Sunday

**This weeks selection of saints from Loyola Press lives

St Bertilla Nov 5

Once, when a troubled sister spoke angry words to her, Bertilla called down divine judgment upon her. Although the fault was forgiven, Bertilla worried about her curse. Then the sister died unexpectedly, choked by asthma. Not having heard the signal for the funeral, Bertilla asked the reason for the resounding chorus of psalms. When she learned of the sister’s death, she trembled fearfully. She hurried to the place where the little body lay lifeless and with great faith laid her hand on the dead nun’s breast. Bertilla ordered her receding soul through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, not to leave, but before she spoke with him, to forgive her anger against her. And God permitted the spirit that had left the body to return to the corpse. To the amazement of all, the revived cadaver drew breath. Looking at the servant of God, she said: “What have you done, sister? Why did you retrieve me from the way of light?”

“I beg you sister,” said Bertilla humbly, “to give me words of forgiveness, for once I cursed you when you had a troubled spirit.”

“May God forgive you,” said the nun. “I harbor no resentment in my heart against you now and I love you. Please entreat God for me and permit me to go in peace and don’t hold me back. For I am ready for the bright road and now I cannot start without your permission.”

“Go then in the peace of Christ,” said Bertilla, “and pray for me, sweet sister.”

Nestled among Bertilla’s virtues was a problem—anger so strong that it could cause her to damn a sister. Her unpredictable behavior endeared the saint to her charges, but also made them wary. They loved her, writes the biographer cryptically, “when she was angry and feared when she laughed.” As the saint aged she apparently overcame her flaw of anger, as her reputation for humility and gentleness spread widely. She died around the year 700.

Bertilla’s story has a special interest for Christians who are fascinated with near-death experiences. The nun she called back from death spoke of “the way of light” and of “the bright road.” So this ancient account seems to corroborate the testimony of many twentieth-century witnesses who say they “died” and traveled along a pathway to the Light.

Prayer: Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.

Monday
St Willibrord Nov 7

Willibrord set out with 11 disciples for the Netherlands. They became missionaries to the Frisians. On the way back from Denmark he was shipwrecked on Heligoland, an island controlled by Radbod. There he confronted pagan superstitions by slaughtering sacred animals and by loudly baptizing three people in a pool where absolute silence was required. To appease his god, an angry Radbod martyred one of Willibrord’s party. Then the king summoned Willibrord and upbraided him.

The king demanded to know why he had violated their sacred places and insulted their god. The herald of truth answered him with steady courage: “O king, you do not adore God but the devil. He has foully deluded you so that he can thrust your soul into everlasting fire. For there is no God but one. He created sky, earth, sea, and everything that is in them. Whoever worships him with true faith will have life forever. I urge you finally to renounce that foolish delusion of your ancestors, and to believe in the one Almighty God and Our Lord Jesus Christ. I call on you to be baptized in the font of life and wash away all your sins. Then with all wickedness and wrongdoing cast away from you, you may live as a new man in all reasonableness, righteousness and holiness. If you do this you will win an eternal life of glory with God and his saints. But if instead you reject the path of salvation, then be most assured that you will suffer eternal tortures and hellish flames along with the devil to whom you pay court.”

Astounded, the king replied: “I see that you truly had no fear of our threats, and that your words match your deeds.” Although he refused to believe in the truth that Willibrord preached, still he respectfully sent him back to Pepin.

In 715, Radbod regained Lower Frisia and temporarily undid much of Willibrord’s work. However, after the king’s death in 719, Willibrord with the aid of Boniface repaired the damage. In his remaining years he planted the church there so firmly that he earned the title “Apostle of the Frisians.” Willibrord died in 739 on retreat at Echternach, Luxembourg, a monastery that he had founded.

 

Prayer:  O my God I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all-good and worthy of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.
*Act of Contrition

 

Tuesday
St Leo Nov 10

Only two popes have earned the title Great—Gregory I and Leo I. Leo was born in the beginning of the fifth century, probably in Rome. When he was a deacon, other church leaders looked to him for advice and for explanations of the faith. Leo was sent to settle arguments between leaders. He was on such a mission in 440 when he was elected pope. He helped the Church stay united when it was being attacked inside by false teachers and outside by warring tribes.

In 452, the Huns, led by Attila, marched toward Rome to destroy the city. Pope Leo went out to meet Attila and was able to stop him by agreeing to pay tribute to him every year. Three years later, another tribe marched on Rome—the Vandals, led by Genseric. Again Leo went out to meet the enemy, but this time, Leo was only able to stop the tribe from burning the city. For two weeks, the Vandals pillaged and looted Rome while the people sought shelter in the churches. Leo helped rebuild the city after the invaders departed, and he then sent missionaries to Africa to minister to those who had been captured and taken there by the Vandals.

Leo is often remembered for his writings and explanations of the faith, especially during the Council of Chalcedon in 451. His words were so powerful that the 600 bishops gathered there felt they had heard Saint Peter speaking through Leo. Pope Leo the Great died in 461.

Prayer:   Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts, the whole earth is filled with Thy Glory.

 

Wednesday
St Martin of Tours Nov 11

One wintry day, young Martin, soldier and catechumen, met a shivering beggar in the street. He cut his cape in two, giving half to the man. That night in a dream St. Martin saw Jesus wearing it and heard him say, “Martin is still only a catechumen, but has covered me with this garment.” Stunned, soon afterward Martin presented himself for baptism.

Martin’s father, a Roman tribune, had arranged for his son’s conscription into the army at age 15. So Martin performed military service until he decided that it contradicted his Christian commitment. Sulpicius Severus, the saint’s first biographer, described the day that Martin became the first Christian conscientious objector:

. . . The barbarians were invading the Gallic provinces. Assembling an army at the city of the Vangiones, Emperor Julian prepared to distribute a bonus to his troops. The men were called up in the customary manner, one by one, until Martin’s turn came. He recognized that moment as a suitable time to ask for his discharge, and he did not think it would be honest for him to accept the bonus when he did not intend to fight. “I have fought for you up to this point,” he said to Caesar. “Now let me fight for God. As for your bonus, let someone who is going to join the battle receive it. I am a soldier of Christ: combat is not permitted me.”

Julian exploded with rage and threatened Martin, calling him a coward.

“If my act is set down to cowardice rather than to faith,” he said, “I shall stand unarmed tomorrow before our lines. In the name of the Lord Jesus and protected only by the sign of the cross, without shield or helmet, I shall penetrate the enemy’s ranks and not be afraid.”

The next day, the enemy sent an embassy to sue for peace, handing over themselves and all that was theirs. From this can anyone doubt that the victory was due to the blessed man—a grace granted to prevent his being sent unarmed into combat?

As there was now no war to fight, Martin got his discharge.

Martin was renowned as a miracle worker, performing many cures and even raising a dead man. Once, for example, he healed St. Paulinus of Nola’s diseased eye by touching it lightly with a fine paintbrush. Martin died on November 11, 397. Because of his reputation, he became one of the most admired saints of the Middle Ages.

Prayer:   Christ is in our midst…He is and always shall be.

Thursday

The Presentation of Mary Nov 21

When Mary was asked to be the mother of the Savior, she was completely free to accept or reject the offer. Her response, “Let it be done to me,” was a great act of faith. Because she did not understand what was happening, she must have known that there would be difficulties ahead.

She replied yes to the angel’s announcement and agreed to become the mother of Jesus, and the Church has declared Mary to be the Mother of God. Because she was the first to say yes to the Messiah, the Church has declared her to be the Mother of the Church.

The feast of the presentation of Mary dates back to the 6th century in the East and the 15th century in the West. It is based on an ancient tradition that says Mary was taken to the temple in Jerusalem when she was 3-years-old and dedicated to God. What we celebrate on this day is the fact that God chose to dwell in Mary in a very special way. In response, Mary placed her whole self at the service of God. Every moment since your Baptism, God invites you to be open to his grace and dedicate yourself to him, as Mary did.

 

Prayer:  O come, let us worship God our King.
O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ our King and God.
O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and God.

Friday
St Odo Nov 18

When Odo, a cleric at Tours, read The Rule of St. Benedict, he was stunned. Judging that his Christian life did not measure up to Benedict’s standard, he determined to become a monk. In 909, Odo went to Beaume, a reformed monastery where the rule was strictly observed, and Abbot Berno received him into the community.

That same year Berno started a new monastery at Cluny in Burgundy. He established it on the pattern of Beaume, insisting on a rigorous conformance to the Benedictine rule. In 927, St. Odo succeeded Berno as Cluny’s abbot and spread its influence to monasteries all over Europe. He encouraged lax monasteries to return to the original pattern of the Benedictine rule of prayer, manual labor, and community life under the direction of a spiritual father. Under his influence, monasteries chose more worthy abbots, cultivated a more committed spiritual life in the monks, and restored the solemnity of daily worship. Thus the saint helped lay the foundation for a renewal movement that in two centuries reformed more than a thousand monastic communities.

At the pope’s request, Odo traveled to Rome three times to pacify relations between Hugh, king of Italy and Alberic, called the Patrician of the Romans. On each of these trips Odo took the opportunity to introduce the Cluniac reform to monasteries en route.

Perhaps Odo’s notion was not fictitious—that the poor we refuse or people we snub will be our greeters after death. Imagine that the person meeting us at heaven’s gate will be the person we have offended most, now empowered to welcome or to reject us. That thought should make us hurry to be reconciled with anyone we have hurt.

Prayer:    O Come let us worship and fall down before Christ, O Son of God, Who didst rise from the dead, save us who chant unto Thee, Alleluia.

 

Saturday

St Margaret Nov 16

For Saint Margaret—a wife, a mother, and a queen—giving money was never enough. She was with those who were poor, making sure they had food and clothes. Margaret was born about 1045. She was raised in the Hungarian court, for she was from the line of nobility. When she was 12, she was sent to the English court of Edward the Confessor and further educated. When the Normans conquered England, Margaret, her mother, her brother, and her sister tried to return to Hungary. Their ship was blown off course and landed in Scotland. They were welcomed by King Malcolm III, who fell in love with the beautiful and gentle Margaret. They were married in 1070.

Scotland was a rough country, and although Malcolm was a good man, he was more of a soldier than a scholar or courtly gentleman. But Margaret helped him become a virtuous, gracious leader. They had eight children; all of them grew to love those who were poor and to care for them as their parents had. The youngest, David, was thought of as a saint by the people.

Margaret was prayerful. She gathered women together to study the Scriptures and to embroider vestments and altar cloths. She was always surrounded by beggars, and she gave them money and clothes. She helped ransom the English who had been captured, and she set up homes and hospitals for those in need. She and her husband would go to church during Lent and Advent. On the way home, they would wash the feet of poor people in need and give them money. At home, Margaret fed nine orphans who were brought to her daily. She brought a love of the arts and education to the people, and they loved her in return. Her children are believed to be primarily responsible for two centuries of progress and peace in Scotland.

Margaret died four days after her husband’s death in 1093. In 1250, she was canonized and later declared patroness of Scotland.

Prayer:  Soul of Christ, sanctify me, Body of Christ, save me Blood of Christ, inebriate me, Water from Christ’s side, wash me, Passion of Christ, strengthen me, O good Jesus, hear me, Within Thy wounds hide me, Suffer me not to be separated from Thee, From the malicious enemy defend me, In the hour of my death call me, And bid me come unto Thee, That I may praise Thee with Thy saints, and with Thy angels, Forever and ever, Amen.