St. Ulric was an English hermit. He entered this state of life upon meeting a beggar he conversed with. But before he became a hermit, he worked as a parish priest. In his conversion to the eremitical (hermit's) life, Ulric led a penitential and holy life. It was the example of Ulric's life which led kings Henry I and Stephen (successor to Henry) to make a pilgrimage to Ulric's hermit cell. Various miracles were reported at Ulric's tomb (died ca. 1154 A.D.).
Blessed Elizabeth of Mantua was an Italian of noble and wealthy ancestry. Elizabeth and one of her sisters entered the Third Order of the Servites after their mother's death. Elizabeth was known to have the gift of making predictions - with one prediction accurately made about her death, before it happened a year after. Many miracles were reported to have happened at her tomb (died ca. 1468 A.D.).
St. Eleutherius of Tournai became bishop of Tournai in Gaul in the year 486 A.D. At that time, the Arian heresy was influencing many Christians to believe in its teaching. But St. Eleutherius was able to win back his people from the Arians' influence. Because of his success, a group of Arians attacked him and beat him up as he left his church (died ca. 532 A.D.).
Sts. Tyrannio, Zenobius and Companions were martyrs of the early 4th century A.D. Tyrannio was bishop of Tyre, while Zenobius was a priest and physician of Sidon. Together with other Christians, they were martyred for their faith in Christ. St. Tyrannio was tortured, and then drowned. St. Zenobius was put on a rack, and died later on from the torture (died ca. 310 A.D.).
St. Sadoth was a deacon who represented his bishop in the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. When Sadoth's bishop was martyred, Sadoth succeeded him to the episcopate. But because of the intense persecutions of Christians at the time by Persian King Sapor II, Sadoth went into hiding. King Sapor II eventually reached the area where Sadoth was, and had him and the faithful of his diocese imprisoned. All of them were tortured. St. Sadoth was beheaded (died ca. 342 A.D.).
St. Eucherius of Orleans became a Benedictine monk. Despite his vehement objections, he was elected bishop of Orleans in 721 A.D. When Eucherius opposed Charles Martel in the use of Church revenues to finance his wars, Martel exiled Eucherius to Cologne in Germany. In Cologne, Eucherius became popular, so Charles had him arrested but allowed Eucherius to retire to a monastery near Maastricht in the Netherlands (died ca. 743 A.D.).
Monday, February 20, 2023
Memorial of Saints on February 20
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Memorial of Saints on February 13
Blessed Jordan of Saxony entered the Dominicans, the Order of Preachers. He succeeded St. Dominic de Guzman (founder of the Dominicans) as master general of their religious Order in 1222 A.D. He died in ca. 1237 A.D.
St. Catherine de' Ricci was a Dominican nun known for her wisdom and concern for the sick. Over a 12-year period, she had deep spiritual experiences that led to her reception of the stigmata - the physical wounds of Christ crucified manifested in the body (died ca. 1590 A.D.).
St. Ermengild was of English nobility in 7th-8th century Kent, England. By her holy life, she converted her pagan husband and influenced him to lead their people to Christianity. After her husband's death, Ermengild entered a convent founded by her mother. After her mother's death, she became the third abbess of that convent (died ca. 703 A.D.).
St. Polyeuctus was a pagan Roman officer at first. Converted to Christianity by his friend Nearchus, he was imprisoned and tortured when ordered to renounce his faith in Christ. Zealous of his faith, he was eventually beheaded and died as a martyr for Christ (died ca. 259 A.D.).
St. Stephen of Rieti was abbot of a monastery near Rieti, Italy. There are not many sources about his life except for a mention of him by St. Gregory the Great. Gregory, who died in 604 A.D., and was an Italian who became pope in 590 A.D., praised St. Stephen of Rieti in one of his homilies (died ca. 560 A.D.).
St. Modomnoc became a monk and went to Wales to study under St. David. Catholic tradition tells the story how Modomnoc introduced bees to his native Ireland. When Modomnoc returned to Ireland from Wales, the bees accompanied him. Back home in Ireland, Modomnoc settled at Kilkenney and became bishop of Ossory (died ca. 6th century).
St. Licinius became a courtier at the court of his cousin King Clotaire I. He was then named count of Anjou by King Chilperic. After his intended marriage was discontinued because his bride-to-be got sick with leprosy, he decided rather to enter religious life. He entered a monastery and was elected as bishop of Anjou in 586 A.D. (died ca. 616 A.D.).
St. Martinian became a hermit when he was eighteen years old. He lived a solitary life for about twenty-five years. Catholic tradition tells many stories about Martinian: his resistance to the flattery of Zoe, a wealthy woman; his rescue of a girl from drowning because of a shipwreck; and his final years at Athens (died ca. 4th century A.D.).
7th Sunday of the Year (A)
February 23, 2014
Liturgical readings
Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18
Psalm 103
1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Matthew 5:38-48
"His sun rises on the bad and the good."
When Christ spoke of the importance of love of enemies in the gospel of Matthew, He emphasized this counsel with a reference to Jewish Law in Exodus 21:23-25. In that Exodus passage from the Old Testament, the Jewish Law quotes an "eye for eye". The context of this quote is a law that must be obeyed when a man hurts another man's pregnant wife, and causes her to have a miscarriage:
"...you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe" (Exodus 21:24).
Christ however puts love and forgiveness as a value greater than this Jewish law. By sacrificing His life on the cross to save mankind, He exemplified well this teaching. St. Gregory (ca. 540-604 A.D.) also made a comment on this:
"[Christ's] prayer to God was pure...for in the midst of His suffering...He prayed for His persecutors: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing'".
It is natural for man to strike back when it is struck by another. This is instinctive for any man's survival. However, Christ teaches a wisdom that connects us to heaven, more than to this world with its animal instincts. It is a wisdom that helps us to pray and work for the perfection God wants of us. We all know the basic command that men should not kill. Christ's counsel to forgive our enemies elevates our soul from just the instinctual level to hurt whoever offended us. It is not an easy counsel to practice, but through the Spirit of Christ in the Sacraments, and perseverance in doing what is good and right, we can be more merciful and forgiving.
Scripture quotes for reflection:
You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart (Leviticus 19)
The Lord pardons all your iniquities; He heals all your ills (Psalm 103)
The temple of God is holy, and we are His temple (1 Corinthians 3)
Give to the man who begs from you; do not turn your back on the borrower (Matthew 5)