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Monday, January 20, 2025

Memorial of Saints (January 20)

Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials of Saints

Fabian, pope and martyr
Sebastian, martyr
Euthymius the Great, abbot
Fechia, abbot
Eustochia Calafato

When St. Fabian (d. ca. 250 A.D.), a layman, was in the assembly to elect a new pope, a pious story says that a dove flew inside and settled on the head of Fabian. Taken as a sign from God by the clergy and people assembled, they elected Fabian pope on January 10, 236 A.D.

Though there is little knowledge of his pontificate, after being martyred in 250 A.D. under the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Decius, his tomb still exists in the cemetery of St. Callistus. St. Cyprian wrote about St. Fabian and said that the glory of this pope's death corresponded with the purity and holiness of his life.

St. Sebastian (ca. 257-288 A.D.) became a soldier in the Roman army around 283 A.D. Discovered to be a Christian, Sebastian was sentenced to be shot to death by archers. His body was pierced with arrows and was left for dead. When the widow of St. Castulus [St. Castulus was the Emperor's chamberlain who sheltered Christians in his home] came to get his body for burial, she found Sebastian still alive. So she nursed him back to health. After recovering fully from his wounds, Sebastian refused to flee from the persecution. Eventually, he was seized and beaten to death.

St. Sebastian's popularity may be attributed to his many depictions in early Christian, medieval and Renaissance art. He is always represented as pierced with arrows or holding an arrow. St. Sebastian is the patron of archers, athletes, and soldiers.

St. Eustochia Calafato (1434-1491 A.D.) entered the Poor Clare convent of Santa Maria de Basico. As a Poor Clare, she was noted for her aid to the poor, her self-imposed penances, and her austerities. St. Eustochia was canonized in 1988 A.D. She is one of the incorrupt bodies of Beati and Saints featured in a YouTube video by czarneszci (8:13 minutes)

Saints in the Byzantine Calendar [January 20]

Euthymius the Great, Hegumen-Abbot

The Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches commemorate Euthymius the Great (ca. 378-473 A.D.) on January 20. It also coincides with the Roman Calendar's commemoration of his feast on this day.

Euthymius the Great was from Armenia. He spent approximately 66 to 68 years in the desert and died at the age of ninety-five after having been ordained a bishop at one point to minister to the growing numbers of Arab converts in Palestine.

Sunday, January 19, 2025

2nd Sunday of the Year (C)

Author's note: In the Philippines today, Sunday, January 19, 2025, the country celebrates the Feast of the Child Jesus. The Feast is commemorated with much festivity in different parts of the country, and the liturgical readings are different from the readings for the 2nd Sunday of the Year (C) in the Universal Church.

(Edited) Sunday Reflections (from) Liturgical Years 2011 (A), 2012 (B), and 2013 (C)

2nd Sunday of the Year (C), January 20, 2013
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalm 96
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
John 2:1-12

"Jesus performed this first of His signs at Cana."

The gospel story in John reveals well the humanity and divinity of Jesus. In the first of His signs at Cana, Christ's divinity shone bright among those who knew of it. No one knew of this sign save for Mary His mother, His disciples, and those waiting on table during the wedding feast. Even the waiter in charge of the wedding feast did not know it was the Lord who had changed the water into wine. But the waiter in charge noticed a remarkable change in the quality of the wine that was served. He said to the groom: "People usually serve the choice wine first...what you have done is keep the choice wine until now."

Wine gives joy to any occasion. It is served not only on wedding feasts like the wedding at Cana, but in our own time for important celebrations like corporate anniversaries and sports victories. But there is a celebration where wine has a very important and deeper meaning: the Eucharist. In that celebration, wine (along with the bread), are offered by the people to God in the person of the priest-presider or any other higher official of the clergy. It is this bread and wine offered that becomes the Body and Blood of our Redeemer during the consecration. If one considers the wine at Cana and the wine consecrated in the Eucharist, one can clearly see that both are miracles; both are life-giving actions performed by the Lord. The choice wine at Cana is of very good quality; and the bread and wine in the Eucharist is the highest good Catholics can receive in their life of faith.

The Lord has given all the faithful a memorial of His life in the Eucharist. Upon His Ascension, He promised that He will always be with His followers until the end of time. In John 16:22, He says: "you are sad for a time, but I shall see you again; then your hearts will rejoice with a joy no one can take from you." It is only with the gift of faith in the Eucharist that one can see this promise revealing itself daily in each of the lives of the faithful. The more one lives in the Spirit of Jesus in Word, Sacrament, and action, the more one cherishes this Truth of hope and joy. It is a hope and joy that heals any soul from the darkness of meaninglessness that all find in death in the world. Jesus is the Truth that is like the wine in Cana and the Eucharist: "what [God] has done is keep the choice wine until now".

Memorial of Saints (January 19)