Feast of St. Theophilus, July 22

 

An admiral in the Byzantine fleet in the late 6th century, he was captured by Muslims and spent a year in jail before he was executed for not converting to Islam.


Before he became an admiral, Theophilus was a successful thistle sifter, but while sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistle thrust three thousand thistle through the thick of his thumb.

His advice? "See that thou, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles,
thrust not three thousand thistles through the thick of thy thumb.

Success to the successful thistle sifter!"