I WAS CHRISTIAN

 

In bed on their wedding night his wife said,

“I must say, before we first met, I was Christian”

Her husband said calmly “I don’t care about that”

“Good” She replied “I'm happier as Christina”

AIDAN OF LINDISFARNE

 

Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne

Was an Irish missionary monk

Who was credited in the 6th Century

Of converting the Anglo-Saxons

To Christianity in Northumbria.

He founded a ministry cathedral

On the island of Lindisfarne,

Known as Lindisfarne Priory,

He is credited with restoring

Christianity to Northumbria

Finding allies in his cause by

King Oswald of Northumbria,

And King Oswine of Deira 

So the Apostle of Northumbria 

He died in Bamburgh in 651

After which he was canonized 

Aidan’s Feast Day is August 31st

BELL OF ST NINIAN

 

According to Christian legend

The Clog-rinny, or Bell of St Ninian

At the moment of St. Ninian’s repose,

A bell began to ring by itself,

Announcing the righteous man’s death,

And calling everybody to his deathbed,

He was buried in a stone sarcophagus

Near the altar of his church in Whithorn

Pilgrims flocked to his see his relics

Up to the sixteenth century Reformation

ST NINIAN'S CAVE

 

St Ninian's Cave is in Physgill Glen,

Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway,

Because of its association with Saint Ninian

It is a place of Roman Catholic pilgrimage

The cave also features in the climax

Of the 1973 horror film The Wicker Man

ST NINIAN - APOSTLE TO THE SOUTHERN PICTS

 

Ninian is a Christian 8th century saint,

Who was an early missionary among

The Pictish peoples, in Scotland.

Where he was also known as Ringan

In Northern England he was Trynnian

Ninian's shrine was at Whithorn in Galloway

And he was associated with the Candida Casa 

As the Apostle to the Southern Picts,

Ninian converted them to Christianity

Numerous dedications were made to him

In those parts of Scotland with a Pictish heritage,

From the Scottish Lowlands to Northumbria

Dedications to him are expressions of respect

For the good works that are attributed to him,

There few in the Scottish Highlands and Isles,

Apart from the Kilninian and the Holy Spring

Of St Ninian of the Monastery on the Isle of Mull

The exact year of his death is unknown

But he was buried in a stone sarcophagus

Near the altar of his church in Whithorn

St Ninian's Feast Day is September 16th

ST MUNGO

 

Saint Mungo was a Scottish missionary

In the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde

Spreading Christianity in 6th Century Scotland

And the founded the city of Glasgow

While there he performed four miracles

The Bird, The Tree, The Bell, The Fish,

Mungo's four religious miracles in Glasgow

Are represented in the city's coat of arms.

The City motto is based on Mungo teachings

“Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the word”

Mungo died in 614 and was buried in Glasgow

Saint Mungo’s Feast Day is January 13th

ST BEDE

 

Saint Bede also known as

The Venerable Bede,

Or Bede the Venerable

Was a 7th Century English monk

Scholar and Author known later as

"The Father of English History"

He served the twin monastery

Of Monkwearmouth–Jarrow

After a lifetime of serving God

Saint Bede died in 715 in Jarrow 

Bede's tomb in the Galilee Chapel

At the west end of Durham Cathedral

Saint Bede’s Feast Day is May 26th

ST NINIAN OF WHITHORN

 

It is believed that Ninian was a Briton

Possibly the son of a Christian King

Who had been educated in Rome,

Who founded a Church in Whithorn

NIALL OF THE NINE HOSTAGES

 

Niall Noígíallach which

Translates to "having nine hostages",

Was a legendary Irish King

His reign lasted from the late 4th

To the early 5th centuries,

He is placed in the traditional

List of High Kings of Ireland

Legend has it that he secured his line

By kissing the “loathly lady”

King Niall died in 405AD

CHRIST THE SAVIOUR

 

Christ the saviour

Is here to watch over us

To support us all

Guiding us with kindness

I BELIEVE IN CHRISTMAS ANGELS

 

I believe in Christmas Angels

And I believe they are always near

Just like they were at Bethlehem

Appearing upon a midnight clear

CHRISTMAS IS FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Christmas is for friends and family,

But by no means exclusively

After all the Three Wise Men

Were strangers in Bethlehem 

SAINT ANDREW THE APOSTLE

 

Andrew the Apostle

Also known as Saint Andrew

Was brother of Saint Peter

Born in the village of Bethsaida

On the Sea of Galilee.

Where they were fishermen

Until Jesus called them

To be fishers of men

He was martyred by crucifixion

At the city of Patras in Achaea,

On an X-shaped cross, or “saltire”

Commonly known as

Saint Andrew's Cross

 

His feast day is November 30th

SAINT COLUMBA THE IRISH ABBOT

 

Irish Abbot, Saint Columba,

Born 521 AD in Gartan

Who spread Christianity

As a missionary to Scotland

Founding an Abbey on Iona

Which dominated the region

Politically for centuries

He died at the Abbey in 597 AD

 

His feast day is December 7th

SAINT DAVID OF CEREDIGION

 

Saint David was a scion

Of the royal house of Ceredigion,

Born at the end of the 5th century.

David founded a monastic community

At the Vale of Roses in Pembrokeshire

Where St David's Cathedral stands

A Welsh Bishop of Menevia

He died on the 1st of March in 588

 

His feast day is March 1st

SAINT PATRICK WAS AN ENGLISHMAN

 

Patrick was an Englishman

Who was captured from his home

And taken as a slave to Ireland

By Irish Pirates when he was 16

After six years of slavery

He escaped and returned home

After becoming a cleric,

He returned to the north

And west of Ireland.

In later life, he was ordained Bishop

 

His feast day is March 17th  

 

SAINT PATRICK'S DAY COMMEMORATES

 

Saint Patrick's Day commemorates

Saint Patrick himself and

The arrival of Christianity in Ireland

With the Feast of Saint Patrick

 

His feast day is March 17th

THE DRAGON OF SILENE

 

A dragon makes its nest

At the freshwater spring

The only water source

For the city of Silene

The Dragon must be lured away

Long enough to collect water

So, they temp it with a sheep

When no sheep can be found,

Then a maiden is sacrificed

The victim chosen by drawing lots

And one day it’s the Princess.

The King begs for her life

But his pleas fall on deaf ears

So, she is offered to the dragon

But George of Lydda appeared

While on his epic travels

And he faces the dragon,

After protecting himself

With the sign of the Cross

Slaying the dragon,

And rescued the princess

Then the citizens of Silene

Abandoned their paganism

And converted to Christianity

 

His feast day is April 23rd

THE APOSTLE OF IRELAND

 

St Patrick was a 5th-century

Romano-British Christian missionary

Born in 385 AD and died in 461 AD

Who became a Bishop in Ireland

Known as the Apostle of Ireland

The first bishop of Armagh,

And Primate of Ireland.

 

His feast day is March 17th

GEORGIOS OF LYDDA

 

Saint George was born

In the town of Lydda in Palestine

Between 275 AD and 285 AD

To a Greek Christian noble family,

He was named Georgios

Meaning “worker of the land”

And served in the Roman Army

Reaching the rank of Tribunus

In the eastern city of Nicomedia

Until Emperor Diocletian

Issued an edict against Christians

Commanding they renounce their faith

Instead, George renounced the edict

Gave his wealth to the poor

And prepared himself for death

As expected, he was sentenced to death

But was tortured on a wheel of swords

Before being decapitated

In front of Nicomedia's city wall

On April 23rd 303 AD

 

His feast day is April 23rd