March 9--St. Frances of Rome, Religious

Rome has two heavy hitters as patrons in Sts. Peter and Paul, who were both martyred there during the reign of the emperor Nero. But the eternal city also has a mother as a patron, St. Frances of Rome. St. Frances was born into a noble Roman family and married at the age of 12 to another Roman noble. Her marriage lasted for 40 years and she bore three children. While she was married she became a Third Order Franciscan. During an invasion of Rome people came to her farm, where she would give food and care for the sick, the starving, and the dying assisted by other Roman ladies. In 1425 she and six other women became oblates under the rule of St. Benedict. They eventually became a religious order in 1433. Their ministry was to serve the poor and work and pray for the pope and the peace of Rome.

As a mother, St. Frances of Rome suffered the death of two of her children to the plague. She opened part of her house as a hospital and bought what was necessary to help the sick. Her community of women helped others as mothers help their children.

Our mothers sacrifice themselves for us so that we may have what we need: food, clothing, comfort, medicine, and more. In times of sorrow our mothers console us. They do what must be done so that their children and their families are secure and safe. They, with our fathers, provide us with homes and love. But they do not do so alone. They have God to guide them. They have the Blessed Mother to watch over them. No family is perfect, but all families strive for happiness in their lives, which is only provided through God’s grace.

February 27: St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, Religious

Who would want to pray for a slow death? St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows did so that he could prepare himself spiritually. He died in 1862 at the age of 23 of tuberculosis, which was a painful way to die: "When TB wakes up and gets into the lungs, it eats them from the inside out, slowly diminishing their capacity, causing the chest to fill up with blood and the liquidy remains of the lungs. It’s painful, it’s drawn out. It’s an awful way to die."

St. Gabriel was born Francis Possenti in 1838. After being cured twice of serious illnesses he joined the Passionist order at the age of 18. The Passionists are dedicated to the Passion of Jesus. When St. Gabriel was dying, he maintained a cheerful demeanor and was a source of inspiration to his fellow novices. He was named the patron of clergy, students, and young people.

We actually live a slow death. Each day we progress to our ultimate end, which we pray will lead us to Christ in Heaven. We have an advantage that St. Gabriel did not have. He knew his death was near. We do not. With the state of medicine, we can count on a long life, as long as we are freed from tragic accidents. We can maintain a cheerful demeanor in our daily life as we prepare for our death. We can be a source of inspiration to others in our appreciation of the goods of the earth that God has given us and the goods of Heaven that we receive in the grace of the sacraments and prayer. Let us imitate St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows by dedicating our lives to living, and dying, as faithful disciples of Christ.

February 23--St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr

“In order that the full and living Gospel might always be preserved in the Church, the apostles left bishops as their successors” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #77). St. Polycarp is one of the earliest of those successors, ordained bishop of Smyrna by the Apostle John, who was his teacher. He, along with St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch, are called Apostolic Fathers. He was born in AD 69 and was martyred in AD 155. He was known for his leadership when he was chosen to discuss the date of the Easter celebration with the pope. There was a major controversy as to whether it would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring equinox or whether it should be celebrated on the date that Easter originally occurred, the date of the Jewish Passover. Both agreed that both customs were acceptable.

The account of his martyrdom is the earliest of the stories about martyrs. He was arrested and burned at the stake, but then stabbed to death when the fire failed to kill him. According to the Martyrdom, St. Polycarp said: “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?”

St. Polycarp provides us plenty to reflect upon. He was a martyr who died for Christ. He was a bishop who maintained orthodoxy against heretics. He was a leader in the Church who promoted peace within the Church. He was recognized by other saints as a holy man. We can look to St. Polycarp as a man of “much fruit”, which is what his name means. We must look at the fruits we bear and share them with others in bringing others to Christ as St. Polycarp did.

February 14: Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Monk and Bishop, Missionaries

February 14 is thought of only as St. Valentine’s Day. However, the Church’s official feast day on the 14th is that of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, two brothers who brought Christianity to the Slavic countries. Cyril and Methodius grew up in Greece, which was then a part of the Byzantine Empire, in the ninth century. They were chosen by the emperor to go to Moravia to spread Christianity when a Moravian prince requested missionaries. They spoke Slavonic, the language of the people, and subsequently translated the Mass and the Scripture into Slavonic for the people. Cyril even developed a written form for the language, which was the forerunner of the Cyrillic alphabet, used in Russia today. This was an unusual step, since the dominant languages of the Church were Latin and Greek. But the pope gave his approval.

Some may think that when missionaries go to different lands they bring Western culture and customs to the people. Missionaries spend much time learning about the culture and the language and customs of the people they minister to in order to fully bring the Good News to them in a way that matches their culture. The Good News is universal—catholic—in that it is for everyone, everywhere. Missionaries like the Columban fathers of Bellevue, or the Maryknoll missionaries, spread the Gospel by living with and teaching the people, meeting their corporal and spiritual needs as best they can. We can join in the missionary apostolate by praying on behalf of missionaries and by adapting the Gospel to meet the needs of the people we know and love. So let us go forth and be disciples by spreading the Good News of the Lord.