIkipedia):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James,_son_of_Zebedee
- "St. James the Greater" (Catholic Encyclopedia):
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08279b.htm
- "St. James the Greater" (Catholic Online):
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=59
- "St. James the Greater" (American Catholic):
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1087

Saint Thomas the Apostle

feast day: 3 July

about:
- patron saint of architects
- called Didymus which means "the twin"
- was one of the original Apostles of Jesus Christ
- is informally called doubting Thomas because he doubted Jesus' resurrection when first told, (in the Gospel of John), followed later by his confession of faith, "My Lord and my God", on seeing Jesus' wounded body.
- Traditionally, he is said to have travelled outside the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel, travelling as far as India. According to tradition, the Apostle reached Muziris, India in AD 52 and baptized several people, founding what today are known as Saint Thomas Christians or Nasranis. After his death, the reputed relics of Saint Thomas the Apostle were enshrined as far as Mesopotamia in the 3rd century, and later moved to various places. In 1258, some of the relics were brought to Abruzzo in Ortona, Italy, where they have been held in the Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle. He is often regarded as the Patron Saint of India and the name Thoma remains quite popular among Saint Thomas Christians of India.
- He was a dedicated follower of Christ. Thomas, unwilling to believe other Apostles had seen the risen Lord, he earned the title "doubting Thomas". On Christ's second apparition, Thomas saw the wounds on our Lord's hands and side and proclaimed "My Lord and my God".
- As the Apostle dispersed, Thomas eventually reached India.

links/ sources:
- "Thomas the Apostle" (Wikipedia):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_the_Apostle
- "St. Thomas the Apostle" (Catholic Encyclopedia):
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14658b.htm - "St. Thomas" (Catholic Online):
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=410
http://www.catholic.org/saints/fun_facts_arch.php?saint=410

Saint Paul the Apostle

feast day (solemnity):
- January 25 (The Conversion of Paul)
- February 10 (Feast of Saint Paul's Shipwreck in Malta)
- June 29 (Feast of Saints Peter and Paul)
- June 30 (former solo feast day, still celebrated by some religious orders)
- November 18 (Feast of the dedication of the basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul)

about Saint Paul:
- born: c. AD 5 in Tarsius in Cilicia (south-central Turkey)
- died: c. AD 67 (probably in Rome)
- apostle to the Gentiles
- He was converted from Judaism on the road to Damascus. He was the ultimate missionary, traveling throughout many countries and lands, preaching the Gospel of Jesus. He established numerous churches during his travels and was even imprisoned several times.

link/ sources:
- "St. Paul" (Catholic Encyclopedia):
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11567b.htm
- "St. Paul" (Catholic Online):
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=91
- "Paul the Apostle" (Wikipedia):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle

Saints Peter and Paul the Apostle

feast day (solemnity): 29June

about the feast:
- the celebration is of ancient origin, the date selected being the anniversary either of their death or of the translation of their relics
- In the General Roman Calendar, the celebration is a solemnity. In earlier editions, it was ranked as a Double (Tridentine Calendar), Greater Double (e.g., General Roman Calendar of 1954), or First-Class Feast (General Roman Calendar of 1960).
- It is a holy day of obligation in the Latin Church, although individual conferences of bishops can suppress the obligation. In England, Scotland and Wales the feast is observed as a holy day of obligation while in the United States and Canada, it is not. In Malta it is a public holiday and in Maltese known as L-Imnarja.
- On this feast, newly created metropolitan archbishops receive from the pope the primary symbol of their office, the pallium.

about Saint Peter:
- Simon Peter or Cephas
- the first pope
- Prince of the Apostles

about Saint Paul:
- born: c. AD 5 in Tarsius in Cilicia (south-central Turkey)
- died: c. AD 67 (probably in Rome)
- apostle to the Gentiles
- He was converted from Judaism on the road to Damascus. He was the ultimate missionary, traveling throughout many countries and lands, preaching the Gospel of Jesus. He established numerous churches during his travels and was even imprisoned several times.

link/ sources:
- "Feast of Saints Peter and Paul" (Wikipedia):
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_Saints_Peter_and_Paul
- "The heroism of St Peter and St Paul still has great power to win souls" (Catholic Herald):
   http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2015/06/29/the-heroism-of-st-peter-and-st-paul-still-has-great-power-to-win-souls/
- "St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles" (Catholic Encyclopedia):
   http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11744a.htm
- "St. Peter, First Pope" (Catholic Online):
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5358
- "Saint Peter" (Wikipedia):
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter
- "St. Paul" (Catholic Encyclopedia):
   http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11567b.htm
- "St. Paul" (Catholic Online):
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=91
- "Paul the Apostle" (Wikipedia):
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle

Saint Matthias, Apostle

feast day: May 14

about:
- The Greek Matthias (or, in some manuscripts, Maththias), is a name derived from Mattathias, Hebrew Mattithiah, signifying "gift of Yahweh".
- born: 1st century AD, Judea, Roman Empire
- died: c. 80 AD, Jerusalem, Judea or in Colchis (modern-day Georgia)
- attribute: axe
- was the apostle chosen by the believers to replace Judas Iscariot following Judas' betrayal of Jesus and suicide. His calling as an apostle is unique in that his appointment was not made personally by Jesus, who had already ascended into heaven, and, it was made before the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the early Church.
- Matthias was one of the seventy disciples of Jesus, and had been with Him from His baptism by John to the Ascension (Acts 1:21-22). It is related (Acts 1:15-26) that in the days following the Ascension, Peter proposed to the assembled brethren, who numbered one hundred and twenty, that they choose one to fill the place of the traitor Judas in the Apostolate. Two disciples, Joseph, called Barsabas, and Matthias were selected, and lots were drawn, with the result in favour of Matthias, who thus became associated with the eleven Apostles. Zeller has declared this narrative unhistoric, on the plea that the Apostles were in Galilee after the death of Jesus. As a matter of fact they did return to Galilee, but the Acts of the Apostles clearly state that about the feast of Pentecost they went back to Jerusalem.
- All further information concerning the life and death of Matthias is vague and contradictory. According to Nicephorus (Church History II.40), he first preached the Gospel in Judea, then in Ethiopia (that is to say, Colchis) and was crucified. The Synopsis of Dorotheus contains this tradition: Matthias in interiore Æthiopia, ubi Hyssus maris portus et Phasis fluvius est, hominibus barbaris et carnivoris praedicavit Evangelium. Mortuus est autem in Sebastopoli, ibique prope templum Solis sepultus (Matthias preached the Gospel to barbarians and cannibals in the interior of Ethiopia, at the harbour of the sea of Hyssus, at the mouth of the river Phasis. He died at Sebastopolis, and was buried there, near the Temple of the Sun). Still another tradition maintains that Matthias was stoned at Jerusalem by the Jews, and then beheaded (cf. Tillemont, "Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire eccl. des six premiers siècles", I, 406-7). It is said that St. Helena brought the relics of St. Matthias to Rome, and that a portion of them was at Trier. Bollandus* (Acta SS., May, III) doubts if the relics that are in Rome are not rather those of the St. Matthias who was Bishop of Jerusalem about the year 120, and whose history would seem to have been confounded with that of the Apostle. The Latin Church celebrates the feast of St. Matthias on 24 February and the Greek Church on 9 August. [Note: After this article was written, the Latin Church moved the feast of St. Matthias to 14 May.]

links/ sources:
- "Saint Matthias" (Wikipedia):
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Matthias
- "St. Matthias" (Catholic Encyclopedia):
   http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10066a.htm
- "St. Matthias" (Catholic Online):
   http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5
- "Saint Matthias, Apostle" (EWTN):
   https://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/MATTHIAS.HTM
- "St. Matthias" (American Catholic):
   http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1383

Saints Simon the Zealot and Jude Thaddeus (apostles)

feast day: October 28

about St. Simon:
- born in Cana/Canaan
- died ~65 or ~107
- feast day = May 10 (Eastern Christianity), October 28 (Western Christianity), November 5 (Coptic Orthodoxy)
- attributes = boat; cross and saw; fish (or two fishes); lance; man being sawn in two longitudinally; oar
- patronage = curriers; sawyers; tanners
- was one of the original followers of Christ
- preached in Egypt and then went to Persia with St. Jude where both suffered martyrdom

about St. Jude:
- born 1st century AD (Galilee, Judea, Roman Empire)

- died 1st century AD (Persia)
- feast day = October 28 (Western Christianity), June 19 (Eastern Christianity)

- attributes = axe, club, boat, oar, medallion
- patron of = desperate situations and hopeless cases
- known as Thaddaeus, was a brother of St. James the Less, and a relative of Our Saviour
- was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus
- according to ancient writers, he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia
- according to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother, St. Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem
- an author of an epistle (letter) to the Churches of the East, particularly the Jewish converts, directed against the heresies of the Simonians, Nicolaites, and Gnostics
- was the one who asked Jesus at the Last Supper why He would not manifest Himself to the whole world after His resurrection
- is invoked in desperate situations because his New Testament letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the environment of harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done before them

links/ sources:
- "Simon the Zealot" (source: Wikipedia):
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_the_Zealot
- "St. Simon the Zealot" (source:Catholic Online):
   http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=241
- "St. Simon the Apostle" (source: Catholic Encyclopedia):
   http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13796b.htm
- "Jude the Apostle" (source: Wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jude_the_Apostle
- "St. Jude Thaddeus" (source: Catholic Online):
   http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=127
- "St. Jude Novena" (source: EWTN):
   https://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/novena/jude.htm
- "St. Jude - About His Life" (source: The St. Jude Novena Site):
   http://www.stjudenovena.org/stjude.html
- "Epistle of St. Jude" (source: Catholic Encyclopedia):
   http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08542b.htm