Catholic Action
To All Hibernians:
The month of October still remains within Ordinary Time, the liturgical color being green.
MAJOR SAINTS AND FEAST DAYS OF OCTOBER
| Sep 1 | Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin | Memorial |
| Sep 4 | Francis of Assisi | Memorial |
| Sep 7 | Our Lady of the Rosary | Memorial |
| Sep 15 | Teresa of Avila, Virgin and Doctor | Memorial |
| Sep 17 | Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr | Memorial |
| Sep 18 | Luke, Evangelist | Feast |
| Sep 29 | John de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues, and Companions, Martyrs | Memorial |
| Sep 22 | Pope St. John Paul II | |
| Sep 28 | Simon and Jude, Apostles | Feast |
IRISH SAINTS OF OCTOBER
Oct. 11 Canice, Abbot (c. 515-99)
According to some sources, Canice, also known as Kenneth, was born at Glengiven, and became a monk and priest in Wales under St. Cadoc, at Llancarfan. He traveled to Rome, studied under St. Finian at Clonard, and evangelized in Ireland and Scotland. He was a close friend of Columba, whom he accompanied on a mission to the Picts. Canice may be the founder of monasteries at Aghaboe and Kilkenny in Ireland, and he also left a number of traces in place-names in Scotland.
Oct. 13 Comgan, Abbot (8th century)
Son of a prince of Leinster, he succeeded his father, but was forced to flee to Scotland, where he settled near Skye, built a monastery, and lived an austere life there. He was buried on Iona by his nephew, St. Fillan.
Oct. 16 Gall (d. c. 635)
Gall distinguished himself as a scholar of grammar, poetry, and Holy Scripture under Saints Comgall and Columban at Bangor and was ordained a priest. He was one of twelve disciples who accompanied Columban to the Continent, first evangelizing in France and later in what is now Switzerland. Gall did not accompany Columban when the latter departed for Italy. Some legends have it that this resulted in a falling out between the two that was only healed at the death of Columban, but this may simply be a story to explain their separation. Gall became a hermit, and eventually the famous monastery of St. Gall came to occupy the site of his hermitage. Several stories would seem to indicate that the saint was an avid fisherman. He turned down offers of bishoprics and abbacies to remain a hermit. St. Gall is considered the apostle of Switzerland.
Oct. 21 Fintan, Abbot (d.c.635)
Also known as Munnu, Fintan was a monk of Cluain Inis, spent some time at Iona, and upon returning to Ireland founded a monastery at Taghmon, Wexford, serving as its abbot. He was a firm supporter of the Celtic liturgical practices. He reportedly contracted leprosy late in life.
Oct. 27 Otteran, Abbot (d. 563)
Also known as Odhran, this saint may have been a Briton. He was an abbot in Meath before he left Ireland among the twelve companions who accompanied Columba to Iona.
Oct. 29 Colman of Kilmacduagh, Bishop (d.c. 632)
Son of a chieftain, reportedly consecrated a bishop unwillingly, he lived as a hermit in the Burren. He built a monastery at Kilmacduagh and is considered the first bishop of that see. Like many Irish saints, there are many fanciful stories about him. Colman is said to have been aided in his devotions by a rooster, a mouse, and a fly: the first woke him up for the night office, the second kept him from falling asleep again, while the third served as a bookmark.
Oct. 31 Foillan, Abbot (d.c. 655)
With his two sainted brothers, Fursey and Ultan, he left Ireland for England c. 630, built a monastery at Burgh Castle, near Yarmouth, and evangelized the East Anglians. When his monastery was destroyed by the pagan Mercians under Penda, Foillan and his brother Ultan decided to follow their brother Fursey to Gaul, where they were welcomed by the Neustrian king, Clovis II. Foillan was founder and first abbot of a monastery at Fosses and converted many of the locals. He was murdered by outlaws.
NATIONAL ISSUES:
–On August 26, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Franciscan Alliance, a West-Coast hospital group founded by the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, in its suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This is the latest round in a series of suits nationwide, which began in 2016 when the Obama administration chose to interpret a provision of the Affordable Care Act on sex discrimination to mean that hospitals must perform abortions and sex change operations. Nine states joined the suit on the side of Franciscan. The court ordered a permanent injunction, on grounds of religious freedom.
Litigations, however, will continue, as the federal government, a number of state governments, as well as universities and medical schools continue attempts to force Catholic health care providers to violate their beliefs.
–On August 31, the Indiana State Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis which fired a teacher at Cathedral High in the city after he contracted a same-sex marriage. The issue has been extensively litigated and commented upon in Indiana.
–Given all the publicity, there seems no need to recount the details about a local public school administrator in Connecticut who admitted to discriminating against Catholics in the hiring of teachers. Unfortunately, his frame of mind seems widespread in education and government, and one may wonder how much of this goes on undetected where the perpetrators are not indiscreet enough to admit it.
Fraternally,
Patrick J. Lally
lally8404@hotmail.com
[Sources consulted for this report include: Butler’s Lives of the Saints, complete edition, ed. and rev. by Herbert Thurston and Donald Attwater; 4 vols. (New York, 1956); The Liturgy of the Hours According to the Roman Rite (New York, 1975); The National Catholic Register; ewtn.com; catholic.org; priestsforlife.org; catholicnewsagency.com.]