Daily Martyrology for August 31

In the first century, St. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Joseph was a disciple of Jesus. After the crucifixion he obtained Jesus' body and arranged for his burial. Many legends grew up about him. In versions of the Grail Legend, which arose in the 12th century, Joseph was connected with the cup which was said to have caught Christ's blood on Calvary, and in one version, the cup was brought to Glastonbury Abbey in England.

In 358, St. Paulinus, bishop of Trier, who was a strong supporter of Athanasius (May 2) during the latter’s exile in the West. Paulinus was himself exiled by the emperor Constantius and sent to Phrygia where he died. In 396 his relics were brought back to Trier under St. Felix (March 26), bishop of that city.

In 651, St. Aidan. He was a monk of Iona. He was sent as a missionary to the English, and with the help of St. Oswald (August 9), the king of Northumbria, he won many converts by his asceticism and gentleness. In 635 he was consecrated bishop of Lindisfarne, and there he established a monastery and became its first abbot.

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Our daily martyrology was written by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB. Copyright © 2008 by the Monastery of the Ascension, Jerome, ID 83338.