saints – Page 3

St Maria Skobtsova (of Paris)

In the Orthodox Church there is a person most people don’t know, at least those who are Latin Catholics, St. Maria of Paris, the “Saint of the Open Door.” I find her story captivating and desirable to know and follow. Her feast is today, but she is also liturgically recalled on March 31.

She is also known as St. Maria Skobtsova who died in Ravensbrück prison in 1945; the Orthodox Church venerates Mother Maria as a martyr. The Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate raised her to the altar.

Here is a sermon preached in honor of St. Maria of Paris by Teva Regule earlier this week.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.

“Come, take the Light that is never overtaken by night!”

This invitation is given to us every year at the Paschal midnight service when the Light of Christ is brought out from the altar area that represents His tomb, and is spread among the people. As we read on that First Sunday of Pascha in the Gospel according to John, it is the Light of Christ that illumines all and shines in the darkness, but is not overcome by it (Jn. 1:5). Throughout the year, we continue to proclaim the power of this Light when we sing (or recite) one of the most ancient hymns of the church at every Vespers service—Phos Hilaron or, in English, “O Gladsome Light”. Our life of faith relies on this Light and the revelation that makes us believers. Jesus says, “While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light” (Jn. 12:36). By our baptism, we become children of this Light (e.g. Baptismal Rite, p. 148). In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples that they are [to be] the lights [of Christ] in the world. He encourages them to let their light shine before others so that all may see their good works and, as a result, glorify God. As Christians, we are called to shine forth the Light of Christ in our own lives, illuminating the whole world with the love and compassion of our Lord.

The Church gives us models to help guide us in this endeavor—the saints. They are human beings, recognized by the Church as witnesses to the Light of Christ in the world. This week, on July 20, we remember a modern saint—St. Maria of Paris (and those canonized with her)—to whom I would now like to draw our attention. (Feel free to reference the handout with some of her icons as well as the troparion and kontakion that we sing in her memory.)

We know little of the actual life of many of the saints of the Church. In most cases we rely on hagiographic forms that can often be reduced to caricatures. But with Mother (now Saint) Maria Skobtsova we have an embodied personality (some might say, an all-too-human personality)—an intellectual, a divorced woman, a political revolutionary, and towards the latter part of her life, a nun. She was a woman who could be frank, outspoken, strong willed and even sometimes, quarrelsome. She was a monastic who defied conventional norms, among other things, smoking in public! One might imagine her sitting in a café in Harvard or Central Square, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes, covered in black monastic garb. While this may not be so out of place for Cambridge, it certainly would be by traditional standards of monastic decorum. In fact, she often criticized “classical” monasticism as well as all that she perceived as deficient or dead in Christianity. She was someone who was shaped by the events of the 20th century—two world wars, forced emigration from her Russian homeland, and abject poverty—and who would subsequently lead a life of prayer, but one in the world, dedicated to helping others. Her code of practice was based on the recognition of the dignity of all people created in the ‘image and likeness’ of God. We are all called to venerate the image of God in our neighbor. For her, it was essential to put oneself in their place. This understanding of what is means to love God and neighbor would form the basis for her life.

Mother Maria was born in 1891. As a child of the landed gentry, she had a university education and became part of the cultural elite of St. Petersburg. She counted among her friends and acquaintances well-known writers, poets, and political thinkers of the time. They would spend hours discussing politics, economics, and theology. As a result of these interactions, her interest in theology deepened and she became the first woman to take courses at the (famous) Ecclesiastical Academy at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.

Forced to emigrate from her homeland amid revolution and war, she (as did many other Russians) made her way to Paris. It was here that her life would radically change. Like many recent immigrants, she lived in poverty. Although she was to continue to write and discuss and debate social issues and theology, her life after the war was spent in action. Her work with the Russian Student Christian Movement put her into contact with many of the impoverished outcasts of the Russian emigration. It was from this contact that she lived out her theology. Her model was the early monastics of the Church.

But would monasticism be a framework for her life? She was convinced that a new type of monasticism was necessary for the emigration, with a concern for the world as its focus. For her, the ethical imperative of the liturgy demanded that it be carried into the world. She called it the “liturgy beyond church bounds” (Pearl of Great Price, p. 42). Her base of operations was the House at Rue de Lourmel. It was here that she provided a fixed address for those needing to qualify for governmental assistance; cooked and served dinners to the many hungry, being mindful not to just give out charity but to empower them as much as possible; and provided counseling to those in need. (Some of her ministry is depicted in the various scenes on the icon on the inside cover of your handout.) All were worthy of her efforts. Each was her “neighbor.” During the occupation of France, her philanthropy extended to the many Jews in need of assistance. In addition to helping to feed those needing food, she was also an active member of the resistance movement, smuggling Jews to safe locations and in some cases, facilitating the falsification of baptismal certificates. It was these activities that would lead to her eventual arrest and her banishment to the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Ironically, in many ways, her life in the camp was no different from her life outside the camp. She still led prayer services, discussed theology, gathered food for others, attended to their other physical needs as well as provided spiritual and emotional support. She devoted her life to the other. Eventually, she laid down her life totally for the other, consciously stepping into the crowd of those selected for “extermination” at the camp, thus taking the place of someone else. She was taken to the gas chamber on 31 March 1945 on the eve of Pascha and as WWII was ending in Europe. (This scene is referenced in the next icon of your handout.) She, along with what have been called other “outstanding personalities of the spiritual history of the Russian emigration in France,” (Act of Canonization ) was canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate some fourteen years ago, on 16 January 2004.

Mother Maria was an example of someone who conquered the darkness of hate in a world torn by war and rife with despair by letting the Light of Christ shine through her life and works. She was not only all-too-human, but fully human, living her life in obedience to God and for the other. As depicted along the border of this same icon, she once declared, “Our neighbor’s cross is the sword that pierces our soul….to co-participate, co-feel, co-suffer. [This is] love” (Essential Writings, p. 71). The kontakion dedicated to her (on the back cover of your handout) affirms that St. Maria “became an instrument of divine love… a bright star shining in the darkness” (Kontakion).

May Mother Maria be an example for us, wherever we are, to answer our calling to serve God and our neighbor in whatever way we can. And may we, too, let the Light of Christ shine forth from our lives and our works so that others may see them and be moved to give glory to our Father in heaven (Mt. 5:16).
Amen.

Troparion (Tone 4):
You became a bride of Christ, O venerable Mother,
And offered your body and soul to Him as a living sacrifice.
You exposed the evil side of humanity’s ways
By allowing the light of the Resurrection to shine forth from you.
We celebrate your memory in love.
O Martyr and Confessor Maria
Pray to Christ our God that He may save our souls.

Kontakion (Tone 6, Plagal of the Second):
You became an instrument of divine love, O holy martyr Maria,
And taught us to love Christ with all our being.
You conquered evil by not submitting yourself
into the hands of the destroyer of souls.
You drank from the cup of suffering.
The Creator accepted your death above any other sacrifice
And crowned you with the laurels of victory with His mighty hand.
Pray fervently that nothing may hinder us from fulfilling God’s will Because you are a bright star shining in darkness!

St Mariam Sultaneh Danil Ghattas

St Mariam Sultaneh Danil Ghattas (4 October 1843-25 March 1927), was a Dominican tertiary. She first joined the Sisters of Joseph but following a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary she received in Bethlehem, she co-founded the Rosary Sisters (Sisters of the Holy Rosary of Jerusalem of the Latins; Congregation of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem). The visions were kept a secret for 53 years, and her journals read only post mortem. People recognized the virtues of humility and meekness in Mother Mariam, similar to those of the Mother of God.

Ghattas promoted the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception (later known as, “Daughters of Mary”) and also the Confraternity of the Christian Mothers.

Mother Mariam spent her life working for the poor and the education of Palestinian Christians, and her Sisters continue that work today.

St Mariam Sultaneh Danil Ghattas was beatified on 22 November 2009, in the Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth; she was the second Palestinian nun to be beatified. She was canonized by Pope Francis on 17 May 2017.

St Lydia

Saint Lydia Purpuraria (1st century) is famous for the mention in Acts 16 for her work with selling purple material (hence, her name which means purple seller), used for for expensive Roman clothing.

Lydia was born at Thyatira (Ak-Hissar), a town in Asia Minor. She met Paul on his second missionary journey in ca. AD50. Lydia became Paul’s first convert at Philippi and he baptized her with her household in the Gaggitis River –called the Angst River. Paul with his companions stayed at her home in Philippi. Thus, it is her home that becomes the first church in Europe.

The Orthodox recall her memory liturgically on May 20.

For most Catholics praying to Saint Lydia for her intercession would be very novel. But what she models for us is not new. In his 1995 Letter to Women, Saint John Paul II wrote “In this vast domain of service, the Church’s two-thousand-year history, for all its historical conditioning, has truly experienced the ‘genius of woman’; from the heart of the Church there have emerged women of the highest calibre who have left an impressive and beneficial mark in history.” Right, Lydia’s genius is instructive and worthy of our consideration for knowing the desires of her heart: she was a business woman, she lived the virtue of hospitality, a leader of people, and a follower of Jesus Christ.

Let us ask Lydia to guide all women, indeed, all Christians, in their responding sacrificially to the holy desires of the heart.

Saint Maria Skobtsova of Paris

Today, the 71st anniversary of the transitus (the death) of Saint Maria Skobtsova of Paris (1891-1945). She was Latvian by birth. Saint Maria is an Orthodox nun who was killed in the Ravensbrück concentration camp, along with her son, Yuri. Saint Maria Skobtsova is known as the Orthodox Dorothy Day, or the Orthodox Woman of the Beatitudes.

Jim Forrest writes, “She was certain that there was no other path to heaven than participating in God’s mercy. As she wrote: “The way to God lies through love of people. At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked whether I was successful in my ascetic exercises, nor how many bows and prostrations I made. Instead I shall be asked did I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoners. That is all I shall be asked. About every poor, hungry and imprisoned person the Savior says ‘I’: ‘I was hungry and thirsty, I was sick and in prison.’ To think that he puts an equal sign between himself and anyone in need…. I always knew it, but now it has somehow penetrated to my sinews. It fills me with awe.”

A short biography of her: “Mother Maria of Paris: Saint of the Open Door” by Jim Forest

A few icons of Saint Maria of Paris

A page of links relating to her and her co-workers

Saint Hugh of Lincoln

“Saint Hugh’s primary emblem is a white swan, in reference to the story of the swan of Stowe which had a deep and lasting friendship with the saint, even guarding him while he slept. The swan would follow him about, and was his constant companion while he was at Lincoln. Hugh loved all the animals in the monastery gardens, especially a wild swan that would eat from his hand and follow him about and yet the swan would attack anyone else who came near Hugh.”

Hugh is a 12th century monk, priest and bishop of Lincoln. The monk-bishop is a reformer. One reform was that the priests needed to live at the parishes they were assigned and to minister to the sick and the needy. He is the patron saint of sick children, sick people, shoemakers, and swans. Hugh is the first Carthusian to be canonized.

Saint Peregrine Laziosi

On this feast of Saint Peregrine, the Church prays:

Eternal Father, I wish to honor St. Peregrine, and I give Thee thanks for all the graces Thou hast bestowed upon him. I ask Thee to please increase grace in my soul through the merits of this saint, and I commit the end of my life to him by this special prayer, so that by virtue of Thy goodness and promise, St. Peregrine might be my advocate and provide whatever is needed at that hour. Amen

A biography of the Saint that asks God to cure cancer:

Today, May 16, we celebrate the feast of Saint Peregrine Laziosi (1260-1345), priest, and patron saint of those suffering with cancer, AIDS, and other serious diseases. Saint Peregrine was miraculously cured during his lifetime of cancer, through his devotion to the suffering Jesus on the Cross. Saint Peregrine is a reminder of the gracious love and healing of a personal relationship with Jesus. He is invoked today to intercede in the healing and comfort of those struggling against disease.

Peregrine Laziosi was born into a wealthy family at Forli, Italy. He spent a worldly youth active in politics, and was originally a member of the anti-papal party —a strongly anti-Catholic movement in Italy. During one uprising, Peregrine struck Saint Philip Benizi, who had been dispatched by the Pope to bring peace, in the face. When Philip offered the other cheek to his young attacker, Peregrine was so overcome that he repented and converted immediately to Catholicism.

Shortly thereafter, Peregrine received a miraculous vision from Our Blessed Mother, in which she instructed him to journey to Siena, Italy, and join the Servite Order there. He left his wealth and status and did as Mary instructed, joining the Servites. Once a Servite, Peregrine imposed strict penances on himself as reparation for his earlier actions, including the observation of strict silence and solitude, and refusal to sit down. It is believed that Peregrine stood for approximately 30 years, which eventually led to illness.

After his training and ordination, he was assigned to his hometown, Forli, and there founded a new house of the Servite Order. He was a gifted preacher, and brought many to the faith. He was similarly a patient, gentle, and respected confessor, and many traveled a great distance to meet with him in the confessional. When not interacting with others or preaching, he maintained his vow of silence.

Saint Peregrine eventually developed difficulty with his circulation, likely due to his constant standing, which led to cancer of the foot. This aggressive cancer began spreading up his leg, and with no cure possible, his doctors scheduled an amputation of the limb. Saint Peregrine spent the night before his surgery in fervent prayer before the crucified Christ. As he drifted off to sleep while praying, he experienced a vision of Jesus, coming off the Cross, and touching the afflicted area. The next morning, when he awoke, his cancer had been completed cured. Saint Peregrine went on to live another 20 years, serving the Lord and his community.

Peregrine died at the age of 85, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII. He reminds us of the miraculous grace of conversion and healing that is possible through Our Lord. An adamant opponent to the Church, Saint Peregrine became a powerful preacher, leading many to the faith. He turned to the Lord, and was richly rewarded. How might we experience conversion today?

Saint Peregrine, thou hast given us an example to follow; as a Christian thou wert steadfast in love; as a Servite thou wert faithful in service; as a penitent thou humbly acknowledgedst thy sin; afflicted thou borest suffering with patience. Intercede for us, then, with our Heavenly Father so that we steadfast, humble and patient may receive from Christ Jesus the grace we ask.

Saint Casimir

Two saints in a row –Saint Katharine Drexel yesterday and Saint Casimir today–we hear in the opening prayer the theme of holiness and justice. On the surface this is nothing new, nor ought it be surprising. Lent is a time of conversion and a reorientation toward acts of charity. Scripture exhort us to live in this manner, and the saints give good example. How is your orientation toward the universal call to holiness and charity?

From the life of Saint Casimir written by an contemporary

By the power of the Holy Spirit, Casimir burned with a sincere and unpretentious love for almighty God that was almost unbelievable in its strength. So rich was his love and so abundantly did it fill his heart, that it flowed out from his inner spirit toward his fellow men. As a result nothing was more pleasant, nothing more desirable for him, than to share his belongings, and even to dedicate and give his entire self to Christ’s poor, to strangers, to the sick, to those in captivity and all who suffer. To widows, orphans and the afflicted, he was not only a guardian and patron but a father, son and brother. One would have to compose a long account to record here all his works of love and dedication for God and for mankind. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine or to express his passion for justice, his exercise of moderation, his gift of prudence, his fundamental spiritual courage and stability, especially in a most permissive age, when men tend to be headstrong and by their very natures inclined to sin.

Daily he urged his father to practice justice throughout his kingdom and in the governance of his people; and whenever anything in the country had been overlooked because of human weakness or simple neglect, he never failed to point it out quietly to the king.

He actively took up the cause of the needy and unfortunate and embraced it as his own; for this reason the people called him the patron of the poor. Though the son of a king and descendant of a noble line, he was never unapproachable in his conversation or dealings with anyone, no matter how humble or obscure.

He always preferred to be counted among the meek and poor of spirit, among those who are promised the kingdom of heaven, rather than among the famous and powerful men of this world. He had no ambition for the power that lies in human rank and he would never accept it from his father. He was afraid the barbs of wealth, which our Lord Jesus Christ spoke of as thorns, would wound his soul, or that he would be contaminated by contact with worldly goods.

Many who acted as his personal servants or secretaries are still alive today; these men, of the highest integrity, who had personal knowledge of his private life, testify that he preserved his chastity to the very end of his life.

Saint Katharine Drexel

Saint Katharine Drexel (1858 – 1955) was born in Philadelphia to a rich banking family. In 1889, at the age of 33, with the desire burning in her heart, she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, dedicated to mission work among Indians and black people. Drexel spent her entire life and her entire fortune to this work, opening schools, founding a university, and funding many chapels, convents and monasteries. Drexel travelled well in the USA.

She died on 3 March 1955, by which time there were more than 500 Sisters teaching in 63 schools throughout the United States.

“If we wish to serve God and love our neighbor well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to Him and them. Let us open wide our hearts. It is joy which invites us. Press forward and fear nothing.”

Saint Joan de Lestonnac

You know you are in the digital age when you learn about a saint that has an interesting place in people’s lives. This morning I learned of one of today’s liturgical memorials: St. Joan de Lestonnac.

According to a biographer, Saint Joan “was born in Bordeaux, France, in 1556. She married at the age of seventeen. The happy marriage produced four children, but her husband died suddenly in 1597. After her children were raised, she entered the Cistercian monastery at Toulouse [at the age of 46]. Joan was forced to leave the Cistercians when she became afflicted with poor health. She returned to Bordeaux with the idea of forming a new congregation, and several young girls joined her as novices. They ministered to victims of a plague that struck Bordeaux, and they were determined to counteract the evils of heresy promulgated by Calvinism. Thus was formed the Order of the Company of Mary our Lady of Bordeaux. In 1608, Joan and her companions received the religious habit from the Archbishop of Bordeaux. Joan was elected superior in 1610, and many miracles occurred at her tomb. She was canonized in 1949 by Pope Pius XII.”

One interesting point for me is that Saint Joan’s concern for souls lost to Calvinism was aided by members of the Society of Jesus. Another biographer writes:

“Two Jesuit priests, Fathers de Bordes and Raymond, whilst they celebrated Mass, received an understanding that they should assist in founding an order to counteract the surrounding heresies and that Joan must be the first superior. The rule and constitutions of the Order were founded on those of St. Ignatius and the first house was opened in the Holy Ghost priory at Bordeaux.”

AND, “Finally, her great love shown by her patient example even whilst she was being emotionally, spiritually, psychologically and physically abused, with her reputation being ruined as a result of lies and hatred, she still remained firm in her Faith and love of God, even converting the person who was so mean and cruel to her. Let us remember the extraordinary example of this beautiful and incredible woman always! St. Joan is a true feminist, true to her Faith, true to her abilities and never afraid to love, even her most vicious enemies! God be praised for this magnificent lady!”

Saint Joan’s body, as a sign of holiness, remains incorrupt.

Saint Sebastian

At this morning’s Mass the Church commemorated the memory of two early martyrs of the Faith, Saints Fabian and Sebastian. When we recited the entrance antiphon mention was made of not fearing the words of the godless and when the priest prayed the opening prayer I noted that through the intercession of these two martyrs we hope to progress in the communion of the faith and service in courage. I also was struck in the Letter to the Hebrews that the author exhorts us to hope in the promises of Jesus who is both our anchor and our priest. Indeed, God remembers his covenant. That’s the hope I rely upon.

Here is a piece on Sebastian:

Saint Sebastian was an officer in the Roman army, esteemed even by the pagans as a good soldier, and honored by the Church ever since as a champion of Jesus Christ. Born at Narbonne, Sebastian came to Rome about the year 284 and entered the lists against the powers of evil. He found the twin brothers Marcus and Marcellinus in prison for the faith, and when they were close to yielding to the entreaties of their relatives, encouraged them to despise flesh and blood, and to die for Christ. God confirmed his words by miracles: light shone around him while he spoke; he cured the sick by his prayers; and in this divine strength he led multitudes to the faith, among them the Prefect of Rome, with his son Tiburtius.

He saw his disciples die before him, and one of them came back from heaven to tell him that his own end was near. It was in a contest of fervor and charity that Saint Sebastian found the occasion of martyrdom. The Governor-Prefect of Rome was converted to the faith and afterwards retired to his estates in Campania, taking with him a great number of his fellow-converts to this place of safety. It was a question whether Polycarp the priest or Saint Sebastian should accompany the neophytes. Each was eager to stay and face the danger at Rome; finally the Pope decided that the Roman church could not spare the services of Sebastian, who therefore remained amid the perils in the city.

He continued to labor at his post of danger until he was betrayed by a false disciple. He was led before Diocletian and, at the emperor’s command, pierced with arrows and left for dead. God raised him up again, cured, and of his own accord he went before the emperor and conjured him to halt the persecution of the Church. Again sentenced, he was beaten to death by clubs, and crowned his labors by the merit of a double martyrdom.

Reflection. Your ordinary occupations will give you opportunities of laboring for the faith. Ask help from Saint Sebastian, both wise and prudent.

Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).