August 7--St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs

Livre Fresques italiennes de la Renaissance, 1470-1510, de Steffi Röttgen et Antonio Quattrone. Paris : Citadelles & Mazenod, 1997. This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer.

From the time of St. Peter to the legalization of Christianity by Emperor Constantine I in A.D. 313, 27 of the 31 popes were martyred! That is a rate of 87%. Talk about “most dangerous jobs!” And these were not ordinary executions by today’s standards. The popes were crucified, beheaded, tied to an anchor and tossed into the sea, worked to death, and killed by the sword, to name a few of the methods. And yet these men were willing to be successors to Peter to maintain the leadership of the Church.

Today’s saints were no different! Pope St. Sixtus II was pope from 257-258, being martyred on August 6, less than a year after his election. His companions were deacons of the Church. The most famous deacon at this time, St. Lawrence, was martyred four days later and has his own feast day. Pope St. Sixtus was arrested while saying Mass in the cemetery of St. Callistus under the persecution of the Emperor Valerian and executed. The following epitaph was placed on his tomb by Pope St. Damasus I:

“At the time when the sword pierced the bowels of the Mother, I, buried here, taught as Pastor the Word of God; when suddenly the soldiers rushed in and dragged me from the chair. The faithful offered their necks to the sword, but as soon as the Pastor saw the ones who wished to rob him of the palm (of martyrdom) he was the first to offer himself and his own head, not tolerating that the (pagan) frenzy should harm the others. Christ, who gives recompense, made manifest the Pastor's merit, preserving unharmed the flock.” We owe much to our shepherds. They are willing to undergo suffering for the sake of their sheep. Let us pray for our popes!

August 7—St. Cajetan, Priest

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What does it mean to be “most earnest in prayer”? St. Cajetan is described as such a man. He is also described “in love of neighbor”. That is impressive! It meets the requirements Jesus set forth, when he was asked in Matthew’s Gospel (22:36-40), “‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.’” 

 Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene was born in 1480 near Venice to an Italian nobleman. He received degrees in both civil and canon law and worked as a diplomat for Pope Julius II. He was ordained a priest in 1516 after Pope Julius died and went back to his hometown of Vicenza, establishing a hospital in 1522. He established another hospital in Venice in 1523, but moved back to Rome to form a congregation dedicated to the spirit of monasticism and active ministry, where he and three others began Theatine order. In Naples he founded a bank to help the poor against those who charged extremely high interest rates. He died in 1547 in Naples. He is the patron saint of the unemployed and gamblers. 

 So, how was St. Cajetan most “most earnest in prayer” as well as “in love of neighbor”? For someone to be able to do the charitable acts he did, one needs to be grounded in Jesus. A strong prayer life is essential to developing that relationship of love. St. Cajetan’s life of prayer and charity was based on his love of Jesus and thus his service to others.

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francesco_Solimena_-_Estasi_di_San_Gaetano_da_Thiene.jpg

Francesco Solimena, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons