The feast day of St. Sabas is celebrated on December 5. He was a priest and monk. St. Sabas was born at Mutalaska, Cappadocia. His father was an army officer. he was raised by an uncle whose wife mistreated him.
At the age of eight Sabas ran away to another uncle, only to run away again later when a dispute arose. He went to live in a monastery. At the age of 30, he became a hermit. St. Euthymius was his advisor. When Euthymius died, he lived alone in the desert for four years.
Although he loved solitude, disciples were drawn to him, eventually numbering 150 monks. A priest was requested and he accepted ordination in 491. His followers were from Egypt and Armenia. They built several hospitals.
St. Sabas lived to over 90 years of age. He is considered one of the founders of Eastern Monasticism.
The feast day of St. John Damascene is celebrated on December 4. He was a monk and priest. St. John Damascene has been given the title Doctor of the Church.
St. John grew up under Muslim rule in Damascus, born to Christian parents in 690 . He is known for his arguments defending sacred art, especially icons.
During the 720’s religious art became very controversial and was forbidden by Emperor Leo. John argued in favor of religious art, stating that Christians did not worship images but through them they worshiped God and honored the memory of the Saint. His arguments made him an enemy of the emperor who had a letter forged in John’s name offering to betray the Muslim government of Damascus. Because of the forgery, John’s hand was cut off. However, the saints biography states that through the intervention of the Virgin Mary his hand was miraculously healed. After convincing the ruler of his innocence, John decided to become a monk. Eventually he was ordained a priest.
St. John is also known for his poetry and his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The feast day of St. Francis Xavier is celebrated on December 3. He is the patron saint of foreign missions and the co-founder of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits.
St. Francis Xavier was born in the Kingdom of Navarre (now part of Spain). He was born in the Basque area, on April 7, 1506. He studied at the University of Paris.
When he met Ignatius of Loyola, they became friends and Francis became a student of St. Ignatius. He then became a co- founder of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), with Ignatius. With St. Ignatius, he was ordained a priest in 1537. In 1956 Francis left Paris to join Ignatius in Venice. The Society was recognized by the Pope in 1540.
Francis preached in India, Japan, Borneo, and Moluccas. Over a period of ten years, he baptized roughly 30,000 people to Christianity. He is said to have converted more people to Christianity than anyone other than St. Paul.
In 1552 he set out for China landing on the Island of Shangchuan.. He died from a fever before he reached the mainland while waiting to be taken to China. He was first buried on a beach at Shangchuan Island. His incorrupt body was taken from the island in 1553 and temporarily buried in St. Paul’s Church in Portuguese, Malacca.
St. Francis Xavier was known as the “Apostle of the Indias.”
The Novena of Grace was a popular devotion to Francis Xavier and typically prayed for nine days before Dec. 3.
“I love You, not because You have the power to give heaven or hell,
but simply because You are You…my kin and my God.”
Quote of St. Francis Xavier
Preaching St. Francis Xavier
By Carlone Gesu
Public Domain Image
The Crucifixion of St. Andrew the Apostle by Mattia Preti
The feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle is celebrated on November 30. He is the patron saint of fishermen. St. Andrew was the first of the twelve Apostles to be called by Jesus.
Mark 1:16-20 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
St. Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter. He was a fisherman and a follower of St. John the Baptist. When he heard the call of Jesus, he immediately left everything and followed Him.
After the ascension of Jesus to heaven, Andrew went to Greece to preach the gospel. In the year 70 he became a martyr. He was put to death on a cross to which he was tied, not nailed. It was a cross in the form of an X, which is now called “St. Andrew’s Cross”. He lived for two days, suffering, yet still preaching the gospel.
Three countries have chosen St. Andrew as their patron: Russia, Scotland and Greece. He is also the patron of fishermen.
St. Andrew’s relics are kept at the Basilica of St. Andrew in Patras, Greece.
“How blind man is when he refuses to open his heart to the light of faith!”
The creche’ or nativity which is evident in many holiday displays actually began with a living nativity organized by St. Francis.
Before the time of St. Francis, Christmas was celebrated with a Christmas Mass which was prayed and sung in Latin, a language few people understood. It was St. Francis who decided it was time to bring exuberant joy to the celebration. Three years before he died, St. Francis was visiting the town of Grecio. After receiving permission from the pope, he arranged a living nativity. Knowing that the hermitage would be too small for midnight mass, he found a niche in the rock near town square and set up the altar.
According to St. Bonaventure who tells the story in his book The Life of St. Francis of Assisi, he prepared a manger, brought hay, an ox and an ass to the appointed place. The brethren were summoned and that venerable night was made glorious by many lights and sonorous psalms and praise. St Francis, a deacon, stood before the manger full of devotion and piety, bathed in tears and radiant with joy; the Holy Gospel was chanted by Francis. Then he preached to the people gathered around the nativity of the poor King. St. Francis, filled with much joy, referred to Jesus as the Babe of Bethlehem.
The tradition of the nativity has been carried on to this day. The nativity scene is a visible reminder of the night our savior was born.
St. Francis is also responsible for the tradition of the Christmas Carol. He decided to add religious lyrics to popular tunes of his time, which became known as Christmas Carols. The first Christmas Carol was Psalmus in Nativitate. It was written in Latin so it could be sung at Mass but sung to a popular tune all the people knew. As living nativity scenes became popular, the people began singing the carols that have become familiar to us today.
In keeping with Franciscan Spirituality, perhaps we can create new Christmas Carols using familiar tunes of our day. The following Christmas Carol is an example.
An Ode to Jesus on Christmas
By Vicki Scheenstra
(Sung to melody of Angels from the Realms of Glory)
The period of four weeks before Christmas is called Advent. It is a period of anticipation and hope. In today’s culture it is a busy time, filled with shopping and socializing. However, in ages past, it was a quiet and sacred time of prayer and waiting… anticipating the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Reflecting on the birth of Jesus, we look with hope to our salvation. Jesus was born of Mary. He became man to redeem us. By the cross, we are saved from our sins and have the hope of eternal life. What a tremendous mystery! How can a little baby be both human and divine?
The omnipotence of God is shown by his humbling himself and becoming a man. His humble beginnings, being born in a manger, tells us of his connection to the poor and lowly. He was not the type of king the Jewish people were expecting. The kingdom of God is an important thing to reflect on during the Christmas Season. Are we trying to follow the teachings of Jesus…to love not only our neighbor but our enemies? Are we helping the poor and downtrodden?
God is love. When we look at a little baby it is easy to define love. However, we need to be loving our neighbor at all times. Celebrating the incarnation (God becoming Man) this year, let’s try not to lose sight of the spiritual nature of Christmas. Waiting helps us to slow down. Hopefully, we will be spending time in prayer… sharing with God our hopes, difficulties, fears and love.
A soul enkindled with love is a gentle, meek, humble, and patient soul.
