The feast of St. Irenaeus of Lyons is celebrated on June 28.
St. Irenaeus of Lyons is considered a martyr and Church Father. St. Irenaeus was born around 125 in Asia Minor. He was raised in a Christian family, becoming a student of St. Polycarp of Smyrna.
St. Irenaeus was ordained a priest in 177 and became the Bishop of Lyons after the martyrdom of St. Pothinus. He is considered one of the first great Christian theologians. The most well known of his books is titled “Against Heresies”. He defended the holiness of the body and preached to the Gnostics.
St. Irenaeus was martyred in 202 in Lyons, France under the Emperor Septimus Severus.
The feast day of St. Jerome Emiliani is celebrated on Feb. 9. St. Jerome was born in Venice in 1486.
St. Jerome had an adventurous youth and became a soldier. Spending time in a dungeon after being captured he turned to a life of prayer and began studying for the priesthood. After his ordination, he devoted his time to works of mercy caring for orphans and the sick. He built three orphanages, a shelter for prostitutes and a hospital. His supporters formed a group which eventually became a religious order called the Clerks Regular of Samasca.
St. Jerome was also entrusted with the organization of the Hospital of the Incurables. Jerome died in Samasca on Feb. 8, 1537 from the plague after caring for the ill during the epidemic.
God did not tell us to follow Him because He needed our help, but because He knew that loving Him would make us whole.
