The Feast Day of St. Olympias is celebrated on December 17. She was a widow and deaconess from Constantinople.
St. Olympius was born in Constatinople in 368 into a wealthy family. She was left orphaned and raised by her sister Theodosia who was quite pious. She married at a young age to Nebridias who was the treasurer of the Emperor Theodosius the Great. He died only 20 days after their marriage.
Turning down several offers of marriage Olympius insisted on remaining single. She was consecrated a deaconess by the Bishop of Constantinople. With several other women she founded a community. They established a hospital and an orphanage. They also sheltered expelled monks from Nitria.
St. Olympius became a friend and disciple of St. John Chrysostom. When he was expelled in 404 from Constantinople she continued to support him. When she refused to support Arsacius and his successor Atticus, she was fined and persecuted. Her community disbanded, bringing to an end her charitable works.
St. Olympius died in exile in Nicodemia on July 25.
You will be consoled according to the greatness of your sorrow and affliction; the greater the suffering, the greater will be the reward.
Quote of St. Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi; Feast day May 25
The Feast Day of St. Adelaide is celebrated on December 16. She is the patron saint of abuse victims and brides.
St. Adelaide was born in 931 in Burgundy. Her marriage, at the age of 15 or 16 to Lothair, heir of King Hugh of Italy. was arranged by her father. Their union was unhappy but short due to his death three years later. Adelaide refused to marry the son of his successor, Berengar. She was imprisoned in an attempt to force a marriage. Adelaide escaped and requested aid from the Emperor Otto. She eventually married him. They had four children; the future Otto II and three daughters (two became nuns). Otto and Adelaide received the imperial crown from John XII.
After the death of Otto, her son Otto II succeeded him. He also died. Otto III, still a minor was entrusted the joint registry of his mother and grandmother. After he took full power, Adelaide devoted herself to pious works establishing many churches and monasteries.
The Feast Day of St. Mary di Rosa is celebrated on December 15. She founded the Handmaids of Charity of Brescia.
Paula Frances Mary di Rosa was born on Nov. 6, 1813 at Brescia, Italy into a wealthy family. Her mother died when she was eleven years old.
After being educated by Visitation Nuns, she returned home to manage her father’s estate. Having a great desire to enter the convent, she was inspired to volunteer at the Brescia hospital during the cholera outbreak in 1836. She also helped care for the spiritual needs of the girls working at her father’s mills and arranged retreats.
St. Mary di Rosa founded a home for girls and a school for deaf mutes. She founded a religious order called the Handmaids of Charity of Brescia. It was also known as the Servants of Charity. It began with four members and grew to twenty two. At this time, Paula took the religious name of Mary Crucifixa because of her devotion to the passion and crucifixion and suffering of Christ.
The Sisters ministered to the wounded on the battlefields of Northern Italy and in hospitals.
St. Mary di Rosa died peacefully at the age of 42 on December 15, 1855. She was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1954.
“I can’t go to bed with a quiet conscience if during the day I’ve missed any chance, however slight, of preventing wrongdoing or of helping to bring about some good.”
St. John of the CrossPrayers, Quips and Quotes: St. John of the Cross, Feast Day December 14
The Feast Day of St. John of the Cross is celebrated on December 14. Because of his mystical writing, he is called the Mystical Doctor. He is one of the 35 Doctors of the Church. He is the patron of mystics.
Juan de Yepes Alvarez was born in Spain in 1542. His father was disowned by the family when he married a weavers’ daughter. His father died soon after his birth. Most of Juan’s childhood was spent in poverty. As a teenager, Juan worked in a hospital caring for the terminally ill and mental patients.
At the age of 21, Juan became a brother in the Carmelite Order. He went for higher studies in Slamanca and was ordained a priest, taking the name of John of the Cross at age 25. He soon met St. Teresa of Avila, a Carmelite nun, who convinced him to help her in the work of reforming the Carmelite Order. There was great resistance to the reforming of the order to a more prayerful life. Those against the reform actually kidnapped him. They held him prisoner for over nine months in a small cell, six by ten feet wide. He was beaten often. During this time of trial, St. John of the Cross became very close to God, spending his time writing his mystical poetry. He eventually escaped using a rope made of strips of blankets to climb out the window. The only thing he took with him was his writings. John hid in a convent infirmary where he read his poetry to the nuns. From this period on he shared his experience of God’s love.
St. John of the Cross wrote many books including:
St. John of the Cross
Ascent of Mount Carmel,
Dark Night of the Soul
A Spiritual Canticle
Living Flame of Love
In 1579, he became Rector of Colegio de San Basilio, continuing his writing ministry. He is known for a spirituality which believes in the prayer of detachment. His spirituality also focused on joining our suffering to the Paschal Mystery (the death and suffering of Jesus Christ). He taught that the Cross leads to resurrection, agony to ecstasy, darkness to light, abandonment to possession, denial of self to union with God.
St. John of the Cross died of fever caused by cellulitus. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. His feast day is Dec. 14, the day of his death and entry into heaven.
The Feast day of St. Lucy is celebrated on December 13. She is the patron saint of the blind and visually impaired. She is also a martyr.
St. Lucy was born in 283 in Syracuse (Sicily). The name Lucy means “Light”. Her feast day is celebrated on Dec. 13, the day she was executed.
Lucy was born into a wealthy family of Greek ancestry. She vowed her life to Christ. Her Roman father died when she was young. Her mother tried against her will to arrange a marriage for her. After Lucy prayed at the tomb of St. Agatha, her mother’s illness (probably a hemorrhage), was cured. Her mother then agreed to let Lucy consecrate herself to Christ and to remain a virgin.
The rejected suitor of Lucy denounced her and reported her Christianity to the authorities. The magistrate Paschasius was known for his persecution and torture of Christians. He ordered her to burn a sacrifice to the emperor’s image. When she refused, she was ordered to be executed, in the year 304, at the age of 21. The attempt to burn her to death failed, so she was executed by a sword to the throat. Before the execution, she was tortured, having her eyes gouged. This is why she is the patron of the blind and visually impaired. In art St. Lucy is frequently shown holding a golden plate with her eyes on it.
Legend concludes that God restored her sight before her death.
While some of the history of St. Lucy is legend, her name is mentioned in several different places, including the canon of St. Gregory, indicating that she is a real person. By the sixth century, devotion to St. Lucy was widespread.
The Feast Day of St. Damasus is celebrated on December 11. He was the Bishop of Rome.
Damasus was born in 306. His father was a Roman priest. Following his father’s footsteps, he began as a deacon. He served in the Basilica of San Lorenzo. He also served Pope Liberius following him into exile. When Pope Liberius died he was elected Pope. At the same time a minority elected Ursinus as the Pope. Ursinus was considered the anti-pope. Unrest and discord were constant during the reign of Pope Damasus.
Pope Damasus commissioned his secretary St.Jerome to translate the scripture into Latin, the Vulgate version of the Bible. He also changed the liturgical language of the Church from Greek to Latin. He worked to preserve the catacombs and the graves of the martyrs, and relics. During his reign, Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman state.
Pope Damasus I died of natural causes in Rome on Dec. 11, 384.
The Feast day of St. Gregory III is celebrated on December 10. He was the Bishop of Rome.
St. Gregory III was born in Syria. His father’s name was John. Little is known about his childhood. He became a Syrian priest. He was proclaimed pope immediately after the death of Pope Gregory II. The most pressing problem was defending the veneration of holy images. Emperor Leo III considered it idolatry.
Pope Gregory called a synod during which he approved measures against anyone who destroyed images of Jesus, Mary or the saints. He taught that icons and images promote worship rather than being the object of worship themselves. He repaired many beautiful churches and promoted monasticism. Pope Gregory was known for his virtue and knowledge.
Pope Gregory III died of natural causes on November 28, 741.
The Feast Day of St. Juan Diego is celebrated on December 9. Juan was born in a ward of Tlayacac in Cuauhtitlan. His birth name was Cuauhtlatzin, which means “The talking eagle”. He was a farmer and a weaver. He is the first indigenous American Saint.
After the arrival of the Franciscans, Juan and his wife, Maria Lucia, converted to the Catholic faith in 1524-1525. Juan was baptized by Father Peter da Gand at the age of 50. He and his wife moved closer to Mexico City to be closer to the Franciscan Catholic Mission.
Juan had a special devotion to the Eucharist. In 1529, several years after his conversion, Maria Lucia died. As a widower, he walked 15 miles three times a week to attend Mass and receive the Eucharist.
One Saturday, on Dec. 9, as he was walking to Mass, a woman’s voice called out to him as he passed Tepeyac Hill. He heard music and saw a cloud encircled by a rainbow. Our Lady appeared to him dressed as an Aztec princess. She told him she was The Virgin Mary and asked him to tell the bishop to build a church on that site. She said to him;
“I vividly desire that a church be built on this site, so that in it I can be present and give my love, compassion, help and defense, for I am your most devoted mother….to hear your laments and to remedy all your miseries, pains, and sufferings.”
When he told the bishop what had happened, the bishop was kind, but skeptical. He requested proof. Before Juan could return to the site, he learned his uncle was dying. On his way to see his uncle, Our Lady appeared to him again, telling him his uncle had been cured. She told Juan to climb to the top of the hill where she had first appeared. When he did this he was shocked to find flowers growing in the frozen earth. He gathered them in his cloak and took them to the bishop. When he opened his cloak, the flowers that fell to the ground were Castilian roses (not native to Mexico). The bishop saw a glowing image of Our Lady imprinted inside Juan’s cloak. This is referred to as The Miracle of the Roses.
Soon after, a church was built at the site. In the seven years following the building of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, six million people converted to the church because of the apparition. Twenty million pilgrims visit the Basilica yearly, second only to St. Peters Basilica in Rome.
An investigation by the Vatican (which included thirty researchers) confirmed that Juan Diego was not a mythical character.
Pope John Paul II praised St. Juan Diego for his simple faith who said to the Virgin Mary,
“I am a nobody, I am a small rope, a tiny ladder, the tail end, a leaf”
Pope John Paul II called him a model of humility.
Our Lady of Guadalupe has been declared the patroness of the Americas.
St. Juan Diego lived the rest of his life as a hermit in a hut near the church, caring for both the church and the first pilgrims. St. Juan Diego died on May 30, 1548.
The Cloak of Juan Diego was framed and is on display at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is still intact, showing no signs of decay after nearly five hundred years.
The Feast day of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on Dec. 8 during the season of Advent. The feast day celebrates the belief that Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin. It is often misunderstood as the celebration of the conception of Jesus.
Mary under the title of the Immaculate Conception is the Patron Saint of Brazil and the United States.
The feast day became a celebration for the universal church in the 18th century. Pope Pius IX declare;
“The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.”
Mary herself confirmed her title to St. Bernadettesaying to her;
The Feast Day of St. Ambrose is celebrated on December 7. He was the Bishop of Milan and proclaimed a Doctor and Father of the Church. St. Ambrose is the patron saint of bee keepers and students.
St. Ambrose was born in the year 339. He studied in Rome, Italy becoming a lawyer. He was in the process of converting to Catholicism when a great dispute arose after the death of the Bishop of Milan. It was Ambrose who intervened and maintained order. Everyone was so impressed that they requested him as their next bishop even though he he was only a cathecumen (student) and not yet baptized. Resisting at first, eventually Ambrose agreed. He was baptized and eight days later on Dec. 7, 374 he was consecrated the Bishop of Milan at the age of 35.
As bishop he immediately gave his money to the poor. He was known for his fight against paganism and Arianism ( the belief that Jesus Christ did not have a divine nature). He was instrumental in the conversion and baptism of St. Augustine. The title “Honey tongued Doctor” was given to him because of his speaking skills. Because of his title he became the patron saint of bee keepers.
St. Ambrose died of natural causes on April 14, 397.
The Feast Day of St. Nicholas is celebrated on December 6. He is the patron saint of children, sailors, and bakers. He served as the Bishop of Myra.
St. Nicholas was born in the fourth century in Patara in Lycia, which is a province of Asia Minor. Many churches have been built in his honor. His parents were wealthy but it It is believed he was orphaned at a young age. As a young man he decided to devote his inheritance to charities. After returning from a pilgrimage to Palestine and Egypt he was ordained the Bishop of Myra. He was imprisoned during the Diocletian persecution and released when Constantine came into power.
St. Nicholas was known for his kindness and generosity. He found many opportunities to give away his wealth. One of the stories told about St. Nicholas was that he helped a man who had lost all his money. This man had three daughters to support. In an attempt to save the daughters from prostitution, St. Nicholas, in the dark of night, threw bags of gold coins into their home. The coins landed in their shoes and stockings which were by the fire drying. This is the reason children today put out stockings for Santa Claus at Christmas.
St. Nicholas is also known as Sinterklass in the Dutch culture. Many stories have evolved around the generosity of St. Nicholas. There is a tradition that he enjoyed giving gifts to children in secret. The stories inspired many of the traditions surrounding Santa Claus. The clothing Santa Claus wears is similar to that of a bishop.
St. Nicholas died on December 6, 346.
“The habit of seeing things in the light of faith
lifts us above the mists and the mire of the world.”
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.
