Saint's of the Week

Saint Nicholas

Feast Day: 6th December

Virtue: Generosity

Nicholas was the fourth-century bishop of Myra, a city in Asia Minor. He was very generous to the poor.

Once Nicholas heard that a man who had become very poor intended to abandon his three daughters to a life of sin, he went out by night, threw a bag of gold into the window of the sleeping father and hurried away. Later, the father fell to his feet and said, “Nicholas, you are my helper. You delivered my soul and my daughters’ from hell.

The Emperor Justinian built a church in his honor at Constantinople about the year 340. The Russian Church honors him more than any other saint. He is the patron of Russia.

St Nicholas is honored as the special patron of children. The word Santa Claus comes from his name.

He died at Myra in the year 342. he has always been venerated in Latin and Greek Churches. His relics are in Bari, Italy.

Saint Eulalia of Merida

Virtue: Courage

Feast Day: 10th December

Eulalia of Merida is the most famous virgin martyr of Spain. She lived in Spain in the last decade of the third century. And she suffered martyrdom when she was twelve years old.

At that time the Emperor Diocletian led a cruel persecution of Christians. When some one was accused of being a follower of Christ, that person was ordered to offer sacrifice to false gods to save his or her life. By doing so, they would deny Christ, therefore many Christians refused and gave up their earthly life so as to be assured of eternal life.

One day Eulalia was present at a trial when the Judge Dacian was trying to force Christians to worship false gods. Despite her mother’s efforts to stop her, Eulalia denounced the judge and pleaded for the Christians.

As a result, Eulalia was seized and told to worship false gods and when she refused, she was tortured and finally burned at the stake. However, nothing could make her deny the Savior she loved so much. She gained the crown of martyrdom around the year 304.