Saints

On January 1, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, a feast that draws our attention to Mary’s unique place in the mystery of salvation. In the Church’s liturgical rhythm, the feasts of Jesus are often followed by a feast of Mary, sometimes the very next day, or within a week, highlighting her inseparable role in the life and mission of her Son.

St. Thomas Becket (c. 1119–1170), Archbishop of Canterbury and martyr, whose feast is celebrated annually on December 29, stands as a compelling witness to the primacy of conscience in Christian life.

It is intriguing that the Church commemorates the Feast of St Stephen on December 26, immediately after the joy and celebration of Christmas Day.

On December 28, the Church remembers a tragedy that jars the sweetness of the season, the Feast of the Holy Innocents.

Most saints arrive wrapped in stained-glass serenity. St John of the Cross does not. He comes barefoot, half-starved, with ink-stained fingers and a mind so luminous that even his jailors could not extinguish it.

The story is usually told as a miracle: a basilica in Milan packed with people praying and singing while imperial troops waited outside, unsure of their next move.

Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Francis Xavier on December 3

Commemorated on December 2, St. Bibiana, Virgin and Martyr, stands as a powerful testimony of faith and virtue, even though historical records offer limited factual details about her life.

St. Andrew, whose feast we celebrate on November 30, was an ordinary fisherman from Bethsaida—steady, hardworking, and accustomed to the honest rhythms of the sea. Nothing in his background suggested greatness. Yet beneath the routine of mending nets and hauling in the day’s catch, Andrew carried a heart that was open, searching, and ready.

Among the many saints whose lives are hymns of praise to God, St. Cecilia holds a special place. She is remembered not only for her courage as a martyr but also for the melody of her heart that never ceased to sing to God, even amid suffering.

Celebrated annually on November 21, the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary honours a profound moment in Christian tradition, the solemn dedication of the young Mary to God.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary stands not only as a figure from the past but as a guide for the present. Her life invites each of us to turn our own “bread” into “roses”, to let compassion transform the ordinary into the sacred, and to build a more humane and hopeful world.

St. Martin of Tours stands as one of the most beloved saints in Christian tradition, remembered not for grand displays of power but for the quiet depth of his compassion and humility.

All Saints’ Day, celebrated every November 1, is a solemn feast in the Catholic Church dedicated to all the saints, known and unknown, who now live in God’s eternal presence.

For Mercy and Cynthia, St. Jude is more than a patron of lost causes; he is a friend who walks with them through life’s uncertainties, a quiet witness to faith born out of struggle.

October 28, the Church honours two often over-looked apostles: Simon the Zealot and Jude.

The quiet town of Rawang in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur came alive this week as hundreds of Catholics and devotees gathered at the Church of St. Jude for the annual novena and feast-day celebration in honour of the patron saint of hopeless causes.

Aside from being one of the greatest preachers of the 15th century, Saint John was also known as the priest who raised an army against the Ottoman Empire. His life exemplifies what it is like to achieve holiness in serving both Church and State.

Luke hands us the healer’s heart and asks us to carry it into a world that is bleeding. So let us stop. Let us see. Let us act. Let us become the neighbours this broken, beautiful world desperately needs.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Every year on October 15, the Church pauses to remember a woman whose deep love for God transformed the world. St. Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582) remains one of the most remarkable figures in Christian spirituality.