St Wenceslaus (EF/OF); St Lawrence Ruiz and companions (OF) Sept 28

From the martyrology:

"In Bohemia, St. Wenceslas, duke of Bohemia and martyr, renowned for holiness and miracles. Being murdered in his brother's house, he went triumphantly to heaven."

St Lawrence Ruiz (1600-1637) is the first Filippino saint, a lay missionary martyred along with a group of Dominican priests for refusing to renounce Christianity in Japan during the Tokogawa Shogunate.

SS Cosmas and Damian (Sept 27, EF/OF/Ben); St Vincent de Paul (OF)

From the martyrology:

"At Aegea, during the persecution of Diocletian, the birthday of the holy martyrs Cosmas and Damian, brothers. After miraculously overcoming many torments from bonds, imprisonment, fire, crucifixion, stoning, arrows, and from being cast into thesea, they received capital punishment. With them are said to have also suffered three of their brothers, Anthimus, Leontius, and Euprepius."

And also:

"At Paris, St. Vincent de Paul, priest, and founder of the Congregation of the Mission and of the Daughters of Charity, an apostolic man and a father to the poor."

Our Lady of Ransom (EF), Sept 24

Ember Saturday (EF/Ben 62); St Maurice and companions, memorial (Ben), Sept 22

Today is an ember day, traditionally a day of fasting and abstinence.

But it is also the memorial of St Maurice in the Benedictine calendar.

From the martyrology:

"At St. Maurice, near Sion, in Switzerland, the birthday of the holy Theban martyrs Maurice, Exuperius, Candidus, Victor, Innocent, and Yitalis, with their companions of the same legion, whose martyrdom for the faith, in the time of Maximian, filled the world with the glory of their sufferings."


St Maurice was leader of the Roman Theban Legion, which consisted entirely of Christians.  Called to Egypt to help suppress a rebellion they were ordered to harass some local Christians, but refused.

After two rounds of decimation failed to make the soldiers obey, the remaining 6,666 men were all executed.

St Matthew (EF/OF/Ben), Sept 21

From the martyrology:

"The birthday of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, who suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, while engaged in preaching. The Gospel written by him in Hebrew was, by his own revelation, found in the time of the emperor Zeno, together with the relics of the blessed apostle Barnabas."

A former tax collector, St Matthew was of course one of the twelve apostles and, modernist speculation aside, author the Gospel bearing his name.  Some of the early Fathers suggest that he originally wrote his Gospel in Hebrew rather than the Greek that was the lingua franca of the time.  But if so that version has not come down to us. 

St Eustace and companions (EF); SS Andrew Tae-gon, Paul Chon Ha-sang and companions, Sept 20

Vision of St Eustace by Pisanello

Prior to his conversion, St Eustace was a Roman General under the Emperor Trajan.  While out hunting one day he had a vision of Jesus caught between the antler's of a stag.  He and his family immediately converted.  St Eustace was martyred in 118 AD. 

From the martyrology:

"At Rome, the holy martyrs Eustachius, and Theopistes, his wife, with their two sons, Agapitus and Theopistus. Under the emperor Adrian, they were condemned to be cast to the beasts, but through the power of God, being uninjured by them, they were shut up in a burning brazen ox, and thus terminated their martyrdom."

In the ordinary form today, the calendar remembers a number of Korean martyrs, including St Andrew Taegon (1821-46), the first Korean native priest, and Paul Chong Hasang (1794-1839), a lay apostle and married man.

Ember Wednesday (Sept 19); St Januarius (OF)

This is Ember week in the traditional calendar, traditionally days of fasting and abstinence at times marking the change of the seasons.

You can read more about them here..

In the Ordinary Form, St Januarius is remembered.  Here is the entry from the traditional martyrology:

"At Puzzoli, in Campania, the holy martyrs Januarius, bishop of Benevento, Festus, his deacon, and Desiderius, lector, together with Sosius, deacon of the church of Misenum, Proculus, deacon of Puzzoli, Eutychius and Acutius, who were bound and imprisoned and then beheaded during the reign of Diocletian. The body of St. Januarius was brought to Naples, and buried in the church with due honors, where even now the blood of the blessed martyr is kept in a vial, and when placed close to his head, is seen to become liquid and, bubble up as if it were just taken from his veins."