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20th January - Optional memorial of St. Fabian, Pope, Martyr. Papacy began - 10 January 236 Papacy ended - 20 January 250 Predecessor - Anterus Successor - Cornelius Birth name - Fabianus Died - 20 January 250, Rome, Roman Empire Feast day - 20 January (Catholic Church), 5 August (Orthodox Church) 7 & 11 Meshir (Coptic Christianity) Venerated in - Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy Attributes – Dove, Papal vestments, Papal tiara
Fabian became Pope in 236 when, according to Eusebius in his Church History, a dove landed on his head designating a man who had been in no-one’s thoughts as the choice of the Holy Spirit. Fabian's reign coincided, with the exception of its closing years, with a period of exceptional peace, prosperity and growth in the Church. The Emperor Gordian III (238-244) discontinuing his predecessor Maximinus Thrax's policy of persecution and Philip the Arab (244-249) being sympathetic towards it. Fabian was an energetic and far seeing administrator. He re-organized the local clergy and divided Rome into seven ecclesiastical districts, each administered by a deacon and sub-deacon. He also arranged for the bodies of his predecessor Pontian and the antipope Hippolytus to be brought back to Rome from Sardinia, the 'island of death' where both had been exiled and had perished. This suggests that Fabian had some influence in the Roman court since the bodies of persons exiled to Sardinia could not be brought back without the express and rarely given permission of the Emperor. Other than that, little is known about Fabian's reign except that when Bishop Donatus of Carthage had his fellow Bishop Privatus of Lambeasis condemned at an African council, Fabian endorsed the action, and that the Greek theologian Origen wrote to him defending his orthodoxy. With Fabian's pontificate an enhanced emphasis began to be placed on the high position of the Bishops of Rome with list of names and precise dates being prepared. His activities were brought to an abrupt end by the persecutions of the Emperor Decius at the beginning of 250. Fabian was arrested and was among the first to die, probably in prison as a result of brutal treatment. He was buried in the papal crypt ain the cemetery of Callistus, the grave slab with the abbreviated word “martyr” in Greek letters was discovered there in 1854. His remains were removed to S. Sebastiano where a sarcophagus inscribed with his name was identified in 1915. Almighty God, grant, we pray, that through the intercession of your priest and martyr Fabian that we may progress in the communion of the faith that he professed and in thy worthy service. See also: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05742d.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Fabian |
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20th January - Optional memorial of St. Sebastian, Martyr. Born - c. AD 256 Died - c. AD 288, (aged approximately 32) Venerated in - Catholic Church, Liberal Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, Aglipayan Church Major shrine - San Sebastiano fuori le mura Italy Feast - January 20 (Roman Catholic), December 18 (Orthodox) Attributes - Tied to a post, pillar or a tree, shot by arrows Patronage - Soldiers; plague-stricken; archers; Holy Christian death; Persecuted Christians; disabled peoples; athletes; race car drivers; Negombo, Sri Lanka; Archdiocese of Lipa; Diocese of Tarlac; Diocese of Bacolod; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Lumban, Philippines; Pucallpa, Peru; Taquaritinga, Brazil; Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; Győr, Hungary; Cusco, Peru A Roman martyr who suffered under Diocletian in the third century, little is known about Sebastian’s life. According to legend he was a soldier who enlisted in c. 283 at Rome, strengthened the confessors Mark and Marcellian in prison and was created a captain of the Praetorian Guard by Diocletian who did not know that he was a Christian. After Sebastian had sustained other martyrs, Diocletian ordered him to be executed by being shot with arrows. Sebastian recovered, confronted the emperor for his cruelty and was beaten to death with clubs Butler has the following account of the martyrdom of St. Sebastian and of the fate of his relics: "St. Sebastian, having sent so many martyrs to heaven before him, was himself impeached before the Emperor Diocletian, who, having grievously reproached him with ingratitude, delivered him over to certain archers of Mauritania, to be shot to death. His body was covered with arrows, and he left for dead. Irene, the widow of St. Castulus, him, found him still alive, and took him to her lodgings, where, by care, he recovered from his wounds, but refused to fly, and even placed himself one day by a staircase where the emperor was to pass, who he first accosted, reproaching him for his unjust cruelties against the Christians. This freedom of speech, and from a person, too, whom he supposed to have been dead, greatly astonished the emperor; but, recovering from his surprise, he gave orders for his being seized and beat to death with cudgels, and his body thrown into the common sewer. A pious lady, called Lucina, admonished by the martyr in a vision, got it privately removed, and buried it in the catacombs at the entrance of the cemetery of Calixtus. A church was later built over his relics by Pope Damasus, which is one of the seven ancient stationary churches of Rome, but not one of the seven principal churches of that city, as some moderns mistake;. Pope Eugenius II (824-827) gave the body of St. Sebastian to Hilduin, Abbot of St. Denys, who brought it into France, and it was deposited at St. Menard's, at Soissons, on the 9th of December 826. With it is said to have been a considerable portion of the relics of St. Gregory the Great. The rich shrines of SS. Sebastian, Gregory and Medard were plundered by the Calvinists in 1564, and the sacred bones thrown into a ditch, in which there was water. Upon the declaration of two eye-witnesses, they were afterwards found by the Catholics, and in 1578 enclosed in three new shrines, though the bones of the three saints could not be distinguished from each other. We read in Paul the deacon in what manner, in the year 680, Rome was freed from a raging pestilence by the patronage of this saint. Milan in 1575, Lisbon in 1599, and other places, have experienced in like calamities the effects of his intercession with God in their behalf. Almighty God, grant unto us a spirit of fortitude so that, taught by the example of your glorious martyr Sebastian, we may learn to obey you rather than the ways of the world. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sebastian https://catholicsaints.info/saint-sebastian/ https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13668a.htm https://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/sebastian.htm https://saintscatholic.blogspot.com/2014/01/st-sebastian.html |
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21st January - Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin, Martyr. Born - c. 291, Rome, Italy Died - c. 304, Rome, Italy Venerated in - Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Orthodox Churches, and Oriental Orthodox Churches. Canonized - Pre-congregation Major shrine - Church of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura and the Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, both in Rome Feast - 21 January; before Pope John XXIII revised the calendar, there was a second feast on January 28 Attributes - a lamb, martyr's palm Patronage - Betrothed couples; chastity and virgins; Children of Mary; Colegio Capranica of Rome; gardeners; Girl Guides; the diocese of Rockville Centre, New York; the city of Fresno. Agnes, who died in Rome in c. 304 was, according to a fifth century biography wrongly attributed to Ambrose, a thirteen year old girl who refused marriage because of her dedication to Christ. Calmly and deliberately, she is reported to have preferred death to any violation of her consecrated virginity. She was killed by a sword piercing her throat and was buried in the Via Nomenata, a basilica later being built over her grave in the time of the Emperor Constantine and repaired in the seventh century by Pope Honorius. The earliest evidence for her veneration as a saint comes from the "Deposito Martyrum" dating to 354. Her feast was kept in both eastern and western churches since the earliest times and the evidence from calendars and Martyrologies makes her one of the earliest and most popular of the Roman martyrs. Ambrose, Jerome and Prudentius all mention and praise her. Her principal iconographic emblem is the lamb, possibly because of the similarity of her name to the Latin "angus" = lamb. On her feast are blessed the lambs which produce the wool from which the pallia for archbishops are woven by the nuns of St. Agnes’s convent in Rome. With other virgin martyrs she appears fairly frequently on medieval stained glass. Butler has the following account of her death; "The judge at first employed the mildest impression and most inviting promises, to which Agnes plaid no regard, repeating always that she could have no other spouse than Jesus Christ. He then made use of threats, but found her soul endowed with a masculine courage, and even desirous of racks and death. At last terrible fire were made, and iron hooks, racks, and other instruments of torture, displayed before her, with threats of immediate execution. The young virgin surveyed them with an undaunted eye, and with a cheerful countenance beheld the fierce executioners surrounding her, and ready to dispatch her at the word of command." To the threat of being sent to a brothel Agnes responded "You may stain your sword with my blood, but will never be able to profane my body, consecrated to Christ." All who attempted to violate her were struck with such awe at the sight of the saint that they did not dare to approach her - with one exception who was struck blind and fell trembling to the ground. By prayer Agnes restored his sight and health. Butler takes up the account of her execution; "Therefore, resolved upon her death, he [the governor] condemned her to be beheaded. Agnes, transported with joy at hearing this sentence, and still more at the sight of the executioner, "went to the place of execution more cheerfully," says St. Ambrose, "than others go to their wedding." The executioner had secret instructions to use all means to induce her to a compliance, but Agnes always answered she could never offer so great an injury to he heavenly spouse, and, having made a short prayer, bowed down her neck to adore God, and received the stroke of death. The spectators wept to see so beautiful and tender a virgin loaded with fetters, and to behold her fearless under the very sword of her executioner, who with a trembling hand cut off her head with one stroke." Almighty and ever-living God, you choose what is weak in the world to make it strong, mercifully grant that we may follow your Martyr Agnes in the constancy of her faith. See also: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01214a.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_of_Rome https://catholicsaints.info/saint-agnes-of-rome/ https://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/agnes.htm https://www.bartleby.com/210/1/211.html https://saintscatholic.blogspot.com/2014/01/st-agnes.html |
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21st January - Memorial of St. Alban Roe, Martyr. Born - 20 July 1583[, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England Died - 21 January 1642 (aged 58), Tyburn, London, England Venerated in - Catholic Church Beatified - 15 December 1921, Rome by Pope Pius XI Canonized - 25 October 1970, Rome by Pope Paul VI Feast - 21 January, 25 October Alban Bartholomew Roe was born in 1583 in Suffolk and was educated at Cambridge University and became an ardent and aggressive Protestant. It is said that a meeting with an imprisoned recusant at St. Albans whom Roe ad undertaken to convert led to Roe’s discomfiture. After meeting several priests Roe became a Catholic in 1607 and was admitted to the English College at Douai the following year. Unfortunately he was dismissed three years later for insubordination. Nevertheless he became a Benedictine monk, was professed in 1614 and ordained priest in 1615. In 1618 he travelled to London where he was arrested and imprisoned for five years. Released through the intercession of the Spanish ambassador he was banished from the country only to return a few months later. After two years he was arrested again and imprisoned at St. Albans. Friends managed to arrange for his transfer to the Fleet where he remained for a further fifteen years during which time he was often released on day parole. This enabled him to minister to many of the London recusants. Under the Long Parliament this arrangement ended, and Roe was transferred to Newgate, He was tried in 1642 at the Old Bailey being accused of being a priest and a ‘seducer of the people’. He was found guilty and was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn the same year. See also: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13109d.htm |
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22nd January - Optional memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon, Martyr. Born - 3rd century, Osca, Hispania Tarraconensis (Huesca, Aragon, Spain) Died - c. 304, Valentia, Hispania Tarraconensis (Valencia, Spain) Venerated in - Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church Canonized - Pre-Congregation Feast - 22 January (Roman Catholic & Anglican Churches), 11 November (Eastern Orthodox Church) Attributes - Usually pontifical, episcopal, etc. insignia, tools of martyrdom and so forth Patronage - São Vicente, Lisbon; Algarve; Valencia; Vicenza, Italy, vinegar-makers, winemakers; Order of Deacons of the Catholic Diocese of Bergamo (Italy). A deacon and proto-martyr of Spain Vincent was trained by Varerius, the Bishop of Saragossa and died in 304. There is no doubt of his martyrdom although there is speculation as to its manner. The earliest witness was Prudentius, while Ambrose said in a sermon that the veneration of Vincent as a saint extended all over the Roman Empire and wherever the name of Christ was known. According to a legend he was a victim of the persecution caused by the edicts of Diocletian and Maximinan. When threatened with torture, Vincent is reported to have responded; "I count myself blessed! The more you try to frighten me, the more you comfort me! So begin, your poor fool, do your worst, do whatever your evil nature bids you! You will see that with God's help I have more power to resist pain than you to inflict it!" He added; "It is not your tortures I fear; I dread only this show of pity! The more furious I see you, the greater is my joy. Do not hold back, I beg you! I want you to torture me as cruelly as you know how, them to admit that my victory is total and complete." Vincent was imprisoned and weakened by semi-starvation. When commanded to sacrifice he refused and was racked, roasted on a gridiron, thrown into prison and set in stocks. His imprisonment was accompanied by miraculous manifestations; "But at this moment the King for whose sake the soldier was suffering turned his agony into glory. For suddenly the darkness of the dungeon was dispelled by a brilliant light; Vincent's bed of torture became a bed of the sweetest smelling flowers; his fetters fell from his ankles; and holy angels were at his side offering him their comfort. When he walked on the bed of flowers and joined the singing of the angels, the sweetness of the melody and the wonderful fragrance of the flowers were wafted far and wide, and the guards, terrified by what the witnessed through chinks in the wall of Vincent's cell, were instantly converted to the faith." He died as a result of his sufferings. His body, after being exposed to be devoured by birds and beasts, was cast into the sea tied to a great millstone but was miraculously returned to the shore and was given an honourable burial. His relics were claimed by Valencia, Saragossa, Lisbon, Paris and Le Mans. In England the veneration of Vincent is very ancient with mention in the Old English Martyrology and in plenty of pre-Conquest calendars. In Abingdon, which acquired Vincent's relics in the twelfth century through the efforts of Abbot Faricius, graded his feast very highly with its own octave. There are six ancient church dedications to him in England. Almighty and ever-living God, grant that our hearts may possess that strong love by which your Martyr Vincent triumphed over all bodily torments. See also: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15434b.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_of_Saragossa https://catholicsaints.info/saint-vincent-of-saragossa/ https://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/vincent.htm https://www.bartleby.com/210/1/221.html https://saintscatholic.blogspot.com/2014/01/st-vincent-saragossa.html |
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24th January - Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop, Doctor of the Church. Born - 21 August 1567, Château de Sales, Duchy of Savoy, Holy Roman Empire Died - 28 December 1622 (aged 55), Lyons, Lyonnais, Kingdom of France Beatified - 8 January 1661, Rome, Papal States, by Pope Alexander VII Canonized - 8 April 1665, Rome, Papal States, by Pope Alexander VII Feast - 24 January (General Roman Calendar of 1969), 29 January (General Roman Calendar of 1960 and local communities Attributes - Heart of Jesus, Crown of Thorns Patronage - Baker, Oregon; Cincinnati, Ohio; Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana; Catholic press; Columbus, Ohio; confessors; deaf people; educators; Upington, South Africa; Wilmington, Delaware; writers; journalists; the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest; Oblates of St. Francis de Sales; Salesians of Don Bosco Declared a Doctor of the Church: 1877. Francis was born in 1567 at the Château de Sales in Savoy and his delicate nature as a child led to him being educated privately before completing his studies at the University of Paris where he studied rhetoric, philosophy, and theology. In 1591 he became a Doctor of Law at Padua and although a brilliant marriage and worldly career beckoned, he refused both fulfilling his wish to become a priest in 1593. He was soon distinguished for his service to the poor and skill as a preacher. The following year he undertook the dangerous task of converting the Chablis country from Calvinism where his life would be under constant threat from assassins and wolves. Through his simple preaching of Catholic doctrine with great love and understanding and with persistent patience and gentleness – the main characteristics throughout his life – he succeeded in his mission. In 1599, following a severe examination in theology at Rome in the presence of the Pope and cardinals Baronius, Bellarmine and others he was named coadjutor-bishop and in 1602 became Bishop of Geneva. He excelled in preaching, spiritual direction and catechizing as well as the administration of his diocese His most famous writings: Treatise on the Love of God and Introduction to the Devout Life belong to this period. To this period also belongs his friendship with Jane Frances de Chantal, whom he first knew as a widow and who, under his direction, founded the Order of the Visitation in 1610. He died at Lyons in 1622 and was canonised in 1665, declared a Doctor of the Church in 1877 and the patron of writers in 1923. Almighty and ever-living God, graciously grant that by following the example of St. Francis de Sales, we may always display the gentleness of your charity in the service of our neighbour. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_de_Sales https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06220a.htm https://catholicsaints.info/saint-francis-de-sales/ https://www.bartleby.com/210/1/291.html https://saintscatholic.blogspot.com/2019/01/saint-francis-of-sales.html http://www.catholicapologetics.info/library/onlinelibrary/devolife.htm https://www.catholicity.com/devoutlife/ https://www.ccel.org/ccel/desales/devout_life https://ccel.org/ccel/desales/love https://catholicsaints.info/a-study-of-the-gentle-saint-by-louise-mary-stacpoole-kenny/ https://catholicsaints.info/the-mystical-flora-of-saint-francis-de-sales/ |
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25th January - Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. "It happened that while he was travelling to Damascus and approaching the city, suddenly a light from heaven shone all around him. He fell to the ground, and then he heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” “Who are you, Lord?” he asked, and the answer came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless, for though they heard the voice they could see no one. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing at all, and they had to lead him into Damascus by the hand." Acts of the Apostles 9: 5-8 Paul would later recount his conversion to the Church in Jerusalem; "It happened that I was on that journey and nearly at Damascus when in the middle of the day a bright light from heaven suddenly shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" I answered, "Who are you, Lord?" and he said to me. I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting." The people with me saw the light but did not hear the voice which spoke to me. I said, "What am I to do, Lord?" The Lord answered, "Get up and go to Damascus, and there you will be told what you have been appointed to do." Since the light had been so dazzling that I was blind, I got to Damascus only because my companions led me by the hand. Someone called Ananias, a devout follower of the Law and highly thought of by all the Jews living there, came to see me; he stood beside me and said. "Brother Saul, receive your sight." Instantly my sight came back and I was able to see him." Acts of the Apostles 22: 6-13 see also Acts of the Apostles 26: 12-18. In all the accounts of St. Paul's conversion we see the importance of the event, not purely in the conversion itself, but also in determining the personal qualities of his faith and his gospel; its focus on Jesus as the glorified Lord who has risen from His saving death and now who lives on in His Church. Paul's own commission was to preach Christ to the Gentiles with implications for the universal scope of the gospel which even Paul did not immediately see; the total salvation that Jesus brings and the importance of the Resurrection. Paul's conversion experience is unique in recorded history, there is scarcely any parallel instance of such a sudden and personal reversal - that from the arch-persecutor of the Christian faith to one of its most vociferous and driven advocates. This has led some commentators to suggest a period of preparation before the conversion. Paul himself makes no mention of this, indeed the candour and keenness of Paul's insight makes it most unlikely that he should have been ignorant of such a transformation taking place or that he should have concealed it. Paul based his whole career on the fact that he had seen the real Jesus in the flesh, the risen and glorified Jesus. It was this experience that was the foundation of his claim that he was an apostle with the same rank and rights as the Twelve, "Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? Even if to others I am not an apostle, to you at any rate I am, for you are my seal of my apostolate in the Lord. To those who want to interrogate me, this is my answer. Have we not every right to eat and drink? And every right to be accompanied by a Christian wife, like the other apostles, like the brothers of the Lord, and like Cephas? Are Barnabas and I the only ones who have no right to stop working? What soldier would ever serve in an army at his own expense? And who is there who would plant a vineyard and never eat the fruit from it; or would keep a flock and not feed on the milk from his flock? Do you not think that this is merely worldly wisdom."(1 Corinthians 9: 1-8) Paul was already a religious man, an observant and believing Pharisee. However, from the moment of his conversion he was totally consumed by his faith in Jesus. In one aspect, he did differ from the Twelve. Whereas for the Twelve Christianity grew out of and was a form of Judaism, to Paul it was fundamentally different. Whereas the Jews believed that, the road to salvation lay in the careful observance of the Judaic Law and the no less careful of the performance of the Temple ritual, Paul believed what saved was faith. Jesus had changed the world. Before the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, all there was the observance of the Law - but since these events, the precepts of the Law were overridden by the need to simply but totally to believe. Jesus had revealed a new way to salvation, belief in Himself. Faith now saves and nothing else does. Paul's mission was to make everyone see this, Jew and Gentile alike. Almighty and ever-living God, grant that through the example of the blessed Apostle Paul we may draw ever closer to you and so make us witnesses to your truth throughout the world. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11567b.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_of_Paul_the_Apostle#Feast |