St Raymund Nonnatus (EF), Aug 31

St Raymond being nourished by angels
Eugenio Caxes

From the martyrology:

"At Cardona, in Spain, St. Raymond Nonnatus, Cardinal and confessor, of the Order of Mercedarians, renowned for holiness of life and miracles."

The wikipedia notes that:

"According to Mercedarian tradition, he was born at Portell (today part of Sant Ramon), in the Diocese of Urgell, and became a member of the Mercedarian Order, founded to ransom Christian captives from the Moors of North Africa. He was ordained a priest in 1222 and later became master-general of the order. He traveled to North Africa and is said to have surrendered himself as a hostage when his money ran out.

He suffered in captivity. A legend states that the Moors bored a hole through his lips with a hot iron, and padlocked his mouth to prevent him from preaching. He was ransomed by his order and in 1239 returned to Spain. He died at Cardona, sixty miles from Barcelona, either on August 26 or on August 31, 1240. Many miracles were attributed to him before and after his death."

August 30: SS Felix and Audauctus, Memorial

Saints Felix and Adauctus (d. 303 AD) were Christian martyrs who are believed to have lived during the reigns of Diocletian and Maximian.  Felix, a Roman priest, and brother of another priest, also named Felix, being ordered to offer sacrifice to the gods. But at the prayer of the saint the idols fell shattered to the ground. He was then led to execution. On the way an unknown person joined him, professed himself a Christian, and also received the crown of martyrdom. The Christians gave him the name Adauctus (the Latin word for "added"). They were both beheaded.

Beheading of St John the Baptist (Aug 29)

In one of those cutesy euphemisms, this feast has been renamed the 'Passion of John the Baptist' in the Ordinary Form.

The martyrology describes it thus:

"The beheading of St. John the Baptist, who was put to death by Herod about the feast of Easter. However, the solemn commemoration takes place today, when his venerable head was found for the second time. It was afterwards solemnly carried to Rome, where it is kept in the church of St. Silvester, near Campo Marzio, and honored by the people with the greatest devotion."

This saint has a particular significance for Benedictines, as when he moved to Monte Cassino, St Benedict built a chapel in honour of St John the Baptist where previously had stood an altar to Apollo.

In many respects St John represents the two sides of the Benedictine charism - in his ascetic life in the desert, he points to the contemplative dimension; in his work preparing the way for Our Lord by calling the people to repentance, the active dimension.

August 29: The beheading of St. John the Baptist

Today is one of the feast days of one of the most important saints in the calendar, St John the Baptist.

In one of those cutesy euphemisms, this feast has been renamed the 'Passion of John the Baptist' in the Ordinary Form.

The martyrology, however, describes it thus:

"The beheading of St. John the Baptist, who was put to death by Herod about the feast of Easter. However, the solemn commemoration takes place today, when his venerable head was found for the second time. It was afterwards solemnly carried to Rome, where it is kept in the church of St. Silvester, near Campo Marzio, and honored by the people with the greatest devotion." 

This saint has a particular significance for Benedictines, as when he moved to Monte Cassino, St Benedict built a chapel in honour of St John the Baptist where previously had stood an altar to Apollo.

In many respects St John represents the two sides of the Benedictine charism - in his ascetic life in the desert, he points to the contemplative dimension; in his work preparing the way for Our Lord by calling the people to repentance, the active dimension.

The Vespers hymn for the feast is Deus tuorum militum sors.

August 28: Feast of St Augustine, Bishop, Confessor and Doctor

St. Augustine of Hippo is not of course a Benedictine saint. Still, he was an important influence on St. Benedict and the Western monastic tradition in general.

St Augustine's monastic rules are amongst the earliest surviving monastic rules of the Western Church, and reflect the moderation that St. Benedict was to make central to his Rule. He is also a champion of the combination of learning with faith, another Benedictine quality.

There are many quotes from St. Augustine in the Rule, but one of the most interesting areas of St. Augustine's theological influence in the Rule is in the Tools of Good Works (Chapter Four). The injunction "To attribute to God, and not to self, whatever good one sees in oneself, but to recognize always that the evil is one's own doing, and to impute it to oneself," reflects St. Augustine's anti-Pelagian approach over the position being advocated at the time by the Eastern-influenced monks of Lerins, and finally resolved at the contemporary Council of Orange in 529.

St Joseph Calasanctius (EF)/St Monica (OF), Aug 27

From the martyrology:

"At Rome, the demise of St. Joseph, confessor, illustrious by the innocence of his life and miracles, who, to instruct youth in piety and letters, founded the Order of the Poor Clerks Regular of the pious Schools of the Mother of God."

In the Extraordinary Form, St Monica's feast is on May 4, however it was moved, in 1970, to the day before the feast of the son, St Augustine, she converted by her tears, prayers and admonitions.

Saints feasts for September

September 1

St Giles (EF only)

September 2

September 3

Pope St Pius X, Class III
Pope Pius X - martyrology entry
Pope Benedict VI on St Pius X

September 4

St Marcellus (from the martyrology)

September 5

St Laurence Justinian (EF only)

September 6

St Zachary (from the martyrology)

September 7

Pope St Hadrian III (martyrology)

September 8

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Class II

September 9

St Gorgonius, martyr, memorial

September 10

St Nicholas of Tolentino (EF only); St Pulcheria

September 11

SS Protus and Hyacinth, Martyrs, memorial
St Theodora (desert mother)

September 14

Exaltation of Holy Cross, Class II

September 15

Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, Class III

September 16

SS Cornelius, Pope and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs, memorial

September 17

St Hildegarde OSB, Doctor of the Church memorial 

September 18

St Joseph of Cupertino (EF only)

September 19

St Januarius (OF only)

September 20

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

September 21

St Matthew, Class II

September 22

St Maurice and companions, memorial

September 23

Pope St Linus, memorial

September 24

Our Lady of Ransom (EF only)

September 27

SS Cosmas and Damian, memorial

September 28

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

September 29

Dedication of St Michael the Archangel, Class I
SS Michael, Raphael and Gabriel (OF)

September 30

St Jerome, Class III