Saint Ludger

First Bishop of Munster (742- 809)

Feast-March 26

King Clovis I (481-511) united the various Frankish tribes, conquered Roman Gaul, and accepted Christianity. The new Frankish kingdom unified all the Germanic tribes make them Christian with the exception of the Saxons, who were located near the North Sea. Unlike other Germanic tribes, such as the Alamanni, Bavarians, Thuringians and Frisii which were ruled by kings, the Saxons were divided into numerous independent groups under different chieftains. During wartime, these chieftains would draw lots to select their main leader.

In 690, two priests, brothers Ewald the Black and Ewald the Fair, set out from Northumbria (Northern England) to convert the Saxons to Christianity. When the pagan Saxons realized that the aim was to convert them through their Ealdorman (a man of high status), they became hostile to the missionaries and on October 3, 692 they murdered both priests. Ewald the Fair was killed quickly by the sword, while Ewald the Black was tortured and torn limb from limb, after which both their bodies were cast into the Rhine.

Their reluctance to accept the newly introduced Christian faith combined with their tendency to mount destructive raids on their neighbors eventually brough them into direct conflict with Emperor Charlemagne, the powerful king of the Franks and Ruler of the Carolingian Empire. After a bloody thirty-year campaign, Charlemagne claimed suzerainty over Saxony and destroyed the Irminsul, an important object in Saxon paganism, in 772. In 782, the Saxons, under the leadership of Widukind, rebelled against the Franks. In retaliation Charlemagne ordered the death of 4,500 Saxons, which is known as the Massacre of Verden. The conflict continued until 785 when Widukind agreed to surrender in return for a guarantee that no bodily harm would be done to him. Widukind and his allies were then baptized, with Charlemagne as his godfather.

However, true conversion requires a change of heart and mind. St. Ludger was one of several called by God to fulfil this task through devout missionary work to bring the truth to the Saxons, and teach them to love God and neighbor.

St. Ludger was born in the Netherlands at Zuilen, which is near Utrecht, around 742 AD. His parents were wealthy Christian Frisians of noble descent. When he was eleven years of age, he saw the English missionary St. Boniface. This encounter left a massive impression on St. Ludger, prompting him to ask his father to commit him to the care of St. Gregory, Bishop of Utrecht and a disciple of St. Boniface. St. Gregory was the one who educated St. Ludger and gave him the clerical tonsure.

In 767 he went to England to study under Alcuin, an instructor (and later headmaster) at St. Peter’s School in York. St. Ludger spent four and a half years under Alcuin with whom he developed a lifelong friendship. While there he was ordained a deacon, and in 773 he returned home.

In 775, St. Ludger was sent to resume the work at Deventer in the Netherlands which had been halted by the passing of St. Lebuin, an English missionary. He restored the chapel and recovered the relics of St. Lebuin. When Saint Gregory died in 776, his successor, Alberic, compelled St. Ludger to receive the priesthood. He was ordained a priest at Cologne in 777. The new bishop employed him for several years in preaching the Word of God in Friesland, where St Boniface had been put to death. He converted great numbers, founded several monasteries, and had many churches built. However, every autumn he would return to Utrecht to teach at the cathedral school.

He worked in this way for about seven years, until in 784 Widukind and his pagan Saxons invaded the Friesland, ravaged the country, and drove out the missionaries. St. Ludger escaped with his disciples and traveled to Rome to consult Pope Adrian I as to what course he should take. He spent the next two years in Monte Cassino, planning to found a Benedictine monastery of his own.

He was able to return to area in 787 after Widukind and his Saxons surrendered in 785, which restored security in the region. Emperor Charlemagne entrusted St. Ludger with the evangelization of the Saxons in Westphalia.

St. Ludger made his headquarters in modern-day Münster, meaning “monastery,” founding a community of canons regular in 795, following the Rule of St Chordegang of Metz which in 789 had been made obligatory in the Frankish territories. He also built a chapel in honor of the Blessed Virgin, as well as the churches of Billerbeck, Coesfeld, Hersfeld, and Nottuln. Near the church of Nottuln he built a home for his sister, Gerburgis, who had consecrated herself to God. Many other women soon joined her, and so originated the first convent in Westphalia. In 799 he founded a monastery of Werden, twenty-nine miles from Cologne, becoming its first abbot. He is reported to have cured the blindness of the prominent pagan bard Bernlef and made him a devout Christian. He was a gentle pastor who achieved much for Christianity by his patient persuasion.

At the request of Emperor Charlemagne, Hildebold, Archbishop of Cologne, despite his strenuous resistance, consecrated St. Ludger as bishop of Munster on the 30th of March, 805. Five cantons of Friesland, which St. Ludger had converted, were joined to the diocese of Munster. St. Ludger also founded the monastery of Helmstad in the duchy of Brunswick, but as bishop, his principal concern was to have a proficient clergy, taking great pains to educate them personally.

Accusations were brought before Emperor Charlemagne that St. Ludger was wasting his income on alms and neglecting the ornamentation of his churches. Upset, the emperor ordered him to appear at court. The Saint, when he was summoned before the emperor, was at prayer, and told the messenger he would follow him as soon as he had finished his devotions. He was sent for three times. When he finally appeared before the court, the emperor, with some emotion, asked St. Ludger why he had made him wait so long. The bishop answered that he had the most profound respect for his Majesty, yet God was infinitely above him; that while we are occupied with Him, it is our duty to forget everything else. This answer made such an impression on Charlemagne that he dismissed him with honor and disgraced his accusers.

This great missionary, favored with the gifts of miracles and prophecy, died on Passion Sunday, March 26, 809. His last sickness did not stop him from preaching in the morning, saying Mass towards nine, and preaching again before nightfall on his last day. He told those with him that he would die at night, and indicated a place in his monastery of Werden where he wished to be interred.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          “Saint Ludger, First Bishop of Munster.” Accessed: Mar. 22, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_ludger.html

[2]          “Mar 26 – St Ludger of Münster (742-809),” Catholicireland.net. Accessed: Mar. 22, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/st-ludger-of-munster-742-809/

[3]          “Ludger,” Wikipedia. Jan. 07, 2024. Accessed: Mar. 22, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ludger&oldid=1194169267

[4]          “Old Saxony,” Wikipedia. Feb. 27, 2024. Accessed: Mar. 22, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old_Saxony&oldid=1210549091

Saint Anthony Mary Claret

Founder of the Claretian Fathers and the Sisters of Mary Immaculate (1807-1870)

Feast – October 23

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)

Martin Luther (1483–1546), German leader of the great religious revolt of the sixteenth century had no fear of God. His master the devil cleverly called the revolt a reformation, but anybody wishing to reform the Catholic Church must reform Our Lord Jesus Christ, the head of the Catholic Church. As ridiculous as this sounds, over the last two thousand years of Christianity many attempted to do so.

To combat this insurgency a revival of the Catholic faith called the Counter-Reformation began in 1560 at the behest of Pope Pius IV. Forty-two years later, on June 22nd, 1622, the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda was founded by Pope Gregory XV. Its mission was to evangelize the world.

Over the years, many great preachers joined the Congregation of Propaganda. Among them is St. Anthony Mary Claret.

The beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)

Anthony Maria Claret was born in Sallent, in the county of Bages in the Province of Barcelona, Spain on December 23rd, 1807. He was the fifth of eleven children born to Juan and Josefa Claret. His father was a woolen textile manufacturer. St. Anthony was a very pious child enjoying pilgrimages to the nearby Shrine of Our Lady of Fussimanya. Already at the age of five, he was thinking about eternal life. He later wrote “my little heart trembled at the thought of hell, and I said to myself: Will those who fall into hell never stop suffering? No, never. Will they always suffer? Yes, always. This thought remained profoundly engraved in my mind, and I can say that it is ever present to me. That is what has animated me to work for the conversion of sinners. Why? Because I received [from God] so tender a heart that I cannot see a misfortune without assisting it.”

St. Claret received an elementary education in his native village, and at the age of twelve became a weaver. In 1804 Joseph-Marie Jacquard, a French weaver and merchant, patented a machine revolutionizing the woven process of patterned cloth which made it possible for complex and detailed patterns to be manufactured by unskilled workers in a fraction of the time it took a master weaver and his assistants working manually, so at the age of eighteen, St. Claret went to Barcelona to specialize in his trade as a Jacquard loom programmer.

While there, he became frightened that his love of programming was causing him to become obsessed and burned out. “All the efforts I made not to voluntarily entertain thoughts of my trade were in vain; I was like a wheel turning with great speed, which cannot be stopped all at once… There were more machines running in my head than there are Saints on the altars”- he wrote later.

By the age of 20, recognizing a call to the religious life he left Barcelona. First, he wished to become a Carthusian monk but eventually entered the local diocesan seminary at city of Vic in 1829. Ordained on June 13th, 1835, on the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, he received a benefice in his native parish, where he continued to study theology until 1839. Since missionary work strongly appealed to him, he went to Rome to place himself at the disposition of the Congregation of Propaganda. Advised by the director of a retreat he entered the Society of Jesus, but had to leave it because of poor health.

Recalled by his superiors to Vic, St. Claret was sent as an Apostolic Missionary throughout Catalonia, which had suffered from French invasions.

He travelled from one mission to the next on foot. An eloquent preacher fluent in the Catalan language, he drew people from miles around. After a lengthy time in the pulpit, he would spend long hours in the confessional. He was said to have had the gift of discernment of consciences. His missions were so well attended that he often preached from an improvised pulpit in the plaza before the church. In 1848 he founded a publishing house at Barcelona, and soon afterwards on July 16th, 1849, on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, established his Claretian congregation, the Congregation of the Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The six priests of this Congregation had just received the formal approbation of the bishop of Vich, and completed a retreat at the Seminary with the Exercises of Saint Ignatius. On August 11th, while their new Superior was preaching a mission to the clergy of the diocese, he received a royal decree. Pope Pius IX, at the request of the Spanish crown (Queen-regnant Isabella II of Spain), appointed him Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba. He was consecrated at Vic in October 1850. Before he embarked, he made three separate pilgrimages: to Our Lady of the Pillar, patroness of Spain; to the Virgin of Montserrat, patroness of Catalonia; and to Our Lady of Fussimanya, near his home village.

For six years St. Claret dedicated himself to the organization and evangelization of his diocese. Three times he made a visitation of the entire diocese, giving to local missions incessantly. The Santiago seminary was reorganized, clerical discipline strengthened, and over 9,000 marriages validated within the first two years of his arrival. He erected a hospital and numerous schools. With help of Maria Antonia Paris he founded the Sisters of Mary Immaculate, dedicated to the instruction of the young. This was the first female religious institute in Cuba. A School of the Arts and Trades was opened there, and Latin America saw established its first common funds resources. Abuses vanished under his strict and persevering disciplinary measures. His solution for the misery of Cubans was family-owned farms producing a variety of foods for the family’s own needs and for the market. Besides all his religious writings are two books he wrote in Cuba: Reflections on Agriculture and Country Delights.

His work stirred up opposition and at the city of Holguín an attempt was made on his life. He was severely wounded; his face and wrist slashed open which limited his preaching capacity for a time, and he was recalled to Spain, summoned by Queen Isabella II to replace her deceased confessor.

St. Claret was an exceptional preacher with incredible charisma: witnesses said his body would become transfigured while preaching or in prayer, he would levitate up to six feet off the ground at times in front of credible witnesses, and he stopped a series of earthquakes in Cuba by kneeling on the ground and placing his palms to the earth while uttering prayers. He could calm terrible storms by raising a hand to the sky and blessing the storm clouds, he experienced apparitions of both Jesus and Mary, and was even seen walking on water. In addition, a supernatural light that radiated from his body while he was saying Mass was seen by many. It was so intense at times that one witness said he saw the light radiate from his body behind the altar all the way to the sacristy. Queen Isabella of Spain even produced a written statement solemnly declaring that she had personally witnessed this phenomenon.

On September 3rd, 1859, St. Claret claimed he had heard Jesus tell him that there were three great evils that were descending upon mankind: the first was a series of enormous, horrifying wars; the second, the four powerful demons of pleasure, love of money, false reasoning and a will separate from God. Finally, in addition to a grievance he had with certain Christians who had left the church, Jesus told Claret that the third chastisement would be brought about by Communism.

He continued to travel to various places on the Spanish peninsula preaching. In 1862, from September 12th until October 29th, during one royal visitation, one of the Queen’s servants counted the sermons he had given — two hundred and five: 16 to the clergy, nine to the seminarians; 95 to the various groups of Sisters; thirty-five to the poor in the various houses of charity; and twenty-two others to the people in general in the churches. He created the Academy of Saint Michael for the Catholic intellectuals, called to sustain the influence of the Church. He founded popular libraries and saw to the diffusion of good literature. He accompanied the exiled Queen to Rome and took part in the First Vatican Council in 1869. Finally, he settled in France, where he died in 1870.

In his autobiography St. Anthony Mary Claret wrote “A son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a man who is consumed with love and who sets on fire everything in his path. He is a man who unceasingly expends himself to light the fire of divine love in the world. Nothing stops him; he places his joy in privations, he undertakes all works for the glory of God; he embraces willingly every sacrifice, he is happy in the midst of calumnies; he exults in torments. He can think of but one thing — working, suffering, and seeking at all times the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls, to imitate Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

References and Excerpts:

[1]          “St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop and Founder | The Holy Ones.” Accessed: Oct. 28, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://vitaesanctorum.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/st-anthony-mary-claret-bishop-and-founder/

[2]          “Saint Anthony-Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Fathers and the Sisters of Mary Immaculate.” Accessed: Oct. 28, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_anthony-mary_claret.html

[3]          “Saint Anthony Mary Claret | Franciscan Media.” Accessed: Oct. 28, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-anthony-mary-claret/

[4]          “Anthony Mary Claret,” Wikipedia. Oct. 24, 2023. Accessed: Oct. 28, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anthony_Mary_Claret&oldid=1181687087#In_popular_culture

[5]          “CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Sacred Congregation of Propaganda.” Accessed: Oct. 28, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12456a.htm

Saint Paphnutius

Bishop († Second half of the Fourth Century)

Feast – September 11

The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious and attributed their success as a world power to their collective piety in maintaining good relations with pagan gods.

The political, cultural and religious coherence of an emergent Roman super-state required a broad, inclusive and flexible network of lawful cults. At different times and in different places, the sphere of influence, character and functions of a divine being could expand, overlap with those of others, and be redefined as Roman.

Roman theology acknowledged that immortal gods ruled all realms of the heavens and earth, but their favor could be bought by anyone, regardless of their behavior and moral standing. When a person needed or desired something, they would provide an offering to the god specializing in this field, in the respective temple. If successful, the individual would return to perform another offering. The Priests of these temples, with help of demons, worked to keep the money flowing and ensure the scam was successful. This meant they had to prevent conversion to the one real God, the creator of everything, who can’t be bribed, and who is just and merciful at the same time. The God proclaimed by the Holy Catholic Church which leads to the salvation of souls and eternal happiness, rather than material prosperity and earthly pleasures. Thus, despite being tolerant and inclusive of every other religion and cult, the Romans adamantly opposed the Catholic Church for three hundred years.

One of persecuted who was fortunate enough to see the Catholic Church victorious over the Roman Empire’s paganism was St. Paphnutius.

While there is no record of St. Paphnutius’ early life, it is known that he was an Egyptian, and a disciple of the father of traditional Christian monasticism, the great St. Anthony of the Desert. Having spent several years pursuing spiritual illumination in the austerity of the desert, St. Paphnutius was chosen to become a bishop for the Upper Thebaid region. This placed him in direct conflict with the Roman imperial ruler of Egypt and Syria (305 – 313), the Pharaoh of Egypt, the mediator between the pagan gods and the world of men, Galerius Valerius Maximinus Daia (Daza).

Under Galerius’ tyrannic rule, St. Paphnutius had his left leg hamstrung (method of torture by severing the hamstring tendons in the thigh of the individual which results not only in the crippling of the leg, but also in pain) and his right eye gouged out, in an unsuccessful effort to make him renounce the Catholic faith. Not yielding before torture, he was condemned to manual labor in the mines.

In 311, during a power struggle between various co-emperors, Imperial policy toward Christians shifted towards violence. Only after Roman Emperor Constantine and Emperor Licinius, who controlled the Balkans, met in Mediolanum in February 313 AD was peace restored to the Church. Among the discussions during their meeting, the two Emperors agreed to treat Christians benevolently within the Roman Empire. The meeting resulted in the Edict of Milan, which gave Christianity legal status and a reprieve from persecution, enabling St. Paphnutius to return to his flock.

When the Arian heresy was being broached in Egypt, St. Paphnutius was one of the most zealous in defending the Catholic faith. His eminent sanctity and glorious title of confessor (one who had confessed the faith before persecutors and under torments) was influential and is reputed to have played a role at the First Ecumenical Council of Nice, held in 325, which condemned Arianism and promulgated the Nicene Creed.

At the Synod St. Paphnutius spared the Catholic Church a lot of anxiety and trouble. It was proposed that celibacy should be implemented generally for all the clergy.At face value the suggestion was considered reasonable, but few evaluated the consequences of adding this requirement.

During this time it was necessary to select bishops, priests and deacons from the elder Catholics in town, but many of them were already married. Implementing mandatory celibacy would create a shortage of candidates, preventing the needs of the Church from being fulfilled and necessitating a decline in the quality of priests. Simultaneously, this mandate was contrary to a recommendation made by St. Paul during similar apostolic times: Timothy 3;2,4-5 “Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable, married only once, temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach …He must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with perfect dignity; for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of the church of God?”

Since the majority of the bishops present belonged to the married clergy, imposing a requirement of celibacy on new appointees would appear hypocritical and undermine the prestige of the Church.

Due in part to the intense opposition from St. Paphnutius, who was celibate himself, the proposal was not enacted.

Emperor Constantine, during the celebration of that synod, frequently conferred privately with St.Paphnutius in his palace, and never dismissed him without kissing respectfully the place which had once held the eye St. Paphnutius had lost for the faith.

Saint Paphnutius remained a close friend to Saint Athanasius, and accompanied him to the Council of Tyre, in 335, where they found a large assembly of professed Arians. Seeing Maximus the Bishop of Jerusalem among them the heretics, Paphnutius took him by the hand, led him out, and told him he could not see that any who bore the same marks as he in defence of the faith should be seduced and imposed upon by persons who were resolved to oppress the most strenuous assertor of its fundamental article.

We have no particular account of the death of Saint Paphnutius; but his name stands in the Roman Martyrology on the 11th of September.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          CNA, “St. Paphnutius,” Catholic News Agency. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-paphnutius-709 (accessed Sep. 16, 2023).

[2]          “CatholicSaints.Info » Blog Archive » Pictorial Lives of the Saints – Saint Paphnutius, Bishop.” https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-paphnutius-bishop/ (accessed Sep. 16, 2023).

[3]          “Paphnutius of Thebes,” Wikipedia. Aug. 12, 2022. Accessed: Sep. 16, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paphnutius_of_Thebes&oldid=1104082378

[4]          “A Monk Defends the Marriage of the Clergy,” PEMPTOUSIA, Dec. 10, 2013. https://pemptousia.com/2013/12/a-monk-defends-the-marriage-of-the-clergy/ (accessed Sep. 16, 2023).

Saint Helena

Empress (c.246 – c.330)

Feast – August 18

But she will be saved through motherhood, provided women persevere in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.(1Timothy 2:15)

Constantine the Great was the Emperor of  Rome from AD 306 to 337. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea (now Niš, Serbia); he was the son of Flavius Constantius, a Roman army officer of Illyrians (peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula) and Roman emperor from 305 to 306; and Flavia Julia Helena, today known as St. Helena. Constantine was the first emperor to convert to Christianity. He played an influential role in the proclamation of the Edict of Milan in 313, which declared tolerance for Christianity in the Roman Empire. He convoked the First Council of Nicaea in 325 which produced the statement of Christian belief known as the Nicene Creed. Historians have recognized St. Helena’s great influence on her son.

Very little is known about her early life. It was the pious boast of the city of Colchester, England, for many ages, that St. Helena was born within its walls, others say she was born in York and was a British princess who married a Roman General, Constantius Chlorus.

Since the name Helena was typical for the Greek-speaking part of the Roman Empire, it is believed that St. Helena was born in c. AD 246 in the Greek city of Drepanon, Bithynia, in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) which was renamed Helenopolis in her honor. St. Ambrose described her as a “good stable-maid”, which may suggest that she was born into a lower class in the Roman culture of the day, but the words of St. Ambrose, a doctor of the Church, should be rather understood as – good, stable in faith, maid of the Lord.

She met Constantius while he was serving under Emperor Aurelian in Asia Minor for the 272 campaigns against Zenobia, the queen of the Palmyrene Empire of Syria. It is said that upon meeting they were wearing identical silver bracelets. Constantius saw her as his soulmate sent by God and soon thereafter they got married. Around the year 274, their only child, Constantine, was born. Fifteen years later Constantius, to strengthen his political position, divorced St. Helena and married Theodora, the step-daughter of Emperor Maximinianus. In 305 Flavius Valerius Constantius “Chlorus” became Roman Emperor Constantius I.  He ruled alongside Emperor Galerius, splitting the empire into West and East, while Severus II & Maximinus II served as Caesars according to a power sharing arrangement known as the Tetrarchy. The eastern and western provinces would each be ruled by an Emperor known as an augustus (administrator), supported by a Caesar (military commander). Both Caesars had the right of succession once the ruling augustus died.

Constantius died a year later during a campaign in Britain against the Picts. As he was dying, he recommended his son Constantine to the army as his successor. consequently, Constantine was declared emperor by the legions at York. This caused a shift in the political situation in the Empire. Severus II took over as Augusti from Constantius, and Constantine I supplanted him as a Caesar. Meanwhile, in Italy and Africa Maxentius & Maximian began their attempt to usurp the throne.

After the divorce, St. Helena lived in obscurity, though close to her only son. Constantine was forever loyal to his dear mother, whom he loved very much, never leaving her side. In 307 when Constantine became Emperor he summoned his mother back into inner circle and the imperial court. St. Helena received the title of Augusta (title given to empresses and honored women of the imperial families) and unlimited access to the imperial treasury. He even had coins minted, bearing her image.

Her faith and piety greatly influenced Constantine and served to kindle a holy zeal in the hearts of the Roman people. Forgetful of her high dignity, she delighted to assist at the Divine Office amid the poor, and by her alms deeds showed herself a mother to the needy and distressed.

In the year 312, St. Helena’s motherly work bore fruit of great magnitude.

Maxentius (son of the former Emperor Maximian) and others had initiated a civil war against the Tetrarchy. To protect the country, Constantine had mobilized his forces. On October 28th, 312 AD, near the Milvian Bridge, an important crossing of the Tiber river, Maxentius attacked Constantine’s forces. Vastly outnumbered, Constantine knelt and prayed, asking God to reveal Himself as the supreme God by giving him an otherwise impossible victory. Abruptly at noonday, a cross of fire was seen by his army in the calm and cloudless sky, and beneath it the words: “In hoc signo vinces” which translates to: In this sign thou shalt conquer. Under the Christian banner known as the Roman Labarum they the enemy was crushed, victory was secured and the first Christian empire was born.

In her eighties, between the years 326-328, St. Helena made a famous pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Sixty years after Titus’ destruction of Jerusalem in 70, around the year 130, Emperor Hadrian had built over the site of Jesus’ death a temple dedicated to Venus. During this pilgrimage, she ordered the temple torn down and chose a site in this location to be excavated. This led to the discovery of three crosses together with the names and inscription recorded by the Evangelists. The miraculous discovery and verification of the true Cross is celebrated by the Church on the 3rd of May.

To determine which cross was the True Cross, if any, the empress performed a test. Possibly through Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem, she had a woman who was near death brought from the city. When the woman touched the first and second crosses, her condition did not change, but when she touched the third cross she suddenly recovered, and St. Helena declared the third cross to be the True Cross on which our Blessed Redeemer had suffered. Upon this discovery, Constantine ordered a beautiful Basilica on Mount Calvary to be built to receive the precious relic.

She had two other famous churches built in Palestine to honor the sacred sites of Our Lord’s life: the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of Eleona (Greek for olive grove) over a cave on the Mount of Olives. The Church of Eleona is sometimes called the Church of the Disciples.

Theodoret of Cyrus, an influential theologian, wrote that that during her search, St. Helena also discovered the nails of the crucifixion. She had one of the nails placed in Constantine’s helmet and one in the bridle of his horse to aid him with their miraculous powers. Several of the relics believed to be found by St. Helena are located in Cyprus. Among these are parts of Jesus’ tunic and pieces of the rope used to tie Him to the cross. When she returned to Rome from Jerusalem in 327, she brought parts of the True Cross back with her. She stored these in her palace’s chapel. They can still be seen to this day, though her palace has been converted to the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem.

St. Helena died around 330 with her dearly devoted son by her side. She was then buried in the Mausoleum of Helena outside of Rome. Her sarcophagus can be seen in the Pio-Clementine Vatican Museum.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          C. Online, “St. Helena – Saints & Angels,” Catholic Online. https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=123 (accessed Aug. 05, 2023).

[2]          “Saint Helen, Empress.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_helen.html (accessed Aug. 05, 2023).

[3]          “Helena, mother of Constantine I,” Wikipedia. Jul. 09, 2023. Accessed: Aug. 05, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helena,_mother_of_Constantine_I&oldid=1164579365

Saint Leo II

Pope († 683)

Feast July 3

Odoacer, leader of mercenaries (known as foederati) from the Eastern Germanic tribes of the Middle Danube, deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus in 476 AD and declared himself rex Italiae (King of Italy), resulting in the final dissolution of the Western Roman Empire in Italy.  Although Odoacer officially recognized the nominal suzerainty of the Eastern Empire, he raided the Empire’s coastal cities, threatened key commercial sea routes and his growing influence made him a threat to Constantinople.

To provide a buffer, the Ostrogoths, another Germanic people from the Lower Danube and west of the Dniester River, were allowed to settle in the western Balkans as foederati (allies) of the Eastern Empire.  They turned out to be troublemakers more than allies. After years of dealing with tribal leaders Emperor Zeno finally persuaded king Theodoric the Great to cross the Julian Alps and, as the representative of the Empire, to remove Odoacer. In August 489 his army arrived in Italy, and after a long military campaign Odoacer was slain on the 15th of March, 493. In the arrangement between Theodoric and Zeno, the land and its people were regarded as part of the Empire. Civil administration and legislation remained in the hands of the emperor and King Theodoric became magister militum, the head of the military.

This gave beginning to The Byzantine Papacy, a period when popes required the approval of the Byzantine Emperor for episcopal consecration. For this reason, many popes were chosen from inhabitants of Byzantine-ruled Greece, Syria, or Sicily. This ended the Acacian schism between the Eastern and Western Churches. Due to this policy, when Pope Agatho died on the 10th of January, 681, and Leo II was elected within days, he was not consecrated until 17 August 682.

St. Leo II was a Sicilian, born in 611, the son of a man named Paul. Initially St. Leo became a Canon Regular, (ecclesiastical dignitary who resided in his bishop’s palace charged with recitation of the Office in the cathedral) and was relied upon to serve as the auxiliary of the Ordinary. He was a devout student of Holy Scripture and was well versed in Greek and Latin. During the Caliphate’s attacks on Sicily, he escaped to Rome with many other Sicilian clergymen.

In Rome he was quickly noted as a just, learned, charitable, and eloquent preacher who was also a talented composer of hymns. Among them are several sacred hymns for the Divine Office still maintained by the Church. He took special care of widows, orphans and the poor in general, relieving their sufferings, and becoming an icon of apostolic charity. On the 5th of December, 680, Pope Agatho made him cardinal.

Soon thereafter, St. Leo II became Pope. During his ten-month pontificate he accomplished numerous good works which have caused his name to be blessed by all succeeding generations.

 

St. Leo built three churches in Rome, to honor Saint Paul the Apostle, Saint Sebastian, and Saint George. Highly gifted in the domain of music, for the glory of God he reformed Gregorian Chant.

Representatives from the Emperor of Constantinople tried to influence the bishop of Ravenna, who later attempted to break free of Papal oversight and become autonomous. In response, St. Leo published a decree ordering that in the future no bishop of Ravenna could enter function before being consecrated for that office at Rome by the Roman Pontiff.

St. Leo confirmed the Acts of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, which his predecessor had convoked at Constantinople against the Monothelite heresy, and translated its acts into Latin for the benefit of the Catholics in the west. Monothelitism had emerged from earlier Christological controversies, that were related to monophysitism as formulated by Eutyches of Constantinople.

Eutyches (c. 380 – c. 456) was a presbyter and archimandrite who first came to notice in 431 at the First Council of Ephesus. He came out with a doctrine that claimed Jesus the “is fully divine and fully human, in one nature” and “a fusion of human and divine elements.” He was condemned at the 448 Synod of Constantinople and later at the 451 Council of Chalcedon which clarified that Jesus is one “person” with two “natures,” a divine nature and a human nature. Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople ensured the doctrine of Monothelitism persisted, teaching that Christ has only one energy and one will, contrary to the teachings of Catholic Church that He has two energies and two wills, both human and divine.

Pope Honorius in 635 in the name of unity of Eastern and Western Church endorsed the view that all discussions over energies should cease and agreed that Jesus does not have two conflicting wills, but one will.

Monothelism was condemned by the successors of Pope Honorius. Pope Severinus (640-640) formally condemned it, while Pope John IV (640-642) and Pope Theodore I (642-649) excommunicated Pyrrhus, patriarch of Constantinople, for defending the same error. Pope Martinus (649-655) was imprisoned by the Emperor Constans II, and died a martyr because he did not accept Monothelism. Pope Eugenius I (654-657) also rejected Monothelism. Pope Vitalian (657–672) declared the validity of the doctrine of the two wills of Christ.

During Pope Agatho’s Pontificate, Emperor Constantine IV (668- 685) decided to let the Monothelite question be decided entirely by a church council and asked if the Pope would send delegates to an ecumenical council to be held at Constantinople to end the rift in doctrines. Pope Agatho agreed.

The Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (680-681) condemned Monoenergism and Monothelism as heretical, condemning Pope Honorius who adhered to it, and defining Jesus Christ as having two energies and two wills.

Pope St. Leo II approved the documents of the Sixth Ecumenical Council convened by Pope St. Agatho, his predecessor. Then he notified the emperor that the decrees of the council had been confirmed and made them known to the people of the West in letters written to the Visigothic king, bishops, and nobles and called upon the bishops to subscribe to its decrees.

The Sixth Ecumenical Council clarified that Jesus is one “person” in two “natures”, a divine nature, and a human nature, and that His human nature is subject to His divine nature. Pope Honorius had declared the absence of Christ’s human will, which is a direct attack on our Lord. Hence why Pope St. Leo II wrote the following: “Honorius who did not attempt to sanctify this Apostolic Church with the teaching of Apostolic tradition, but by profane treachery permitted its purity to be polluted”

During Vatican II on July 3, 1965, prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira made this commentary; There is no possible peaceful coexistence, no normal living together between good and evil, truth and error. This is not possible anywhere, moreover, within the Catholic Church, which is par excellence the sacred mountain of truth and goodness. She cannot bear within herself one who defends error and evil…             If some of you live in similar times, you should study the situation and ask St. Leo II to give you the intense fidelity to the Church and to the papacy that he had. It was this fidelity that made him, a saint and a Pope, deem he had the duty and the right to use the words he did against Pope Honorius.

When Pope St. Leo II died in July of 683, his death was deeply mourned by all the faithful.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          “Carissimi: Today’s Mass; S. Leo II of Rome, Confessor,” The Brighton Oratory, Jul. 03, 2020. https://brightonoratory.org/2020/07/03/carissimi-todays-mass-s-leo-ii-of-rome-confessor/ (accessed Aug. 04, 2023).

[2]          “Saint Leo II, Pope.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_leo_ii.html (accessed Aug. 04, 2023).

[3]          “Pope St. Leo II, saint of June 3.” https://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j080sdLeoII_6-3.htm (accessed Aug. 04, 2023).

[4]          “Pope Leo II,” Wikipedia. Jun. 29, 2023. Accessed: Aug. 04, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pope_Leo_II&oldid=1162562540

Saint Justin

Martyr (100-167)

Feast – June 1st

Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So, if a son frees you, then you will truly be free.  (John 8:31-36)

To search for truth in the modern world, we have access to many sources of news and information such as newspapers, television, and radio. Through the internet we have access to scientists, highly educated experts, and commentators “who know better.” We pick and choose which sources we prefer and form our opinions. Many youths view the government as an extension of their parents, so they are happy to support the idea of a free education, including free college and low-stress life. As children become adults, ideas from their youth remain in their hearts and heads. Many blindly follow those who promise an easy life, ignoring reality and slavishly follow their masters and gods.There is no room in their lives for the one true God, the only source of truth and wisdom.

“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” (Luke 11: 28)

Employing the words of our Lord from Matthew 7:15-18 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves.  By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit,” we can differentiate honest leaders from snake oil salesmen.Few people actively follow this divine method, effectively walking in darkness; their faith withers and churches in crowded cities become empty.

This is not a modern phenomenon, a new problem to be solved. Throughout history there are legions of crooks and manipulators preying on the ignorance of the general population; but those who truly look for the truth, find it, bear good fruits and enjoy their reward in heaven. The most renowned truth seeker is St. Augustine, a Doctor of the Church and Bishop of Hippo, but there were many others like him who endured a confused pagan world and found the truth in Catholic Church. One of these lesser-known truth seekers is St. Justin, an apologist, martyr, and stalwart defender of the Catholic faith.

St. Justin was born around the year 100 at Flavia Neapolis (modern-day Nablus) near the ancient biblical city of Shechem in the Palestinian province of Samaria. His parents were Greek-speaking descendants from a diplomatic community that had been sent as colonists to that region of the Roman Empire.

His father followed the Greek pagan religion and raised his son to do the same. He provided St. Justin with an excellent education in literature and history. Knowing history and human nature is one thing, but understanding them requires knowledge of the truth.

As a young man St. Justin started his search for truth in the various schools of philosophy spread throughout the empire. He first tried the school of Stoics, philosophy of life that maximizes positive emotions, reduces negative emotions and helps individuals hone their virtues of character to achieve happiness.

Then he attended a school of a Peripatetic philosopher conducting philosophical and scientific inquiries, but he was put off because the philosopher was too eager for his fee. After that he went to hear a Pythagorean philosopher who demanded that he must first learn music, astronomy, and geometry.

Over time he became frustrated with the professional philosophers, their intellectual arrogance and limitations, as well as their apparent indifference to God.

After encountering a Platonist thinker who had recently settled in his city, he adopted Platonism which affirms the existence of abstract objects in a third realm distinct from both the sensible external world and from the internal world of consciousness. He described those days in his Dialogue with Trypho “And the perception of immaterial things quite overpowered me, and the contemplation of ideas furnished my mind with wings, so that in a little while I supposed that I had become wise.”

At the same time, he had admired Christians from a distance because of the beauty of their moral lives. As he writes in his Apologies: “When I was a disciple of Plato, hearing the accusations made against the Christians and seeing them intrepid in the face of death and of all that men fear, I said to myself that it was impossible that they should be living in evil and in the love of pleasure.”

One day, while he was walking by the seashore, meditating a majestic old gentleman, possibly a Syrian Christian, engaged him in a dialogue about God. When St. Justin confess that the ancient philosophers taught nothing certain about God, the elderly man urged him to study the Jewish prophets and told St. Justin that these authors had not only spoken by God’s inspiration, but also predicted the coming of Christ and the foundation of his Church, being more reliable than the reasoning of philosophers. The man told St. Justin: “There existed, long before this time, certain men more ancient than all those who are esteemed philosophers, both righteous and beloved by God, who spoke by the Divine Spirit, and foretold events which would take place, and which are now taking place. They are called prophets. These alone both saw and announced the truth to men, neither reverencing nor fearing any man, not influenced by a desire for glory, but speaking those things alone which they saw and which they heard, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Their writings are still extant, and he who has read them is very much helped in his knowledge of the beginning and end of things, and of those matters which the philosopher ought to know, provided he has believed them. For they did not use demonstration in their treatises, seeing that they were witnesses to the truth above all demonstration, and worthy of belief; and those events which have happened, and those which are happening, compel you to assent to the utterances made by them, although, indeed, they were entitled to credit on account of the miracles which they performed, since they both glorified the Creator, the God and Father of all things, and proclaimed His Son, the Christ [sent] by Him: which, indeed, the false prophets, who are filled with the lying unclean spirit, neither have done nor do, but venture to work certain wonderful deeds for the purpose of astonishing men, and glorify the spirits and demons of error. But pray that, above all things, the gates of light may be opened to you; for these things cannot be perceived or understood by all, but only by the man to whom God and His Christ have imparted wisdom.”

Moved by the aged man’s argument, St. Justin renounced both his former religious faith and his philosophical background. The Scriptures, ascetic lives of the early Christians, and the heroic example of the martyrs convinced him of the moral and spiritual superiority of Christian doctrine and led St. Justin from the inadequacy of human reason to the light of faith. Baptized around the age of 30, he chose to re-dedicate his life to the service of the Divine. He wrote “I have resolved that in all I say, my only purpose will be to speak the truth; I will say it without fear or any other consideration, even if I should at the same hour be cut up in pieces.” It is believed that St. Justin was ordained a priest, or at least a deacon, but he continued to wear the type of cloak that Greek culture associated with philosophers. He traveled to Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Italy, gaining many to Christ. He arrived in Rome and started his own school during the reign of Antonius Pius (138–161). At that time Emperor Antonius Pius introduced the important principle in criminal law that accused persons are not to be treated as guilty before trial.

On the same principle, around 150, St. Justin in The First Apology argued against the persecution of individuals solely for being Christian. He also provided the emperor with a defense of the philosophy of Christianity and a detailed explanation of contemporary Christian practices and rituals. He convinced the emperor to regard the Church with tolerance and impose the rule that accusations against Christians must require proof. He sought to convince the rulers of the Roman Empire that they had nothing to gain, and much to lose, by persecuting the Christians.

In 146 Governor of Britain Lollius Urbicus returned to Rome and took the prestigious post of praefectus urbi (Prefect of Rome). Under his jurisdiction the persecution of Christians intensified. In response St. Justin wrote The Second Apology, addressed to the Roman Senate, which was meant to expose the utter irrationality of the allegations and propaganda spread against the Christians, and to reveal the true reasons behind the recent persecutions under Urbicus.

In the reign of Marcus Aurelius, he wrote to the emperor, who was himself a philosopher and the author of the well-known “Meditations.” He tried to demonstrate the injustice of the persecutions, and the superiority of the Catholic faith over Greek philosophy. Justin emphasized the strength of his convictions by stating that he expected to be put to death for expressing them. He did indeed seal his testimony with his blood. In 167 after disputing with the cynic philosopher Crescens, St. Justin was denounced by the latter to the authorities, was tried, and together with six of his disciples was sentenced to death by the urban prefect Junius Rusticus.

The account of their interrogation has been preserved, for then as now, court stenographers wrote down the words of judges, witnesses and the accused, and the early Christians paid money for the right to copy the records, showing how Justin the philosopher became known as “St. Justin Martyr.”

“The Prefect Rusticus says: Approach and sacrifice, all of you, to the gods. Justin says: No one in his right mind gives up piety for impiety. The Prefect Rusticus says: If you do not obey, you will be tortured without mercy. Justin replies: That is our desire, to be tortured for Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and so to be saved, for that will give us salvation and firm confidence at the more terrible universal tribunal of Our Lord and Saviour. And all the martyrs said: Do as you wish; for we are Christians, and we do not sacrifice to idols. The Prefect Rusticus read the sentence: Those who do not wish to sacrifice to the gods and to obey the emperor will be scourged and beheaded according to the laws. The holy martyrs glorifying God betook themselves to the customary place, where they were beheaded and consummated their martyrdom confessing their Saviour.”

“We are slain with the sword, but we increase and multiply; the more we are persecuted and destroyed, the more are deaf to our numbers. As a vine, by being pruned and cut close, shoots forth new suckers, and bears a greater abundance of fruit; so is it with us.” – St. Justin Martyr

To this day, certain writings of Saint Justin are still extant and pertinent: The First Apology, The Second Apology, the Dialogue with Trypho, Exhortation to the Greeks, Discourse to the Greeks, and The Monarchy of the Rule of God.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          CNA, “St. Justin Martyr,” Catholic News Agency. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-justin-martyr-486 (accessed Jun. 03, 2023).

[2]          “St Justin, Martyr.” https://www.fministry.com/2017/06/st-justin-martyr.html (accessed Jun. 03, 2023).

[3]          “Saint Justin, Martyr.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_justin.html (accessed Jun. 03, 2023).

[4]          “Justin Martyr,” Wikipedia. May 30, 2023. Accessed: Jun. 03, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Justin_Martyr&oldid=1157774866#Veneration

 

 

Saint Monica

Widow (332-387)

Feast- May 4

Contrary to the popular saying “Happy wife, happy life;” Holy Scripture, in the book of Wisdom of Sirach, chapter 26 states; Happy the husband of a good wife; the number of his days will be doubled.  A loyal wife brings joy to her husband, and he will finish his years in peace. (1-2) A gracious wife delights her husband; her thoughtfulness puts flesh on his bones.  A silent wife is a gift from the Lord; nothing is worth more than her self-discipline. A modest wife is a supreme blessing; no scales can weigh the worth of her chastity. The sun rising in the Lord’s heavens—the beauty of a good wife in her well-ordered home. (13-16)

St. Monica, the wife of Patricius Aurelius of Thagaste, exemplifies the superiority of the Holy Bible over the wisdom of man. Born in 332 to a Christian family in the city of Thagaste, in a region of Africa known for its rich agricultural output. Educated by a household servant, Monica cared for her father and siblings until she was given at young age in marriage to Patricius, landowner and minor Roman official.

As a holy Catholic wife, the salvation of her pagan husband and children was her main concern. St. Augustine described her cooperation with God’s grace in fulfilling this task, in Book IX, chapter 9 of The Confessions:

Brought up thus modestly and soberly, and made subject rather by Thee to her parents, than by her parents to Thee, so soon as she was of marriageable age, being bestowed upon a husband, she served him as her lord; and did her diligence to win him unto Thee, preaching Thee unto him by her conversation; by which Thou ornamented her, making her reverently amiable, and admirable unto her husband. And she so endured the wronging of her bed as never to have any quarrel with her husband thereon. For she looked for Thy mercy upon him, that believing in Thee, he might be made chaste. But besides this, he was fervid, as in his affections, so in anger: but she had learnt not to resist an angry husband, not in deed only, but not even in word. Only when he was grown calm and tranquil, and in a temper to receive it, she would give an account of her actions, if haply he had overhastily taken offence.

Her mother-in-law also, at first by whisperings of evil servants incensed against her, she so overcame by observance and persevering endurance and meekness, that she of her own accord discovered to her son the meddling tongues whereby the domestic peace betwixt her and her daughter-in-law had been disturbed, asking him to correct them. Then, when in compliance with his mother, and for the well-ordering of the family, he had with stripes corrected those discovered, at her will who had discovered them, she promised the like reward to any who, to please her, should speak ill of her daughter-in-law to her: and none now venturing, they lived together with a remarkable sweetness of mutual kindness.

While deeply concerned for the salvation of her family, St. Augustine noted that she was always ready to help her neighbors.

This great gift also thou bestowed, O my God, my mercy, upon that good handmaid of Thine, in whose womb Thou created me, that between any disagreeing and discordant parties where she was able, she showed herself such a peacemaker, that hearing on both sides most bitter things, such as swelling and indigested choler uses to break out into, when the crudities of enmities are breathed out in sour discourses to a present friend against an absent enemy, she never would disclose aught of the one unto the other, but what might tend to their reconcilement. A small good this might appear to me, did I not to my grief know numberless persons, who through some horrible and wide-spreading contagion of sin, not only disclose to persons mutually angered things said in anger, but add withal things never spoken, whereas to humane humanity, it ought to seem a light thing not to toment or increase ill will by ill words, unless one study withal by good words to quench it. Such was she, Thyself, her most inward Instructor, teaching her in the school of the heart.

While many matrons, who had milder husbands, yet bore even in their faces marks of shame, would in familiar talk blame their husbands’ lives, she would blame their tongues, giving them, as in jest, earnest advice: “That from the time they heard the marriage writings read to them, they should account them as indentures, whereby they were made servants; and so, remembering their condition, ought not to set themselves up against their lords.” And when they, knowing what a choleric husband she endured, marveled that it had never been heard, nor by any token perceived, that Patricius had beaten his wife, or that there had been any domestic difference between them, even for one day, and confidentially asking the reason, she taught them her practice above mentioned. Those wives who observed it found the good, and returned thanks; those who observed it not, found no relief, and suffered.

Finally, her own husband, towards the very end of his earthly life, did she gain unto Thee; nor had she to complain of that in him as a believer, which before he was a believer she had borne from him. She was also the servant of Thy servants; whosoever of them knew her, did in her much praise and honour and love Thee; for that through the witness of the fruits of a holy conversation they perceived Thy presence in her heart. For she had been the wife of one man, had requited her parents, had governed her house piously, was well reported of for good works, had brought up children, so often travailing in birth of them, as she saw them swerving from Thee.

Her son St. Augustine continued to pursue earthly pleasures, travelling to Italy to escape his mother’s importunities, but he could not escape incessant her prayers and tears. She begged a learned bishop to speak to her son. Instead, he consoled her with the words, “the child of those tears shall never perish.”  She followed St. Augustine to Italy, but upon her arrival discovered he had already moved on to Milan. She followed him again, crossed paths with St. Ambrose and through him witnessed Augustine’s conversion and subsequent baptism in the church of St John the Baptist at Milan.

Besides St. Augustin, St. Monica two other children. Her son Navigius became a deacon in the North African Church. Her daughter, ‘Perpetua’ of Hippo became the head of a monastery near St. Augustine’s own church.

In the year 387 at Ostia, shortly before they were to re-embark for Africa, St. Augustine and his mother sat at a window conversing on the life of the blessed. She turned to him and said, “My son, there is nothing now I care for in this life. What I shall now do, or why I remain on this earth, I know not. The one reason I had for wishing to linger in this life a little longer was that I might see you a Catholic Christian before I died. This grace God has granted me superabundantly, seeing you reject earthly happiness to become His servant.”A few days later she succumbed to a fever and died at the age of fifty-six.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          F. Media, “Saint Monica,” Franciscan Media, Aug. 27, 2020. https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-monica/ (accessed Apr. 29, 2023).

[2]          “Saint Monica, Widow.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_monica.html (accessed Apr. 29, 2023).

[3]          “St. Monica: the Patron Saint of patience and perseverance,” Savelli Religious. https://savellireligious.com/blogs/blog/st-monica-the-patron-saint-of-perseverance (accessed Apr. 29, 2023).

[4]          “Saint Monica,” Wikipedia. Apr. 29, 2023. Accessed: Apr. 29, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saint_Monica&oldid=1152263979

[5]          “CHURCH FATHERS: Confessions, Book IX (St. Augustine).” https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/110109.htm (accessed Apr. 29, 2023).

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Martyr (1577-1622)

Feast- April 24

To restore the moral integrity of the clergy and end the investiture of bishops by lay rulers, the Church enacted the Gregorian Reforms of the late 11^th century. These reforms reduced the Church’s dependence on local rulers, making it a powerful player in world affairs.

At the time, books were hand copied by monks, which meant they were expensive and primarily accessible to churches and monasteries. This enabled the Catholic Church to guard against accidental or intentional misinterpretation while also educating society. This situation changed after 1440, when the German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press. Soon thereafter, the printing press was used to publish books and documents besides the bible and salvation-oriented literature. Soon after Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Thesis to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg on 31 October 1517, his wealthy friends had it translated from Latin into German, printed and spread across the Holy Roman Empire. By 1519, Luther’s teachings had spreading across France, England and Italy. Many local rulers and nobility, seeking freedom to pursue unholy desires without risking condemnation by the Church, and consequently their subjects, happily sponsored Luther’s “reformation.”

After refusing to renounce all his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X, Martin Luther was excommunicated on the 3rd of January, 1521. The Edict of Worms (a formal deliberative assembly of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V on the 25th of May, 1521), declared Luther an outlaw, banned his literature, and required his arrest. However, under the protection of the powerful Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, Luther was free to attack the Catholic Church, undermine its teachings and authority while promoting obedience to the local overlords.

While Martin Luther led the Protestant Revolution in modern day Germany, Ulrich Zwingli led the revolt in Switzerland, John Calvin in France, John Knox in Scotland, Thomas Cranmer (under Henry VIII) in England, and many others. This led to violent riots and wars, and savage atrocities were committed in the name of reformation. In response to the Protestant Reformation, the Council of Trent began the Catholic Counter-Reformation in 1545. This council was a comprehensive effort composed of apologetic, polemic documents, and ecclesiastical configuration. This effort included codification of the uniform Roman Rite Mass; foundation of seminaries for the proper training of priests in the spiritual life and the theological traditions of the Church; and public defense of the sacraments and pious practices, which were under attack by the Protestant reformers. Jesuits under St. Ignatius of Loyola and many faithful from other religious orders undertook the educational and missionary work to bring back the lost sheep to the faith.

Capuchin, St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen is one of those who answered the call and like Our Lord Jesus sacrificed his life to save others.

Mark Rey was born in 1577 to noble parents in the Swabian (southern Germany) town of Sigmaringen, the Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, where his father Johann Rey was burgomaster (mayor). His mother, Genovefa Rosenberger was from the protestant city of Tübingen. She had become a Catholic when she married Johann on 28 December 1567. Mark, who would later become St. Fidelis, was the fifth of six children in the family. He was raised, as he would describe, “in the one, apostolic, Roman, and true faith” transmitted to him by his beloved parents. Educated in good manners, discipline and the fear of God he frequently approached the Sacraments, visited the sick and the poor, and spent many hours on his knees in Adoration.

For higher studies, Mark went to Freiburg im Breisgau in Baden-Württemberg (Germany). In this Jesuit college he advanced in classical studies, receiving a degree in philosophy in 1601. Subsequently he taught philosophy at this university while following courses in jurisprudence. During his time as a student, he was known for his modesty, meekness, and chastity. He was always generous to the poor, sometimes giving them the very clothes off his back.

In 1604 he accompanied, as preceptor (teacher-mentor), three young Swabian gentlemen on their travels through the principal parts of Europe. They were to visit the Low Countries under Spanish dominion as well as France and Italy to broaden the horizons of their human experiences. He lived this journey as a true and proper pilgrimage, exemplifying and encouraging a more spiritual way of life among his friends. Later he returned to the university and earned his Doctorate of Law around 1611.

For a time, he followed the legal profession. While nominated an assessor in the supreme court he opened a legal office and came to be known as the ‘poor man’s lawyer’. Adhered to the requirements of absolute honesty, he scrupulously refrained from all invectives, detractions, and whatever else might affect the reputation of any adversary. After a series of negative experiences and the unscrupulous attitude of his colleagues he found it was difficult to be both a good lawyer and a good Christian.

Leaving his legal practice behind, St. Fidelis decided to give his life directly to the service of Christ and the Church. After reading Jesuit Girolamo Piatti’s works on the consecrated life, St. Fidelis decided to join his brother George who had become a Capuchin in 1604, going by the name Br. Apollonius.

Around June 1612 he asked the Minister of the Swiss Capuchin Province, Alexander von Altdorf, to be admitted to the Order. The superior had him wait and suggested he be ordained priest first. In short order he received ordination and was accepted by Br. Angelo Visconti da Milano into the novitiate in Freiburg im Breisgau in October 1612, receiving the name Fidelis (faithful in Latin).

During the year of probation, there was no shortage of temptations to return to the world. In that period, he wrote a collection of prayers and meditations for personal use, (Exercitia spiritualia seraphicae devotionis) which revealed the affective and contemplative tone of his spirituality. After a year of religious formation at Freiburg, before taking vows on the 4th of October 1613, he wrote his will in which he provided scholarships for poor young Catholics of the Rey family and other relatives. Then he began four years of theology in Konstanz under the guidance of a friar of Polish origins, Br. Johann Baptist Fromberger. As soon he concluded these studies at Frauenfeld in 1618 he was immediately employed in preaching and in hearing confessions.

Through prayer, fasting, hair shirts, iron-pointed girdles, and disciplines St. Fidelis became known for his piety, while by caring for his neighbors he dutifully fulfilled the commandment of love. In 1621 when during a severe epidemic in town of Feldkirch, he cared for and cured many sick, and was especially revered for his work among Austrian soldiers, taking care of their bodies and souls. Many residents of the town and neighboring places were reformed by his zealous labors, and numerous Calvinists were converted. Soon he gained a reputation as an indefatigable preacher.

To counteract the spread of Calvinist Protestantism, a Swiss Catholic bishop sought help from the Capuchins. Having become well known for his fervor and holiness, St. Fidelis and eight other Capuchin friars were appointed by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in Rome to preach, teach, and write in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland, with the goal of exhorting the people to return to the embrace of the Mother Church which had given them birth. Full of zeal they went from town to town, from village to village preaching in the pulpits of Catholic churches, in public places, and even in the meeting-places of the Calvinists themselves. Some Swiss Protestants responded with hostility, but many others, among them some prominent Calvinists like Rudolf von Gugelberg or Ralph de Salis were brought back to the Church. This made St. Fidelis an official enemy of the Calvinists who controlled much of that land. Being incensed at his success in converting their brethren, they loudly threatened St. Fidelis’ life, but he was ready to brave every peril to rescue souls from the errors of Calvin.

On 24 April 1622 under the protection of some Austrian imperial soldiers, St. Fidelis preached in the Church of the village of Seewis where, with great energy, he exhorted the Catholics to constancy in the faith. After Calvinists began an attack on the church, one of whom discharged a musket at St. Fidelis, he was persuaded by the Catholics to immediately flee with the Austrian troops. After leaving Seewis, the Austrian soldiers withdrew, but St Fidelis pressed on to preach at the village of Grüsch. On his way he was confronted by 20 Calvinist soldiers led by a minister. The Calvinists knew exactly who stood before them, called him a false prophet, and urged him to embrace their sect. He answered: “I am sent to you to confute, not to embrace your heresy. The Catholic religion is the faith of all ages, I do not fear death.” His skull was then cracked open with the butt of a sword. Then St.Fidelis rose again on his knees, and stretching forth his arms in the form of a cross, said with a feeble voice “Pardon my enemies, O Lord: blinded by passion they know not what they do. Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. Mary, Mother of God, succor me!” Another sword stroke cloved his skull and the saint collapsed. Still furious, the Calvinists proceeded to viciously stab the dying saint, and his left leg was hacked off in retribution for the numerous journeys he had made into Calvinist territory.

His body was quickly found and local Catholics buried him the next day. Six months later, the martyr’s body was exhumed and found incorrupt, but his head and left arm were separated from his body. The body parts were then placed into two reliquaries, one sent to the Cathedral of Coire at the behest of the bishop and laid under the High Altar; the other was placed in the Capuchin church at Weltkirchen, in Feldkirch, Austria. The rebels were soon after defeated by the imperial troops. The Protestant minister who had participated in Fidelis’ martyrdom was converted by this circumstance, made a public abjuration of Calvinism, and was received into the Catholic Church.

A few days before he affirmed his faith with his blood, in his last speech, St. Fidelis spoke of the Catholic faith in these words:

“Catholic faith, how stable, how firm you are, how well‐rooted, how well‐founded on a strong rock. Heaven and earth will pass away, but you can never perish. From the beginning the whole world has spoken against you, but you have triumphed mightily overall.

For this is the Victory which overcomes the world, our faith; this is what has brought the most powerful kings under Christ’s rule, and made peoples the servants of Christ.

What was it that made the holy apostles and martyrs undergo fierce struggles and terrible agonies, if not faith and above all faith in the resurrection?

What is it that has made hermits spurn pleasure, honors and wealth, and live a celibate life in solitude, if not living faith?

What is it that in these days causes true Christians to turn aside from what is easy and pleasant and undergo hardship and labor?

Living faith working through love – this is what leads men to put aside the goods of the present in the hope of those of the future, and to look to the future, rather than to the present.”

Canonized in 1746, St. Fidelis is the youngest Capuchin saint. He died at the age of forty-five, only ten years after entering religious life. Over three hundred miracles were attributed to his intercession during his canonization process.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          CNA, “St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen,” Catholic News Agency. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-fidelis-of-sigmaringen-448 (accessed Apr. 15, 2023).

[2]          “Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Martyr.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_fidelis_of_sigmaringen.html (accessed Apr. 15, 2023).

[3]          “Memorial of Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Priest and Martyr,” My Catholic Life! https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/april-24-saint-fidelis-of-sigmaringen-priest-and-martyr/ (accessed Apr. 15, 2023).

[4]          “Saint Fidelis von Sigmaringen, Capuchin martyr,” CapDox. https://www.capdox.capuchin.org.au/saints-blesseds/saint-fidelis-von-sigmaringen/ (accessed Apr. 15, 2023).

[5]          “Fidelis of Sigmaringen,” Wikipedia. Jan. 19, 2023. Accessed: Apr. 15, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fidelis_of_Sigmaringen&oldid=1134618057