March 13--St. Leander of Seville, Bishop

 San Leandro by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

“I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.” “Our profession of faith begins with God, for God is the First and the Last, the beginning and the end of everything. The Credo begins with God the Father, for the Father is the first divine person of the Most Holy Trinity; our Creed begins with the creation of heaven and earth, for creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God's works” (CCC, 198). These words, which we say every Sunday during Mass, are an expression of our faith. This is the Niceno-Constantinopolitan, or Nicene Creed, formulated at the Councils of Nicea in 325 and Constantinople in 381.

We have today’s saint, St. Leander of Seville, to thank for this addition to the liturgy; he was bishop of Seville in the 6th century. The Visigoths had overrun Spain and were converted through the Arian heresy, which stated that Jesus was the first creation of God, but was not God. The Church was separated between Arian and Catholic bishops and peoples. St. Leander introduced the Creed as a way to help reinforce the orthodox Catholic faith among the people in 589 at the Third Council of Toledo. This brought about the conversion of the Visigoth King of Spain and the reconciliation of the Arian faction to the true faith of the Church. This version of the Creed also introduced the filioque clause, that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son, which spread to the rest of Latin-speaking Catholicism and was accepted throughout the Western Catholic Church by 1000.

It is necessary to know the faith in order to live the faith and to bring others to the truth, who is Jesus Christ. St. Leander, pray for us.

February 26--St. Alexander of Alexandria, Bishop

 

Alexander of Alexandria, saint patriarch (313-326) by Dedek Crescens Lajos licensed under (CC BY-SA 3.0)

How do bad ideas get started?  They could be misinterpretations or innovations or contradictions or attempted reforms.  But they have to come from somewhere!  One of the most divisive ideas in Church history was the idea that Jesus was NOT God, but merely a creature of God.  This was the Arian heresy of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th centuries; four hundred years of error that greatly afflicted the Church.

Our saint, St. Alexander of Alexandria, was the man who, at the very beginning, tried to stop Arius from spreading his heresy.  First, he tried to persuade Arius, then tried to correct him, and then called a synod to condemn him.  Arius took refuge with other bishops who agreed with him, which led to schism.  St. Alexander wrote letters explaining orthodox teaching and countering Arius's errors.  It finally got to the point where the emperor, Constantine I, intervened and recommended the calling of a general council at Nicea in 325.  St. Alexander, along with his deacon, St. Athanasius, was the leader of those who stood up for the faith of the Church.  The Council of Nicea gave us the Nicene Creed and the dogmatic declaration that Jesus is "God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made."

So, how do bad ideas get started?  By focusing on only one aspect of a truth and ignoring the fullness of the truth.  Arius wanted to focus on the oneness of God, which is true.  But he ignored how God is also three persons.  We have the same problem today when Catholics want to speak of inclusion of all.  Inclusion can be a good thing if those we include accept the true faith!  If not, we cannot.

December 31--St. Sylvester I, Pope

 

San Silvestro by User:RicciSpeziari licensed under CC by-SA 3.0.

"The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).  This famous saying seems to indicate that whoever gives has the ability to remove what was given.  If that is so, then how does the Catholic Church exist, except by the allowance of the state?  It's a fair question that had to be dealt with by today's saint, Pope St. Sylvester I (AD 314-335).  Emperor Constantine I granted the Church the right to freedom of religion in the 313 Edict of Milan.  This was a great gift to the Church because now it could exist without fear of off-and-on persecution; it could preach and influence the populace so as to win disciples to Christ; and it had the backing of the emperor, who remained in power for over 30 years.

So how did St. Sylvester I deal with this strong and benevolent ruler?  We don't know!  There is not a lot of knowledge of St. Sylvester's rule, except by inference.  We know he was pope at the same time as Constantine was emperor.  We know that he approved of the decisions of the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, called by that same emperor.  We know that the emperor donated buildings, land, and privileges to the Church.  Yet, we know that the Church did not become the tool and "yes-man" of the emperor.  That means that St. Sylvester must have been wise and skilled in diplomacy.  That doesn't mean that Constantine didn't try to use the Church to further his imperial ambitions.  He did.  But the Church remained the Church and not a department of state.  St. Sylvester I can guide us in the virtue of prudence so we can bring about God's will in the face of strong, and sometimes, oppositional, forces.

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

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Is Jesus God or not? That was key question of the fourth century and beyond that faced the Church. Some, with Arius, said that since Jesus was “begotten of the Father,” that meant he was a creature, albeit the first creature of God. Others, with St. Athanasius, said that Jesus is “begotten, not made” and thus consubstantial with the God the Father. Today’s saint helped hammer home the truth of who Jesus is by his opposition to the Arians and support of St. Athanasius, so much so he was called “Hammer of the Arians” and “Athanasius of the West.”

Born about A.D. 310 in Poitiers, France to pagan parents, St. Hilary received a good pagan education, later studying Scripture, thus resulting in his conversion to Christianity, along with his wife and daughter. He was elected bishop of Poitiers around A.D 350. Even though Arianism was condemned at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 it was still in force throughout the empire, much due to the efforts of different emperors. So St. Hilary attempted to get Arian bishops turned back to the true faith. He also wrote Emperor Constantius II to stop Arians persecuting orthodox Christians, which resulted in his exile in 356. After his exile in 361, he returned in Poitiers and continued to fight for the true understanding of the Trinity against the Arians. He died in 367.

Falsehoods and lies take a long time to die. They are like a many-headed hydra, which keeps sprouting new variations on lies that are condemned and refuted. We need to endure and persevere in living the Truth. St. Paul wrote: “No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). We must remain faithful to the Truth of Jesus Christ. St. Hilary, pray for us.

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

Richard de Montbaston et collaborateurs., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

December 6—St. Nicholas, Bishop

“Ho!  Ho!  Ho!  Merry Christmas!”  “Santa Claus is coming to town!”  “Jolly old St. Nicholas, lean your ear this way….”  All of these are familiar to us this time of year, but few know about the real Santa Claus, St. Nicholas of Myra.  St. Nicholas was a bishop of Myra, located in present-day Demre, Turkey in the fourth century.  He was a participant in the Council of Nicea, which declared that Jesus is consubstantial with God the Father, as we recite every week in mass. 

 

However, he has become more known as Santa Claus through the efforts of Clement C. Moore’s “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” and the Dutch name for St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas.  The reasons for St. Nicholas’s transformation do indeed come from legends about the real St. Nicholas.  One legend has him throwing three bags of coins into the house of a poor man with three daughters to allow them to be marriageable.  He was also known as a “wonder-worker” due to miracles attributed to him.  Nonetheless, he has become the patron saint of children and is one of the few saints that are greatly venerated in both Eastern and Western churches.

Is there a Santa Claus?  If you mean a person who lives at the North Pole with elves and magical flying reindeer, only in the hearts of children and the child-like.  He is a representative of the spirit of gift-giving, which is a good thing.  But is there a St. Nicholas?  Absolutely!  He is one who loved Jesus while on earth and is alive in heaven singing praises to God.  He is more than a spirit of giving; he is one who gave himself to others because of his love for Jesus.  We too, can be modern-day Santa Claus’s as well as St. Nicholas’s.