Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The feast of Saint Blaise--over a thousand years of veneration



Today, February 3, is the feast of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr. To him we go for protection against diseases of the throat; throats are blessed in church today.

Catholic Cuisine--a lovely and useful blog--has a charming recipe for this feast, as it does for many other saints' days. Go visit at http://catholiccuisine.blogspot.com/

This is a very ancient feast! A dear Croatian friend writes me:

"In Dubrovnik there is a large celebration today as St Blaise (=Sveti Vlaho in local tradition) is being commemorated for the 1038th time! Not even 50 years of tough Communism could break that age-long festive tradition and loyalty!"

Let's hear it for Saint Blaise, and for all the other saints whose great stories and commemorations have contributed so richly and powerfully to the history--indeed the very identity--of Europe and the West.

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