In the back of my mind, there are three times of year that stand out as being particularly saturated with significant Saints’ Days: Christmas, mid-November, and late July.  I haven’t studied the sanctoral calendar closely to see how accurate these impressions are, but I think it’s worth pointing it out now that we’re in one of those periods of time.

Consider this.  Three major feast days are just ahead:

1. St. Mary Magdalene (22 July)
2. St. James (25 July)
3. The Transfiguration (6 August)

Among the Optional Commemorations there are four coming up that this Customary particularly highlights as feasts to be kept:

1. St. Gregory of Nyssa (19 July)
2. The Parents of the Virgin Mary (26 July)
3. Sts. Lazarus, Mary, and Martha of Bethany (29 July)
4. St. Joseph of Arimathea (1 August)

There are also some classical Saints’ days worth considering:

1. St. Macrina (18 July)
2. St. Margaret of Antioch (20 July)
3. St. Thomas a Kempis (24 July)

And a few more recent folks remembered in our calendar:

1. William White (17 July)
2. William Reed Huntington (27 July)
3. William Wilberforce (30 July)

Huh, maybe I should’ve named this post “Williamtide”, haha.

Let us also consider jotting down a new name into our calendars, remembering another faithful servant who ran his course well:

• 17 July: J. I. Packer, Priest and Teacher of the Faith, 2020

May their memories ever be a blessing to us all.