Home ⇰ The Current ⇰ January Saints
Jan 24 - 30, 2021
Blake Billings, Ph.D.
The week offers us a series of important witnesses to faith. In the Conversion of Saint Paul (Monday, January 25), we remember one of the foundational moments of the early church, a later resurrection appearance, “as to one untimely born” (1 Cor 15:18). The moment leads to Paul’s emphatic doctrine of grace and of God’s saving love. We later in the week commemorate two of Paul’s close collaborators in Timothy and Titus (Wednesday, January 27). These two, Timothy of mixed Jewish and Gentile blood, and Titus a Gentile, shared in Paul’s apostolic ministry, were recipients and curriers of letters from Paul, and with him helped to set the early church on its foundation of faith. In Robert, Alberic, and Stephen (Tuesday, January 26) we find later foundational figures, the founders of the Cistercian Order, at the Abbey of Citeaux in France. The Cistercian “Constitution and Statues” states: “The holy abbots Robert of Molesme, Alberic and Stephen Harding gave the Benedictine tradition a particular form when in 1098 they built the New Monastery of Cîteaux, the Mother of us all, and founded the Cistercian Order. About 1125, Saint Stephen established the nuns’ monastery of ‘Tart’ as Cîteaux's own daughter-house, entrusted to the pastoral care of the abbot of this monastery. ...Under the influence of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and others the ideal of this reform spread and monasteries of monks and nuns following the Cistercian way of life multiplied even beyond western Europe.” If we are to continue the theme of saints foundational to our faith, we can surely consider Thomas Aquinas (Thursday, January 28) no less so, in terms of the theological tradition of Thomism that has remained such a central framework in the orthodox expression of Christian faith. Pope Saint John Paul II writes of him in Fides et Ratio (43): “A quite special place in this long development belongs to Saint Thomas, not only because of what he taught but also because of the dialogue which he undertook with the Arab and Jewish thought of his time. In an age when Christian thinkers were rediscovering the treasures of ancient philosophy, and more particularly of Aristotle, Thomas had the great merit of giving pride of place to the harmony which exists between faith and reason. Both the light of reason and the light of faith come from God, he argued; hence there can be no contradiction between them.”
Please note the addition of Marianne Cope to our memorials (January 23).
Feast day: January 2
These two intellectual men became monastic brethren and good friends, both becoming very influential in the fourth-century church as it struggled to clarify its doctrine. Both of them emphasized orthodox teaching on the Trinity, a teaching itself shaped by a Christology recognizing Christ and fully human, fully divine.
Feast day: January 4
Elizabeth Ann Seton was the first canonized saint born in the United States, born in New York City in 1774. After her husband WIlliam died in 1803, Elizabeth Ann's interest and involvement with Catholicism grew, as did her devotion to the Eucharist. She founded the Sisters of Charity, dying in 1821.
Feast day: January 6
"Brother Andre, St Andre Bessette, is a great saint. Not because of his powers of healing or because he managed to get built a magnificent Church to St Joseph on Mount Royal in Montreal. He is not great because of the following he had when he had when he was alive and the even greater following he has now. He is great because he is a sign of hope and a witness to the power of God’s grace. He was a weak, uneducated, not very bright and not very healthy nobody who was reluctantly accepted by the Congregation of the Holy Cross. He was given the only job he could do. He was the porter or doorman. At the door he could wait and pray. As John Milton wrote on his blindness, they also serve who only stand and wait. At the door, he met people, he healed people, he prayed with people. At the door he communicated holiness and the love of God. At the door, this simple man became a saint. And if he could do that, imagine what God’s grace could do in us, if we only let God work in us as he wants and not as we want him to. Saint Andre Bessette, pray for us." (Homily of Prior Michael Brunner)
Abbey of Riveaulx, North Yorkshire
Feast day: January 11
Of particular significance to our community is Aelred of Riveaulx, as the patron of two notable confreres, Aelred Graham and Aelred Wall, and of one of our school’s dormitories. The ruins of his medieval monastery at Riveaulx in North Yorkshire remain a much-visited tourist site. It was a Cistercian community founded by twelve monks of Clairvaux Abbey. Aelred, born in Northumbria, became the monastery’s abbot in 1147, holding that position until his death about twenty years later. Active in monastic, political, and diplomatic affairs, he is known for his writings on friendship and charity, some written at the request of Bernard of Clairvaux. Aelred wisely centers his teaching on friendship in Christ’s own friendship with us.
Feast day: January 12
Like Aelred, another important Northumbrian, Benet Biscop however preceded Aelred by five centuries, and was part of the important seventh-century generation of Benedictines in England that included Ceolfrid and Bede, one of his pupils. He was a founder of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey, which in the 10th century was translated to Glastonbury.
Feast day: January 13
Hilary of Poitiers, who lived in the 4th century, was named a doctor of the church by Pope Pius IX in 1851. His orthodoxy won him numerous foes, and he is called “The Athanasius of the West” for his staunch and then unpopular defense of the faith against Arianism. He also is a leading theologian of the Trinity, articulating with subtlety and clarity the three persons of the Godhead. He writes in “On the Trinity” (I.6): “There is no space where God is not; space does not exist apart from Him. He is in heaven, in hell, beyond the seas; dwelling in all things and enveloping all. Thus He embraces, and is embraced by, the universe, confined to no part of it but pervading all.”
Feast day: January 15
Gregory the Great relates the story of Maurus being dispatched by Benedict to save the drowning Placid, sprinting across the water to offer Placid a hand, and carrying him to safety. Both attribute the miracle to Benedict’s vision and intercession. Most of what we know of these two early disciples of Benedict is from legend. They were the first “oblati,” presented to Benedict at a young age and raised under his guidance both at Subiaco and Monte Cassino. The land for the monastery at Monte Cassino is said to have been given to Benedict by Placid’s father, and Placid accompanied Benedict when he moved there. Maurus is said to have been given the grace of miracles, and has a special patronage not only of oblates, but also of the sick.
Feast day: January 17
This early desert father holds many names: The Great, The Abbot, The Anchorite – The Father of All Monks. He spent many years in self-imposed eremitic isolation before serving as spiritual guide and abbot to the many who had come to reside near him. His first biographer was St. Athanasius, a younger contemporary who shared Anthony’s opposition to Arianism. Anthony famously underwent numerous temptations, depicted provocatively in the history of art, as by Bosch, Cezanne, Dali, and others. He is revered throughout monasticism, and particularly in the Coptic Church.
Pope Francis blesses lambs on feast of Agnes
Feast day: January 21
We know little of this young 4th century Roman martyr, who was said to have been a beautiful girl. She is the patron of girls, and of chastity and purity. Her name resembles “agnus,” lamb, and she is revered for her steadfast and innocent trust in God. It is on her feast day that the pope traditionally blesses lambs whose wool is used to make palliums for new metropolitan archbishops. The pallium worn by the metropolitans on their shoulders over their chasuble is a white wool vestment, emblazoned with six black silk crosses. The practice dates back to at least the fifth century (Catholic News Agency).
Feast day: January 22/23
Vincent of Zaragossa, deacon, patron of Lisbon and of Valencia, Protomartyr of Spain, like Agnes died under the Diocletian Persecution, suffering severe tortures in defense of the faith. With Stephen and Lawrence, Vincent is revered as one of the three most illustrious deacons in the church’s history. An account of his martyrdom reports: “Vincent’s invincible spirit, strengthened by its faith and hope in Christ Jesus, overcame all their efforts; and after triumphing over fire, and sword, and all his tortures, took his flight to heaven, there to receive the crown of martyrdom.”
Feast day: January 23
Homily of Saturday morning Mass, January 23, 2021: We are celebrating the feast of Saint Marianne Cope [note: the sermon preached at her beatification was by Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins. The Vatican website offers the following summary of her life; Abbot Matthew's comment in italics]:
Barbara Koob (now officially "Cope") was born on 23 January 1838 in SE Hessen, West Germany. She was one of 10 children born to Peter Koob, a farmer, and Barbara Witzenbacher Koob. The year after Barbara's birth, the family moved to the United States. The Koob family found a home in Utica, in the State of New York, where they became members of St Joseph's Parish and where the children attended the parish school. (so, she was fully an American citizen)
Although Barbara felt called to Religious life at an early age, her vocation was delayed for nine years because of family obligations. As the oldest child at home, she went to work in a factory after completing eighth grade in order to support her family when her father became ill. Finally, in the summer of 1862 at age 24, Barbara entered the Sisters of St Francis in Syracuse, N.Y. On 19 November 1862 she received the religious habit and the name "Sr Marianne", and the following year she made her religious profession and began serving as a teacher and principal in several elementary schools in New York State. She joined the Order in Syracuse with the intention of teaching, but her life soon became a series of administrative appointments.
As a member of the governing boards of her Religious Community in the 1860s, she participated in the establishment of two of the first hospitals in the central New York area. In 1870, she began a new ministry as a nurse-administrator at St Joseph's in Syracuse, N.Y., where she served as head administrator for six years. During this time she put her gifts of intelligence and people skills to good use as a facilitator, demonstrating the energy of a woman motivated by God alone. Although Mother Marianne was often criticized (note this) for accepting for treatment "outcast" patients such as alcoholics, she became well-known and loved in the central New York area for her kindness, wisdom and down-to-earth practicality.
In 1883, Mother Marianne, now the Provincial Mother in Syracuse, received a letter from a Catholic priest asking for help in managing hospitals and schools in the Hawaiian Islands, and mainly to work with leprosy patients. (now remember, leprosy at this time was not curable) The letter touched Mother Marianne's heart and she enthusiastically responded: "I am hungry for the work and I wish with all my heart to be one of the chosen ones, whose privilege it will be to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of the souls of the poor Islanders.... I am not afraid of any disease, hence, it would be my greatest delight even to minister to the abandoned "lepers'" (they were abandoned!).
She and six other Sisters of St Francis arrived in Honolulu in November 1883. With Mother Marianne as supervisor, their main task was to manage the Kaka'ako Branch Hospital on Oahu, which served as a receiving station for patients with Hansen's disease gathered from all over the islands. The Sisters quickly set to work cleaning the hospital and tending to its 200 patients. By 1885, they had made major improvements to the living conditions and treatment of the patients. (Of course, before them had come Fr. Damien de Veuster, who is now St. Damien and he had worked with the lepers. But they added a sort of cultural and medicinal uplift to the lives of these poor people who were otherwise completely neglected) In November of that year, they also founded the Kapi'olani Home inside the hospital compound, established to care for the healthy daughters of Hansen's disease patients at Kaka'ako and Kalawao. The unusual decision to open a home for healthy children on leprosy hospital premises was made because only the Sisters would care for (these children) so closely related to people with the dreaded disease. (in other words, the parents were outcasts, and so were the children even though they were healthy)
Mother Marianne met Fr Damien de Veuster (the famous Fr. Damien) …for the first time in January 1884, when he was in apparent good health. Two years later, in 1886, after he had been diagnosed with Hansen's disease, Mother Marianne alone gave hospitality to the outcast priest upon hearing that his illness made him (no longer welcome to the government or the church in Honolulu, the leaders of the church. ...About him: when they brought the ship supplies in to where a priest was, he could not get on the ship; one on the ship would yell his sins to the priest standing on land above the ships and go to Confession in that way) In 1887, when a new Government took charge in Hawaii, its officials decided to close the Oahu Hospital and receiving station and to reinforce the former alienation policy. The unanswered question: Who would care for the sick, who once again would be sent to a settlement for exiles on the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the island of Molokai? In 1888, Mother Marianne again responded to the plea for help and said: "We will cheerfully accept the work...". She arrived in Kalaupapa several months before Fr Damien's death together with Sr Leopoldina Burns and Sr Vincentia McCormick, and was able to console the ailing priest by assuring him that she would provide care for the patients at the Boys' Home at Kalawao that he had founded. Together the three Sisters ran the Bishop Home for 103 Girls and the Home for Boys. The workload was extreme and the burden at times seemed overwhelming. In moments of despair, Sr Leopoldina reflected: "How long, O Lord, must I see only those who are sick and covered with leprosy?".
Mother Marianne's invaluable example of never-failing optimism, serenity and trust in God inspired hope in those around her and allayed the Sisters' fear of catching leprosy. (Of course, remember too, once she was in that situation, never would she be allowed back in this country; never again would she see friends, relatives or anybody – she was on her own) She taught her Sisters that their primary duty was "to make life as pleasant and as comfortable as possible for those of our fellow creatures whom God has chosen to afflict with this terrible disease...". Mother Marianne never returned to Syracuse. She died in Hawaii on 9 August 1918 of natural causes and was buried on the grounds of Bishop Home.
Saint Marianne Cope, pray for us.
Feast day: January 24
This late-Reformation bishop of Geneva was known for his forbearance and his persistent care for the faithful, guiding many back into communion with Rome. The 19th century saw a flourishing of religious institutions inspired by his spiritual teaching. He is author of the spiritual classic, Introduction to a Devout Life, and source of numerous inspirational quotations, such as: “Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength; Have patience with all things but first of all with yourself; Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.”
Feast day: January 25
Every January the Church commemorates an event which proved a turning point in the history of Christendom: this is the feast day which celebrates the conversion of Saint Paul on his celebrated journey to Damascus - the first of three notable conversions in the history of the Church, which have had a powerful and lasting effect on the Church’s life and development. For each of them call was a distinct experience but closely connected with the actual moment or time of conversion. The other two are those of Augustine in the fourth century and of John Henry Newman in the nineteenth century.
Martyrdom of St. Timothy
Feat day: January 27
We learn about Timothy and Titus mostly through the eyes of Paul, or the authors of letters attributed to him, and in light of the concerns for them and their nascent Christian communities expressed in these letters. The letters are called “pastoral” since they view Timothy and Titus as pastors of these communities, and direct them to lead their flock in matters of faith and morals. Timothy was entrusted with the guidance of the community in Ephesus, “in accordance with the prophecies” (1 Tim 1:18) about him. In the Letter to Titus, Paul writes that he entrusted him to “put in order what remained to be done” in Crete. We see depicted in these letters the many difficulties facing these two in their pastoral tasks. In light of these struggles, Pope Benedict XVI writes that these two early saints, “teach us to serve the Gospel with generosity, realizing that this also entails a service to the Church herself.”
Feast day: January 28
The “Prayer before Study” of this great Doctor of the Church is well worth calling to mind: “Creator of all things, true source of light and wisdom, origin of all being, graciously let a ray of your light penetrate the darkness of my understanding. Take from me the double darkness in which I have been born, an obscurity of sin and ignorance. Give me a keen understanding, a retentive memory, and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally. Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm. Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in the completion. I ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Feast day: January 31
This 19th century Italian educator, greatly influenced by the writings and spirituality of Francis de Sales, ministered to many of the poor suffering from the ill-effects of the industrialization and social change of his times, particularly in Turin, Italy. He was active in establishing a number of programs dedicated to the service and education of these groups, most notably the Salesian order.