— Psalm 107:8-9 —
Weedy
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men,
for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
__________________________
"Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil of which
thanks
naturally grows. A proud man is seldom a thankful man, for he never
thinks he
gets as much as he deserves."
Henry Ward Beecher
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November 25th - Catherine of Alexandria VM (RM)
(also known as Æcatherina)
Died c. 310
The monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai is renowned as being the
oldest
continuously occupied monastery in Christendom. Yet it was first
dedicated not
to St. Catherine but to the Transfiguration of Jesus. Its architect
began
building the monastery walls in 542. Three centuries later, guided by
a dream,
the monks of this monastery found on the mountain the body of a woman,
whom they
took to be Saint Catherine-a body presumably miraculously flown there
from
Alexandria. Falconius, archbishop of San Severino, speaks of the
translation of
the body of Catherine to the top of Mount Sinai. "As to what is said,
that the
body of this saint was conveyed by angels to Mount Sinai, the meaning
is that it
was carried by the monks of Sinai to their rich dwelling with such a
treasure-It
is well known that the name of an angelic habit, and that monks, on
account of
their heavenly purity and functions, were anciently called 'angels'"
(Husenbeth).
Nothing is known for sure about her except that she was a maiden
martyred at
Alexandria under Maximinus Daza as related in the History of the
Church (viii,
c. 14) by Eusebius. Her acta, which are considered untrustworthy, say
she was
the daughter of king Costos of Cyprus, who had been called to
Alexandria to be a
counselor to Emperor Maximinus. Philosophy was very fashionable in
Alexandria's
high society and Catherine was devoted to study, so that she had a
good dose of
it before she reached 18. During the course of her studies she learned
about
Christ. Then Catherine was converted by a vision of Our Lady and the
Holy Child.
When Emperor Maximinus began his persecutions, the 18-year-old
Catherine, who
was very beautiful, went to the emperor and rebuked him for his
tyranny as he
stood in the middle of a pagan temple. Unable to answer her arguments,
he called
in fifty philosophers to confront her. After they admitted themselves
to be
convinced by her arguments, the furious emperor sentenced them to be
burned.
The emperor offered to marry her, but she refused because Christ had
already
appeared to her in person and placed his gold ring on her finger (like
St.
Catherine of Siena); for this reason Greek Christians call her
'Ækatharina,'
that is, 'ever pure.' She was beaten for two solid hours and then
imprisoned,
and the emperor departed to inspect a camp. In her cell she was fed by
a dove,
and Christ appeared to her in a vision.
When he returned, he found that his wife, Faustina, and an officer,
Porphyrius,
had gone to visit Catherine out of curiosity and were converted, and
that
Porphyrius had converted 200 men of the imperial guard. All were
condemned to
death.
Catherine was sentenced to be killed by means of a wheel set with
spikes or
razors, now known as "St. Catherine's wheel." When she was placed upon
its rim,
her bonds were miraculously loosened, the wheel broke, and the spikes
flew off,
killing onlookers. Finally, she was beheaded, as she called down
blessings on
all who should remember her. From her severed veins flowed a white,
milk-like
liquid instead of blood. It is claimed that for many years oil oozed
from her
bones; this oil was prized as medicine and for lamps in holy
sanctuaries.
In 527 Emperor Justinian built a fortified monastery for the hermits
of Mt.
Sinai, and the body of Catherine is supposed to have been taken there
in the 8th
or 9th century; since then it has borne her name. In the 11th century,
Simeon, a
monk of Sinai, went to Rouen to receive an annual alms of Duke Richard
of
Normandy. He brought with him some of Catherine's relics, which he
left there.
She was one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, who were highly venerated
individually
and as a group during the Middle Ages.
Saint Joan of Arc heard and faithfully followed the voice of Saint
Catherine and
Saint Margaret. Perhaps the Lord gave Catherine to Joan to help her in
her
debate with the famous theologians. The real Passion of Catherine is
the same as
Joan of Arc's, which fortunately we know in all its details. Joan is
the
Catherine of modern times, indeed of all times. And so to be a woman,
a saint,
and a philosopher like Catherine, there is no need to be a king's
daughter; the
Hail Mary and Our Father are enough. No doubt Catherine had the
simplicity of a
shepherdess. Though philosophy and religion will never be found in
perfect
harmony, what matters is faith, pure and simple faith, and we rejoice
that it is
so (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth,
Sheppard,
White).
Because she refuted all the arguments of the philosophers, she is
considered the
patroness of philosophers. St. Catherine also has patronage over
philosophy,
learning, students (esp. female students), Christian apologists,
librarians and
libraries, young women, and wheelwrights. She is the patroness of
nurses because
when she bled, her blood was said to be milk (White). Additionally,
she is
patroness of saddlers, spinsters, rope-makers (Roeder), lawyers,
theology
students at the University of Paris (Encyclopedia), and preachers
(Delaney).
From:
http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1125.shtml
Saint Quote:
Take for your motto: Love has conquered me, it alone shall possess my
heart.
--St. Margaret Mary
Bible Quote:
Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock! The sword shall
be upon
his arm, and upon his right eye; his arm shall be clean dried up, and
his right
eye utterly darkened. (Zech 11:17)
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Hymn to the Holy Ghost
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator come, From Thy bright heavenly
throne; Come take possession of our souls, And make them
all Thine own.
Thou who art called the Paraclete, Best gift of God above;
The living spring, the living fire, Sweet unction and true love.
Thou who art sevenfold in Thy grace, Finger of God's right
hand; His promise, teaching little ones To speak and
understand.
O guide our minds with Thy blest light With love our hearts
inflame; And with Thy strength which ne'er decays Confirm
our mortal frame.
Far from us drive our hellish foe, True peace unto us bring;
And through all perils lead us safe, Beneath Thy sacred wing.
Through Thee may we the Father know; Through Thee the
eternal Son, And Thee the Spirit of them both; Thrice blessed
three in one.
Now to the Father and the Son, Who rose from death, be
glory given, With Thee O holy Comforter, Henceforth by all in
earth and heaven. Amen.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
LET US PRAY:
O GOD, who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful by the light
of Thy Holy Spirit, grant us by the same Spirit, to have a right
judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy
comfort, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.