There are some saints who were very popular long ago, but not so much anymore. One of these is St. Giles. St. Giles was venerated as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, saints who were invoked against diseases. They included St. Barbara against fever and sudden death, St. Blaise against throat ailments, St. Christopher against the plague, St. Denis against headaches, and St. Vitus against epilepsy. St. Giles was invoked against both plague and epilepsy, but also against mental illness and nightmares.
St. Giles was a Greek hermit who founded an abbey on the southern coast of France along the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. According to one story, he was a hermit who had a red deer as a companion. When hunters shot an arrow at the deer it wounded St. Giles instead. Thus, he is also patron saint of cripples. His monastery followed the Rule of St. Benedict and he died in the eighth century, having a reputation for holiness and miracles. Travelers on the pilgrimage would stop at the abbey to visit his relics.
Nowadays, we have medicine when we are sick. We visit doctors, who are much more common today than in the days of St. Giles. God has blessed modern humanity with men and women dedicated to curing diseases and injuries. For that, we should be grateful. We should take advantage of medical personnel for physical and mental illnesses but let us not forget the illnesses of the soul that harm us: addiction, spiritual poverty, loneliness, fear, anxiety, desperation, and sin. These illnesses need more than a physician. God has also blessed us with intercessors, saints who pray on our behalf, for help from spiritual maladies. St. Giles is also the patron for a good confession. Take the hint! He can help us move to God.
To be a holy man or holy woman; isn’t that what we all should try to be? Holiness is the attribute that Isaiah hears the angels proclaim of God: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!” (Is. 6:3) The Psalmist declares: “Holy is the Lord our God”. (Ps. 99:9) And so when we hear of a king, a secular ruler, declared to be a holy man and a saint, it may take us aback. How can a king, who wages war and passes judgment on others, be considered holy?
St. Louis IX, King of France, was such a man. He dedicated his life to justice, which is especially desired in a king. As supreme judge of France he would hear appeals by anyone of his subjects. He abolished trial by ordeal and introduced the presumption of innocence in criminal proceedings. He created provosts and bailiffs to enforce application of his new legal system. Even in war he maintained the need for justice. When in war against his brother-in-law, Henry III of England, he negotiated a settlement for peace rather that fight for a total victory. He led the seventh and eighth crusades, both of which failed. His purpose in both was to bring aid to Christians suffering under the Muslim Saracens.
Justice was a hallmark of his reign, as was service to the poor. Every day he would invite thirteen guests from among the poor to eat with him. He would often serve the poor who came for a meal during Advent and Lent. He established three monasteries and sponsored the construction of great Gothic cathedrals. St. Louis died of typhoid fever at Tunis during the eighth crusade in 1270 and was canonized in 1297. We ask for his intercession on our behalf for justice and service in our day.
“No pain, no gain!” We apply that to athletes, but what about saints? How should we act if we want to be totally dedicated to Jesus? Should we be willing to suffer to the nth degree. St. Rose wanted to be like St. Catherine of Siena and imitate her actions and acts of suffering. To that end she fasted often and sometimes made herself vomit after meals, which we would regard as bulimia. She frequently beat herself with a little whip! To make herself unattractive and unmarriageable she would rub pepper on her face. Eventually, she took a vow of virginity and became a third-order Dominican, like St. Catherine. She died in 1617 and was canonized about 50 years later, the first person in the Americas to be recognized as a saint.
Some of these actions are quite severe, although self-mortification is seen as a way of imitating the suffering of Christ. St. Rose of Lima found her way to God through such actions. But it was not without love or prayer or service to others. Today, we see athletes undergo severe suffering and admire their discipline and willingness to go beyond what others do. “No pain, no gain!” And yet, we shy at such a willingness to suffer for Christ.
God may not call us to undergo severe mortifications as St. Rose of Lima did. However, he does call us to pick up our cross and follow him. Being a disciple of Christ is not always easy and not always fun. But Jesus also said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Mt. 11:29-30) The key is to follow Christ as he calls us.
When we think of saints, oftentimes it is in reference to their great works of evangelization and missionary work or writing volumes of theological insights or working amazing miracles. Today’s saint had none of those attributes. Rather, St. Jane Frances de Chantal was a baroness who bore seven children and became a widow when she was 28. She was known as an excellent manager of the properties of her husband as well as one who cared for others. She thought about becoming a cloistered nun, but her spiritual advisor, St. Francis de Sales, advised her against it. Instead, together they founded the Congregation of the Visitation, which consisted of women who were rejected by other religious orders due to age or infirmity. They served in the world in the same way as Mary did when she visited Elizabeth, namely going out to the sick and the poor and ministering to their needs. Eventually they were cloistered and could not go out into the world as they previously had done. However, their model served to show how women could be in the world and serve Christ and his Church as men did.
St. Jane de Chantal was an adept and sound administrator. By the time she died at the age of 69 in 1641, 86 houses were founded. She is the patroness of forgotten people, widows, and parents separated from their children. She also suffered a lifelong dark night of the soul, wherein she was tempted “to give up trying”. This temptation to give up on God tormented her, yet she remained faithful, even though it caused her terrible suffering.
When we think of saints, we need to remember the hidden saints who love and endure and serve and suffer and do the best they can, just as St. Jane de Chantal did.
