21 June 2024 (MIA)

Macedonian Orthodox Church Calendar

The Holy and Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates

This saint is commemorated on February 8, and his life is recounted there. However, June 8 commemorates the translation of his relics from Heraklion to Euchaita. St Theodore’s last request to his servant Varus before his martyrdom was: `Bury my body on the estate of my ancestors at Euchaita.’ St Anastasius of Mount Sinai has recorded the following miracle by an icon of St Theodore: At a place called Karsat, close to Damascus, there was a church dedicated to St Theodore. When the Saracens conquered Damascus, a party of them, with their wives and children, turned the church into their lodging. There was a fresco of St Theodore on the wall, and one of the Saracens let fly an arrow and struck the image of St Theodore in the face. At once blood flowed from it. Soon after that, the entire group of Saracens in that church died. St Anastasius says that he had been in that church himself, and had seen the traces of blood on the saint’s face on the wall.

Catholic Calendar

St. Aloysius Gonzaga Priest

St. Aloysius was born in Castiglione, Italy. The first words St. Aloysius spoke were the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. His father (who was in service to Philip II) destined him for the military, but by the age of 9 Aloysius had decided on a religious life, and made a vow of perpetual virginity. To safeguard himself from possible temptation, he would keep his eyes persistently downcast in the presence of women. St. Charles Borromeo gave him his first Holy Communion. A kidney disease prevented St. Aloysius from a full social life for a while, so he spent his time in prayer and reading the lives of the saints. Although he was appointed a page in Spain, St. Aloysius kept up his many devotions and austerities, and was quite resolved to become a Jesuit. His family eventually moved back to Italy, where he taught catechism to the poor. When he was 18, he joined the Jesuits, after finally breaking down his father, who had refused his entrance into the order. He served in a hospital during the plague of 1587 in Milan, and died from it at the age of 23, after receiving the last rites from St. Robert Bellarmine. The last word he spoke was the Holy Name of Jesus. St. Robert wrote the Life of St. Aloysius.