Today is St. Nicholas Day. And, incidentally, the anniversary of my birth, making him one of my patrons. (The other being St. Michael. Obviously.)
I feel a close affinity to the good bishop, beyond just having been born on his feast day. He was a defender of women: when a poor father near his home was considering selling his three virgin daughters into prostitution, Nicholas provided dowries for each of them so they could marry honorably. Also, a fierce defender of the truth: at the council of Nicea, he punched Arius, author of the Arian heresy which split the church for centuries, in the head.
St. Nicholas clocking Arius the heretic. Yeah!
When he wasn't beating heretics, he was known as a very kind, devout, humble, and generous man, who always remembered the poor and those in need. I like to think of him as a reminder that one can be a Christian and still be a man.
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