Sts. Perpetua and Felicity were young Christian women martyred in Carthage around 203 AD. Perpetua, a noblewoman with a newborn son, and Felicity, her pregnant slave, were arrested for their faith after they were baptized. Despite pleas from Perpetua’s pagan father to renounce Christianity, she remained steadfast, declaring, “I am a Christian.” In prison, the women suffered hardship—Felicity even gave birth in jail. Perpetua received heavenly visions foreshadowing their martyrdom. During a brutal public execution, they faced wild beasts and the sword with unwavering faith. Their heroic witness inspired many, and Perpetua’s written account became a treasured text in the early Church. St. Felicity Time Period: d. 203 Feast Day: March 7 Title/Attributes: Mother, Martyr Location of Relic: Main Reliquary - Left Section Type of Relic: Bones Saints Perpetua and Felicity were young women in Carthage around 181-203 AD. Perpetua was a rich young wife in Carthage, who had just given birth to a son. Felicity was Perpetua’s slave, and was about to have a baby of her own. Perpetua’s mother and brothers were Christian, but her father was a pagan. So when Perpetua told her father she wanted to be baptized, he flew into a rage. “Why can’t you just keep your faith secret?” he asked her. “Don’t you know you can be killed for becoming a Christian?” “Do you see this jar of water on the table?” Perpetua asked him. “Can you call it anything but a jar of water? Can you call it a hurricane? Or an elephant?” “No,” her father said. “I’m a Christian,” Perpetua told him. “I can’t call myself anything else.” Her father was so angry he didn’t talk with her for days. While he still wasn’t speaking to her, Perpetua was baptized, along with Felicity and several other slaves. And just as Perpetua’s father feared, when the Roman rulers heard about it, Perpetua and her friends were all arrested, along with her teacher, Saturus. The prison they were thrown in was hot and dark. The guards pushed and shoved the prisoners, even Felicity, who was about to give birth. Worst of all, they took Perpetua’s baby son away from her. She wasn’t allowed to see him until her mother and brother brought the child to her so she could nurse him. Nobody knew what was going to happen next. Would they be set free? Would they be killed? “You should ask God for a vision,” Perpetua’s brother told her. So Perpetua prayed, and that night God gave her a dream. In the dream, she saw a huge bronze ladder. All along it were swords, spears, hooks, and knives. The only possible way to climb it was to always look up, never down. If someone looked away for even a moment, they’d be torn apart. At the bottom of the ladder was a giant serpent, ready to bite anyone who tried to climb. Saturus, Perpetua and Felicity’s teacher, was in the dream too. He started to climb up the ladder. “Don’t let the snake bit you,” he called back to Perpetua. “It will not hurt me,” Perpetua said. “In the name of Jesus Christ.” When the snake heard that name, it bowed its head, afraid. So instead of stepping on the first rung of the ladder, Perpetua stepped on the snake’s head. Then she climbed all the way up the ladder, to a beautiful garden. It was full of thousands of people dressed in white. “Welcome, child,” a man said, and handed her a bowl of sweet milk. Perpetua could still taste the sweetness when she woke up. But when she told her brother the vision, they both knew what it meant: she wouldn’t be set free. She would be killed for her faith. Perpetua’s father came to visit her in jail, weeping. “Have pity on my gray hairs,” he said kissing her hands. “You’ve always been my favorite. Why don’t you just give up your faith?” “We don’t live in our own power,” Perpetua told him, “but in the power of God.” When Perpetua and Felicity and their friends were put on trial, her father came, holding her baby. “Just give a sacrifice for the emperor,” he said. “And this can all be over. Come home and raise your son.” The judge didn’t want to sentence Perpetua to death, either. “Why don’t you just do as your father says?” he asked. But Perpetua and Felicity and their friends refused to deny their faith, so all of them were sentenced to death. In the prison, it came time for Felicity to deliver her child. While the jailers made fun of her, in that hot, dark cell, she went into labor and gave birth to a beautiful daughter. Because Felicity couldn’t care for her little girl, she gave her to a free Christian woman, who promised to adopt her. The judge decreed that Felicity, Perpetua, and their friends should all be killed just two days later, during a feast in the amphitheater, in front of thousands of people who thought that seeing them die was nothing more than watching a game. Waiting in prison, Perpetua had another dream. She dreamed that when she was taken into the amphitheater, she turned into a man. Another man was there to fight her. He tried to trip her, but she kicked him in the face. As she rained blows down on his head, she realized she wasn’t even touching the ground anymore: she was flying. And when she won the fight, she was given a branch as a reward. Saturus had a dream in the prison as well. He dreamed that they were transported by four angels to a beautiful garden, where there were rose trees as big as cypresses, with leaves that sang. In the garden were other people who had been killed for their faith, and a building with walls made of light, where they met a man with a white head, surrounded by four elders. The day of the feast, Perpetua went to the amphitheater with her friends, singing. “You judge us,” they told the people who had come to watch them die. “But God judges you.” First, the men were led into the ring with wild beasts. Perpetua and Felicity watched as their friends were torn apart by leopards, bears, and a wild boar. They crowd loved it. But when Perpetua and Felicity were brought out, the crowd fell silent. They were shocked to see the young mothers stripped and in danger of being trampled by a wild cow. So before the cow could kill them, Perpetua and Felicity were taken out of the ring. Perpetua was in an ecstasy, a trance of faith so deep that she didn’t realize anything had happened to her. “When are we to be thrown to the beasts?” she asked. Her friends and her brother, who had been watching, showed her wounds to her to prove that she had already been sent into the ring. Before they dragged Perpetua and Felicity back out, she said her last words to her brother: “Stand fast in faith,” she told him. “And love one another.” Then Felicity and Perpetua were sent back into the ring. In the ring, a solider had been ordered to kill them by the sword. But the soldier was young. He didn’t know what he was doing, so when he stabbed Perpetua, she cried out in pain, but she wasn’t killed. Finally, Perpetua placed the blade on the neck herself. The young soldier sliced her throat, and she died. But her story wasn’t over, because she had written it down while she was in prison. After her death, it spread around the Roman Empire like wildfire. Some churches even read it during their services. And many of the people who saw how Perpetua and Felicity died became Christians – even the jailer who had held them once in prison. Saint names in Eucharistic Prayer I The first list begins with Mary and Joseph and then the “blessed Apostles and Martyrs,” including Peter, Paul, Andrew (Peter’s brother), James (“the Greater”: the brother of John), John, Thomas, James (“the Lesser”: the son of Alpheus), Matthew, Bartholomew, Simon (“the Zealot”), and Jude (also called Thaddeus). The First List of Saint Names Continuing this first list of saints in Eucharistic Prayer I, as Charles Belmonte notes, “Five popes head the list: St. Peter’s first three successors, Linus, Cletus, Clement; then two popes of the third century, Sixtus II and Cornelius; Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, the intrepid defender of Catholic unity; the deacon Lawrence, who when his persecutor demanded from him the ‘treasures’ of the Church, showed him hundreds of poor people; Chrysogonus, a Roman priest who carried out the holy work of comforting the Christians who were in prison; two brothers, John and Paul, both officers of the [Roman] imperial palace, who were put to death under [the emperor] Julian the Apostate; and lastly, Cosmas and Damian, two Oriental physicians who gave their aid freely, and at whose graves there occurred ‘yet more cures than they had effected in their lives’” (Understanding the Mass, p. 158). The Second List of Saint Names As for the second list of saints in Eucharistic Prayer I, we ask for “some share in the fellowship” of several saints who were martyrs. Belmonte continues, “It mentions, in the first place, John (here obviously St. John the Baptist), and then seven men, followed by seven women, all martyrs. Stephen is the first deacon, whose glorious martyrdom is recounted in the Acts of the Apostles (6:8-7:60). Two apostles come next: Matthias, elected to take the place of Judas (Acts 1:15-16) and probably left out of the first list so as not to exceed the number of twelve, and Barnabas, St. Paul’s companion in his first missionary journey. Ignatius is the famous bishop of Antioch, sentenced to be fed to the wild beasts in Rome under [emperor] Trajano. Besides their names and the place of their martyrdom, little else is known of Alexander, the priest Marcellinus, and the exorcist Peter, who were all put to death in the great persecution of [emperor] Diocletian. The list continues with the names of the two young girls, Felicity and Perpetua (their names form the expression ‘everlasting happiness’), who confessed their faith at Carthage [in North Africa]; and of Agatha and Lucy in Sicily. It concludes with the names of two young martyrs beloved by the Romans, Agnes and Cecelia; and of Anastasia, martyred at Sirmium and later honored in Rome” (Understanding the Mass, pp. 159–160). All these saints are important because they were among the many early witnesses to Jesus Christ and the Christian faith. These are our spiritual fathers, our older brothers and sisters in Christ, who showed us that our faith was worth living and dying for. They showed us that, strengthened by the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the presence of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, they could overcome any persecutions and sufferings, even to the point of being killed. These saints give us great hope, and their prayers for us give us confidence that we, too, can live out the faith as they did, that we can live our life in Christ every day and look forward to the glory of heaven! https://www.eucharisticrevival.org/post/do-this-in-remembrance-of-me-part-55-saint-names-epi Next Item Previous Item

Internet for Volunteers Internet Acceptable Usage Policy Acknowledgement of this policy is required for all campus volunteers wishing to have access to Parish technology. Please consult your ministry leader with any questions about technology access. Once a year in late summer we reset the password for the volunteer wifi signal. This is different than the guest signal that is reset every month. Because it is a long-term connection, we ask the volunteers to acknowledge an Internet Usage Policy in order to receive the password and connect to this volunteer signal. Once volunteers have submitted the form, they will receive an email with the new username and password for the upcoming faith formation year. IT Systems Policy Acknowledgement for Volunteers St. Anthony of Padua has established this policy with regard to access and disclosure of messages created, sent, received or stored by Parish volunteers using the Parish's Systems, which include the Parish's internet, email, telephone and voice mail systems, facsimile and modem equipment, and computer hardware and software ("Parish Systems"). The Parish Systems are Parish property and are intended for business and ministry purposes. Personal use should be kept to a minimum and should in no event interfere with a volunteer’s normal job duties and responsibilities. . The Parish owns the rights to all data and files stored in or on the Parish Systems. All messages (e-mail, instant messages, and voice mail) composed, sent, received or stored on the Parish Systems are and remain the property of the Parish. They are not the property of any volunteer and are subject to viewing, downloading, inspection, release and archiving by the Parish at all times. Volunteers have no expectation of privacy on any information, message, data, or information on or transmitted by any of the Parish Systems. The Parish may exercise its right to monitor, review, audit, intercept, access, and disclose all information created, received or sent over the Parish Systems for any purpose. The confidentiality of any information should not be assumed. Even if information is erased or deleted, it is still possible to retrieve and read the information. All use of Parish Systems becomes part of the Parish and is subject to disclosure to law enforcement or government officials or to other third parties through subpoena or other legal process. Consequently, volunteers should always ensure that their use of and business information contained in the Parish Systems is accurate, appropriate and lawful. To continue reading the policy, agree to the terms and receive the campus volunteer wifi credentials, visit the Usage Policy Agreement Form. USAGE POLICY AGREEMENT FORM Previous Item Next Item

Giving Giving Options Thank you for supporting the mission of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church! Below are different options for making a gift to our parish. For more information, check out the most commonly asked questions at the bottom of the page. If you still have questions, feel free to contact us at support@ap.church . Contact Us Questions Giving FAQs How do I change my payment method? Unfortunately, our parish staff is not able to edit your scheduled recurring giving amount or payment method for you. This is for your protection. Find detailed instructions on how to edit your card number, edit a card expiration date, change your bank account, change the dollar amount or frequency of your recurring gift here . Looking for your annual giving statement? Statements for 2023 were emailed on Friday, January 26, 2024, to donor accounts with annual giving to the email address found on your PushPay account profile from the address of no-reply@pushpay.com . If we have an EMAIL address for your profile in the PushPay system, you will receive an ELECTRONIC statement by email delivery. Detailed instructions on how to log into your PushPay account can be found here. ALL DONORS, regardless of how they give, have an online PushPay account. If you give cash in a giving envelope OR by check, we have created a PushPay account on your behalf and can help you get logged in to see your transactions and download a statement. If we do not have an email address for your profile in the PushPay system, but we do have a USPS mailing address, you will receive a PAPER statement by postal mail delivery IF you had a single contribution greater than $250 and we have a USPS mailing address for the donor. If you do not have an email address on file in PushPay and you do not have a mailing address on file in PushPay, we are happy to send you a statement upon request. Send your inquiry to support@ap.church . Want to stop (or start) receiving envelopes? Do you give online but still receive Giving Envelopes? By choosing to give online instead of by envelope, you will save the parish money and cut the cost of printing and shipping! Let us know you no longer want to receive envelopes by filling out the Envelope Change Request Form. Can I set up a Corporate Matching Gift? Corporate matching gifts are a type of philanthropy in which companies financially match donations their employees make to nonprofit organizations. When an employee makes a donation, they’ll request the matching gift from their employer, who then makes their own donation. Some companies have a policy against contributing to religious organizations, but will match donations made to institutions affiliated with houses of worship that provide a service to community members regardless of religious beliefs, such as St. Anthony’s Bread (the food pantry of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church). St. Anthony’s Bread is the 2nd largest distributor of food in Montgomery County, Texas. Please check with your employer to see if a Matching Gift can be made to either St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church or to St. Anthony’s Bread. EIN is 76-0545136. How do you keep my information secure? Due to an increase in identity theft, the credit card brands (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express) have developed a security standard to help protect cardholder data. It is called the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). When using the St. Anthony of Padua+Pushpay payment portal, your cardholder data is handled carefully as it is transmitted through the St. Anthony of Padua+Pushpay system to our Merchant Provider's system. Responsibility for the security of your cardholder data can be broken up into two categories. St. Anthony of Padua+Pushpay are responsible for the security of all cardholder data transmitted through its systems. To ensure that your cardholder data is handled securely, St. Anthony of Padua has been assessed by a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) and found to be compliant with the PCI DSS as a Level 1 Service Provider. Our Merchant Provider is responsible for the security of all cardholder data transmitted, stored, and processed on their systems. Merchant Providers also maintain compliance with the PCI DSS. My Catholic Will Create a Will For FREE! As a gift to you we are proud to sponsor free access to MyCatholicWill.com so that you can protect your family, ensure your wishes are carried out, and support our Parish with your Legacy of Faith. Complete a legal will in 20 minutes or less. Start My Free Will Parish Endowment Investing in the St. Anthony of Padua Parish Endowment is a meaningful way to leave a lasting legacy—one that nurtures our parish and sustains the faith for generations to come. 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St. Benedict of Nursia was an influential monk and the founder of Western monasticism. Born in Italy, he sought a life of solitude and prayer, eventually establishing a monastic community at Monte Cassino. There, he wrote the Rule of St. Benedict, a guide for monastic life emphasizing balance, moderation, and obedience. The Rule shaped Western monastic practices, stressing communal living, work, and prayer. Benedict’s teachings spread across Europe, profoundly influencing medieval monasticism and Western Christianity. The St. Benedict Medal conveys a message of trust in God’s power and His ability to overcome evil. St. Benedict of Nursia Time Period: 480-547 Feast Day: July 11 Title/Attributes: Abbot, Founder of Benedictines Location of Relic: Back Right Reliquary - Left Section Type of Relic: Bones Saint Benedict was born c. 480, in Nursia. He was the founder of the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino and father of Western monasticism; the Rule that he established became the norm for monastic living throughout Europe. In 1964, in view of the work of monks following the Benedictine Rule in the evangelization and civilization of so many European countries in the Middle Ages, Pope Paul VI proclaimed him the patron saint of all Europe. The only recognized authority for the facts of Benedict’s life is book 2 of the Dialogues of St. Gregory I, who said that he had obtained his information from four of Benedict’s disciples. Though Gregory’s work includes many signs and wonders, his outline of Benedict’s life may be accepted as historical. He gives no dates, however. Benedict was born of good family and was sent by his parents to Roman schools. His life spanned the decades in which the decayed imperial city became the Rome of the medieval papacy. In Benedict’s youth, Rome under Theodoric still retained vestiges of the old administrative and governmental system, with a Senate and consuls. In 546 Rome was sacked and emptied of inhabitants by the Gothic king Totila, and, when the attempt of Emperor Justinian I to reconquer and hold Italy failed, the papacy filled the administrative vacuum and shortly thereafter became the sovereign power of a small Italian dominion virtually independent of the Eastern Empire. Benedict thus served as a link between the monasticism of the East and the new age that was dawning. Shocked by the licentiousness of Rome, he retired as a young man to Enfide (modern Affile) in the Simbruinian hills and later to a cave in the rocks beside the lake then existing near the ruins of Nero’s palace above Subiaco, 64 km (40 miles) east of Rome in the foothills of the Abruzzi. There he lived alone for three years, furnished with food and monastic garb by Romanus, a monk of one of the numerous monasteries nearby. When the fame of his sanctity spread, Benedict was persuaded to become abbot of one of these monasteries. His reforming zeal was resisted, however, and an attempt was made to poison him. He returned to his cave, but again disciples flocked to him, and he founded 12 monasteries, each with 12 monks, with himself in general control of all. Patricians and senators of Rome offered their sons to become monks under his care, and from these novices came two of his best-known disciples, Maurus and Placid. Later, disturbed by the intrigues of a neighboring priest, he left the area, while the 12 monasteries continued in existence. A few disciples followed Benedict south, where he settled on the summit of a hill rising steeply above Cassino, halfway between Rome and Naples. The district was still largely pagan, but the people were converted by his preaching. His sister Scholastica, who came to live nearby as the head of a nunnery, died shortly before her brother. The only certain date in Benedict’s life is given by a visit from the Gothic king Totila about 542. Benedict’s feast day is kept by monks on March 21, the traditional day of his death, and by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe on July 11. Benedict’s character, as Gregory points out, must be discovered from his Rule, and the impression given there is of a wise and mature sanctity, authoritative but fatherly, and firm but loving. It is that of a spiritual master, fitted and accustomed to rule and guide others, having himself found his peace in the acceptance of Christ. ”Saint Benedict of Nursia.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Benedict-of-Nursia Next Item Previous Item

Sts. Perpetua and Felicity were young Christian women martyred in Carthage around 203 AD. Perpetua, a noblewoman with a newborn son, and Felicity, her pregnant slave, were arrested for their faith after they were baptized. Despite pleas from Perpetua’s pagan father to renounce Christianity, she remained steadfast, declaring, “I am a Christian.” In prison, the women suffered hardship—Felicity even gave birth in jail. Perpetua received heavenly visions foreshadowing their martyrdom. During a brutal public execution, they faced wild beasts and the sword with unwavering faith. Their heroic witness inspired many, and Perpetua’s written account became a treasured text in the early Church. St. Perpetua Time Period: d. 203 Feast Day: March 7 Title/Attributes: Mother, Martyr Location of Relic: Main Reliquary - Left Section Type of Relic: Bones Saints Perpetua and Felicity were young women in Carthage around 181-203 AD. Perpetua was a rich young wife in Carthage, who had just given birth to a son. Felicity was Perpetua’s slave, and was about to have a baby of her own. Perpetua’s mother and brothers were Christian, but her father was a pagan. So when Perpetua told her father she wanted to be baptized, he flew into a rage. “Why can’t you just keep your faith secret?” he asked her. “Don’t you know you can be killed for becoming a Christian?” “Do you see this jar of water on the table?” Perpetua asked him. “Can you call it anything but a jar of water? Can you call it a hurricane? Or an elephant?” “No,” her father said. “I’m a Christian,” Perpetua told him. “I can’t call myself anything else.” Her father was so angry he didn’t talk with her for days. While he still wasn’t speaking to her, Perpetua was baptized, along with Felicity and several other slaves. And just as Perpetua’s father feared, when the Roman rulers heard about it, Perpetua and her friends were all arrested, along with her teacher, Saturus. The prison they were thrown in was hot and dark. The guards pushed and shoved the prisoners, even Felicity, who was about to give birth. Worst of all, they took Perpetua’s baby son away from her. She wasn’t allowed to see him until her mother and brother brought the child to her so she could nurse him. Nobody knew what was going to happen next. Would they be set free? Would they be killed? “You should ask God for a vision,” Perpetua’s brother told her. So Perpetua prayed, and that night God gave her a dream. In the dream, she saw a huge bronze ladder. All along it were swords, spears, hooks, and knives. The only possible way to climb it was to always look up, never down. If someone looked away for even a moment, they’d be torn apart. At the bottom of the ladder was a giant serpent, ready to bite anyone who tried to climb. Saturus, Perpetua and Felicity’s teacher, was in the dream too. He started to climb up the ladder. “Don’t let the snake bit you,” he called back to Perpetua. “It will not hurt me,” Perpetua said. “In the name of Jesus Christ.” When the snake heard that name, it bowed its head, afraid. So instead of stepping on the first rung of the ladder, Perpetua stepped on the snake’s head. Then she climbed all the way up the ladder, to a beautiful garden. It was full of thousands of people dressed in white. “Welcome, child,” a man said, and handed her a bowl of sweet milk. Perpetua could still taste the sweetness when she woke up. But when she told her brother the vision, they both knew what it meant: she wouldn’t be set free. She would be killed for her faith. Perpetua’s father came to visit her in jail, weeping. “Have pity on my gray hairs,” he said kissing her hands. “You’ve always been my favorite. Why don’t you just give up your faith?” “We don’t live in our own power,” Perpetua told him, “but in the power of God.” When Perpetua and Felicity and their friends were put on trial, her father came, holding her baby. “Just give a sacrifice for the emperor,” he said. “And this can all be over. Come home and raise your son.” The judge didn’t want to sentence Perpetua to death, either. “Why don’t you just do as your father says?” he asked. But Perpetua and Felicity and their friends refused to deny their faith, so all of them were sentenced to death. In the prison, it came time for Felicity to deliver her child. While the jailers made fun of her, in that hot, dark cell, she went into labor and gave birth to a beautiful daughter. Because Felicity couldn’t care for her little girl, she gave her to a free Christian woman, who promised to adopt her. The judge decreed that Felicity, Perpetua, and their friends should all be killed just two days later, during a feast in the amphitheater, in front of thousands of people who thought that seeing them die was nothing more than watching a game. Waiting in prison, Perpetua had another dream. She dreamed that when she was taken into the amphitheater, she turned into a man. Another man was there to fight her. He tried to trip her, but she kicked him in the face. As she rained blows down on his head, she realized she wasn’t even touching the ground anymore: she was flying. And when she won the fight, she was given a branch as a reward. Saturus had a dream in the prison as well. He dreamed that they were transported by four angels to a beautiful garden, where there were rose trees as big as cypresses, with leaves that sang. In the garden were other people who had been killed for their faith, and a building with walls made of light, where they met a man with a white head, surrounded by four elders. The day of the feast, Perpetua went to the amphitheater with her friends, signing. “You judge us,” they told the people who had come to watch them die. “But God judges you.” First, the men were led into the ring with wild beasts. Perpetua and Felicity watched as their friends were torn apart by leopards, bears, and a wild boar. They crowd loved it. But when Perpetua and Felicity were brought out, the crowd fell silent. They were shocked to see the young mothers stripped and in danger of being trampled by a wild cow. So before the cow could kill them, Perpetua and Felicity were taken out of the ring. Perpetua was in an ecstasy, a trance of faith so deep that she didn’t realize anything had happened to her. “When are we to be thrown to the beasts?” she asked. Her friends and her brother, who had been watching, showed her wounds to her to prove that she had already been sent into the ring. Before they dragged Perpetua and Felicity back out, she said her last words to her brother: “Stand fast in faith,” she told him. “And love one another.” Then Felicity and Perpetua were sent back into the ring. In the ring, a solider had been ordered to kill them by the sword. But the soldier was young. He didn’t know what he was doing, so when he stabbed Perpetua, she cried out in pain, but she wasn’t killed. Finally, Perpetua placed the blade on the neck herself. The young soldier sliced her throat, and she died. But her story wasn’t over, because she had written it down while she was in prison. After her death, it spread around the Roman Empire like wildfire. Some churches even read it during their services. And many of the people who saw how Perpetua and Felicity died became Christians – even the jailer who had held them once in prison. Saint names in Eucharistic Prayer I The first list begins with Mary and Joseph and then the “blessed Apostles and Martyrs,” including Peter, Paul, Andrew (Peter’s brother), James (“the Greater”: the brother of John), John, Thomas, James (“the Lesser”: the son of Alpheus), Matthew, Bartholomew, Simon (“the Zealot”), and Jude (also called Thaddeus). The First List of Saint Names Continuing this first list of saints in Eucharistic Prayer I, as Charles Belmonte notes, “Five popes head the list: St. Peter’s first three successors, Linus, Cletus, Clement; then two popes of the third century, Sixtus II and Cornelius; Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, the intrepid defender of Catholic unity; the deacon Lawrence, who when his persecutor demanded from him the ‘treasures’ of the Church, showed him hundreds of poor people; Chrysogonus, a Roman priest who carried out the holy work of comforting the Christians who were in prison; two brothers, John and Paul, both officers of the [Roman] imperial palace, who were put to death under [the emperor] Julian the Apostate; and lastly, Cosmas and Damian, two Oriental physicians who gave their aid freely, and at whose graves there occurred ‘yet more cures than they had effected in their lives’” (Understanding the Mass, p. 158). The Second List of Saint Names As for the second list of saints in Eucharistic Prayer I, we ask for “some share in the fellowship” of several saints who were martyrs. Belmonte continues, “It mentions, in the first place, John (here obviously St. John the Baptist), and then seven men, followed by seven women, all martyrs. Stephen is the first deacon, whose glorious martyrdom is recounted in the Acts of the Apostles (6:8-7:60). Two apostles come next: Matthias, elected to take the place of Judas (Acts 1:15-16) and probably left out of the first list so as not to exceed the number of twelve, and Barnabas, St. Paul’s companion in his first missionary journey. Ignatius is the famous bishop of Antioch, sentenced to be fed to the wild beasts in Rome under [emperor] Trajano. Besides their names and the place of their martyrdom, little else is known of Alexander, the priest Marcellinus, and the exorcist Peter, who were all put to death in the great persecution of [emperor] Diocletian. The list continues with the names of the two young girls, Felicity and Perpetua (their names form the expression ‘everlasting happiness’), who confessed their faith at Carthage [in North Africa]; and of Agatha and Lucy in Sicily. It concludes with the names of two young martyrs beloved by the Romans, Agnes and Cecelia; and of Anastasia, martyred at Sirmium and later honored in Rome” (Understanding the Mass, pp. 159–160). All these saints are important because they were among the many early witnesses to Jesus Christ and the Christian faith. These are our spiritual fathers, our older brothers and sisters in Christ, who showed us that our faith was worth living and dying for. They showed us that, strengthened by the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the presence of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, they could overcome any persecutions and sufferings, even to the point of being killed. These saints give us great hope, and their prayers for us give us confidence that we, too, can live out the faith as they did, that we can live our life in Christ every day and look forward to the glory of heaven! https://www.eucharisticrevival.org/post/do-this-in-remembrance-of-me-part-55-saint-names-epi Next Item Previous Item

Saint Simon, also known as Simon the Zealot, is one of the most obscure apostles of the 12 who followed Jesus Christ. We know next-to-nothing about his life, with his name being mentioned only a handful of times throughout the gospels. Simon played no particular role in the gospels, and even his moniker of “the Zealot” has an unconfirmed meaning. Regardless of the speculation, we know he was a passionate believer and unafraid to continue to serve the Lord, and thus, he is a saint, who faithfully followed the will of God, even unto death. He shares a feast day with St. Jude on October 28th. St. Simon the Apostle Time Period: 1st Century Feast Day: October 28 Title/Attributes: Apostle, Martyr Location of Relic: Main Reliquary - Center Section Type of Relic: Bones St. Simon, also known as Simon the Zealot or Simon the Apostle, is one of the most obscure apostles of the 12 who followed Jesus Christ. We know next-to-nothing about his life, with his name being mentioned only a handful of times throughout the gospels. Simon played no particular role in the gospels, and even his moniker of “the Zealot” has an unconfirmed meaning. Some writings identified Simon as a member of the Jewish sect known as the Zealots, while others imply that it was given to Simon simply to differentiate him from Simon Peter. Regardless, it’s likely that he earned the title through his zealous following of the Jewish law, or Jesus’ teachings, but we’ll never know for sure. Another common misconception about this mysterious saint is that he was from Cana. Early Christian writers misinterpreted the word “kananaios” to mean “from Cana”, which led to a few translations of the Bible to identify him as “Simon the Cananite” or “Simon the Cananean” (located in Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18 specifically). In review, most scholars believe the word “kananaois” to be derived from the Aramaic word “qan’an” which roughly translates to “zealous one”, which would provide much more consistency throughout the gospel writings regarding Simon and his title. There are conflicting reports regarding the later portion of Simon’s life, including where he was sent to evangelize, while living as a disciple of Jesus, but most believe that he was sent to preach in Egypt. In the thirteenth century, Jacobus de Varagine, an Italian author, compiled numerous biographies of the saints into a book titled “The Golden Legend”, which is a great resource for many of the early saints. In it, de Varagine records that Simon preached in Egypt, before partnering with Judas, who was in Mesopotamia. It was in Persia that Simon reportedly joined the apostle St. Jude, known as Jude Thaddeus, where they were both martyred. Simon was said to have died from being cut in half with a saw, which is why he is often pictured with a saw in iconographic imagery. Other reports of his death also include him being crucified in Samaria, as well as passing away of old age in Edessa – many facts remain unconfirmed. Regardless of the speculation regarding St. Simon, this we know: he was a passionate believer; most likely in the Jewish law at first, but after encountering Jesus Christ, that passion changed to spreading the Kingdom of Heaven. He was unafraid to continue to serve the Lord, and thus, he is a saint, who faithfully followed the will of God, even unto death. Next Item Previous Item

Find food assistance at St. Anthony’s Bread Food Pantry in Spring, TX. View pantry hours, service areas, current needs, and how to receive or volunteer. St. Anthony's Bread Food Pantry When we are open Pantry Hours Tuesday • 8 AM - 10 AM Thursday • 8 AM - 10 AM Saturday • 8 AM - 10 AM *The pantry will close earlier than stated when we run out of food. Each family must allow a minimum of 14 days between visits. Pantry Closures The St. Anthony’s Bread Food Pantry will be closed for distribution on: March 21 March 31 April 2 April 4 April 11 May 23 July 4 Current Needs 1 or 2 pound bags of rice Canned tuna, chicken, or salmon Ramen Jelly in plastic jar Chef Boyardee Flour, sugar, cooking oil Chips (lunch box size) Condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayo) Salt & Pepper How We Help St. Anthony’s Bread is the food pantry of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church. Serving thousands of families every month, we are proud to help support our community by providing nutritious meals to those in need. The street address to use for GPS location services such as Google Maps or Apple Maps is 7985 Bay Branch Dr, Spring, TX 77382 Our Food Pantry serves families with an address located in the following Montgomery County zip codes: 77301, 77302, 77303, 77304, 77305, 77306, 77316, 77318, 77328, 77333, 77339, 77353, 77354, 77355, 77356, 77357, 77362, 77365, 77372, 77373, 77375, 77377, 77378, 77379, 77380, 77381, 77382, 77384, 77385, 77386, 77387, 77388, 77389, 77393 ARE YOU NEW TO OUR PANTRY? At your first visit, our volunteers will ask you to provide a valid identification or a utility/service bill containing your name and address. If the address is one of the zip codes listed above, you will fill out a short registration form (available in both English and Spanish), which is then used to create your ID card to be presented each time you come to the pantry. We ask you to wait 14 days between visits. Become A Volunteer Are you looking for a place to offer your time and talent in our parish? Many Volunteers are needed for the daily operations of the St. Anthony’s Bread Food Pantry. Saturday volunteers need to register through Planning Center. For weekday volunteering (Monday to Friday), individuals can simply show up at 7 a.m., provided they are certified. Help is needed in the following tasks: Unload truck deliveries from different vendors. Sort food donations received, stock shelves. Pre-pack bags of food. Deliver bags/boxes of food to those in need by loading cars on food delivery days. Volunteer with us! Must be 6 years old and over. Ages 6-16 must be accompanied by a Safe Environment complaint parent. If you are 18+ and older, you must be Safe Environment certified. Safe Environment Training Link Questions about Safe Environment compliance? Contact safe@ap.church Once certified, volunteers are welcome to volunteer from Monday-Saturday from 7 AM - 10 AM. Questions about volunteering? Contact Adriana Flower Learn More Sign up to Volunteer If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one. -- Saint Teresa of Calcutta Donate to Food Pantry Community Resources Contact Food Pantry BACK TO TOP

The life of Mary, and the journey of her veil, are not highly documented and many details have been disputed over the years. Most information points to Mary having lived in Ephesus following the death and Resurrection of Jesus, where she lived with John until she experienced her “dormition”. The Apostles, upon realizing that Mary had been assumed into heaven, collected her belongings that remained, including her veil. Tracing the remaining journey of the veil is a tough task, but it appeared briefly amid wars and transitions of power, and today resides in the Chartres Cathedral in France. Veil of the Blessed Virgin Mary Time Period: 1st Century Feast Day: January 1 Title/Attributes: Mother of God Location of Relic: Main Reliquary - Center Section Type of Relic: Veil of Mary Through the faith and obedience of a young, teenaged girl from Jerusalem, the Savior of the World came to Earth. Mary, the daughter of Sts. Joachim and Anne, showed immense courage when visited by the archangel Gabriel, who brought the news that she would become the Mother of Jesus. And she continued to show that courage when she remained at the foot of her Son, as He hung upon the cross. As Roman Catholics, we have more theological doctrines, teachings, prayers, teachings, and devotions to Mary than any other faith group. We hold true four very important dogmatic beliefs: 1. that she is Theotokos, or Mother of God, 2. Her perpetual virginity, 3. The Immaculate Conception, and 4. Her Assumption into heaven. It is this fourth and final dogma that leads us to a relic from the Blessed Virgin Mary; we firmly believe that following her death, she was Assumed body and spirit up into heaven. Not a single first-class relic of Mary will ever be found. However, a few of her personal items remained here on Earth, which would be second-class relics. Of these, the most venerated around the world is the veil of Mary. Through many of the monumental moments of Jesus’ life, there was the veiled Mary – presenting Jesus in the temple, initiating the first public miracle at the wedding in Cana, and even praying with the Apostles following His death. It’s unlikely that the seamstress who weaved the silk thread into a beautiful veil could ever have guessed the miracles it would be present for, sitting upon Our Lady’s head. The life of Mary, and the journey of her veil, are not highly documented and many details have been disputed over the years, but the pieces of information that we do know point to Mary having lived in Ephesus following the death and Resurrection of Jesus. She lived with John, having been instructed by Jesus upon the cross to take Mary into his house, in what is now present-day Turkey. Her death is not recorded in the scriptures, but tradition told of her body being placed in a tomb in Jerusalem, where she experienced her “dormition”, meaning that Mary did not experience the violent separation of body and spirit that occurs due to the stain of original sin; but instead, Mary, free from original sin, “fell asleep” and was assumed, body and spirit into heaven. The Apostles, upon realizing that Mary had been assumed into heaven, collected her belongings that remained, including her veil. They were kept in Jerusalem until around the year 400, before St. Jerome, the secretary to Pope Damasus I, took the Mantle of Joseph and Veil of Mary back to Rome for safekeeping. Had St. Jerome not relocated these precious relics, they likely would have been destroyed during the Muslim invasions that soon followed in Jerusalem. Tracing the remaining journey of the veil is a tough task, but history tells of the veil being transferred from Jerusalem to Constantinople around the year 800. After being presented by the Empress Irene to the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, it was then given to his descendant Charles the Bald, who gave the relic to a cathedral in Chartres, France. It was in Chartres that stories tell of the veil being taken from the church and paraded as a flag of war in the year 911, when the bandit Rollo and his henchmen were besieging the town. With the veil proudly raised above the city by the bishop, Rollo and his men were defeated, and the siege failed. The veil was placed in a reliquary, which began attracting pilgrims far and wide to pray near the veil. Since the veil was viewed to provide a divine protection, many pilgrims placed shirts up against the reliquary in order to wear them prior to going to war or giving birth. The cathedral in Chartres was badly damaged by a fire in the year 1194, and many feared the veil had been destroyed. However, three days after the fire, a procession of priests emerged from the church with the relic intact, having been rushed to a crypt beneath the cathedral for safety. The cardinal of the area declared this as a sign from Mary that she desired a “more magnificent church”, and reconstruction began immediately. Fast forward to the 14th century, when a lead box was discovered at the Basilica of St. Anastasia, where St. Jerome had served as the parish priest. Two miles from St. Peter’s, the boxes were opened, and the Veil of Mary and Mantle of St. Joseph were discovered. They were immediately enshrined in the chapel, and in the 1750’s, the bishop authorized the creation of relics from tiny pieces of the veil. Scientific tests on the veil found that the silk veil is of Syrian design and can be traced back to the 1st century. At one point, the fabric was thought to be that of a tunic, but after being unwound, it was discovered to in fact be a veil. Every year in August, on the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, the veil is processed with great reverence. With shared reverence, have in our reliquary a small thread of this very veil in the Our Lady of the Angels Chapel. May this relic guide us closer to Jesus in order to grow in faith and love for Him, just as the wearer of this beautiful veil demonstrated every day of her life. Next Item Previous Item

The Tomb of the Holy Innocents is under the Basilica of the Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem. The relic is a piece of their tomb. They were martyred in the 1st Century and their feast day is December 28. The Holy Innocents are the male infants of the town of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, whose deaths were recorded in Matthew 2:1-18. The infants were put to death by the soldiers of King Herod the Great (r. 37-4 B.C.) in order to prevent the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy that the King of the Jews would be born in the little town. An angel warned Joseph of the impending danger and thus the Holy Family escaped into Egypt. The poet Prudentius called the infants the flores martyrum, "flowers of martyrdom." Holy Innocents Time Period: 1st Century Feast Day: December 28 Title/Attributes: Martyrs Location of Relic: Back Left Reliquary - Left Section Type of Relic: Piece of their Tomb/Bones The Tomb of the Holy Innocents is under the Basilica of the Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem. The relic is a piece of their tomb. They were martyred in the 1st Century and their feast day is December 28. The Holy Innocents are the male infants of the town of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, whose deaths were recorded in Matthew 2:1-18. The infants were put to death by the soldiers of King Herod the Great (r. 37-4 B.C.) in order to prevent the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy that the King of the Jews would be born in the little town. The exact number of the slain is unknown, but it can be deduced that the population of Bethlehem during that period was not large. An angel warned Joseph of the impending danger and thus the Holy Family escaped into Egypt. The fourth-century poet Prudentius called the infants the flores martyrum, "flowers of martyrdom." According to legend, one of Herod's own sons, who was with a wet nurse in Bethlehem, was also slain.1 1 Bunson, Matthew E. Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints. 2nd ed., Our Sunday Visitor Inc.,u.s., 2014. Next Item Previous Item

St. Francis Borgia was a nobleman who renounced wealth and power to become a key figure in the Counter-Reformation. Born into the powerful Borgia family, he served Emperor Charles V and became Duke of Gandia in 1543. After his wife’s death, Francis joined the Jesuits, giving his title to his son. A close ally of St. Ignatius of Loyola, he led the Jesuits in Spain, founded institutions, and helped shape the order’s rules. He expanded missions in the New World and Poland and promoted Jesuit education. Known as “the Second Founder of the Jesuits,” he died in Rome in 1572. St. Francis Borgia Time Period: 1510-1572 Feast Day: October 10 Title/Attributes: Confessor, Jesuit Location of Relic: Back Right Reliquary - Left Section Type of Relic: Bones St. Francis Borgia was a Jesuit leader of the Counter-Reformation. He was also the great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI and the son of the duke of Gandia, Spain, a Spanish Borgia. Educated by an uncle, the Archbishop of Saragossa, he became a member of the court of Emperor Charles V. In 1529, he married Elanor de Castro. He subsequently served as a high-ranking Spanish official and became the duke of Gandia in 1543. Three years later, following the death of his wife, Francis became a Jesuit, giving his title and estates to his son, Charles. He was ordained in 1551 and was a friend and adviser of St. Ignatius of Loyola. In 1554, Francis became the superior of the Jesuits in Spain. He founded monasteries, colleges, and charitable institutions and was responsible for the start of the Gregorian University for Sant’ Andrea and the Gesu in Rome. Francis also started the New World Jesuit missions and province of the order in Poland. After a trip through Spain with Cardinal Bonelli in 1572, Francis returned to Rome and died there on September 30. He is sometimes called “the Second Founder of the Jesuits.” He also edited the order’s rules and spiritual exercises. Next Item Previous Item