Memorial of Saints (December 5)

St. Sabas had a hard life as a youth. So, he ran away to a monastery near his birth place. When his family wanted him back home, he chose to remain in the monastery. He then became a hermit under the guidance of St. Euthymius. As a hermit, he attracted a number of followers, and thus organized them into a laura - (hermit huts in circular form around a chapel). St. Sabas is considered one of the founders of Eastern monasticism. His monastery is one of the four oldest inhabited monasteries in the world (died ca. 532 A.D.).

Blessed Philip Rinaldi was ordained as a Salesian priest of Don Bosco in 1882 A.D. He developed the Salesian Family, now known as the Don Bosco Volunteers. In 1922 A.D., he was in charge of formation and the promotion of devotion to St. John Bosco (died ca. 1931 A.D.).

St. Crispina was a wealthy African mother of several children. She was arrested during the persecution of Christians during the reign of Diocletian. When she was ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods, and refused to do so, she was beheaded (died ca. 304 A.D.).

St. Nicetius of Trier became a monk at Limoges. He then became its abbot until he was named bishop to the episcopate of Trier. As bishop of Trier, St. Nicetius restored clerical discipline, rebuilt the cathedral, and founded a school for clerics (died ca. 566 A.D.).

St. Birinus was consecrated bishop in Genoa, Italy, and went to Britain as a missionary. He evangelized the West Saxons and was successful in this mission. Because of many conversions he produced in his missionary work, St. Birinus came to be known as "the Apostle of Wessex" (died ca. 650 A.D.).

St. Sigiramnus was engaged to be married, but broke this engagement to become a monk at St. Martin's in Tours, France. After the death of his father, who was bishop of Tours, he gave away his inheritance to the poor. He then joined an Irish bishop, and soon founded monasteries at Meobecca and Longoretum. He is known for his charity to the poor (died ca. 655 A.D.).

St. John Almond was ordained in Rome in 1598 A.D. He was sent as a missionary to England in 1602 A.D. and served the English Catholics for about a decade. In 1612 A.D., when he refused to take the Oath of Supremacy, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn (died ca. 1612 A.D.).

Memorial of Saints (December 4)

St. John Damascene was a financial officer of the city before he entered the monastery of Mar Saba, near Jerusalem. John was known for his encyclopedic knowledge and theological method, both of which inspired St. Thomas of Aquinas, the Dominican. John was not only gifted in writing, but also had talent in music. His more important contribution to the Church of his time was his defense of the veneration of sacred images against the iconoclasts (died ca. 749 A.D.).

St. Barbara is a saint honored in the Church's ancient tradition. Martyred in ca. 303 A.D., under Emperor Maximian, devotion to her became more popular in the later Middle Ages, especially in France. She is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers - a group of saints who were popular in the fourteenth century and in the countries of Germany, Hungary and Sweden. St. Barbara is the patron saint of those in danger of sudden death by lightning. Tradition tells us that this came about because her father was struck dead by lightning when he killed Barbara for her Christian faith (died ca. 4th century A.D.).

St. Maruthas was bishop of Maiferkat, Mesopotamia (near the Persian border). Maruthas was able to find favor with the king of Persia and received permission to restore a Church organization and to build many churches in Persia. St. Maruthas is considered the father of the Syrian Church. He compiled a record of Christians martyred in Persia during the reign of King Sapor. He also brought so many martyrs' relics to Maiferkat that it was renamed Martyropolis (died ca. 415 A.D.).

St. Anno studied at the cathedral school of Bamberg and became one of Henry III's chaplains. In 1056 A.D., Anno was appointed archbishop of Cologne and Henry III's chancellor. St. Anno was constantly involved in the murky politics of his era. But even with these involvements, he was also able to establish monasteries, reformed existing ones, and was given to charitable acts with the poor. He spent the last years of his life doing penance at the monastery he founded at Siegburg (died ca. 1075 A.D.).

St. Osmund served as chancellor and was named bishop of Salisbury in 1078 A.D. Osmund drew up new liturgical books regulating the Mass, the Divine Office, and the administration of the Sacraments. These regulations were followed until the next century and widely adapted in England, Ireland and Wales. Osmund also gathered together an extensive collection of manuscripts for the cathedral library. He was also an expert copyist, a skilled binder of books, and an author on the life of St. Aldhelm (died ca. 1099 A.D.).

St. Bernard of Parma joined the Vallombrosans. In time, he was elected general of this Order. In 1097 A.D., he was made cardinal by Pope Urban II. In 1106 A.D., he was appointed bishop of Parma. When Maginulf became an antipope, Maginulf's followers drove Bernard into exile. Bernard was twice driven into exile: the first in 1104 A.D., and the second in 1127 A.D. He was however able to return to his see in Parma where he spent his last years (died ca. 1133 A.D.).

Saints with Feasts & Memorials Celebrated in December

Francis Xavier: (died 1552 A.D. at age 46 on the island of Sancion off the China coast); from Navarre; one of the founding Jesuits; preached in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Japan; patron of foreign missions. (December 3)

John of Damascene: (died 749 A.D.); last of the Greek Fathers; first of the East to formulate a comprehensive synthesis of Christian dogma; defended the veneration of icons; composed hymns and preached many homilies in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially her Assumption. (December 4)

Nicholas (died 4th c. A.D.): bishop of Myra in Asia Minor; model pastor noted for charity; popularized as Santa Claus; patron of Russia, Greece, Sicily and Lorraine, and of children and sailors. (December 6)

Juan Diego: In 1531 A.D. Our Lady appeared four times to a native convert, Juan Diego Cuatitlatoatzin (meaning “the talking eagle”), at Tepayac, near Mexico City. A member of the Chichimeca people, he was perhaps a leader of his own people and may have been involved in the area’s textile industry. Known for his holiness, Juan Diego devoted himself, tradition says, to the pilgrims who came to see the miraculous image of Mary imprinted on his cloak; beatified in 1990 A.D. by Pope John Paul II in Mexico City. (December 9)

Damasus: (died 384 A.D.); preserved papal archives and was devoted to martyrs' cult; combatted the anti-pope Ursinus, Arian and Donatist heresies; defended the Roman primacy; encouraged Jerome to produce the Latin Vulgate. (December 11)

Lucy: (died probably in Sicily c. 304 A.D. under Diocletian); she is patroness of those afflicted with diseases of the eye and associated with festivals of light, especially in Scandinavia; mentioned in the Roman Canon; patroness of Syracuse and all Sicily. (December 13)

Stephen (died c. 35 A.D.); one of the seven deacons of the Acts of the Apostles; first disciple to be martyred; mentioned in the Roman Canon. (December 26)

John (died c. 100? A.D. at Ephesus): son of Zebedee, brother of James; "disciple whom Jesus loved"; authored 3(?) letters, the book of Revelation and the most spiritual of the gospels; symbolized by the eagle (cf. Ezekiel 1); patron of Asiatic Turkey; mentioned in the Roman Canon. (December 27)

Thomas Becket (died 29 Dec. 1170 A.D.); killed by order of Henry II; 8 years chancellor of England; as archbishop of Canterbury defended the freedoms and rights of the Church; canonized only 3 years after his death; considered the most famous martyr of the Middle Ages. (December 29)

Sylvester: (died 335 A.D.); as bishop of Rome (314-335 A.D.), organized public worship and dedicated the Lateran basilica; represented at the Council of Nicea which condemned Arianism; one of the first non-martyrs venerated as a saint. (December 31)