LOLSaints

Nicodemus ain't a saint you say?  Not so fast...

Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews, appears three times in John's Gospel. The first time, he comes to Jesus by night, afraid to be seen by others. (Jn 3)

Later, when his fellow Pharisees denounce Jesus, he asks them with more courage, "Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?" In reply, they mock him. (Jn 7:50)

He appears a final time, after Jesus has died. "[Nicodemus] came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds," and helped to "bound [the body of Jesus] with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom." (Jn 19:39-40) In the end, Nicodemus no longer cares what other people think.  He is loyal to Jesus, and honors him richly, even in the darkest hour, when he stands nothing to gain.

St. Nicodemus is venerated by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Roman Catholics celebrate his memorial on August 3rd.

(Sources: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=552   http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Alt/alt.religion.christian.roman-catholic/2008-08/msg00009.html)

(Image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Henry_Ossawa_Tanner_-_Nicodemus_coming_to_Christ.jpg)

Where do they come up with these images?? —Ed