It is the Ides of March. The ides in Roman times were the middle day of each month (or more accurately, one day less than the middle), and they were sacred to the god Jupiter. The Ides of March became the most famous and notorious date in Roman history when Julius Caesar was assassinated in the senate on that day, in the year 44 BCE.
Today in 1649 the poet John Milton became Secretary for Foreign Tongues for the Puritan revolutionary regime in England after the execution of the king. His job was to write diplomatic documents in Latin, as Latin was spoken between diplomats of the time. Why not celebrate by appointing a Tongues Secretary in your own church?
It is the feast day of St Speciosus, who died about the year 555. Disappointingly for one with such a promising name, has no far-fetched miracle stories to speak of and died of natural causes.
St Nicholas, originally a Greek bishop, but now a superstar among the saints, was said to have been born today in 270. He is especially revered and loved in Russia for working wonders, looking after the poor, and hearing prayers. Only semi-jokingly, the Russians have a saying: ‘If anything happens to God, we’ve always got St Nicholas.’
Jimmy Swaggart, the American Pentecostal televangelist, was born today in 1935. He became famous for sex scandals involving prostitutes in 1988 and 91, the first time confessing (with copious tears), ‘I have sinned,’ live on air; and the second time telling his TV congregation, ‘The Lord told me it’s flat none of your business.’ Defrocked by his denomination, Swaggart has continued as an independent, with a thriving TV ministry.
Image: Ad Meskens