Rachel, daughter of Laban and wife of Jacob

Rachel

In the Old Testament, daughter of Laban and wife of Jacob, for love of whom he served her father fourteen years.

Rachel weeping for her children "and she would not be comforted, for they were not." An allusion to Herod Massacre of the Innocents after the birth of Christ.

The phrase is an Old Testament quotation introduced in the New Testament narrative.

Le Saint-Esprit Jesus Christ Light Art print

Le Saint-Esprit Art Print
Buy at AllPosters.com


the fourteen stations of the Catholic Church

These are generally called "Stations of the Cross," and the whole series is known as the via Calvaria or via Crucis. Each station represents, by fresco, picture, or otherwise, some incident in the passage of Christ from the judgment hall to Calvary, and at each prayers are offered up in memory of the event represented. They are as follows:

1. The condemnation to death.

2. Christ is made to bear His cross.

3. This first fall under the cross.

4. The meeting with the Virgin.

5. Simon the Cyrenean helps to carry the cross.

6. Veronica wipes the sacred face.

7. The second fall.

8. Christ speaks to the daughters of Jerusalem.

9. The third fall.

10. Christ is stripped of His garments.

11. The nailing to the cross.

12. The giving up of the Spirit.

13. Christ is taken down from the cross.

14. The deposition the sepulcher.

The Judgement of Solomon Giclee Print

The Judgement of Solomon Giclee Print
Passaroti
Buy at AllPosters.com


Solomon
The wisest and most magnificent of the kings of Israel, son of David and Bathsheba. Aside from his wise choice of "an understanding heart," he is perhaps most celebrated for his building of the famous temple that bore his name and his entertainment of the Queen of Sheba.

The Biblical narrative ( I Kings ii-xi) relates that "he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart." Nevertheless "King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom." The glory of his reign gave rise to innumerable legends, many of which are related in the Talmud and the Koran.

the English Solomon

James I (reigned 1603-1625), whom Sully called "the wisest fool in Christendom."

the second Solomon

(I) Henry VII of England; (2) James I.

the Solomon of France

Charles V. ( 13641380) called le Sage.

Solomon's ring

Rabbinical fable has it that Solomon wore a ring with a gem that told him all he desired to know.

The Dream of King Solomon Giclee Print

The Dream of Solomon, c.1693 Giclee Print
Buy at AllPosters.com


Solomon

The wisest and most magnificent of the kings of Israel, son of David and Bathsheba. Aside from his wise choice of "an understanding heart," he is perhaps most celebrated for his building of the famous temple that bore his name and his entertainment of the Queen of Sheba.

The Biblical narrative ( I Kings ii-xi) relates that "he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart." Nevertheless "King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom." The glory of his reign gave rise to innumerable legends, many of which are related in the Talmud and the Koran.

the English Solomon

James I (reigned 1603-1625), whom Sully called "the wisest fool in Christendom."

the second Solomon

(I) Henry VII of England; (2) James I.

the Solomon of France

Charles V. ( 13641380) called le Sage.

Solomon's ring

Rabbinical fable has it that Solomon wore a ring with a gem that told him all he desired to know.

Satan: the chief of devils

Satan

One of the most popular names for the chief of devils. According to the Talmud, Satan was once an archangel but was cast out of heaven. In medieval mythology, he holds the fifth rank of the nine demoniacal orders. Milton, in his Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, follows the tradition of his expulsion from heaven and makes him monarch of Hell. His chief lords are Beëlzebub, Moloch, Chemos, Thammuz, Dagon, Rimmon and Belial. His standard-bearer is Azazel.

He [Satan], above the rest
In shape and gesture proudly eminent,
Stood like a tower. His form had not yet lost
All her original brightness; nor appeared
Less than archangel ruined, and the excess
Of glory obscured . . . but his face
Deep scars of thunder had intrenched, and care
Sat on his faded cheek . . . cruel his eye, but cast
Signs of remorse.

Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 589, etc.

In legendary lore, Satan is drawn with horns and a tail, saucer eyes, and claws; but Milton makes him a proud, selfish, ambitious chief, of gigantic size, beautiful, daring, and commanding. Satan declares his opinion that "'tis better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven."

Santa Claus or Santa Klaus

Santa Claus or Santa Klaus

The patron saint of children and bearer of gifts at Christmas. His name is a corruption of the Dutch form of St. Nicholas. His feast-day is December 6, and the vigil is still held in some places, but for the most part his name is now associated with Christmastide. The old custom used to be for someone, on December 5, to assume the costume of a bishop and distribute small gifts to "good children." The present custom is to put toys and other presents into a stocking late on Christmas Eve, when the children are asleep. When they wake on Christmas morning, they find in the stocking, hung by the mantelpiece, the gifts left by Santa Claus. According to modern tradition Santa Claus lives at the North Pole and comes driving down over the snow in his famous sleigh, driven by eight reindeer. Clement Clarke Moore's familiar poem for children, A Visit from Saint Nicholas, better known as The Night before Christmas, gives this picture of him:

As I drew in my head and was turning around
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedlar just opening his pack.
His eyes--how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow
And the beard of his chin was as white as the
snow. . . .
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf.
And I laughed when I saw him in spite of
myself.

Local Saints and Patrons

Local Saints and Patrons
The following are the patron saints of the cities, nations, or places set down:

Aberdeen. St. Nicholas.
Abyssinia. St. Frumentius.
Alexandria. St. Mark, who founded the church there.
Antioch. St. Margaret.
Ardennes (The). St. Hubert, He is called "The Apostle of the Ardennes."
Armenia. St. Gregory of Armenia.
Bath. St. David ( 430-544), from whose benediction the waters of Bath received their warmth and medicinal qualities.
Beauvais. St. Lucian, called "The Apostle of Beauvais."
Belgium. St. Boniface.
Bohemia. St. Wenceslaus; St. John Nepomuk.
Brussels. The Virgin Mary; St. Gudule, who died 712.
Cagliari (in Sardinia). St. Efisio or St. Ephesus.
Cappadocia. St. Matthias.
Carthage. St. Perpetua.
Cologne. St. Ursula.
Corfu. St. Spiridion ( 4th century).
Cremona. St. Margaret.
Denmark. St. Anscharius and St. Canute.
Dumfries. St. Michael.
Edinburgh. St. Giles.
England. St. George.
Ethiopia. St. Frumentius.
Flanders. St. Peter.
Florence. St. John the Baptist.
Forts. St. Barbara.
France. St. Denys. St. Remy ( 439-535) is called "The Great Apostle of the French."
Franconia. St. Kilian.
Friesland. St. Wilbrod or Willibrod, called "The Apostle of the Frisians."
Gaul. St. Irenæus and St. Martin. St. Denys is called "The Apostle of the Gauls."
Genoa. St. George of Cappadocia.
Gentiles. St. Paul was "The Apostle of the Gentiles."
Georgia. St. Nino.
Germany. St. Boniface, "Apostle of the Germans," and St. Martin.
Glasgow. St. Mungo, also called Kentigern.
Highlanders. St. Columb.
Hills. St. Barbara.
Holland. The Virgin Mary.
Hungary. St. Louis; Mary of Aquisgrana (Aixla-Chapelle); and St. Anastasius.
Ireland. St. Patrick.
Italy. St. Anthony.
Lapland. St. Nicholas.
Lichfield. St. Chad, who lived there.
Liége. St. Albert.
Lisbon. St. Vincent.
London. St. Paul and St. Michael.
Milan. St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan.
Moscow. St. Nicholas.
Mountains. St. Barbara.
Naples. St. Januarius and St. Thomas Aquinas.
Netherlands. St. Amand.
North. St. Ansgar and Bernard Gilpin.
Norway. St. Anscharius, called "The Apostle of the North," and St. Olaus, called also St. Ansgar.
Oxford. St. Frideswide.
Padua. St. Justina and St. Anthony.
Paris. St. Genevieve.
Picts. St. Ninian and St. Columb.
Pisa. San Ranieri and St. Efeso.
Poitiers. St. Hilary.
Poland. St. Hedviga and St. Stanislaus.
Portugal. St. Sebastian.
Prussia. St. Andrew and St. Albert.
Rochester. St. Paulinus.
Rome. St. Peter and St. Paul.
Russia. St. Nicholas, St. Andrew, St. George, and the Virgin Mary.
Saragossa. St. Vincent, where he was born.
Sardinia. Mary the Virgin.
Scotland. St. Andrew.
Sicily. St. Agatha, where she was born.
Silesia. St Hedviga, also called Avoye.
Slavi. St. Cyril, called "The Apostle of the Slavi."
Spain. St. James the Greater.
Sweden. St. Anscharius, St. John, and St. Eric IX.
Switzerland. St. Gall.
United States. St. Tammany.
Valleys. St. Agatha.
Venice. St. Mark, who was buried there; St. Pantaleon and St. Lawrence Justiniani.
Vienna. St. Stephen.
Vineyards. St. Urban.
Wales. St. David.
Yorkshire. St. Paulinus.

specialist saints for tradesmen, children, wives, idiots, students, etc.:

Archers. St. Sebastian, because he was shot by them.
Armorers. St. George of Cappadocia.
Artists and the Arts. St. Agatha; but St. Luke is the patron of painters, having been himself one.
Bakers. St. Winifred, who followed the trade.
Barbers. St. Louis.
Barren Women. St. Margaret befriends them.
Beggars. St. Giles. Hence the outskirts of cities are often called "St. Giles."
Bishops, etc. St. Timothy and St. Titus (1 Tim. iii. 1: Titus i. 7.).
Blacksmiths. St. Peter.
Blind Folk. St. Thomas à Becket, and St. Lucy, who was deprived of her eyes by Paschasius.
Booksellers. St. John Port Latin.
Brewers. St. Florian.
Brides. St. Nicholas, because he threw three stockings, filled with wedding portions, into the chamber window of three virgins, that they might marry their sweethearts, and not live a life of sin for the sake of earning a living.
Brush-Makers. St. Anthony.
Burglars. St. Dismas, the penitent thief.
Candle and Lamp Makers. St. Lucy and St. Lucian.
Cannoneers. St. Barbara, because she is generally represented in a fort or tower.
Captives. St. Barbara and St. Leonard.
Carpenters. St. Joseph, who was a carpenter.
Carpet-Weavers. St. Paul.
Children. St. Felicitas and St. Nicholas. The latter saint restored to life some children who were murdered by an innkeeper of Myra and pickled in a porktub.
Cloth-Weavers. St. John.
Cobblers. St. Crispin, who worked at the trade.
Cripples. St. Giles, because he refused to be cured of an accidental lameness, that he might mortify his flesh.
Dancers. St. Vitus.
Divines. St. Thomas Aquinas.
Doctors. St. Cosme, who was a surgeon in Cilicia.
Drunkards. St. Martin, because St. Martin's Day (November 11) happened to be the day of the Vinalia, or feast of Bacchus. St. Urban protects.
Ferrymen. St. Christopher, who was a ferryman.
Fisherman. St. Peter, who was a fisherman.
Fools. St. Mathurin, because the Greek word matin or maté means "folly."
Freemen. St. John.
Fullers. St. Sever, because the place so called, on the Adour, is or was famous for its tanneries and fulleries.
Goldsmiths. St. Eloy, who was a goldsmith.
Hatters. St. William, the son of a hatter.
Hogs and Swineherds. St. Anthony.
Horses. Sir Thomas More says, "St. Ley we make a horse leche, and must let our horse rather renne vnshod and marre his hoofe than to shooe him on his daye."-- Works, 194. St. Stephen's Day "we must let al our horses bloud with a knife, because St. Stephen was killed with stones."
Housewives. St. Osyth, St. Martha, the sister of Lazarus.
Huntsmen. St. Hubert, who lived in the Ardennes, a famous hunting forest; and St. Eustace.
Idiots. St. Gildas restores them to their right senses.
Infants. St. Felicitas and St. Nicholas.
Insane. St. Dymphna.
Learned Men. St. Catharine, noted for her learning.
Locksmiths. St. Peter, because he holds the keys of heaven.
Madmen. St. Dymphna and St. Fillan.
Maidens. The Virgin Mary.
Mariners. St. Christopher, who was a ferryman; and St. Nicholas, who was once in danger of shipwreck, and who, on one occasion, lulled a tempest for some pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land.
Mercers. St. Florian, the son of a mercer.
Millers. St. Arnold, the son of a miller.
Miners. St. Barbara.
Mothers. The Virgin Mary; St. Margaret, for those who wish to be so.
Musicians. St. Cecilia.
Netmakers. St. James and St. John ( Matt. iv. 21).
Nurses. St. Agatha.
Painters. St. Luke, who was a painter.
Parish Clerks. St. Nicholas.
Parsons. St. Thomas Aquinas, doctor of theology at Paris.
Physicians. St. Cosme, who was a surgeon; St. Luke ( Col. iv. 14.
Pilgrims. St. Julian, St. Raphael, St. James of Compostella.
Pinmakers. St. Sebastian, whose body was as full of arrows in his martyrdom as a pincushion is of pins.
Poor Folks. St. Giles, who affected indigence, thinking "poverty and suffering" a service acceptable to God.
Portrait-Painters and Photographers. St. Veronica, who had a handkerchief with the face of Jesus photographed on it.
Potters. St. Gore, who was a potter.
Prisoners. St. Sebastian and St. Leonard.
Sages. St. Cosme, St. Damian, and St. Catharine.
Sailors. St. Nicholas and St. Christopher.
Scholars. St. Catharine.
School Children. St. Nicholas and St. Gregory.
Seamen. St. Nicholas, who once was in danger of shipwreck; and St. Christopher, who was a ferryman.
Shepherds and their Flocks. St. Windeline, who kept sheep, like David.
Shoemakers. St. Crispin, who made shoes.
Silversmiths. St. Eloy, who worked in gold and silver.
Soothsayers, etc. St. Agabus ( Acts xxi. 10).
Spectacle-Makers. St. Fridolm.
Sportsmen. St. Hubert.
Statuaries. St. Veronica.
Stonemasons. St. Peter ( John i. 42).
Students. St. Catharine, noted for her great learning.
Surgeons. St. Cosme, who practiced medicine.
Sweethearts. St. Valentine.
Swineherds and Swine. St. Anthony.
Tailors. St. Goodman, who was a tailor.
Tanners. St. Clement, the son of a tanner.
Tax-Collectors. St. Matthew ( Matt. ix, 9).
Tentmakers. St. Paul and St. Aquila, who were tentmakers ( Acts xviii. 3).
Thieves (against). St. Dismas, the penitent thief; St. Ethelbert, St. Elian, St. Vincent, and St. Vinden who caused stolen goods to be restored.
Tinners. St. Pieran, who crossed over the sea to Ireland on a millstone.
Travelers. St. Raphael.
Upholsterers. St. Paul.
Vintners and Vineyards. St. Urban.
Virgins. St. Winifred and St. Nicholas.
Weavers. St. Stephen.
Wheelwrights. St. Boniface, the son of a wheelwright.
Wigmakers. St. Louis.
Wise Men. St. Cosme, St. Damian, and St. Catharine.
Woolcombers and Staplers. St. Blaise, who was torn to pieces by "combes of yren."

Saints of special competencies, Saints for diseases and ills

Saints of special competencies, Saints for diseases and ills

These saints, who either ward off ills or help to relieve them, are invoked by those who rely on their power:

Ague. St. Pernel and St. Petronella cure.
Bad Dreams. St. Christopher protects from.
Blear Eyes. St. Otilic and St. Clare cure.
Blindness. St. Thomas à Becket cures.
Boils and Blains. St. Roque and St. Cosme cure.
Chastity. St. Susan protects.
Children. St. Germayne. But unless the mothers bring a white loaf and a pot of good ale, Sir Thomas More says, "he wyll not once loke at them."
Children's Diseases (All.) St. Blaise heals; and all cattle diseases.
Colic. St. Erasmus relieves.
Dancing Mania. St. Vitus cures.
Defilement. St. Susan preserves from.
Discovery of Lost Goods. St. Ethelbert and St. Elian.
Diseases Generally. St. Roque, "because he had a sore"; and St. Sebastian, "because he was martered with arrowes."--Sir T. More.
Doubts. St. Catherine resolves.
Dying. St. Barbara relieves.
Epilepsy. St. Valentine cures; St. Cornelius.
Fire. St. Agatha protects from it, but St. Florian is invoked if it has already broken out.
Flood, Fire and Earthquake. St. Christopher saves from.
Gout. St. Wolfgang.
Gripes. St. Erasmus cures.
Idiocy. St. Gildas is the guardian angel of idiots.
Infamy. St. Susan protects from.
Infection. St. Roque protects from.
Leprosy. St. Lazarus the beggar.
Madness. St. Dymphna and St. Fillan cure.
Mice and Rats. St. Gertrude and St. Huldrick ward them off.
Night Alarms. St. Christopher protects from.
Palsy. St. Cornelius.
Plague. St. Roque, they say, in this case is better than the "good bishop of Marseilles."
Quinsy. St. Blaise.
Riches. St. Anne and St. Vincent help those who seek them.
Small-Pox. St. Martin of Tours.
Sore Throats. St. Blaise, who (when he was put to death prayed if any person suffering from a sore throat invoked him, that he might be God's instrument to effect a perfect cure.-- Simeon Metaphrastes, Life of St. Blaise.
Storms and Tempests. St. Barbara.
Sudden Death. St. Martin saves from.
Tooth-ache. St. Appolonia, because before she was burned alive, all her teeth were pulled out; St. Blaise.
Vermin Destroyers. St. Gertrude and St. Huldrick.

St. Thomas: the disciple of Jesus

St. Thomas

One of the twelve, the disciple of Jesus who doubted ( John xxi. 25); hence the phrase, a doubting Thomas, applied to a skeptic. The story told of him in the Apocryphal Acts of St. Thomas is that he was deputed to go as a missionary to India, and, when he refused, Christ appeared and sold him as a slave to an Indian prince who was visiting Jerusalem.

He was taken to India, where he baptized the prince and many others, and was finally martyred at Meliapore. His day is December 21.

Another legend has it that Gondoforus, King of the Indies, gave him a large sum of money to build a palace. St. Thomas spent it on the poor, "thus erecting a superb palace in heaven." On account of this he is the patron saint of masons and architects, and his symbol is a builder's square. Still another legend relates that he once saw a huge beam of timber floating on the sea near the coast, and, the king unsuccessfully endeavoring, with men and elephants, to haul it ashore.

St. Thomas desired leave to use it in building a church. When his request was granted he dragged it easily ashore with a piece of packthread.

St. Peter: One of the twelve disciples of Jesus

St. Peter

One of the twelve disciples of Jesus, noted for his impulsive nature. More incidents are related of him in the Gospels than of any other disciple. He was first called Simon, but Jesus changed his name and addressed to him the words on which the authority of the Papacy is based "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock (Lat. petra, "rock") I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it; I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven."

At the time of his Master's trial, Peter denied three times that he knew him before the cock crew, as he had been warned that he would. After the crucifixion he became the "Apostle to the Gentiles" and many of his missionary activities are related in the Acts. He figures in numerous popular tales as the keeper of the door to Heaven, to whom saints and sinners present themselves for admittance.

Peter is the patron saint of fishermen, having been himself a fisherman. His day is June 29, and he is usually represented as an old man, bald, but with a flowing beard, dressed in a white mantle and blue tunic, and holding in his hand a book or scroll. His peculiar symbols are the keys and a sword. Tradition tells that he confuted Simon Magus, who was at Nero's court as a magician, and that in 66 he was crucified with his head downwards at his own request, as he said he was not worthy to suffer the same death as our Lord.