Memorial of Saints (January 28)

Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials of Saints

• Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church
• Peter Nolasco, confessor
• John of Reomay, abbot
• Paulinus of Aquileia, bishop
• Charlemagne
• Amadeus, bishop
• Peter Thomas, bishop

St. Thomas of Aquinas (ca. 1225-1274 A.D.) was of noble ancestry. He was the son of a count and a relative of both the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the King of France. Thus, his family was strongly opposed to him entering the Order of Preachers. Despite all the dissuasion of his family members, he managed to obtain studies in Paris and Cologne with St. Albert the Great, and was ordained as a Dominican around 1250 A.D.

Before the acknowledgement of the social sciences as one of the means to understand the Christian faith in the world, it was the scholastic theology of St. Thomas Aquinas that dominated the official theology of the Church and the tradition of reason and divine revelation.

St. Thomas drew a sharp distinction between faith and reason. He emphasized that the fundamental Christian doctrines, though impossible to establish by reason, are not contrary to reason and can be understood by revelation. Nevertheless, as regards such truths as God's existence, St. Thomas believed that it can be discovered by natural reason.

St. Thomas Aquinas was canonized a saint in 1323 A.D. and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius V in 1567 A.D. He is the patron saint of students, schools, colleges and universities.

Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas

Lord, Father all-powerful, and ever-living God, I thank you, for even though I am a sinner, your unprofitable servant, not because of my worth, but in the kindness of your mercy, you have fed me with the precious body and blood of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

I pray that this holy communion may not bring me condemnation and punishment but forgiveness and salvation.

May it be a helmet of faith and a shield of good will.
May it purify me from evil ways and put an end to my evil passions.
May it bring me charity and patience, humility and obedience, and growth in the power to do good.
May it be a strong defense against all my enemies, visible and invisible, and the perfect calming of all my evil impulses, bodily and spiritual.
May it unite me more closely to you, the one true God, and lead me safely through death to everlasting happiness with you.

And I pray that you will lead me, a sinner, to the banquet where you, with your Son and Holy Spirit, are true and perfect light, total fulfillment, everlasting joy, gladness without end, and perfect happiness to your saints.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Biographical sketch, teaching and spirituality, and excerpts from the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, Learn more

Saints in the Byzantine Calendar [January 28]

• Ephraem, "Prophet of Syrians and cithara of Holy Spirit"

In the Roman Calendar the feast of St. Ephraem is commemorated every 9th of June. In the Byzantine Calendar he is commemorated every 28th of January. He is commemorated also this day by the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches. On June 10, he is commemorated by the Episcopal Church in the USA.

St. Ephraem, or Ephrem (ca. 306-373 A.D.) was only a deacon, but he wrote many works in Syriac on exegetical, dogmatic, and ascetical themes with Scriptures as his main sources.

He:

• wrote against the Arians
• wrote against the Gnostics
• wrote on the Last Judgment
• was devoted to the Blessed Virgin
• introduced hymns in public worship and religious instruction
• composed Nisibeian hymns
• composed canticles for the seasons

St. Ephrem was called "Harp of the Holy Spirit" or "cithara of the Holy Spirit". In 1920 A.D., Pope Benedict XV declared him Doctor of the Church - the only Syrian to be honored as such.

St. Ephrem: Birth and early life, his life in Nisibis, his retirement at Edessa, and his work in the famine of Edessa & death, Learn more

Memorial of Saints (January 27)

Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials of Saints

• Angela Merici, virgin
• Julian of Le Mans, bishop
• Marius or May, abbot
• Vitalian, pope

St. Angela Merici (ca. 1470/74-1540 A.D.) was one of the Saints and Leaders of the Counter Reformation that sparked and enkindled a spiritual revival in the Church.

The leaders who reawakended Catholic life together with Angela Merici:

• St. Philip Neri (1515-1595 A.D.)
• St. Teresa of Avila (d. 1582 A.D.)
• St. John of the Cross (d. 1591 A.D.)
• St. John of God (d. 1550 A.D.)
• St. Camillus of Lellis (d. 1614 A.D.)
• St. Jane Frances de Chantal (d. 1641 A.D.)
• Peter of Bérulle (d. 1629 A.D.)
• St. John Eudes (d. 1680 A.D.)
• St. Vincent de Paul (d. 1660 A.D.)
• Armand Jean Le Bouthillier de Rancé (d. 1700 A.D.)
• St. John Baptist de la Salle (d. 1719 A.D.)
• St. Ignatius of Loyola (d. 1556 A.D.)

St. Angela Merici founded the Ursuline nuns. At first, she became a Franciscan tertiary and began to devote her life to the education of poor girls. But then, she and several companions placed themselves under the patronage of St. Ursula, who may have been a fourth-century British princess who was martyred. They began with no vows and wore lay clothing. Soon, they followed a Rule which prescribed virginity, poverty and obedience. The community finally became a Congregation in 1544 A.D. St. Angela Merici was canonized in 1807 A.D.

Saints in the Byzantine Calendar [January 27]

• Translation of the Relics of St. John Chrysostom

3rd Sunday of the Year (C)

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

3rd Sunday of the Year (C), January 27, 2013

Liturgical readings

Nehemiah 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10

Psalm 19

1 Corinthians 12:12-30

Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21

"He entered the synagogue on the sabbath and stood up to do the reading."

The Lord begins His public ministry in this gospel story. He enters the synagogue at Nazareth, unrolls the scroll and reads a passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah. The passage He read from Isaiah refers to the mission of the promised Messiah. Jesus, after finishing the reading, rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant, and sat down. Those present in the synagogue knew His family background, for that synagogue was located in Nazareth where He had been reared. There could have been an emphatic silence that pervaded the whole synagogue - a silence where the presence of God was deeply felt. When all those present had their eyes on Jesus, He said: "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

"This scripture passage is fulfilled". What did Jesus mean? The passage from Isaiah speaks about 'liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and the release of prisoners'. When the Lord said that, He was referring to His very Person and role as Savior. God sent Him to proclaim freedom to all those captive to sin. But what does being captive to sin mean? If we look forward to how this was interpreted by the teachers of the faith, St. Gregory (who lived 500 years after Christ), wrote about eight vices (in thought and in spirit) that draw souls away from God. He lists them down as: pride, ambition, anger, hatred, gluttony, impurity, greed and sadness. All these enslave and imprison, and bring darkness to the heart. It was to free us from these that Jesus said, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

What Jesus proclaimed was the Good News, not only in word, but in His very person and actions. And that Good News is meant for all. This is opposite to the spirit of the scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus calls everyone, especially all souls who are infirm at one time or another. He offers freedom from darkness and mediocrity. He calls all to seek the Kingdom and its everlasting Light. It is the healing power of His Light that restores the light of God's image and likeness in all. Not all accept the message; but God does not give up. His call continues through the Church, in the time of St. Gregory, and up to now in the Sacraments. Those who see, seek and receive the light in the Sacraments, find in Jesus everything they have ever wanted or hoped for. Those who respond to the call, respond in gratitude and are encouraged by God's Spirit to do their part to build the "city of God" wherever they work or live.