FEASTS OF JUNE

The month of June is awash with lovely feasts of the saints. Primarily, of course, it is the month that the Church dedicates to The Sacred Heart of Jesus. This beautiful devotion is placed before us to remind us of God’s fantastic love for each one of us. Also in June this year is the feast of The Immaculate Heart of Mary.  This reminds us of how totally united Mary was with the suffering of her Son.  St Anthony of Padua is celebrated in June 13th. He was that great Franciscan Priest who had such success in bringing heretics back to the true faith, and that is why his intercession is much sought after when it comes to lose items! On the 22nd of June we celebrate the Feast of two of our fellow countrymen: St John Fisher & St Thomas More. These were amongst the first Martyr’s of the Reformation. John was Bishop of Rochester and was the only English Bishop to oppose Henry VIII and Thomas was Lord Chancellor of England, he too, refused to give assent to Acts of Parliament proclaiming Henry as Head of the Church. That great biblical character, St John the Baptist, is presented to us on June 24th. This saint has two feast days: his birthday is celebrated in June and his beheading in August. Christ said of John that of all the men born of women none greater than John has been born.

All these feasts are given to us to help us in our walk to the Lord. We should not be slow to celebrate them