Daily readings
Saint of the day
Date
17 December
The Saint of the Day presents a daily calendar of Saints remembered by the Church. The pages feature the stories of the great witnesses of Christian life through the centuries, lighting our way on our journey of faith.
St. Daniel, prophet
A Jew of a noble family, he was deported to Babylon (VII century BC). He became an official of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel prophesied the fall of the Babylonian Empire. Because of his fidelity to the tradition of his fathers, Daniel was given to lions, but God saved him.
Sts. Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah
Young Jews in exile in Babylon (VII century BC), the youths became officials at court. Refusing to worship the statue of the king, they were thrown into a furnace: accompanied by an angel of the Lord, they sang a hymn proclaiming the lordship of the true God over all creation, and emerged unscathed.
St. John of Matha, Priest, Founder of the Trinitarians
Born in 1154 in France, St. John was a professor of theology in Paris, before leaving everything to become a priest at the age of 40. He founded the Order of the Most Holy Trinity. He left for Africa, with a mission to free Christian slaves, whom he succours in his hospices. He died in Rome in 1213.
