June 15–St. Vitus, Martyr

 

https://www.saintforaminute.com/saints/saint_vitus

Many early martyrs of the Church were legendary, meaning that they may have had a life that was not historical by modern standards, but did have some basis in fact. That is probably the case with today’s saint. St. Vitus, according to legend, lived and died during the worst persecutions of the early Church under the reign of Emperor Diocletian in the early 300s. He was said to be about twelve years old and was taken to Rome to drive out a demon that had possessed the son of Diocletian. He was successful in the exorcism but was still tortured and died a martyr. One version has him being boiled in oil.

Given this legend it seems a wonder that he is still listed in the Roman Martyrology, the official book of saints in the Catholic Church. Nonetheless, there were quite a few martyrs under Diocletian’s rule and St. Vitus is one of them. Veneration spread very early and fast with a shrine dedicated to him by the fifth century spreading especially to Slavic lands, including Bohemia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Croatia. He is the patron saint of actors, comedians, and dancers due to the tradition from 16th century Germany that by dancing before a statue of St. Vitus on his feast day people could gain a year’s good health.

Does this mean the Catholic Church made up martyrs to take advantage of people? No! Persecution of Christians was, and is, quite real. A December 2023 National Catholic Register article stated: “A report from the watchdog group Open Doors found that the persecution of Christians is at the highest point in three decades. It found that some of the worst locations for Christians were North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, Sudan and India.” St. Vitus, pray for us!

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.

February 14--Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries

February 14—Sts. Cyril and Methodius

February 14 is thought of only as St. Valentine’s Day.  However, the Church’s official feast day on the 14^th 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.  That is the essence of the New Evangelization proclaimed for this Year of Faith.