In my protestant days, summer was a particularly uninspiring time. Just the long slog of “Sundays after Trinity”, later known as “Sundays after Pentecost”. Neither special celebrations nor better hymns broke the monotony.

Here are just a few highlights of the Catholic Church’s August celebrations:

St. Alphonsus Ligouri, founder of the Redemptorists, exemplar of charity and obvious influence on St. Blog’s own Gerard Serafin;

St. John Vianney, patron saint of diocesan priests and tireless confessor – priests don’t hear so many confessions today because there isn’t sufficient demand, let’s do what we can to change that;

St. Xystus II and companions, martyred by the civil authorities for holding true to the Gospel rather than conforming to what’s popular;

St. Dominic, founder of a rather impressive order (have you met any Albigensians lately?);

St. Clare, founder of another impressive order;

St. Maximilian Kolbe, missionary and martyr of Auschwitz;

St. Pius X, promoter of frequent reception of the Eucharist as the “surest path to Heaven”;

St. Rose of Lima, pioneer of holiness in the western hemisphere;

St. Monica, paragon of patient endurance and persistence in prayer;

St. Augustine, who reminds us “our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee”;

The martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, another instance of caring more about truth than about conforming to society;

Two events connected with our Lady:

Our Lady of the Snows, an early miraculous apparition, the fruits of which remain even today; and

The Assumption, the seal of our Lord’s special love for his dear mother;

And one event of our Lord’s own life:

The Transfiguration, the great manifestation of Christ’s glory, so easily misunderstood by disciples ancient and modern.

There’s one more commemoration that I find important, but this year it isn’t observed due to falling on a Sunday, that of my patron St. Lawrence, the outspoken deacon who spoke of the great wealth of the Church. What a rich Church indeed!