Honouring the friends of God with much reverence, the Prophet-King David says, "But to me, exceedingly honourable are Thy friends, O Lord" (Ps. 138:16). And the divine Apostle, recounting the achievements of the Saints, and setting forth their memorial as an example that we might turn away from earthly things and from sin, and emulate their patience and courage in the struggles for virtue, says, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every burden, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1).

This commemoration began as the Sunday (Synaxis) of All Martyrs; to them were added all the ranks of Saints who bore witness (the meaning of "Martyr" in Greek) to Christ in manifold ways, even if occasion did not require the shedding of their blood.

Therefore, guided by the teaching of the Divine Scriptures and Apostolic Tradition, we the pious honour all the Saints, the friends of God, for they are keepers of God's commandments, shining examples of virtue, and benefactors of mankind. Of course, we honour the known Saints especially on their own day of the year, as is evident in the Menologion. But since many Saints are unknown, and their number has increased with time, and will continue to increase until the end of time, the Church has appointed that once a year a common commemoration be made of all the Saints. This is the feast that we celebrate today. It is the harvest of the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world; it is the "much fruit" brought forth by that "Grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died" (John 12:24); it is the glorification of the Saints as "the foundation of the Church, the perfection of the Gospel, they who fulfilled in deed the sayings of the Saviour" (Sunday of All Saints, Doxasticon of Vespers).

In this celebration, then, we reverently honour and call blessed all the Righteous, the Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Shepherds, Teachers, and Holy Monastics, both men and women alike, known and unknown, who have been added to the choirs of the Saints and shall be added, from the time of Adam until the end of the world, who have been perfected in piety and have glorified God by their holy lives. All these, as well as the orders of the Angels, and especially our most holy Lady and Queen, the Ever-virgin Theotokos Mary, do we honour today, setting their life before us as an example of virtue, and entreating them to intercede in our behalf with God, Whose grace and boundless mercy be with us all. Amen.

Read more about saint Kevin here.

Birth and childhood

Saint Kevin was born in the year 498 in the Irish province of Leinster to noble parents, perhaps even descendant of the Kings of Leinster. Tradition holds that when he was born, his mother felt no labour pains, and the snow that fell on the day of his birth melted as it fell around the house. An angel is said to have appeared during the child's baptism, telling his parents that the child should be named "Kevin." St. Cronan, the officiating priest, said, "This was surely an angel of the Lord, and as he named the child so shall he be called." So the babe was baptised Kevin, Coemgen in the Irish tongue, which means "He of Blessed Birth." He is the first person in history to be called Kevin. His childhood was marked by a horrible temper and dislike of other people, although he loved animals.

The blackbird's nest

At the age of seven, his parents sent him to the monastery run by St. Petroc in Cornwall. While there, Kevin was kneeling, his arms outstretched in prayer, on the first day of Lent in a small hut in the wilderness when a blackbird landed in his palm and proceeded to construct a nest. Kevin remained perfectly still, so as not to disturb the bird, for the whole of Lent. Kevin was fed by the blackbird with berries and nuts. By the end of Lent, the last blackbird hatchlings had flown from the nest, which now lay empty in his hand, and Kevin returned to the monastery for the Paschal celebration.

Kevin's isolation

After being ordained to the priesthood, Kevin spent seven years as a hermit in the mountains surrounding Glendalough, which comes from the Gaelic words glen (meaning "valley") and lough (meaning "lake"), meaning "Valley of the Two Lakes." He lived in a small, five by seven by three foot cave, now know as St. Kevin's Bed, which was, legend holds, shown to him by an angel. His life was spent in prayer and self denial, and he lived off herbs and fish an otter that lived in the lake would bring Kevin whenever Kevin visited the lake, which he did in the winter, when he would stand up to his neck in the ice cold water to pray. During one of these sessions of prayer in the Upper Lake of Glendalough (which he preferred to the Lower Lake, because it it was much more remote and colder), he dropped his breviary into the lake. An otter appeared from the bottom of the lake with the prayer book, unstained or damaged in any way, in its mouth. Henceforth, the otter would bring fish to Kevin for food.

Return to society

Kevin returned to society when a farmer, named Dima, followed a cow of his who would continually wander off. The cow would come every day, when the erd was sent out to pasture, to St. Kevin's cave and lick his clothes and feet while he was in prayer. When the cow returned at evening, she would produced unbelievable amounts of milk. Dima, wondering greatly about this, one day resolved to follow the cow. When Dima stumbled upon Kevin's cave, and saw what was the cause of this, he fell to his knees in penitence. Kevin raised him up, and, as Dima was a pagan, taught the farmer about Christ and the Gospel. Dima eventually begged Kevin to come out of his isolation and teach his family about Christ. After a day of prayer, Kevin saw that it was God's will that he return to society to spread the Gospel. He began by teaching Dima's family, but his tutelage soon grew to dozens of families and he began to attract followers. And so, seeing the need of a central place from which to teach, Kevin decided to establish a monastery.

Glendalough Monastery

However, Kevin could not establish a monastery, since King O'Tool of Glendalough, a pagan, would not allow it. It happened that the king had a much beloved pet goose, which was now old and grey. As time passed, the goose also became so aged and weak that it was soon unable to fly. As a result, the king was very upset, for he loved the goose very much. Hearing of Kevin's sanctity and power, the pagan king sent for him, and asked that he make the beloved goose young. Kevin asked for a payment of whatever land the goose would fly over. As the goose could no longer take flight, O'Toole agreed. When Kevin touched the bird, it grew young, and flew over the entire valley of Glendalough, and on that site the monastery was established.

Rocks were plentiful. The farmers pitched in and built Kevin a monastery in the solitude of Glendalough. The workers agreed to work from when the larks woke till the lambs slept. This grueling work schedule began to affect the quality of construction, and Kevin decided to investigate. It turned out that the larks were apt to rise unfashionably early, and so Kevin told them not to. From that day forth, no skylark has ever been heard in Glendalough. The construction continued, and the monastery was complete.

Soon, other monks came to help teach all who would come to learn, old and young, rich and poor alike. More buildings were added to the little settlement. Among them was the famous tower, which still stands today, along with the large hut used by St. Kevin. Many people from far afield came to Kevin for advice, which he gave freely, and the monastery grew to such fame and renown that it was considered equal to a pilgrimage to Rome for a penitent to travel seven times to Glendalough monastery.

It is said of Kevin that he was the fulfillment of the prophecy of St. Patrick—that he was the one to come who would evangelize the region of Ireland just south of Dublin.

Pilgrimage and death

Kevin went once, upon the founding of his monastery, to Rome, where he received relics for the monastery. Many years later, his hair and beard white but his eyes sparkling and his step quick and firm, he felt the desire to go once again to Rome. However, he also knew he was bound to the duties of the abbot of the monastery. He went for advice to his old friend, Bishop Kiernan of Clonmacnoise. Kiernan understood Kevin's longing but he knew that it is better for one missionary to train many others than to leave the others half-trained in order to go to the missions himself. "Birds do not hatch their eggs while they are flying," Kiernan said.

Kevin saw that not to go was a sacrifice, and he knew now where God's will lay. So Kevin continued to teach and advise everyone who came to him until the peaceful June night in 618 when his soul sped heavenward to join the angels and saints around God's throne.

The precise location of Kevin's grave is lost, although it is said that at dusk, when no-one is about, blackbirds will flock to an unmarked cross above a forgotten grave, the grave of a wild boy who held a blackbird's nest in his unwavering, outstretched hand for forty days.

The Holy Myrrh-bearers Mary and Martha, together with their brother Lazarus, were especially devoted to our Savior, as we see from the accounts given in the tenth chapter of Saint Luke, and in the eleventh and twelfth chapters of Saint John. They reposed in Cyprus, where their brother became the first Bishop of Kition after his resurrection from the dead. See also the accounts on Lazarus Saturday and the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women.

On this day we commemorate Saint Cyril's falling asleep. On January 18 we commemorate the occasion of the Saint's restoration to his see in Alexandria after he had suffered a brief exile because of the machinations of the Nestorians. Shortly thereafter the Third Ecumenical Council was convoked in Ephesus and the blasphemous doctrine of Nestorius was condemned. See January 18 for Saint Cyril's life and works.