January 1--Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God

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Merry Christmas!  The feast of Mary, Mother of God is the eighth day of the Octave of Christmas.  January 1 was originally the Feast of the Circumcision, when Jesus was given his name in the Temple, as was the custom of the Jewish people going back to Abraham.  It shows that Jesus, the Son of God, is truly, man, the New Adam, son of a woman, the New Eve.  In 1960, January 1 was simply part of the Octave of the Nativity.  But in 1969, with the revision of the Roman calendar, January 1 became the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God.

So why all the changes and why is the feast about Mary and not Jesus?  Well, the feast IS about Jesus.  It is still the Octave of Christmas.  We celebrate Mary because she is the Mother of God!  In the fifth century a heresy was proposed that Mary was the mother of Jesus, and was the mother of the Messiah,  but NOT that she was the mother of God.  The reasoning of the heresy, Nestorianism, was that Mary could not be the mother of the God who created her.  In other words, the logic of human procreation was applied to the Incarnation of Jesus, which was NOT human procreation!  That is NOT the faith of the Church!

The Church taught that since Jesus IS truly God, the Son of God and IS truly man, the son of Mary; then Mary, his mother, IS truly the Mother of God!  The word used in Greek is Theotokos, or "God-bearer".  So, we celebrate January 1, the eighth day of the Octave of Christmas, the day on which Jesus was circumcised into the Jewish covenant, as the day of the maternity of Mary, who was the Ark of the New Covenant, the MOTHER OF GOD, JESUS!

* https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1174875  

December 25--The Nativity of Our Lord

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Critics of Christianity sometimes like to point out that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25, or Christmas was instituted by the Emperor Constantine, or the Christians were just using a pagan holiday called Saturnalia to lure pagans into worshiping Christ. Given that the Jewish concept of birthdays was not we have, there are reasons to think it is reasonable to use December 25. The feast of the Annunciation is March 25, which is nine months before Christmas and also held by the ancient Church as the date of Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection. The first recorded Christmas celebration was in AD 336, during the reign of Constantine. And even though Saturnalia was not the basis of Christmas, Christians did take pagan holidays and Christianize them to help convert the people through their culture.

But all that, interesting as it may be, is not the point. The point is that God became man. The incarnation began at the Annunciation, but the birth of Jesus is the birth of the new era of reconciliation between God and humanity. To quote John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:1, 14). We are the recipients of the greatest gift ever given, Jesus Christ, who, through his Paschal Mystery brought about our salvation. What can we do to respond to such a great gift? We can say thank you. We can give others the gift of our love. We can praise God with joy and offer mercy and grace to our neighbors. We can say “Merry Christmas”!

*https://pixy.org/529082/

August 30--St. Jeanne Jugan, Virgin and Foundress

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Two different societies were founded in the 19th century called Little Sisters. Today’s saint, Jeanne Jugan, also known as Mary of the Cross, founded the Little Sisters of the Poor in France. She was born in 1792 in Brittany, France and grew up during the terrors of the French Revolution. She dedicated much of her young life to helping others. In 1837 she and two other women lived together to pray, teach the catechism, and help the poor. In 1839 St. Jeanne met an elderly woman who was blind, paralyzed, and alone on a cold winter night. St. Jeanne took her home and gave the woman her own bed. She and the women who were serving others then became a religious community. In 1849 they adopted the name Little Sisters of the Poor. In 1852 St. Jeanne was forced into retirement and barred from leadership by the chaplain assigned to the order, who took upon himself the title of founder. She lived in obscurity and humility in her community for twenty-seven years, but was a heroine to the young novices. After her death in 1879, the chaplain was stripped of his titles and St. Jeanne was acknowledged as foundress.

St. Jeanne advised a novice: “When your patience and strength run out and you feel alone and helpless, Jesus is waiting for you in the chapel. Say to him, ‘Jesus you know exactly what is going on. You are all I have, and you know all things. Come to my help.’ And then go, and don’t worry about how you are going to manage. That you have told God about it is enough. He has a good memory.” Humility is a difficult virtue to cultivate, especially in the face of injustice. However, we are called to be children of God in humility.

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jeanne_Jugan_par_Nadar.JPG

August 26--St. Teresa Jornet Y Ibars, Virgin, Religious, and Foundress

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"You have returned to the anguished faces of people venerable for their old age, the serenity and the joy of experiencing again the benefits of a home. You have been chosen by God to reinforce to the world the sacred dimension of life, … [that] man … is enthusiastically sacred because he is the Son of God and always deserves all the vigilance because he is predestined to an eternal destiny" (Paul VI, 1/27/1974).

These words from Pope St. Paul VI proclaim the holiness of today’s saint, St. Teresa of Jesus Jornet, as well as the mission she embarked upon. St. Teresa was born in 1843 in Spain and co-founded a religious order in 1873 that was completely dedicated to helping the elderly poor, the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly. Her order spread throughout Spain to include more than one hundred houses by the time she died in 1897. She spent the rest of her life tending their needs. Today over 200 houses exist in Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Although St. Teresa’s Little Sisters are not the same as the Little Sisters of the Poor being persecuted in the United States, there are similarities. Both were founded by women in Europe in the 19th century, one in France, the other in Spain, to serve the elderly poor. Both have spread out throughout the world with over 2,000 sisters. The Spanish government was anti-clerical and kept St. Teresa from becoming a religious in 1868. However, it did not succeed in stopping her. The American government had demanded that the Little Sisters of the Poor provide health insurance to their employees that included contraceptives and abortion coverage. As of this writing, the American government has not succeeded. We pray for those who give their lives to Jesus in our elderly poor.

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TereJornet.jpg

August 16--St. Stephen of Hungary, Holy Man

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The conversion of a nation or people requires two things, the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ and someone around whom Christianity focuses. In Ireland it was St. Patrick; in Germany, St. Boniface; in Bohemia, St. Wenceslas; and in Hungary, St. Stephen. St. Stephen was the first king of Hungary, crowned around AD 1000. Hungary was one of the last areas of Europe to be Christianized. Stephen was born pagan but was baptized as a child by St. Adalbert of Prague and was a devout Christian. His father imposed Christianity by force, but still worshipped pagan gods. After his father died, he was named leader of the Magyars, the people of Hungary, but then claimed kingship of Hungary. This led to consolidation of his rule. He did this by spreading Christianity throughout Hungary, establishing dioceses which were independent of the Holy Roman Empire. He forced his subjects to give up pagan rituals. He also fought pagan opponents. After consolidating power, he opened a new pilgrimage route to Jerusalem through Hungary, often meeting pilgrims. With peace and a land route to the Holy Land, his fame spread. He set up counties, with the county seats becoming a center of Church organization. He died in 1038 after a 43-year reign. He was canonized in 1083.

Missionaries are the first to bring Christianity to new peoples, but their work needs to be supported. In Europe, much of that support was given through rulers. St. Stephen of Hungary brought about the Christianization of Hungary, which also helped maintain Hungary’s culture. Christianization does not impose an outside colonialization but brings out the best of the native culture through the glory of God. Catholics are members of a universal Church embodied in a specific culture and people. Thus, we can say, “God bless America!”

*https://www.flickr.com/photos/archer10/32611649955

August 13--Sts. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr

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Two men, both Christian but opposed to each other; one a pope for only five years, the other an anti-pope for 18 years; both arrested and sent to Sardinia to die a “living death” in the mines around 235/236. However, both are saints. St. Pontian was pope from 230-235 and, when arrested to be exiled, resigned his office as pope, the first to do so. St. Hippolytus entered into schism with St. Pontian’s predecessors on the grounds that the pope did not condemn a heresy strongly enough. He was then elected pope by his followers, the first anti-pope. However, in Sardinia he became reconciled with the Church. St. Hippolytus is also known for his theological and liturgical writings. 

So what brings two such different men together to be celebrated as saints on the same day? St. Hippolytus was a “holier than the Church” sort of man and St. Pontian was a pope who had to make difficult decisions, including a resignation that led to the end of the schism St. Hippolytus began. Perhaps reconciliation is the key to the mystery!  

Reconciliation is the key to our relationship with God. Without our conversion, our repentance, our turning back, our metanoia, we cannot be reconciled with the God who made us, loves us, and saved us through his own passion, death, and resurrection. Jesus started his ministry proclaiming his Gospel in Galilee: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). He ended his ministry on the cross in Jerusalem: “Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit’; and when he had said this he breathed his last” (Lk 23:46). He reconciled us to the Father and brought us into communion with our God.

*http://faith.nd.edu/s/1210/faith/interior.aspx?sitebuilder=1&pgid=15938&cid=32078&ecid=32078&ciid=104285&crid=0

**https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dieric_Bouts_%26_Hugo_van_der_Goes_-_Triptiek_van_de_Heilige_Hippolytus.jpg

August 2--St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop

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Where is your home? Where do you really belong? Is our home in heaven or in the world? St. Eusebius of Vercelli answered that very question throughout his life. He was born in Sardinia at the beginning of the fourth century and became a priest in Rome. He went to Vercelli and was elected bishop by the people. In 354, the pope asked him to request the emperor call another council to settle the issue between Arians and Catholics. The Arians did not accept the Trinity as three Persons in one God even though the Council of Nicaea condemned Arianism in 325. The emperor favored Arianism as Pope Benedict XVI wrote: “For him it was not truth that counted but rather political opportunism: he wanted to exploit religion as the bond of unity for the Empire.” Thus, the emperor exiled Eusebius where he was subjected to persecution. Eusebius was eventually freed and returned to Vercelli where he died peacefully in 371. All the time he preached the truth of the Nicene Creed.

Benedict also wrote: “Just like the Apostles, for whom Jesus prayed at his Last Supper, the Pastors and faithful of the Church ‘are of the world’ (Jn 17: 11), but not ‘in the world’. Therefore, Pastors, Eusebius said, must urge the faithful not to consider the cities of the world as their permanent dwelling place but to seek the future city, the definitive heavenly Jerusalem. This ‘eschatological reserve’ enables Pastors and faithful to preserve the proper scale of values without ever submitting to the fashions of the moment and the unjust claims of the current political power.” Our home is heaven, but we must try to bring about the Kingdom of Heaven here: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven!”

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nuremberg_chronicles_f_128r_4..jpg

July 28--Blessed Maria Teresa Kowalska, Religious and Martyr

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What happens when someone sins? An injury has been committed. How does one repair the injury? By sorrow and reparation. Sorrow is the key to forgiveness; reparation is the key to reconciliation. Today’s saint offered herself and her life in reparation to God for the sins of her family. Bl. Maria Teresa Kowalska was born in Poland in 1902. After the Russian Revolution in 1917 “her father and other relatives had embraced atheistic Communism and enthusiastically supported the new Soviet Union.” She entered the Capuchin Poor Clares in Poland in 1923 making her Solemn Perpetual Profession in 1928. She became a model nun, respected by her community. In 1941 the Germans arrested the thirty-six nuns at the convent and sent them to a concentration camp. She had tuberculosis while in the monastery and her illness worsened in captivity. One day she said, “I will not leave here alive. I offer my life for the sisters so that they may return to the monastery.” She died on July 25, 1941. Her sisters were released by the Germans two weeks later on August 7. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in June 1999 with a group of 107 martyrs of WWII.

Reparation of sins is a holy purpose of prayer. Jesus made reparation for our sins through his death, but we can also make reparation for the sins of others through our prayers and sufferings.

The Morning Offering prayer states:

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day
for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world,
for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the reunion of all Christians,
and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month.
Amen.

*https://www.capdox.capuchin.org.au/saints-blesseds/maria-teresa-kowalska/

July 20—St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr

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If at first, you don’t succeed… well you know the rest. But what about attempting the conversion of others? What about facing continued rejection, intimidation, and even threats of persecution and death? Are we required to share our faith with others who hate us and hate what we believe? Are we called to bring Christ to them, or should we leave them be? Afterall, Jesus did say, “Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet” (Mt. 10:14) and “When they persecute you in one town, flee to another” (Mt. 10:23).

This may have been in the mind of today’s saint, Apollinaris. According to legend, he was sent by St. Peter to the city of Ravenna, Italy. With the working of miracles, he attracted attention and converts, but also enemies, who beat him and drove him out. He was found and hidden by Christians, but then captured, compelled to walk on coals and again expelled. He stayed in the area and preached, but later returned a third time to Ravenna. “Again he was captured, hacked with knives, had scalding water poured over his wounds, was beaten in the mouth with stones, … was flung into a horrible dungeon to starve to death;” but then put on a ship to Greece. After four years he returned to Ravenna a fourth time, staying hidden, but was discovered and, again, savagely beaten, after which he died.

What compelled him to keep returning when he knew what would happen to him? It may be, that as bishop he wanted to be with his flock. Whatever his reasons, he faced death for the sake of the Gospel. We may not be called to die for the faith, but we are called to witness.

*https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/9326873330

July 9--St. Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions, Martyrs

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Is Catholicism a Western ideology or a universal religion? This is an important question if we are to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. St. Augustine Zhao Rong was one of 87 native Chinese, along with 33 foreign-born missionaries who were martyred between 1648 and 1930. He was a soldier assigned to escort a French bishop in China. St. Augustine was so impressed by the priest and his patience he converted and soon became a priest. However, Catholicism was seen as a foreign religion and a threat to Chinese culture. Shortly after his ordination, St. Augustine Zhao Rong was “jailed, tortured, and left to die in prison” in 1815. Many were martyred during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, one a nine-year-old. None of the martyrs were engaged in political activities, nor were they agents of Western colonial powers, although that was what the governments feared. They were living their faith in Jesus.

The word catholic means universal. We have been given a command by Jesus to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt. 28:19-20). To do so we must inculturate, or adapt to the local culture, the message of Jesus and the faith of the Church. That is what missionaries do and have done through the centuries! Some have been more successful than others, but the goal has never been to wipe out other cultures to supplant it with Western culture, although many in modern society have accused the Church of doing so. Thus, the destruction of statues of St. Junipero Serra! We are called to love, not destroy.

* https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/july-9-saint-augustine-zhao-rong-and-companions-martyrs/

July 17--The Sixteen Blessed Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne, Religious and Martyrs

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When does might make right? Is it when we force others to do something because we know it is right? Is it when we punish others for not doing what we know to be right? Is it when we rule as a mob and persecute those who don’t have a right belief? Oh, this isn’t about the current civil unrest. No, this is about the Committee of Public Safety in Revolutionary France. This was the ad hoc government which oversaw the Reign of Terror in France with Maximilien Robespierre as their leader. From 1793 to 1794 16,594 men, women, and children were executed. Of those were sixteen women who were evicted from their convent in 1792. They were arrested in 1794 for refusing to recognize Reason as France’s official religion.

When brought before a prosecutor to answer to the charge of “persistent fanaticism,” one of the nuns asked what that meant. The prosecutor responded, “By fanaticism, I mean your attachment to childish practices and your stupid beliefs.” He then sentenced the sixteen women to death on the guillotine. They were executed that night, starting with a nineteen-year-old novice, who started chanting Psalm 117: “Praise the Lord, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples! His mercy for us is strong; the faithfulness of the Lord is forever. Hallelujah!” The sisters took up the chant. The last to be executed was a seventy-nine-year-old nun who shouted, “I forgive you as heartily as I wish God to forgive me.” They offered their lives in martyrdom and love on July 17, 1794.

Might does not make right. It didn’t during the Reign of Terror. It doesn’t today. It won’t tomorrow. God’s love makes right because Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn. 14:6). May we follow in their footsteps!

* https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carm%C3%A9litesComp02.jpg

July 5--St. Elizabeth of Portugal, Holy Woman

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Do you have a peacemaker in your family; someone who can patch things up when one relative insults another, or when family members get into a dispute? Well, the Iberian peninsula and all its royalty had a saint to help them out, Elizabeth of Portugal. She was born to the future King of Aragon in 1271, betrothed to the King of Portugal in 1282, and married in 1288. Her brothers were kings of Aragon and Sicily; her son-in-law, King of Castile. So her whole family tended to want their way, being kings! She, on the other hand, was devout, even as a child. She is quoted as far as understanding her role in life: “God made me queen so that I may serve others.” And she served in many ways, but most notably as a peacemaker by stopping a civil war between her husband and son and as well as stopping a war between her son and son-in-law. Legend has it that in the civil war she rode on a mule between the two sides to prevent combat. She even negotiated a peace treaty with the Queen of Castile. After her husband died in 1325, she became a Third Order Franciscan, retired to a convent, and died in 1336.

Kings often have huge egos. We also tend to have huge egos, inflated by pride and self-righteousness. When we perceive a comment as an insult or even a disagreement with a cherished belief, we tend to lash out, causing pain and suffering. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Mt. 5:9). Many times he gives us those peacemakers to calm the waters and, even sometimes, to deflate our egos. If we have egos the size of royalty, may God send us peacemakers, such as St. Elizabeth!

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Elizabeth_of_Portugal_(1271%E2%80%931336),_by_Spanish_(Madrilenian)_School.png

**https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Rainha_Santa_em_Alvalade_(Roque_Gameiro,_Quadros_da_Hist%C3%B3ria_de_Portugal,_1917).png

June 22--St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop

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What is a friend? A companion; someone to be with and share time with. Aristotle said a friend is “a single soul in two bodies.” Holy friendship is beyond that. It is a companionship in Christ. Our saint today was a holy friend to many saints, Augustine, Ambrose, Martin of Tours, Jerome, and more.

St. Paulinus of Nola was a political man, becoming Governor of Campania in Italy in the fourth century at a young age, serving the people. However, he lost favor with the political authorities and learned the limits of earthly ambition. He went to learn from St. Ambrose and then went to his native land of Bordeaux and was baptized. He found a new friend in his wife Therasia of Barcelona, with whom he had a son. But after their son died a week after birth they saw that God had another path for them. They gave up all their possessions and moved back to Nola in Campania, where they lived as brother and sister in a community. He had been ordained in Barcelona and took up priestly duties in Nola, eventually being chosen as bishop.

He writes about holy friendship: “It is not surprising if, despite being far apart, we are present to each other and, without being acquainted, know each other, because we are members of one body, we have one head, we are steeped in one grace, we live on one loaf, we walk on one road and we dwell in the same house” (Ep. VI, 2). Jesus said to his disciples: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (Jn. 15:13-14). Paulinus invites us to remember what true friendship is, life in Jesus Christ!

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Linz_Dom_Fenster_09_img03.jpg

Friday Following the Second Sunday After Pentecost—Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

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“The veneration of the Sacred Heart is a summary of all our religion and, moreover, a guide to a more perfect life. It more easily leads our minds to know Christ the Lord intimately and more effectively turns our hearts to love him more ardently and to imitate Him more perfectly” (Pope Pius XI, 1928). So that is all you need to know.

But wait, there’s more! The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus came from devotion to the humanity of Jesus, but it developed from the devotion to the Passion of Jesus and the Sacred Wounds. Many saints fostered this devotion, including St. Bonaventure, St. John Eudes, and the mystics St. Lutgarde, St. Mechtilde and St. Gertrude the Great. But the saint who promoted it in its modern form is St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. She had a vision of Jesus showing his heart in flames—“a sign of his burning love for the souls He had ransomed with his sacrifice on the Cross.” With the help of the Jesuit, St. Claude de la Colombière, she fostered the devotion to the point where it was liturgically celebrated in 1670, established as a feast for the whole Church in 1856, and raised to the highest rank of solemnity in 1928. Since 2002, it is also a special Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.

That’s the theology and history, but what about its place in our hearts? Jesus’ Sacred Heart is a sign of his complete love for us. Further, the entire month of June is the Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This guides us away from the secular celebration of “Pride” month, pride being the worst of the seven deadly sins! Love is about humility, service, and sacrifice, all of which are shown through Jesus’ Sacred Heart.

*https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/18704992416

June 9—St. Ephrem the Syrian, Deacon and Doctor of the Church

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I bet you learned your ABCs by singing the Alphabet Song. You may also know songs that tell what the planets are. You may have difficulty with the Star-Spangle Banner but try reciting it! I imagine you will break into song within the first five lines. Why is that? Music appeals to a different part of the brain and memorization is a lot easier when put to music. Today’s saint probably knew that. St. Ephrem, also known as the “Harp of the Holy Spirit,” would write over 400 hymns to counter the heretical songs then prevalent.

St. Ephrem was born in AD 306 in Nisibis, Syria, now located in Turkey. He became a deacon but declined the priesthood. He died around AD 373 and was named Doctor of the Church in 1920. When Nisibis fell to the Persians he moved to Edessa and founded a school to teach orthodoxy against Arianism, Manicheism, Gnosticism, and other teachings and religions. He used poetry and music to bring people to Christ. For example, he wrote a hymn about Mary, which also taught about the Incarnation:

“A wonder is Your mother: the Lord entered her
And became a servant; He entered able to speak
And He became silent in her, He entered her thundering
And His voice grew silent; He entered Shepherd of all;
A lamb He became in her; He emerged bleating.” (113, L. Gambero)

The New Evangelization is a method of bring Christ’s message to those who have already heard it. We need to speak, or as St. Ephrem did, sing the Good News. We need to engage our brothers and sisters to stir their hearts in the joy and peace of Christ’s love through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration. Let us follow in St. Ephrem’s “song” steps.

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ic%C3%B4ne_Ephrem_le_Syrien.jpg

June 1—St. Justin, Martyr

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Actually, he is called St. Justin Martyr, which is odd because no other saint is surnamed Martyr. Though his holiness led to his martyrdom, his occupation as philosopher also played a role in it as well. St. Justin was born in Samaria about A.D. 100 to pagan parents but converted in about 130. He was well educated in philosophy, following Stoicism, where virtue was the highest good and based on knowledge where “the key to happiness is freedom from desire… (and) an elevated moral code.” Then he followed Platonism, where abstract ideas are timeless and belong to a world independent of the physical world. Both these philosophies have truths that reason can discover.

However, it was not enough for him. He saw the need for more than what reason could give him. He needed Revelation. St. Justin was the first Christian philosopher and used philosophy to help understand Christian concepts, such as how God “must be everlasting, ineffable (His reality cannot be adequately expressed”, nameless, changeless, impassible (He cannot be affected from outside Himself), and without origin—the Creator of all that is.” These Greek ideas matched the God of Scriptures. He wrote many apologies, or defenses, of Christianity and taught that “Jesus was the ultimate philosopher, and he believed that all truth is one, hence all truth is the truth of God,” predating St. Thomas Aquinas’s teachings about truth by a millennium.

St. Justin Martyr was martyred during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, a philosopher as well as emperor, around the year 165 because he would not deny “Truth”. St. Justin used reason and Revelation together, using reason to lead to Revelation and then to help explain Revelation. Many people today think of Christianity as mindless and antagonistic to reason. Nothing could be further from the “Truth,” who is Jesus Christ.

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Justin_Martyr_by_Theophanes_the_Cretan.jpg

May 26—St. Philip Neri, Priest

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Who doesn’t love a joyful person? We tend to gravitate toward people who are filled with a sense of love and peace and joy even in times of serious difficulty. The same is true of today’s saint, St. Philip Neri. He was born in Florence in 1515, but moved to Rome, where, as a layman, he would talk to people on street corners in an effort to re-evangelize and promote morality amidst the corruption he found there. He became a priest in 1551 and gathered men around him, founding the Congregation of the Oratory in 1575, a society of apostolic life whereby the men lived together and ministered to others but without taking vows.

St. Philip Neri has been called the “prophet of Christian joy.” Even Pope St. John Paul II called him the “saint of joy.” He was generous and patient and taught by means of short and wise maxims: “Be good, if you can”; “Scruples and melancholy, stay away from my house”; Be simple and humble”; “He who does not pray is a speechless animal”; “A joyful heart is more easily made perfect than a downcast one”.

St. Philip Neri lived in a time of spiritual turmoil and was trying to convert “the culture of his time, which in many respects is particularly close to that of today.” He lived in the world among the people of Rome, bringing them the Good News through promotion of perseverant “prayer, frequent Communion, rediscovery and use of the sacrament of Reconciliation, daily and familiar contact with the word of God, the fruitful exercise of fraternal charity and service; and then devotion to Our lady, the model and true cause of our joy” (John Paul II). St. Philip Neri, guide us so that we may be joyful through our difficulties and calamities!

*[[File:Guido Reni - St Filippo Neri in Ecstasy - WGA19295.jpg|thumb|Guido Reni - St Filippo Neri in Ecstasy - WGA19295]]

May 21—St. Cristóbal Magallanes, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs

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Would the state ever decide to make the celebration of Mass or the reception of Baptism a crime? It happened in North America just about one hundred years ago, in Mexico. Today’s saint, Cristóbal Magallanes and his 24 companion martyrs, were victims of the anti-Catholic government of Mexico between 1915 and 1937. Mexico was afraid of the power and influence of the Catholic Church and outlawed seminaries, Masses, and the sacraments. St. Cristóbal responded to the closure of the seminary he was trained at by opening his own. He preached and ministered to the faithful in secret. He was also a member of the Cristero movement, which was tied to a violent rebellion against the state for persecuting Catholics. He was accused of trying to start a rebellion, even though he preached against any violence. He was arrested on his way to celebrate Mass, convicted without a trial, and executed on May 21, 1927. His last words were, “I die innocent, and ask God that my blood may serve to unite my Mexican brethren.”

Governments are instituted by God for the benefit of the common good of the people in order to protect divinely instituted human rights and the dignity of every person, to bring about the well-being of society, and serve the needs of the people, especially the poor and needy. Governments are NOT about the manipulation of people, the maintenance of power, or the imposition of discovered and dictated supposed “freedoms”. Serving God and bringing about the Kingdom of God on earth is for the good of the world. We do that by sharing our faith, whether it be freely or under the duress of persecution. It is up to the state to determine how believers will proceed.
*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cristobal.jpg

February 25--St. Walburga, Abbess

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Not many know that some women in the Catholic Church were in charge of double monasteries, which is an institution of both men and women religious in separate facilities. They were founded so that the spiritual needs of the nuns could be attended to by the priests of the male community. St. Bridget of Ireland established one in Kildare and Sts. Cuthberga and Quimburga established one at Wimbourne in England where today’s saint was educated. St. Walburga became abbess over the double monastery at Heidenheim, Germany her brother, St. Winibald, founded after he died.

St. Walburga had sainthood in her genes. Her father was St. Richard, an under-king of the West Saxons of Britain; her uncle was St. Boniface, Apostle of Germany; and her two brothers, St. Willibald, who became a bishop, and St. Winibald, both missionaries to Germany. She was known for miraculous events, including being able to walk through fierce guard dogs, calming seas, and healing. She wrote a biography of St. Winibald and an account of St. Willibald’s travels in the Holy Land, thus earning her the honor as the first female author of England and Germany. She spent much of her life at Wimborne but was called to Germany by St. Boniface to continue their missionary work by her prayers. Even after her death in AD 779 her bones exuded an oil that has miraculous powers, which continues to today.

“According to the nuns at her shrine, Walburga’s genius was in being ‘open to God, to his calling, to his guidance, to his demands so as to be ready in every situation to accept his plan.’” Humility and obedience to God’s will requires prayer and acceptance of God’s will. We can follow St. Walburga by giving ourselves over to God, especially by receiving the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist.

*https://live.staticflickr.com/5763/21387598916_1d8a1dcb9e_b.jpg

January 27--St. Angela Merici, Virgin

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There are many ways to follow God’s baptismal call to holiness: single life, married life, consecrated life, and the ordained life. Of these, consecrated life has the most variations, including religious orders as well as hermits, consecrated virgins and widows, secular institutes, and societies of apostolic life. Today’s saint was one of the women who pioneered a new form of consecrated life, akin to modern-day secular institutes.

St. Angela Merici founded the Company of St. Ursula in 1535 in Brescia, Italy. They were meant to be in the world, but not of it. Their members consecrated themselves to God and promised celibacy, but they lived at home with their own families and served in their communities, primarily as teachers of girls in order to re-Christianize family life through being holy wives and mothers. Later they gathered in communities with one another and served throughout the world.

St. Angela started early in life as a Third Order Franciscan, maintaining a life in the secular world with a holy intent. She converted her home into a school where she taught the girls of the town in the basics of Christianity. Later, she started a school in Brescia, where, with her companions, they established the first women’s teaching order. She died in 1540 and was canonized in 1807.

Most of us are called to be in the world, not of it. That means we are called to transform the world, to help bring about the Kingdom of Heaven. We are all called to holiness through single life or married life or consecrated life or ordained life. We are called to listen to how God wants us to respond. Are we called to teach, serve, love, pray, and live as disciples? Absolutely! We are freed by our calling! St. Angela Merici, pray for us.

*Image: Benedetto Pietrogrande, “Angèle Merici”; Peter Kostner, sculptor, 1990. Church of St. Angela, Desenzano https://www.osucentral.org/who-we-are/

January 21--St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

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Why is virginity celebrated? In our day and age virginity is celebrated in absentia; namely, chastity and purity are held in low regard and the right to engage in sexual activity is not only expected, but promoted, even among minors. But the Catholic Church holds that virginity and chastity and self-restraint in the face of overwhelming societal promotion of self-indulgence are not only commendable, but holy and graced by God. Marriage between a man and a woman is the proper relationship of sexual love with its complementary unity and openness to procreation.

Today’s saint respected virginity AND marriage to the point of offering herself up for martyrdom in witness to her love for Jesus. St. Agnes was about twelve years old when she was arrested. Although there are many legends that surround her passion and death, the core of the stories conveys the truth of her holiness. She was soon to be able to be married when she refused propositions because she had consecrated her virginity to Jesus. She was reported to the authorities during the reign of Diocletian, the most comprehensive persecution in the ancient world, in AD 304. The judge of her trial tried to get her to give up her faith and threatened her with fire and torture. She was stripped at a brothel and threatened with rape. She was executed in a stadium by being hacked to death with a sword.

We have a modern martyr just like St. Agnes in St. Maria Goretti, who was eleven years old when she was killed for not giving in to lustful advances. Martyrdom is a gift for those who love God enough to suffer the ultimate sacrifice, life. St. Agnes, St. Maria Goretti, and others have offered their lives for the sake of love of God, the true offering of virginity.

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Joseph%27s_Catholic_Church_(Central_City,_Kentucky)_-_stained_glass,_St._Agnes,_detail.jpg

January 13--St. Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

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Arianism is the heresy that teaches that Jesus cannot be God because there is only one God and if Jesus is God, then there are two gods. Arius got it partially right and completely wrong. There is only one God AND Jesus is God: “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father” as it says in the Nicene Creed adopted at the Council of Nicaea in 325.

So, what does this have to do with our saint? St. Hilary of Poitiers was born in 315, was baptized in 350, and was acclaimed bishop in 353. As bishop he held the truth of the Catholic Church against Arianism and was banished by the emperors, who supported Arianism. St. Hilary wrote a major treatise against Arianism in order to teach why Jesus is God as well as the Son of God. St. Hilary died in 368. Arianism was condemned again in 381 and finally defeated in the sixth century in France.

Heresies start out as logical conclusions based on specific choices, but without taking into context the whole of the faith. For example, Arianism was based on the oneness of God, which is true. However, it did not take into account the faith that Jesus is God. And for that, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, were lured away from the true faith. People today are also lured away from the faith by denials of the truths of God. They rely on their own choices and make up their own faith and call it Catholic. We must stand true to the faith of Jesus in the Church, even if it means banishment from our society.

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint-Hilaire-de-Poitiers_Reliquienschrein.jpg