Memorial of Saints (January 24)

Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials of Saints

• Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor of the Church
• Babylas, bishop and martyr
• Felician, bishop and martyr
• Messalina, martyr
• Macedonius

Related blog posts:

• St. Francis de Sales, [bishop and doctor of the Church]
• Francis de Sales, Proponent of the French School of Spirituality

St. Francis de Sales' advice to recall God's presence during the day

"...in this practice is contained one of the most sure means of your spiritual progress...In the course of the day, recall to mind the presence of God, as often as you can...Become aware of what God is doing and of what you are doing: you will realize that his eyes are turned toward you and, with unparalleled love, fixed on you all the time...keep in mind...always to recollect yourself again and again in the solitude of your heart, while outwardly dealing with others and your occupations. This spiritual solitude cannot be prevented by the many people who are around you. They are not around your heart but only around your body. So your heart can remain by itself all alone, in the presence of God alone." (Introduction to the Devout Life, II, 12)

St. Macedonius (ca. 340-430 A.D.) was a Syrian anchoret who is reputed to have performed numerous miracles of healing. One miracle attributed to him was when his prayers caused a childless mother, who had been without child for thirteen years of married life, to bear a child. That child was named Theodoret. St. Macedonius was surnamed "the Barley Eater" because he was said to have lived on barley for forty years. More on St. Macedonius at Wikipedia.org

Saints in the Byzantine Calendar [January 24]

• Xenia of Saint Petersburg

Saint Xenia (ca. 1732-1803 A.D.) lived about forty-five years after the death of her husband, and departed to the Lord at the age of seventy-one. By the 1820s A.D., many people flocked to her grave and ask her to intercede with God for them. The visitors to her grave took the earth from her grave that it had to be replaced every year. Later on, a chapel was built over her grave. Those who ask St. Xenia for her intercession receive healing from illness, and deliverance from their afflictions. She is also known for helping people who seek jobs. More on St. Xenia of Petersburg at OCA.org and at Wikipedia.org