Daily Saints

Saint John Damascene, Priest, Religious and Doctor

c. 676–749; Patron Saint of pharmacists, icon painters, and theology students; Pre-Congregation canonization; Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1890

In the early seventh century, Damascus, Syria, was a thriving city within the Eastern (Byzantine) Roman Empire. Being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, the city enjoyed a rich cultural heritage and diversity. Being part of the Roman Empire, it was primarily Christian, with some Jews, small pockets of paganism, and heretical Christian sects. After the death of Muhammad in 632, Islamic conquerors expanded into the Roman Empire, capturing and occupying Damascus in 635. In 661, Damascus became the capital for the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to further Islamic influence in the region. Though Christians’ rights were restricted, they were permitted religious freedom under certain conditions and limitations, such as paying a special tax and wearing distinct clothing. They also occupied a lower legal status than Muslims. Some Christians, however, were given important roles in the government, especially financial administration, due to their Greek and Roman education and administrative skills that many Muslim leaders admired. It was into this historical situation that Saint John of Damascus (John Damascene) was born.

John was born to Christian parents who did not allow their Muslim rulers to affect their faith. In fact, John’s father was one of the Christians held in high esteem by the local rulers and was entrusted with important administrative responsibility by the Caliphate. During his early years, John is believed to have received an excellent education. He might have been educated in the faith by local clergy, also learning Greek and Roman philosophy. At some point, his father came across a slave named Cosmas for sale in the public market. Some records indicate that Cosmas was a highly educated monk from Sicily, who was captured on a raid. His father secured the monk’s release, perhaps by purchasing him at a high price, and entrusted his son’s education to Cosmas. Another youth, possibly an orphan whom John’s father cared for, studied alongside John. Cosmas was not only well-versed in theology, but also in philosophy, music, astronomy, and a variety of other subjects. John greatly advanced in learning under Cosmas. Given the Muslim control of Damascus, John also became well versed in Islamic law, culture, and theology.

When John’s father died, the Caliphate recognized John as a man of great learning and virtue. Like his father, John was given an important role in the city’s administration. John, however, became increasingly sensitive to the non-Christian environment and feared its influence. In his mid- to late-twenties, he resigned his position, sold his possessions, and retreated to the desert monastery of Mar Saba, near Jerusalem, taking Cosmas with him.

As a monk, John spent his first two decades growing in spiritual perfection. Under the guidance of his spiritual director, he embraced monastic disciplines, such as renouncing his own will, avoiding worldly attachments, dedicating all actions to God, rooting out pride, rejecting the seeking out of extraordinary spiritual experiences, eliminating worldly thoughts, and maintaining silence. He fulfilled every humble task his superiors assigned him. He studied, prayed, did penance, and continuously entrusted himself to His merciful God. He advanced so greatly in the spiritual life, humility, and learning, that his superiors deemed him worthy of priestly ordination, which was uncommon among the monks. They also believed that, as a priest, he could offer great service to the Church through ministry and writing. Thus, John was ordained and instructed by his superiors to address important theological issues within the Caliphate and Byzantine Empire.

According to various early sources, the first issue arose from Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik, the Islamic Umayyad Caliph, who opposed the use of icons and sacred images in Christian churches. One story relates that a Jewish magician from Tiberias promised Yazid a long life of fortune if he banned Christian icons within his caliphate. The Jews followed the Torah, which banned using images of God. Yazid took his advice and, in 721, issued an edict by which Christian icons were destroyed in churches across the caliphate. Shortly afterward, between the years 726–729, Byzantine Emperor Leo III, a very religious man, also became convinced that the veneration of sacred images was idolatry. Therefore, he issued his own series of edicts by which he outlawed icons and sacred images throughout the Byzantine Empire. The Patriarch of Constantinople opposed Leo, so Leo appointed a new patriarch on his own authority. The pope also opposed Leo, so grave tensions arose between East and West.

Under obedience, Father John wrote his first great work, Apologetic Treatises against those Decrying the Holy Images, in which he articulated in three treatises the rationale for the use of icons in a profoundly theological way but also in a way that the common layman could understand. In these treatises, Father John was the first to distinguish between latreia (worship), which is due only to God, and proskynesis (veneration), which can be directed towards sacred images representing divine figures. Because the Old Testament forbade the worship of idols or any images of God, Father John’s explanation had the effect of reconciling the Christian use of sacred images with the Old Testament prohibition. He argued that veneration of images was proper because of the Incarnation of the Son of God. In Old Testament times, the Incarnation had not yet taken place. Therefore, it was forbidden to use any material means to represent the unseen and immaterial God. In Christ, however, the invisible God became visible and material, sanctifying the physical world, thus endowing the physical world with the ability to reflect the majesty of God. Father John extended this logic to the veneration of images of the saints who now share in the glory of God’s divine life (See quote above).

Tradition holds that the Byzantine Emperor was so outraged at Father John’s condemnation of his decrees that he forged a letter in Father John’s name that implicated him in a planned attack against Damascus. When the Caliph received the letter, he ordered that Father John’s hand be cut off and mounted on a pole. Once the deed was done, Father John beseeched the Mother of God to intervene so he could continue writing. The next day, his hand was miraculously restored.

Five years after his death, John’s treatise was condemned by the Council of Hieria in 754, which was called by the Byzantine Emperor. In 787, however, John was fully exonerated at the Second Council of Nicaea, which ruled in favor of icon veneration and declared that the Council of Hieria was illegitimate, given the absence of the five patriarchs.

In addition to his writings against the iconoclasts, Saint John Damascene is known for his summary of the doctrinal teachings of the Early Church Fathers, called De Fide Orthodoxa (An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith). Along with that work, he also wrote against heresies and on logic and philosophy. Further works include hymns, letters, commentaries, and sermons. Among his sermons is a series on the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was also critical of Islam, pointing out many of its flaws.

Saint John Damascene left behind a clear exposition of the faith of the Church that became a standard for study in the centuries to follow. None of that would have been possible, however, had he not first entered the monastery and perfected his spiritual life as a hermit. As we honor this great saint, reflect upon the foundation that you need to establish within your own spiritual life. Without that solid foundation of deep union with God, God will be limited in the ways He can use you. With that foundation established, great things can be done in and through you for the salvation of souls and the glory of God.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/december-4—saint-john-damascene-priest-and-doctor–optional-memorial/

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Saint Francis Xavier, Priest

Daily Saints

1506–1552; Patron Saint of foreign missions, missionaries, navigators, and parish missions; Invoked against plague epidemics; Canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622

Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta (Francis) was born into a noble family at the Castle of Xavier in the Kingdom of Navarre, the youngest of several children. His father was seneschal (administrator) to the royal court of the King of Navarre, giving him important administrative, financial, and judicial authority. In 1512, when Francis was six, the King of Aragon and regent of Castile attacked the Kingdom of Navarre, with devastating consequences for Francis’ family’s wealth and power. Three years later, Francis’ father died. At the age of nineteen, Francis moved to Paris to study philosophy and the arts. As was common at that time, he went by the name Francis Xavier, identifying himself with his place of origin, the Castle of Xavier.

Francis entered the University of Paris with secular ambitions. After being at the university for four years, Francis and his roommate, Peter Favre, welcomed a new student who was fifteen years older: Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius had moved to Paris to study theology in preparation for priestly ordination after experiencing a radical conversion. After his conversion, Ignatius began to write down his experiences in what would become one of the greatest programs of conversion ever written: The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. After becoming roommates with Peter and Francis, Ignatius worked on the two men, attempting to convert them and encouraging them to join him in a new religious society he desired to form. Peter was receptive, but Francis was not. Through Ignatius’ persistence, Francis’ heart underwent conversion, and he sensed a call to embrace the priestly ministry.

After four years of study, Francis earned a master’s degree in 1530 and began teaching at the university. Four years later, Ignatius and six companions, including Francis, embraced a common mission to consecrate themselves to God and to live as companions. On the hill of Montmartre, overlooking the city of Paris, these seven men made private vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to the Roman pontiff, with a commitment to convert the infidels in the Holy Land. Following these private vows, Francis spent the next three years studying theology before his ordination as a priest in 1537, at the age of thirty-one. Together with his companions, Ignatius drew up a formal rule of life for their new company in 1539, which was approved by Pope Paul III the following year, formally establishing the Society of Jesus, later referred to as the Jesuits, which means “Companions of Jesus.”

Central to Jesuit spirituality are Saint Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises, based on his own conversion. Francis Xavier was among the first to use the exercises to deepen his prayer life and communion with God. The exercises, along with the spiritual support and encouragement from his brothers—especially Ignatius—transformed him into one of the greatest missionaries in the history of the Church.

During his first three years as a priest, Father Francis Xavier cared for the poor and sick and deepened his prayer life, first in Venice and then in Rome. Decades earlier, Portuguese explorers had captured and colonized Goa, a city on India’s western coast. In 1540, the King of Portugal, upon hearing reports of immoral behavior among the Portuguese colonizers of Goa, petitioned the pope to send missionaries to Goa to assist. Seeing that the Society of Jesus was newly formed and young, the pope identified the Jesuits as the ideal group to send. Upon receiving the request, Father Ignatius of Loyola chose two of his first companions for the mission. When one became ill, Ignatius chose Father Francis instead, sending him to Portugal to have an audience with the king and queen. In 1541, at the age of thirty-five, after being named apostolic nuncio to the East by the pope, Father Francis and two Jesuits companions set sail to Mozambique and then to Goa, arriving on May 6, 1542.

For the next ten years, Father Francis’ missionary activity of traveling, preaching, converting, catechizing, building churches, baptizing, and miracle working were so extensive that he has since been referred to as another Saint Paul and the “Apostle to the East.” In 1904, Pope Pius X named him the patron saint of foreign missions. In addition to his ordinary missionary work of preaching, teaching, and administration of the Sacraments, stories abound about Father Francis healing the sick, calming a storm at sea, raising the dead, and preaching in tongues, a charism which enabled him to preach in his language while others heard him in their language.

Upon arriving at his first mission in Goa, Father Francis and his companions ministered to the Portuguese settlers. Though a bishop and diocesan priests were present, there was a need for preachers who would call the people to repentance. He began by tending the sick, which won the esteem of the people. He also called the children to himself by walking through town ringing a bell, inviting them to follow him to the church where he taught them about Jesus. The children, in turn, shared the faith with their family and friends. After several months, Father Francis became aware of numerous indigenous people along the southern coast and on the southern tip of India who had been baptized years earlier but were never catechized and formed in the faith. In a desire to minister to these natives, Father Francis and local priests from the seminary in Goa traveled south, teaching, offering the sacraments, and building dozens of churches with the help of the natives. Many unbaptized were converted, and thousands were baptized on that two-year mission. Though many welcomed him, others fiercely opposed him. At times, attempts were made on his life, but he persevered.

Over his decade of missionary activity, Father Francis set up missions in Malacca, in modern-day Malaysia; the Spice Islands, in modern-day Indonesia; Cochin and the coastal areas of modern-day Kerala, India; and the island of Sri Lanka. In 1548, Father Francis wrote a letter to his Jesuit brothers in Europe saying, “All the Portuguese merchants coming from Japan tell me that if I go there I shall do great service for God our Lord, more than with the pagans of India, for they are a very reasonable people.” Father Francis took their advice and set sail for Japan, arriving on August 15, 1549, at Kagoshima, making him the first foreign missionary to reach that land. He was accompanied by a Japanese convert named Anjiro (whose Christian name was Paul), a fellow Jesuit priest, and a lay brother. After spending many months learning the Japanese language and translating the Gospel into Japanese, he was able to make a considerable number of converts. Father Francis’ initial success in Japan was due to the fact that he learned and respected the local customs and culture, allowing him to more effectively share the Gospel in a way that the Japanese would embrace. Because of his foundational effort, the Catholic faith grew to number over 300,000 Japanese converts within the next sixty-five years. Saint Francis Xavier later wrote about the Japanese people: “These are the best people so far discovered, and it seems to me that among unbelievers no people can be found to excel them.” By the end of the century, however, Japanese Christians had undergone decades of severe persecution and hundreds of thousands of martyrdoms, so the Church went underground. The faith, however, was passed on from generation to generation, emerging once again in the public eye in the mid-nineteenth century.

In 1552, Father Francis received an invitation to travel to China to bring the Gospel to that land for the first time. During the journey, he fell ill and died on the island of Shangchuan, just off the coast of mainland China, at the age of forty-six.

Within ten years of intense missionary work, it is estimated that Saint Francis Xavier traveled about 38,000 miles on land and sea, being the first to bring the Gospel to many parts of Asia, baptizing about 30,000 souls. Though he wrote extensively to those he left behind in Europe, he never returned; once he left his family at the age of nineteen, he never saw them again. His life was a true sacrifice. His body was eventually brought back to Goa where it is buried and venerated today. In honor of his numerous baptisms, his arm was removed from his body in 1614 and is venerated at the Gesù, the Jesuit church in Rome.

Saint Francis Xavier was truly another Saint Paul to the Asian peoples. His constant traveling and founding of mission churches planted the seeds of faith deep in the soil he traversed. Though persecution stifled Catholicism’s later growth in Japan, that stifling ultimately deepened the resolve and faith of those persecuted. As we honor this great apostle of Christ, ponder all that he accomplished in ten short years. As you do, consider the next ten years of your own life, and rededicate yourself to the mission Christ has for you.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/december-3—saint-francis-xavier-priest–memorial/

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Saint Chromatius of Aquileia

Daily Saints

Profile

Chromatius’ father died when the boy was an infant, and he was raised by his mother and large family of older siblings. He was ordained in c.387. He attended the Synod of Aquileia, and worked for the strong denunciation of Arianism that resulted from the synod. He became the bishop of Aquileia in 388.

Chromatius worked for peace with invading troops led by Alaric, and provided aid to those who suffered by being in his path. He was an active correspondent with Saint Ambrose of Milan. He was a friend of Saint Jerome, who dedicated several works to him. He was influential in the translation of early Christian works into Latin for wider use. He financed Saint Jerome‘s translation of the Bible, and Rufinus’ translation of Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History. He wrote several respected scripture commentaries, seventeen of which survive. He was a friend of Saint John Chrysostom, supporting him and writing on his behalf against the unjust accusations of Emperor Arcadius.

Born

4th century at Aquileia, Italy

Died

2 December 407 in Italy of natural causes

Canonized

Pre-Congregation

Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-chromatius-of-aquileia/

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Saint Edmund Campion

Daily Saints

Profile

Edmund was a son of a Catholic bookseller named Edmund whose family converted to Anglicanism. The boy planned to enter his father‘s trade, but earned a scholarship to Saint John’s College, Oxford under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth I‘s court favorite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. He was a sought after speaker. Queen Elizabeth offered him a deaconate in the Church of England. He declined the offer, fled to the continent, and joined the Jesuits. He was ordained in 1578.

He spent some time working in Bohemia, then returned to London, England as part of a Jesuit mission, crossing the Channel disguised as a jewel merchant. Edmund worked with Jesuit brother Saint Nicholas Owen. In London, he wrote a description of his new mission in which he explained his work was religious, not political; it became known as Campion’s Brag. Widely distributed, it encouraged many Catholics to remain loyal to their faith. It also led to Edmund’s arrest, imprisonment and torture in the Tower of London, and martyrdom.

Born

24 January 1540 at London, England

Died

hanged, drawn, and quartered on 1 December 1581 at Tyburn, London, England
parts of his body were displayed at each of the four city gates as a warning to other Catholics
relics at Rome, Prague, London, Oxford, Stonyhurst, and Roehampton

Beatified

9 December 1886 by Pope Leo XIII

Canonized

May 1970 by Pope Paul VI
one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales

Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-edmund-campion/

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Saint Andrew the Apostle

Daily Saints

c. 5–10–c. 60–80; Patron Saint of boatmen, butchers, farm workers, fish dealers, fishermen, happy marriages, maidens, miners, paralytics, pregnant women, ropemakers, sailmakers, sailors, singers, spinsters, textile workers, water carriers, and women who wish to become mothers; Invoked against cramps, convulsions, dysentery, fever, gout, neck pain, paralysis, sore throats, and whooping cough; Pre-Congregation canonization

Saint Andrew, one of the Twelve Apostles, was most likely born in Bethsaida, just north of the Sea of Galilee, in what is today the Golan Heights. As a young man, he and his brother, Peter, worked as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. John’s Gospel reveals that Andrew was a disciple of Saint John the Baptist prior to his encounter with Jesus. This shows that Andrew was searching and took his faith seriously. As is recorded in John 1:35–42, Andrew and another disciple were listening to John preach in the desert. As they listened to him, the Baptist saw Jesus in the distance and prophetically exclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” After Andrew and the other disciple inquired of Jesus where He was staying, Jesus invited them to follow Him by saying, “Come, and you will see.” They then spent the rest of the day with Jesus. Andrew is, therefore, the first of the Apostles to be called and to respond to that call. For that reason, the Greek Church calls Andrew the “Protokletos,” meaning, “the first called.”

Shortly after this encounter, Andrew becomes an apostle to his brother, Simon Peter. He tells Simon, “We have found the Messiah.” This statement says much about Andrew’s interior spiritual sensibilities. First, he clearly understood that John the Baptist’s ministry was special. Andrew followed John the Baptist, discerning that he was a prophet. When John points Andrew to Jesus, Andrew immediately follows Him, engages Him, and believes in Him. It’s clearly an act of supernatural revelation that enabled Andrew to profess his faith in Jesus as the Messiah within a day of meeting Him. And the fact that he wanted his brother to share in this discovery shows that this grace was overflowing.

The Gospels of Matthew and Mark present Jesus’ first encounter with Andrew and Peter a bit differently, although those passages are not contradictory. “As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Then they abandoned their nets and followed him” (Mark 1:16–18). It’s possible that after Andrew’s and Peter’s first encounters with Jesus, they allowed their discovery of the Messiah to sprout within their hearts, continued their work as fishermen, and awaited Jesus’ definitive call. In this passage, Jesus gives that definitive call, and the brothers do not hesitate to abandon their trade to become His full-time disciples.

Peter and Andrew appear to have been living in Capernaum at that time, a small fishing village on the north end of the Sea of Galilee. “On leaving the synagogue he entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John” (Mark 1:29). Upon entering the house of Simon and Andrew, Jesus cured Simon’s mother-in-law of a fever. That house in Capernaum then became a base of operation for Jesus’ ministry throughout Galilee.

In Mark 13:3–4, Andrew is among the Apostles who privately asked what Jesus meant when He predicted the destruction of the Temple. Jesus answered by giving a discourse about coming persecutions and the end of time. John Chapter 6 begins with Jesus going up a mountain north of the Sea of Galilee with a large crowd following. He asks Philip where they can get enough food for everyone. Philip responds, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little [bit]” (John 6:7). Andrew, however, responds with a spark of faith, stating, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” (John 6:9). It appears that this little faith, which flows with a small amount of hope that the five barley loaves and two fish might be of use, is enough for Jesus to perform the miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes.

In John 12:20–22, Andrew and Philip mediate a request from the Greeks to Jesus. The Greeks wanted to see Jesus, so Philip and Andrew—who probably knew Greek—were the ones to present this request to the Lord. This is a prefiguration of their role in mediating the Word of God to the world, including the Gentiles. Andrew’s familiarity with the Greek language and culture is also evidenced by the fact that his name is of Greek origin, not Hebrew.

Other than these passages, Andrew is only mentioned a few other times in the New Testament, including in the listing of the Apostles (Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14). The Acts of the Apostles relates that Andrew was among those who, after Jesus’ Ascension, went into Jerusalem, entered an upper room in a home, and “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers” (Acts 1:14). Andrew was then involved with picking Matthias as Judas’ replacement and was present in that same upper room during Pentecost. Peter’s activity after Pentecost is well documented in Acts, and it can be presumed that his brother Andrew was also active.

Though Andrew’s missionary work after Pentecost is not recorded in the New Testament, later traditions emerged from the late second or early third century. According to those traditions, Andrew traveled to Scythia, a region that today makes up part of Ukraine, southern Russia, and parts of Kazakhstan. He is also believed to have founded the Church in Byzantium, which became known as Constantinople when Emperor Constantine made it the capital of the Roman Empire. Today it is the city of Istanbul, Turkey. Byzantium-Constantinople became the central Church for the East, the Greeks. Many have seen it as significant that Peter founded the Church of Rome in the West, and his brother founded the Church in the East, revealing the unity of East and West. In addition to other legends that Andrew preached in Asia Minor and the Black Sea region, his life is said to have ended in the city of Patras, Greece, where he was crucified on an X-shaped cross. Peter is believed to have requested to be crucified upside-down because he did not deem himself worthy of dying on a cross like Jesus. Andrew is said to have requested the X-shaped cross for the same reason.

According to that tradition, which comes to us in a second-century document called Acts of Andrew, Proconsul Ægeates was visiting the city of Patras, where Andrew was preaching. Ægeates sought to put an end to the new Christian religion and to convince Christians to honor the Roman gods and offer sacrifice to them. When Andrew heard of this, he ran to meet Ægeates, telling him that the Son of God “came on account of the salvation of men.” Of the Roman gods he said, “…these idols are not only not gods, but also most shameful demons, and hostile to the human race…” Ægeates was outraged but carried out a long dialogue in which he inquired about Jesus’ death on the Cross, suggesting that Jesus’ death was foolish and was because of Jesus’ false doctrine. Andrew, however, proclaimed to him the true mystery of the Cross in which Christ embraced it freely so that He could win the salvation of those who would believe in Him. By the end of their conversation, Ægeates ordered Andrew’s crucifixion. Saint Andrew did not see Christ’s Cross as an instrument of torture and death but as a glorious means of eternal salvation. He saw his own suffering and death as a sharing not only in Christ’s sufferings but also in Christ’s redemption. Thus, he ran to that cross and embraced it wholeheartedly.

As we honor this Apostle of Christ, ponder not only the legends about his final days but especially his initial conversion. Like Saint Andrew, we must always be searching, as he was searching when he followed John the Baptist. Like Saint Andrew, we must also recognize Christ as the Messiah every time He comes to us by grace. Our response to Him must be immediate and wholehearted, ready to go wherever He leads.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/november-30–st-andrew-apostle/

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Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and his Companions, Martyrs

Daily Saints

Seventeenth–Nineteenth Centuries; Patron Saints of Vietnam; Canonized by Pope John Paul II June 19, 1988

From the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, an estimated 130,000 to 300,000 men, women, and children; bishops, priests, and religious suffered martyrdom in Vietnam because they refused to renounce their Catholic faith. They were arrested, brutally tortured, and killed. Their torture was methodical, diabolical, and orchestrated to impose the maximum pain over the longest period of time possible. To escape that fate, all those arrested had to do was renounce their faith, step on a crucifix, or blaspheme Christ. If they did, they were granted kindnesses by the imperial courts. If they didn’t, their suffering grew more intense until they died.

In March of 1533, some records show that a European missionary named I-nê-khu (Ignatius—possibly a priest) began to preach the Gospel in Nam Định, northern Vietnam. In 1550, a Dominican priest is believed to have arrived in southern Vietnam, and between 1615 and 1627, Jesuits arrived. Among these early Jesuits, Fathers Alexander de Rhodes and Antoine Marquez, from Avignon, France, made the biggest impact by initiating the first formal program of evangelization. They arrived in 1627, and by 1630 they reported 6,000 converts. Though they were expelled from Vietnam twice, they completed a Romanized version of the Vietnamese alphabet and published a catechism and other liturgical books in Vietnam that enabled them and subsequent missionaries to communicate the faith in the local language. By 1660, there were an estimated 100,000 converts to Catholicism. Their success was attributed to their method of forming lay catechists who, in turn, spread the faith to their fellow citizens.

As the faith grew rapidly, suspicion arose among the feudal lords and others in the governing party. Christianity challenged practices in Buddhism, Confucianism, and ancestor worship, which were all central parts of Vietnamese culture. As the missionaries grew in popularity, there were also growing concerns that the Europeans might seek to colonize Vietnam. As fear and anger within the feudal lords and their ruling party began to reach critical levels, persecutions began. Actual records of all martyrs are lost to history. Andrew of Phú Yên, a nineteen-year-old Vietnamese catechist, is believed to have been the first martyr. In 1644, the local Mandarin ruler received orders from the feudal lord that he should expel the Jesuits and do what was necessary to stop the spread of “foolish opinions” of the Catholic faith. Andrew of Phú Yên was arrested at the home of Father de Rhodes and told to renounce his faith. He wouldn’t do so. He was beaten but exuded joy. He was then sentenced to death by hanging. Though his name was not included in the 1988 canonization, Andrew of Phú Yên was beatified in March 2000 and honored as the protomartyr of Vietnam.

Between 1659–1802, the Church in Vietnam began to be organized. In 1658, the Paris Foreign Missions Society was established, and two bishops were sent to form two dioceses. Shortly afterward, seven Vietnamese catechists were ordained priests, a women’s religious order was established, parishes were built, and the first Synod in Vietnam was held in 1670. Over the next seventy years, the Church in Vietnam continued to flourish with only minor persecutions and martyrdoms.

In 1742, Pope Benedict XIV issued an apostolic constitution which banned the ancestral worship and Confucian rites within the newly budding Asian churches of China, Japan, and Vietnam. This new restriction brought with it a serious wave of persecution in Vietnam. The imperial court saw this as an attack upon Vietnamese culture and society as a whole, since these Confucian rites were such an integral part of their national identity. Over the next sixty years, at least 30,000 Vietnamese Catholics were martyred as a way of trying to stop Catholicism’s growth. By 1802, there were three dioceses in Vietnam and approximately 320,000 Catholics.

In 1802, Emperor Gia Long unified north and south Vietnam and granted religious freedom to Christians. This was due, in large part, because Bishop Pigneau de Béhaine supported him in his ascension to the throne. However, his successor, Minh Mạng resumed the persecution of Christians in 1825. Though he sent a delegation to France to resolve the dispute and force the withdrawal of the missionaries, the French authorities ignored him. The next two emperors, Thiệu Trị and Tự Đức, increased persecutions. In 1868, Emperor Tự Đức issued a severe decree in which he divided his population into “good citizens—those who embraced traditional Vietnamese practices and religions” and “bad citizens—those who follow Christianity.” From 1820–1883, at least 100,000 Vietnamese Christians were martyred.

Within this period of persecution, a boy named Trần An Dũng was born into a poor non-Christian family. When he was twelve, his family moved to Hanoi to find work. In Hanoi, Trần met a Vietnamese catechist from whom he received shelter, food, and an education in the Catholic faith. Within a few years he was baptized, took the Christian name Andrew, and became a catechist. He was then chosen to study theology and was ordained a priest on March 18, 1823, at the age of twenty-eight. His priestly ministry led many to Christ. He fasted and lived a simple and morally upright life.

In 1835, Father Andrew was arrested but was ransomed by his parishioners using donations from the French Missionary Society. He then changed his last name to Lạc and moved to another territory to escape persecution. In 1839, however, he was arrested again, along with Fr. Peter Thi, whom Father Andrew was visiting so he could go to confession. They were both ransomed but arrested shortly afterward. This third time, they were brutally tortured, refused to renounce their faith, and so were beheaded in Hanoi on December 21, 1839. Father Andrew Trần Dũng-Lạc’s name is uniquely attached to this memorial as a representative of all Vietnamese martyrs, the 117 that are named, and the countless others who are unnamed and unknown.

In 1874, the French entered into the Treaty of Saigon, giving them control over southern Vietnam. In 1884, the Treaty of Huế was signed, which effectively reduced the Vietnamese emperor to a ceremonial role in the nation, with France taking control of the internal administration, military, and foreign policy. Though many citizens in Vietnam revolted against these treaties, French rule provided a safer environment for Catholics and missionaries, putting an end to the edicts of the previous century and the state-sponsored persecutions. Though some persecutions continued, they were more localized, rather than the result of imperial acts. Often, the Catholics were associated with the French colonizers, given that some of the missionaries were French, so rebellion against colonialism was sometimes taken out upon Catholics.

In addition to the 130,000 to 300,000 who suffered martyrdom between 1630–1886, countless others suffered as “confessors,” meaning, they suffered for the faith in ways that did not result in martyrdom. Many had to flee from their homes and villages, hide in the forests and mountains, or suffer exile to other countries, living in constant fear for their lives. Others had the words “ta dao,” meaning, “false religion,” written on their faces. Homes and property were confiscated, and whole villages were destroyed.

The French left Vietnam in 1954 after the defeat of French forces at Dien Bien Phu. A communist regime took control of the north, while a republic was formed in the south. As a result, there were mass migrations of Catholics to the south to avoid communist persecutions. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975 with the fall of Saigon, communism encompassed both north and south. Properties were confiscated, religious activity was restricted, priests and religious were imprisoned, and the government discriminated against lay Catholics.

Today’s memorial honors 117 martyrs who were initially beatified in separate groups: sixty-four in 1900, eight in 1906, twenty in 1909, and twenty-five in 1951. In 1988, Pope John Paul II canonized all these martyrs together, symbolizing the countless unnamed individuals who also gave their lives for their faith. Though the communist government of Vietnam failed to send delegates to the canonization of these holy martyrs, many thousands of exiled Vietnamese showed up in Saint Peter’s Square, and the very act of canonization resounded through the hearts and minds of the faithful within Vietnam. The group of 117 was made up of ninety-six Vietnamese, eleven Spaniards, and ten French. It includes eight bishops, fifty priests, and fifty-nine laypeople. Among the laypeople was a nine-year-old child, Saint Agnese Le Thi Thành.

As we honor this huge cloud of witnesses who gave their lives for their faith in a harsh and cruel environment, enduring some of the worst tortures ever committed in the history of the world, we are reminded that no matter how difficult life is, no matter how much we must endure, it is all worth it in the end. One of the martyrs who died in these persecutions was Father Jean-Théophane Vénard. He first became known through the writings of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux who had a deep devotion to him and was greatly inspired by his letters which were circulating at the time she was in the convent. Let’s conclude with a quote from Saint Théophane that Saint Thérèse copied and treasured: “I can find nothing on earth that can make me truly happy; the desires of my heart are too vast, and nothing of what the world calls happiness can satisfy it. Time for me will soon be no more, my thoughts are fixed on Eternity. My heart is full of peace, like a tranquil lake or a cloudless sky. I do not regret this life on earth. I thirst for the waters of Life Eternal.”

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/november-24—saint-andrew-dung-lac-and-his-companions-martyrs–memorial/

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Thanksgiving Day

Daily Saints

Fourth Thursday in November

Thanksgiving is not only an American holiday, it is also celebrated as an optional liturgical memorial within the Catholic Church in the United States. Similar Church celebrations take place in many countries at different times according to local history and customs. Thanksgiving Day in the United States takes its roots from a feast of thanksgiving for the harvest that the English Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe shared at Plymouth in 1621. The governor appointed a day for public praise and prayer after the first harvest; legend holds that about ninety members of the Wampanoag tribe arrived unannounced and joined the fifty or so English settlers in a meal that lasted days and included provisions from both sides, such as fowl, fish, shellfish, stews, and vegetables. This first Thanksgiving led to a peace for more than fifty years.

In 1789 (the first year of the government under the Constitution), at the request of President Washington, Congress established a national thanksgiving observance on Thursday, November 26, “as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.” The Congressional exhortation encouraged the people to “beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.”

In 1817, New York State officially initiated an annual Thanksgiving holiday, and, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln—soon after he had dedicated the cemetery at Gettysburg—issued a Thanksgiving proclamation in which he urged all citizens:

…to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving… And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him …, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

Prior to this national institution of Thanksgiving, there is an earlier Catholic history of an “established” thanksgiving that took place in what is today Saint Augustine, Florida, with its seeds planted by the earliest Catholic explorers.

Exploration of what is today the United States of America began in 1492 with the arrival of Christopher Columbus, a Catholic. Columbus, however, never stepped foot on the mainland of what is today the United States. Instead, he discovered the Caribbean islands. In subsequent voyages, he discovered more Caribbean islands, Trinidad, and South and Central America.

In 1508, Juan Ponce de León established a settlement in what is today Puerto Rico. In 1513, de León and a small crew became the first recorded Catholics to step foot on what is today mainland United States. They landed near the modern-day city of Saint Augustine and then sailed by the Florida Keys before returning to Puerto Rico. He named the land Florida after the Spanish term “pascua florida,” meaning, “flowery festival,” because of the luscious and blooming flowers. With permission from the Spanish crown to colonize Florida, de León returned in 1521, but that trip was brief, possibly only a few weeks, because the natives attacked his party and fatally shot de León with an arrow.

In 1526 and 1539, other Spanish Catholic explorers arrived by sea and attempted to settle in what is now the mainland United States, without lasting success. In 1540, Francisco Vázquez de Coronado led an expedition from Mexico to the American Southwest and the Great Plains, including parts of modern-day Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. He was searching for a fabled city of gold, which he did not find. Spanish Franciscan Father Juan de Padilla traveled with him and became the first martyr in North America from the arrows of the Kansas tribe.

In 1565, Spanish explorer Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés arrived in Florida and founded the first European settlement that remains today. On that ship was Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales, the chaplain of the Spanish expedition. According to Father Francisco’s memoirs, they arrived at the coast of Florida on August 28, 1565, the feast of Saint Augustine of Hippo. Don Pedro named the landing spot after Saint Augustine in thanksgiving.

On September 8, 1565, the settlers—led by Don Pedro—disembarked and erected a cross, formally claiming the territory for both Spain and the Catholic Church. Following this, Father Francisco celebrated the first documented Mass on what is now U.S. soil. This Mass was on the Memorial of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and expressed gratitude to God for the safe journey of the 800 sailors, soldiers, and settlers. The congregation also prayed for divine guidance for their future endeavors.

Although previous explorers likely celebrated Mass privately among themselves, this particular Mass stood out because it attracted the local indigenous people. A celebratory meal followed the Mass, featuring salted pork, Spanish red wine, garbanzo beans, bread, Caribbean yucca, and other available foods. The native Timucua tribe joined the explorers for this inaugural Thanksgiving feast, making it the first known shared meal between Europeans and native people, more than fifty years before the Plymouth feast. Shortly afterward, Father Francisco founded the first Catholic mission in the mainland United States—Mission Nombre de Dios.

This story presents Catholics with the ideal way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. The word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving.” The Mass is, first and foremost, an act of thanksgiving on our part because the gift contained within the Mass, the one and eternal Sacrifice of Christ for the salvation of souls, must evoke within us nothing but gratitude for this unmerited gift. Our gratitude to God for the gift of His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity must then lead us to unity and fraternal charity and celebration. These first Catholics not only celebrated together, they also invited the natives whom they encountered. In truth, it might have been the grace of that first Mass that God used to draw the natives to a peaceful encounter with the settlers. The Mass must unite us and must be the source of all we do and all we are, both individually and collectively.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, try to attend Mass as the first act of your day. If you are unable to do so, take time for prayerful reflection as an opportunity to give thanks to God for His countless blessings, and then invite Him to walk with you in life to all that lies ahead, so that your life becomes an invitation to others to feast at the table of our Lord.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/thanksgiving—usa-optional-memorial/

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Saint Columban (Columbanus), Abbot

Daily Saints

543–615; Patron Saint of motorcyclists; Invoked against floods; Pre-Congregation canonization

Columban (commonly called Columbanus in Latin) was born in the Kingdom of Leinster, on the southeast coast of Ireland, a century after Saint Patrick brought the Catholic faith to the island. Writing shortly after Columban’s death, his first biographer and fellow monk, Jonas, states that when Columban’s mother was pregnant with him, she had a dream of the sun rising from her womb. She later interpreted her dream to mean that her child would be a man of incredible genius, shining the light of faith upon the people of God whom he would serve. Because of this dream, Columban’s mother took great care in raising her son, protecting him from every evil influence. He was tutored at home, studying the liberal arts and excelling in his pursuit of knowledge.

As Columban grew, he became acutely aware of worldly temptations, especially those of the flesh, and guarded himself carefully from all sin through his prayer and Scripture study. After being counseled in this area by an old and wise woman, Columban decided to heed her warnings and enter a monastery. His mother was deeply distressed by his decision and tried to stop him, even lying across the threshold of their home. Columban courageously stepped over her, exhorted her to trust in God, and informed her that though she would never see him again in this life, he would obey the will of God and go wherever God led him.

He first traveled north to Cleenish Island (Cluain Inis, in modern-day Northern Ireland) where he studied Scripture under the saintly Abbot Sinell. Around the age of twenty, Columban traveled about 100 miles east to the coast of Ireland and entered the monastery in Bangor, becoming a monk under Abbot Comgall, another saintly man. In Bangor, Columban embraced a life of study, deep prayer, and severe asceticism, in accord with the ideals of Irish monasticism at that time. He was ordained a priest and spent thirty years at the monastery, preparing himself for what would become his second vocation.

At the age of fifty, Father Columban sensed God calling him to leave his homeland and become a pilgrim and missionary for Christ, a peregrinatio pro Christo. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the late fifth century and the subsequent invasion of those lands by pagan barbarian tribes from the north and east, the Church in what would become modern-day Europe was struggling. Monasteries and the clergy were in need of reform, political instability was common as new rulers vied for power, theological disputes from heretics lingered, and pagan practices were reintroduced as invaders moved in. Since the Church in Ireland had been isolated from the rest of the Roman Church, it instead enjoyed relative stability. Father Columban desired to extend that stability to the people of Europe.

After Abbot Comgall reluctantly agreed to Father Columban’s request, Father Columban and twelve other monks set sail for Gaul, modern-day France. They first crossed the Irish Sea to England, and from Cromwell crossed the English Channel, landing in Saint-Malo, France. The king of that region was Good King Gontrand, as Saint Gregory of Tours called him. King Gontrand had lived a sinful life of fleshly indulgence as a young man, but remorse led him to a radical conversion. Afterward, he was known as a holy man who cared for all of his subjects as a father. His penitential life drew him into deep union with God, and miracles were attributed to him during and after his life. After death, by popular acclaim, he was declared a saint.

The arrival of Father Columban and his companions delighted King Gontrand, as he found in them a depth of fervor that was lacking within his kingdom. He gifted them an ancient Roman fortress in Annegray for their first monastery, near the border of modern-day northern Switzerland and southern Germany. Though the fortress was in ruins, the monks restored it and turned it into a school. The school grew so rapidly that the monks had to expand to a nearby property in Luxeuil. Soon after, they expanded to another location in Fontaine, about an hour’s walk to the north.

Given the fact that the Frankish Church in which he established his first monasteries was struggling, the people were immediately drawn to Father Columban and his fellow monks. In them, they discovered men who were faith-filled, ascetical, wise, and pastoral. Lives were changing, and this caught the attention of the local bishops. The envious bishops began to find fault with these Irish monks, criticizing them for introducing Irish traditions that were contrary to the Roman ones. The Irish monks celebrated Easter on a different day, following the Eastern tradition. They also used the Celtic tonsure, in which the front half of the monk’s hair was shaved, in opposition to the Roman tonsure, in which the head was shaved in a circle on top of the head, representing the crown of thorns. The bishops deposed Father Columban, demanding that he appear before them at a local council. Instead, Father Columban wrote them a letter, encouraging them to focus on more important issues facing the local church. Father Columban wrote to Pope Gregory the Great, asking him to intervene, but the Holy Father died about the time his letter was received. He attempted the same with Pope Boniface IV, but it is unclear if he received a response. Eventually, it appears the monks embraced the local culture.

During the remainder of his years in Luxeuil, Father Columban wrote a foundational monastic rule called the Regula Monachorum. This “Rule for the Monk” was an important document that articulated the daily life of monasticism, including the monk’s prayer, communal life, obedience, manual labor, and strict austerity and asceticism, which was far stricter than the Rule of Saint Benedict that eventually won out as the normative rule for monks in the West. Father Columban also wrote a supplement to the rule, a guide for Confession which emphasized the importance of imposing a penance that was proportional to the sin, and a collection of instructions that gave practical advice on morality, humility, charity, and love of God. He also left behind a number of sermons, letters, poetry and hymns.

Being a man of great faith and courage, Father Columban openly chastised King Theuderic II, a successor to Good King Gontrand, who was living in an adulterous relationship. This led to Father Columban’s exile, along with the remainder of the Irish monks, leaving only those from Gaul (France) who had joined them after their arrival. After being forced onto a boat that was to sail to Ireland, the boat was driven off course by a storm and returned to the French mainland. The captain saw it as a sign from Heaven and parted ways. Father Columban then spent the next few years traveling with his monks across France, Switzerland, and southern Germany, eventually settling in northern Italy where they built the famous Bobbio Abbey, where Father Columban died a few years later.

Saint Columban spent the first half of his life being formed in Irish monasticism. When the appointed time came, God sent him and his fellow monks to help restore the faith to the troubled parts of Europe. After his death, the few monasteries he founded expanded to over 200 new foundations. He is remembered for his zeal, his miracles, his authority over animals who listened to his commands, his rigorous monastic rule, and his pastoral guide on the celebration of the Sacrament of Confession and the imposition of appropriate penances. Though his courage and boldness led to persecution and discord, that discord resulted in changes within a broken Church.

As we honor this holy monk, ponder the fact that it is never too late to do great things for God. Saint Columban began his missionary journey at the age of fifty and continued to forge new paths for the Gospel until the time of his death in his early seventies. In imitation of him, renew your commitment to the proclamation of the Gospel and the apostolate to which God is calling you. Age, wisdom, and experience are all tools God can use, just as He did with Saint Columban.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/november-23—saint-columban-religious–optional-memorial/

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Saint Clement I, Pope and Martyr

Daily Saints

c. 35–c. 99; Patron Saint of sailors, mariners, sick children, and stonecutters; Pre-Congregation canonization

Saint Peter, the first pope, was martyred around the year 64. After him, Saint Linus became pope and died around 76. He was succeeded by Saint Cletus (Anacletus), who was martyred around 88 or 92. Today’s saint, Pope Saint Clement I, succeeded Saint Cletus, making him the fourth pope. This early papal succession is clearly presented in the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I), in which the saints are listed. The first listing of the saints begins with “…the glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ, and blessed Joseph, her Spouse, your blessed Apostles and Martyrs…” Then, the Apostles are listed, including Saint Paul, followed by the first three popes who succeeded Saint Peter: “Linus, Cletus, Clement…”

Saint Peter arrived in Rome following a persecution, leading to the establishment of the papacy in the city of Rome. Around 44, James the Apostle, son of Zebedee, was beheaded by Herod Agrippa in Jerusalem. Shortly afterward, Saint Peter was arrested but was miraculously released from prison with the assistance of an angel. After Peter gained his freedom, the Acts of the Apostles states, “…he left and went to another place” (Acts 12:17). Although Peter might have traveled to various places, Saint Paul writes that he met Peter in Antioch (Galatians 2:11). Thus, it is believed that Peter first established himself as the Bishop of Antioch before traveling to Rome. After appointing a successor in Antioch, and possibly Corinth, Peter is generally believed to have traveled to Rome around the year 54 or 55. While in Rome, he led the Church and wrote two letters. The early Church theologian Tertullian (c. 155–c. 220) wrote about the importance of apostolic succession and stated that Saint Clement, whom we honor today, was “ordained in like manner by Peter.” Therefore, Clement not only knew Saint Peter but was also ordained by him, either as a priest or a bishop.

Little is known about Pope Saint Clement’s early years. However, his pontificate greatly enriched the Church, not only through his martyrdom but also through a letter he left behind, addressed to the nascent Church in Corinth. Saint Clement is one of three early Church Fathers who hold the title “Apostolic Father,” alongside Saint Ignatius of Antioch and Saint Polycarp of Smyrna. The Apostolic Fathers are those who personally knew the Apostles and received the Gospel from them, becoming the first heirs and successors to the Apostles. Regarding Pope Saint Clement, Saint Irenaeus (c. 130–c. 202) wrote, “This man, as he had seen the blessed apostles and had been conversant with them, might be said to have the preaching of the apostles still echoing [in his ears], and their traditions before his eyes.”

Pope Saint Clement’s lengthy and heartfelt letter to the Church in Corinth addressed the community’s internal conflict and division. The Corinthians sought guidance from Pope Clement, who was delayed in responding, likely due to the persecution in Rome under the policies of Emperor Domitian. In his letter, Pope Clement begins by saying, “Owing, dear brethren, to the sudden and successive calamitous events which have happened to ourselves, we feel that we have been somewhat tardy in turning our attention to the points respecting which you consulted us…” With the death of Emperor Domitian in 96 and a temporary pause in persecution, Pope Clement was able to address the issues facing the Church in Corinth.

Pope Clement’s letter from Rome to the Corinthians serves as one of the earliest indications that the young Church recognized the authority residing in the See of Rome, initially occupied by Peter. His letter is both doctrinal and pastoral, and it was often read and revered in the early Church alongside the canonical Gospels and letters in the New Testament, although it is not included in the New Testament. To continue quoting Saint Irenaeus concerning Clement’s letter to the Corinthians, he wrote, “In the time of this Clement, no small dissension having occurred among the brethren at Corinth, the Church in Rome dispatched a most powerful letter to the Corinthians, exhorting them to peace, renewing their faith, and declaring the tradition it had recently received from the apostles…”

In addition to addressing the divisions, Pope Clement articulates the hierarchical structure of the Church, noting that the Father sent the Son, the Son sent the Apostles, and the Apostles sent their successors, and so forth. This sacramental structure proceeds from the Father in Heaven in an ordered manner through ordination.

At the beginning of the year 98, Trajan became emperor and was mostly mild in his approach to Christians, although he was not hesitant to execute or exile them if they refused to renounce their faith and honor the Roman gods. According to a fourth-century legend, Pope Clement was arrested by Emperor Trajan and exiled to the Tauric Chersonese (modern-day Crimea), where he was forced to work in a stone quarry. There, his co-prisoners, some of whom were also Christians, were starving and dehydrated. Pope Clement saw a lamb appear and, believing it a sign from Heaven, struck the ground with his ax, causing a spring of water to gush forth. This led to the conversion of many other prisoners. When this news reached the emperor, he was outraged at Pope Clement’s popularity and ordered his execution. An anchor was tied around Clement’s neck, and he was thrown into the Black Sea. The legend continues that in the mid- to late-ninth century, the brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius miraculously found his body and brought it to Rome, where it is now buried in the Church of Saint Clement.

Pope Saint Clement is among the many men and women who helped the early Church to grow and prosper. His unique role as a successor made him one of the few who became that “rock” upon which Jesus built His Church. The Church continues to grow and prosper today, thanks to the unique role of the pope and his ongoing authority to hold the “keys to the Kingdom of Heaven” to bind and loose in accord with God’s wisdom and will. Though a successor to Saint Peter might err in his personal life or in prudential decisions, when speaking definitively from the Chair of Peter, the pope will never mislead the Church, and the rock foundation will never crumble.

As we honor this early pope, pray for our current pope. Pray for his wisdom, openness to the Holy Spirit, and holiness of life. The Church throughout the world prays for the pope every day for a reason. The pope needs our prayers and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Add your prayers to the many so that our Holy Father, the successor of Saints Peter, Linus, Cletus, and Clement, will shepherd the Church with both the mind and heart of Christ Himself.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/november-23—saint-clement-i-pope-and-martyr—optional-memorial/

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Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr

Daily Saints

c. 287–c. 305; Patron Saint of apologists, apprentice milliners and seamstresses, archivists, attorneys, barbers, potters, spinners, the dying, educators, girls, jurists, knife sharpeners, librarians, maidens, mechanics, millers, nurses, old maids, philosophers, preachers, scholars, schoolchildren, scribes, secretaries, tanners, teachers, theologians, and unmarried girls; Pre-Congregation canonization

In 331 BC, the Macedonian king, Alexander the Great, founded what would become one of the most important cities in North Africa—Alexandria, Egypt. By the time that Alexandria came under the control of the newly formed Roman Empire in 30 BC, it was a flourishing city of great culture, learning, religious diversity, trade, and influence. In the third century, Alexandria emerged as one of five major patriarchates in early Christendom. The others were Rome, Antioch, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. Alexandria was a center for Christian scholarship, liturgical development, and theological discourse. It was in this important city that an extraordinary noble girl was born, Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Saint Catherine’s life comes to us from legendary sources, of which the historicity is questionable. Because legends about her have inspired the faithful for many centuries, we will ponder those stories.

As a member of a noble family, Catherine received an excellent education and became well versed in literature, poetry, rhetoric, philosophy, music, mathematics, and medicine. Catherine was also of exceptional physical beauty and high moral virtue. Her beauty—coupled with her virtues, noble status, and intelligence—made her an ideal bride. Though many noblemen proposed to her, she rejected them all, since none of them surpassed her moral virtues and intelligence. Unable to find a suitable mate, she sensed within her soul that she was called to something greater.

One day, Catherine’s mother, who was secretly a Christian, introduced her to a holy Christian monk. This monk, in turn, introduced her to her future husband, her Lord Jesus Christ, the future Bridegroom of her soul. In Him, she discovered a man of the greatest wisdom and beauty, whose moral character was unmatched and whose nobility was above all. After speaking about Jesus in detail, the monk gave Catherine an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding her young Son.

That night, Catherine had a dream in which she beheld the Blessed Mother holding her Son. Catherine tried to see the face of the Child, but He kept turning away. She realized that it was because she was not yet baptized that the Christ Child could not bear to look upon her. Her beauty, intelligence, and nobility meant nothing to Him if she were not cleansed by the waters of that holy sacrament. Soon after, she returned to the monk who had catechized her, and she received baptism.

After Catherine’s baptism, the holy monk encouraged her to beseech the Blessed Virgin Mary. She spent all night doing so and fell asleep while praying. In her dream, the Blessed Mother appeared to her with her Child who took great delight in Catherine and chose her as His bride, giving her a ring, and calling her to embrace earthly virginity. When she awoke, the ring was still on her finger.

A few years later, when Catherine was in her late teens, Emperor Maximinus decreed that all citizens had to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods in the temple. Catherine showed up during the sacrifices and was immediately noticed for her beauty and disposition. She sent word to the emperor that she had vital information for him. Once in the emperor’s presence, Catherine chastised him for his heathen practices and for his decree requiring worship of the false gods. The emperor was not only stunned at her beauty and character, he was also struck by the depth of her wisdom and elegant speech.

The emperor was so impressed that he knew her wisdom needed a response in order to justify his continued persecution of Christians. He then gathered fifty of the wisest men from across the empire to debate Catherine and prove her error. Just the opposite happened. Catherine’s wisdom was so great that she prevailed and won over many of the wise men. She cited the best Greek philosophers to prove her points and to support the truth that Jesus was the Savior and that the Trinity was the One God. Many of the wise men converted, and, as a result, the emperor had them killed.

The emperor then took another approach. He tried to seduce Catherine, offering her half of his kingdom and a place within the royal palace. She refused. The emperor then had her scourged until her blood covered the ground, and he imprisoned her.

While Catherine was in prison, the emperor’s wife became intrigued with her. When the emperor was gone, the empress and the captain of the guard went to Catherine’s cell and listened to her. They were both so impressed that they converted and were baptized.

While in prison, a dove brought food to Catherine, keeping her healthy and strong. The emperor decided to try one more time to convince her to give up her Christian faith and worship the gods. This time, he threatened her with torture on a large wheel meant to stretch her entire body and spin her to the point of death. Before Catherine was tied to the wheel, an angel made it spin out of control and shatter before everyone’s eyes. The empress then came out and chastised her husband, revealing that she had become a Christian after listening to the wisdom of Catherine. The emperor was so enraged that he had his wife beheaded on the spot.

The following day, Catherine was brought before the emperor again, and this time he ordered her execution by beheading. Within an hour of her execution, angels came and took her body away, laying it on the heights of Mount Sinai where it remained undisturbed and undefiled. A few centuries later, a holy monk in the monastery at the base of Mount Sinai, which was built around the burning bush, had a dream that led him to discover Catherine’s relics. He took her body and buried it in the monastery chapel where she lies today.

Whether these are legends or facts, Saint Catherine’s story reveals to us deep truths we must all embrace. True wisdom comes not only from study but from union with God. True beauty is only attained by reflecting the Source of all beauty. Nobility is measured only by the judgment of God, who bestows grace and eternal rank according to the merit of one’s life. The perfection of human virtue is only obtained by those who are infused with the divine virtues of faith, hope, and love. True courage is only possible when it is Christ Who strengthens us.

As we honor Saint Catherine and ponder these truths her life reflects, consider them in the light of your own life. Seek the spiritual gifts her life and legends represent, and seek to imitate those human qualities that can only be enhanced by entering more fully into the divine life of our Bridegroom.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/november-25—saint-catherine-of-alexandria–optional-memorial/

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Saint John Damascene, Priest, Religious and Doctor

c. 676–749; Patron Saint of pharmacists, icon painters, and theology students; Pre-Congregation canonization; Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1890

Saint Francis Xavier, Priest

1506–1552; Patron Saint of foreign missions, missionaries, navigators, and parish missions; Invoked against plague epidemics; Canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622

Saint Chromatius of Aquileia

Saint Edmund Campion

Saint Andrew the Apostle

Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and his Companions, Martyrs

Seventeenth–Nineteenth Centuries; Patron Saints of Vietnam; Canonized by Pope John Paul II June 19, 1988

Thanksgiving Day

Fourth Thursday in November

Saint Columban (Columbanus), Abbot

543–615; Patron Saint of motorcyclists; Invoked against floods; Pre-Congregation canonization

Saint Clement I, Pope and Martyr

c. 35–c. 99; Patron Saint of sailors, mariners, sick children, and stonecutters; Pre-Congregation canonization

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr

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