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6 Dec - St. Nicholas
Today is the Feast of St. Nicholas of Bari.
Here is his very terse entry in the 2005 Martyrologium Romanum.
1. Sancti Nicolai, episcopi Myrensis in Lycia, sanctitate et intercessione apud thronum gratiae divinae praeclari.There is a relic of this great saint in my chapel.
There are several relics in this very old reliquary.
Here we have St. Nicholas (left), St. Blaise (bottom), St. Joachim (top), St. Ann (middle) and St. Paul, Apostle (right).
It was that last one that you listed that really caught my eye. WOW.
Comment by Hidden One — 6 December 2009 @ 12:35 pmI agree with Hidden One, you’re very blessed to have those Father!
Comment by seanl — 6 December 2009 @ 12:50 pmIsn’t it lovely to be Catholic and know there is a real Santa Claus?
But today is St. Nicholas of Myra (Myrensis).
Comment by Melody — 6 December 2009 @ 12:59 pmMy ancestors are all from either Czechoslovakia or Luxembourg, both countries which have a great love for St. Nicholas. We always celebrated with extra fruit, candy, and little presents deposited at the door by the invisible saint. For years, our Lutheran neighbors deposited these on the front porch, rang the doorbell, and ran away before we could see them. Many years, the man next door wore snowshoes to cover tracks.
A little “ecumenism”?
Also, Nicholas is a family name for many generations in our family-too many to mention. My son chose the saint for his Confirmation name. If all the men got together, the introductions would resemble the scene in “My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding”, with all the Nicks and Nickies.
Happy Feast Day to All. Remember, our beloved St. Nicholas slapped his former student Arius at the Council of Nicaea in 325. A good bishop
!!
Comment by Supertradmom — 6 December 2009 @ 2:36 pmI always thought it was St athanasius who thumped arius, am I wrong?
Comment by Jack Hughes — 6 December 2009 @ 3:11 pmJack: Did Athanasius have exclusive rights to thump Arians?
Comment by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf — 6 December 2009 @ 4:40 pmHi Melody,
St Nicholas of Myra and St Nicholas of Bari are actually the same person. If I remember correctly, he even has a third title, not sure what it is.
The relics of the saint are now at Bari in Italy. From what I remember reading somewhere they gave off a liquid which I think was named Manna.
I think that it was distributed to the sick who received miracles through its use.
Comment by Jane — 6 December 2009 @ 5:40 pmA nice St Nicholas custom is to give a bag of chocolate coins to the children in the family because, according to tradition, St Nicholas gave a bag of coins to girl so that she could buy what she needed for her wedding. This first appeared on Joanna Bogle’s blog.
Comment by Norah — 6 December 2009 @ 6:03 pmoh, I’m a huge fan of Saints who are all about helping girls get married!
Comment by marajoy — 6 December 2009 @ 6:06 pmFr Z
Comment by Jack Hughes — 6 December 2009 @ 8:01 pmI’m not saying that St Athanasius had exclusive rights to give arius a bruised nose, indeed its possable that both he and St Nicolas gave him a thumping, its just that I heard that it was St Athanasius.
Are there any other saints whose epithet refers to where their relics are (St. Nicolas of Bari) rather than their see (St. Nicholas of Myra) or where they lived?
Me, I use St. Nicholas Thaumaturgos or St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Comment by eewanco — 6 December 2009 @ 8:46 pmThank you Fr. Z. for the beautiful glimpse of your reliquary. I am silenced by the sight of the Saint’s names who are honored and remembered within it. You bless us in so many ways, thank you.
Comment by wanda — 6 December 2009 @ 8:48 pmThe confusion between the titles St. Nicholas of Myra and St. Nicholas of Bari reminds me of the confusion between the titles of St. Anthony of Padua and St. Anthony of Lisbon. The Portuguese call him St. Anthony of Lisbon, but the rest of the world calls him St. Anthony of Padua.
Comment by DominiSumus — 7 December 2009 @ 2:17 amJane: Thanks for clearing that up.
Comment by Melody — 7 December 2009 @ 2:40 amThe third title of St. Nicholas is the Wonderworker (Gr. Thaumatourgos)
Comment by Marcin — 7 December 2009 @ 9:36 amI love your reliquaries, Father Z! You are so fortunate to have these in your chapel!
I think it was St. Nicholas who punched Arius at the Council of Nicea!
Comment by irishgirl — 7 December 2009 @ 11:21 am