Saints of the Week: Immaculate Conception, Nicholas, Ambrose, Juan Diego, Barbara, P. Chrysologus, Noel, John Damascene, & More
Happy Sunday! This week we celebrated two major feasts: the Immaculate Conception and St. Nicholas Day. But every day should be a celebration of God’s goodness to us, particularly as we approach Christmas.
This week was the great feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8), referring to the miracle by which, through the foreseen merits of Christ, Mary was preserved from Original Sin from the moment of her conception. This was fitting as one who would carry the God-man Jesus in her womb and give to Him her DNA. See my previous article for a more detailed explanation and reflection. See Lk. 1:28, “And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women”; Luke 1:42, 48; Rev. 12; and Gen. 3:15. The feast is called the Maternity of Anna (Mary’s mother) among Byzantine Catholics. Another Marian feast this week was Our Lady of Loreto (Dec. 10). According to tradition, the house in which Mary was born was transferred by angels from Israel to several locations, finally ending in Loreto, Italy, where there is still a famous shrine to Mary.
St. Nicholas of Myra (Dec. 6) was bishop of Myra in Turkey. He was born to rich, pious parents, although they died while he was still young. During the harsh persecutions of Roman Emperor Diocletian he confessed his Christian faith but, unlike so many other Christians of that era, survived (though he was put in jail). Nicholas was still quite well-off when he was free, but he chose to donate his wealth to the poor. He saved three poor girls from prostitution and/or slavery by throwing bags of gold in their window on three separate occasions, and one of the bags landed in a stocking drying before the fire! Nicholas also raised murdered children back to life. A famous incident re-popularized in modern times is of Nicholas slapping or punching the heretic Arius at the Council of Nicaea. Deprived of his symbols of episcopal office, Nicholas had them restored after a vision of Jesus and Mary. Read my previous article for more details.
St. Ambrose (Dec. 7), “Bishop of Milan, who on April 4th, on the holy night of Pascha, fell asleep in the Lord. His memory is celebrated today, on which (while still a catechumen) he undertook ruling the famous See of Milan in 373, while he was exercising the office of prefect of the city. A true pastor and teacher of the faithful, he exercised great charity toward all, defended strenuously the freedom of the Church and the doctrine of orthodox faith against the Arians. By his commentaries and his musical hymns, he piously catechized the people. [d. 397, ECPubs]” He helped bring St. Augustine to the true faith.
St. Juan Diego (Dec. 9) was an Aztec Indian born as “Cuauhtlatoatzin,” or “Talking Eagle,” in the late 1400s in what is now Mexico. He was baptized after having already reached middle age. Juan Diego was a widower when, on his way to Mass in Mexico City, he saw the first of a series of apparitions of a beautiful lady who was really Jesus’s Mother Mary. She spoke to Juan Diego lovingly, healed his uncle, and gave him the miraculous signs of roses during winter and an image of herself on Juan Diego’s tilma to show the bishop (read more HERE). After the latter signs, the bishop agreed to the Lady’s request, which was for a church to be built in her honor. Our Lady of Guadalupe’s apparitions brought many thousands of natives to the Catholic faith and her image on Juan Diego’s rough and (normally) biodegradable tilma has survived and been found scientifically inexplicable to this day. Juan Diego lived his last days next to the Guadalupe shrine, caring for pilgrims.
St. Barbara (Dec. 4) was an early Roman martyr. She is said to have been very beautiful, but was locked up by her father because she refused marriage on account of her vow of virginity. While her father was on a journey, she had three windows installed in his bathhouse to honor the Trinity. Later, infuriated by her Christian faith, her father turned her in to the emperor for torture—and later killed her himself, it is said in the very bathhouse with the Trinitarian windows. Her father was struck down by lightning after martyring her. Barbara was formerly wildly popular, venerated as one of the 14 Holy Helpers.
St. Peter Chrysologus (Dec. 4, Latin Mass) was the 5th century bishop of Ravenna, Italy, when it was the capital of the Western Roman Empire. His zealous but short sermons combatted paganism and the Monophysite heresy (which denied two distinct natures, human and divine, in Christ) and taught the faithful. They were not only effective in his day, which is why he was called Chrysologus (“Golden-Worded”), but are still so excellent that he has been declared a Doctor of the Church. One of his famous warnings against sin was, “The man who wants to play with the devil will not be able to rejoice with Christ.”
Sts. Noël Chabanel (Dec. 8) and Charles Garnier (Dec. 7) were among the first North American Martyrs, both French Jesuit missionaries. Noël Chabanel had much to suffer with the food, languages, and living conditions of the wilderness of what is now Canada when he came to evangelize the Huron Indians. He vowed to Jesus that he would dedicate his whole life to this work, however. He survived an Iroquois massacre but was murdered by an apostate Huron while leading survivors to safety (d. 1649). Charles Garnier had a wealthy and learned background, but he too dedicated his life to evangelizing the Huron natives. The fort where he lived was attacked by the ruthless Iroquois, and after ministering to the dying, Garnier himself was martyred.
St. John of Damascus (Dec. 4) lived in the late seventh and early eighth centuries. He was “a priest celebrated for his holiness and learning, He strove diligently by his word and writings in favor of the veneration of Holy Images against the Emperor Leo III, the Isaurian. Having been made a monk in the monastery of St. Sabbas near Jerusalem, he composed sacred hymns and there reposed in the Lord.”
Hannah, (Dec. 9) “mother of the prophet Samuel, was the wife of Elkanah (cf I Samuel 1). She had no child, and was in reproach for barrenness. God took pity on her, and opened her womb; she bore Samuel, and dedicated him to God from his birth. Her canticle of thanksgiving is sung at the Office of Matins.”
St. Sabbas of Mar-Saba (Dec. 5) was “born in Cappadocia, arrived at the desert of Judea, and instituted a new sort of eremetical life in seven monasteries, which were called ‘laurae.’ He gathered solitaries under one overseer (hegumen). In the great laura, which afterwards was adorned with his name, he dwelt for many years, a shining example of sanctity. He strove assiduously for the faith taught at the Council of Chalcedon. [died 532, ECPubs]”
St. Gorgonia (Dec. 9) was the “Daughter of Saint Gregory of Nazianzen the Elder and Saint Nonna. Sister of Saint Gregory of Nazianzen and Saint Caesarius of Nazianzen. Married, and mother of three. Twice miraculously cured of serious maladies, one of which resulted from being trampled by a team of mules which broke bones and crushed internal organs, and the other whose symptoms included headaches, fever, paralysis, and repeated coma. Each was cured by the strength of her prayer.” She was praised by her brothers, and died around 375 AD.
St. Eulalia of Mérida (Dec. 10) was a Spanish girl who, in the early 300s, when she was only 12 years old, openly rebuked the judge trying to enforce pagan worship. Her body was torn with iron hooks and when fire was applied to the wounds, her hair went up in flames and she died. It is believed that snow fell and covered her body from impure eyes. St. Julia of Merida was martyred with her. St. Leocadia of Toledo (Dec. 9), a Christian slave imprisoned for her faith, asked God to take her from a world where a girl like Eulalia was so abused; she died of no identified cause.
Bl. Niels Stenson (Dec. 5) was a Danish convert and scientist whose anatomical achievements include the “discovery of the excretory duct of the parotid glands and [findings concerning] the circulation of the blood in the body.” He stayed in Italy due to his conversion, became a priest and bishop, and continued to pursue science, with his geological discoveries including an explanation of Earth’s petrifactions.
St. Peter Paschal (Dec. 6) was born to Spanish Christians living under Muslim rule. He joined the Mercedarian order, and was successful both in ransoming Christian captives and in bringing Muslims to Christianity, which led to his imprisonment. One day, a little boy dressed as a slave appeared and offered to be Paschal’s altar boy for the Mass Peter was offering in jail. After Mass, the boy told Peter, “I am Jesus Christ,” and said Peter’s loving work freeing captives and his imprisonment had “made Me your prisoner.” After refusing not to say anything against Mohammed, Peter was executed.
Three popes were celebrated this week. Pope St. Gregory III (Dec. 10) unexpectedly became the pontiff by popular acclaim in 731 and took a firm stand with a synod against the heresy of Iconoclasm, which aims to destroy all sacred images. The heretic Emperor Leo tried to pressure and then kidnap Gregory (the latter ploy failed), but the pope remained undeterred, preserving sacred images for future Christians. Pope St. Eutychian (Dec. 8) was a third century pontiff about whom little is known. He reigned during the anti-Christian era of the Roman Empire, is said to have buried hundreds of martyrs himself, and was one of the first popes to bless crops. Pope St. Miltiades (Dec. 10), said to be of African descent, came to the papal office just after the initial edict of toleration for Christianity in the Roman Empire. Constantine gave the Lateran Palace to Miltiades.
St. Clement of Alexandria (Dec. 4) was a teacher at the Alexandrian Catechetical School, and mentor of the famous theologian Origen. He later fled to Cappadocia during one of the persecutions of Christians, where he administered the diocese.
St. Giuse Nguyen Duy Khang (Dec. 6) was a Vietnamese Dominican tertiary and catechist who tried to help St. Jerome Hermosilla escape from prison, and was captured. He was tortured and martyred in 1861.
Bl. Brian Lacey (Dec. 10): “Yorkshire country gentleman. Cousin, companion and assistant to Venerable Father Montford Scott Arrested in 1586 for helping and hiding priests. Arrested again in 1591 when his own brother Richard betrayed him, Brian was tortured at Bridewell prison to learn the names of more people who had helped priests. Finally arraigned down the Old Bailey, he was condemed to death for his faith, for aiding priests and encouraging Catholics. Martyr [catholicsaints.info].”
St. Christina of Markyate (Dec. 5) was a 12th century English noblewoman who was married against her will and spent years as a prisoner. A hermit helped her escape and live as an anchoress. After her marriage was annulled, Christina founded a religious house at Markyate. She was a skilled needle woman, and experienced religious ecstasies and visions.
Bl. Jerome de Angelis (Dec. 4) and Simon Yempo were both Jesuits martyred with a group of other Christians in Japan in the early 1600s. Jerome was a Sicilian priest and missionary who worked for years in central Japan before an anti-Christian edict drove him to underground ministry. Simon Yempo, a native Japanese and Jesuit brother, worked with Jerome; they were eventually imprisoned, and converted dozens of jailers and prisoners. The martyrs were burned to death.
St. Syrus of Pavia (Dec. 9) was the 1st century (and first) bishop of Pavia, Italy; it is said the Apostles appointed him, and that Syrus was the boy from whom Jesus took the five loaves for the miraculous multiplication of food in the Gospels. St. Asella of Rome (Dec. 6) practiced severe penances and was friends with St. Jerome, who praised her holiness. St. Angelina of Serbia (Dec. 10) was the wife of King Stefan Brankovic; after raising her children and being widowed, she became a charitable nun and abbess. St. Ethelgiva of Shaftesbury (Dec. 9) was the daughter of King Alfred the Great and abbess at Shaftesbury, England. St. John the Silent (Dec. 7) was a nobleman who founded a church, became a bishop, and then a monk and hermit; he preached against heresy and was a healer and exorcist. St. Peter Fourier (Dec. 9) was a French Augustinian priest, a reformer, a preacher against heresy, and a founder of charities, a community bank, and the Sodality of the Immaculate Conception; he is said to have memorized Aquinas’s Summa Theologica.
St. Budoc of Brittany (Dec. 9) was a prince born in a cask at sea; he later became an abbot and bishop. St. Burgundofara (Dec. 7) was a noblewoman who refused marriage and became head of an abbey famous for its spirituality and learning. St. Liborius Wagner (Dec. 9) was a German priest who was tortured and murdered by Swedish Protestants. St. Swithun Wells (Dec. 10) was a British schoolmaster who hosted priests and secret Masses in his home, and was martyred in 1591. St. John Roberts (Dec. 10) was a Protestant convert to Catholicism, a priest and a monk; returning to his native England, he was arrested and exiled multiple times before being martyred. St. Anno II (Dec. 4) was the 11th century bishop of Cologne, a founder of monasteries, and regent to the young Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV.
Sts. Menas, Hermogenes, and Eugraphus (Dec. 10, Byzantine calendar) were 4th century pagans; the example of Menas after his conversion led the others to convert too, and they were tortured and beheaded. St. Nectarius of Auvergne (Dec. 9) was a missionary in Gaul (now France) who transformed a pagan temple into a church and was martyred. St. Justinian of Ramsey (Dec. 5) was a Breton priest and hermit about whom miraculous stories are told, including being tricked into setting sail with a crew of devils, who turned into blackbirds and flew away at his reciting a psalm. Bl. Philip Rinaldi (Dec. 5), inspired by Don Bosco, became a Salesian priest and later Rector Major of the Order in 1922. St. Crispina (Dec. 5) was a wealthy Roman wife and mother abused and martyred for her faith during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian.
St. Osmund (Dec. 4) was a French nobleman who joined William the Conqueror’s invasion of England; he was then royal chaplain, chancellor of England, and finally Bishop of Salisbury. St. Abraham of Kratia (Dec. 6) was a hermit, abbot, and bishop who died in 558. St. Narcisa De Jesus Martillo Moran (Dec. 9) was an Ecuadorian seamstress who practiced harsh penances and experienced religious ecstasies. St. Eustace White (Dec. 10) was an English convert who was arrested, tortured, and martyred in 1591. Bl. Jean-Baptiste Fouque (Dec. 5) was a French priest who opened homes for young girls and boys, the elderly, and the infirm, and helped the wounded in WWI. Bl. Adolph Kolping (Dec. 4) was a German priest who worked with craftsmen and apprentices, and founded the International Kolping Society. Bl. János Scheffler (Dec. 6) was a bishop in Romania killed by the Communists in 1952.
You can also read about Giovanni Calabria, Pietro Tecelano, Sigiranus, Maruthas, Christian of Prussia, John Thaumaturg, and Sola (Dec. 4); Bassus of Nice, Bassus of Lucera, Bartholomew Fanti of Mantua, John Almond, Gerald of Braga, Cawrdaf, Basilissa, Thagura Martyrs, and Aper of Sens (Dec. 5); Gerard of La-Charite, Dionysia the Martyr and family, Isserninus of Ireland, Gertrude the Elder, Angelica of Milazzo, and Aemilian and Leontia (Dec. 6); Sabinus of Spoleto, Antonius of Siya, Athenodorus of Mesopotamia, Humbert of Clairvaux, Agatho of Alexandria, Diuma, and Buithe (Dec. 7); Eucharius of Trier, Romaric of Remiremont, Paul Yun Ji-chung, Thibaud de Marly, and Patapius (Dec. 8); Chiara Fornari, Valeria of Limoges, Caesar of Korone and Cephas, José Ferrer Esteve, Auditor of St.-Nectaire, and Blessed Mercedarian Fathers (Dec. 9); and Polydore Plasden, Bruno of Rommersdorf, María Emilia Riquelme y Zayas, Mercury of Lentini and comrades, and Caesarius of Epidamnus (Dec. 10).
Have a blessed week!
For those reading a Chapter a Day of Luke for Advent, day 11 Jesus explains the root cause of most of America’s problems today. The Lawyer monopoly on our Federal, State and local Goober$Mints with their picket fences cherry picking jumping back and forth moral relativity.
Take real social justice for example. To a) both seek the highest common goods AND b) preserve the integrity of the Individual. Depending on the $$$ and power argue$Mint of the moment, Lawyers will choose only a) Marxism, or b) Libertarianism. And ignore the harmonic iteration balance of the two c) Common Sense Anericanism One Nation Under God.
Lawyers own 100% of Judicial and Executive branches. And 85% of the Legislative branch. Creating laws they then exempt themselves and their cronies from, to retain power and make $$$ from money laundering.
Luke 11:46
46 And he said, “Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.
52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”
Even Better Call Saul Paul argued with 1st Pope Peter about the “Law Only” not saving anyone from Evil. And in fact codifying Evil to power in the Pharisees and the SadYouSees (sad because they didn’t believe in resurrection or the afterlife).
CCC 2697, “we tend to forget He who IS our life and our all.”
Lawyers make a living making you forget God to chase shiny object rainbows that can’t last. As their Egos turn into MeGos with their temporary power and $$$.