DVRodriguez

On her liturgy of December 2nd, Holy Mother Church honors St. Bibiana, a Roman Virgin Martyr (+ 363 AD). In 313, Emperor Constantine passed the Edict of Milan which made Christianity a "legal" religion and outlawed the persecution of Christians. This relief came shortly after the most severe persecution against Christians, that of Emperors Diocletian and Galerius (303-311 AD). Unfortunately, in 361 Julian "The Apostate" became emperor and he renewed the persecutions against Christians for a few brief years. It was under his reign that St. Bibiana lost her life. A soldier named Apronianus was made governor of Rome by Julian. [...]

Saint James Intercisus, (+421) was a fifth century martyr from the East. James was a Persian soldier who rose in the ranks to become a great favorite of King Yezdigered I. When this king began to persecute Christians, James did not have the courage to confess his Catholic faith. He was too afraid to lose the King’s friendship and his prominent position at court. So he apostatized. He gave up his faith and denied Christ (or at the very least, pretended to do so, which is nevertheless mortally sinful). James’ wife and mother were broken-hearted. They had remained steadfast in the [...]

St. Catherine “of the Wheel” was a great virgin, queen, mystic and martyr. St. Catherine of Alexandria lived in Egypt during the third century. She was of royal blood and an excellent scholar, a veritable genius by the grace of God. In the midst of the great delta of the Nile and on the Mediterranean coast, Alexandria was the second most important city in the Roman Empire. It was known throughout the world for its advanced learning and sophisticated culture. It had the world's greatest library, most impressive lighthouse, largest granaries and other marvels of the ancient world. During her lifetime, [...]

Saint John of the Cross, OCD (1542 – 14 Dec 1591), Carmelite Mystic and Doctor of the Church YOUTH John was born in Fontiveros, Spain and was the son of a poor weaver. His childhood was difficult because his family was poor, his family died prematurely, and the extended family looked down upon them and refused to lend support. He went to a school for poor children and became a servant to the director of a hospital, caring for those who were dying with terrible diseases. For seven years, John worked as a servant while also studying at a Jesuit college. [...]

St. Cecilia, patroness of music, is a virgin martyr ‘immortalized’ in the Roman Canon. From the Roman Breviary Cecilia, a Roman virgin of noble birth, vowed her virginity to God at a very early age. Unwillingly given in marriage to Valerian, she persuaded him to leave her untouched and go to blessed Urban, the Pope, that when he had been baptized he might be worthy to see Cecilla's angelic protector. When Valerian had obtained this favor, he converted his brother Tiburtius to Christ, and a little later both were martyred under the prefect Almachius. But Cecilia was seized by the same [...]

Pope St. Martin I (Reigned from 649-655) Born at Todi in Umbria, Martin attempted at the beginning of his pontificate to recall Paul of Constantinople, a heretic, to the Catholic faith by sending letters and legates. But Paul, supported by the emperor Constans, banished the legates of the Apostolic See to various islands. The Pope, aroused by this crime, gathered at Rome a council of one hundred and five bishops, who condemned Paul. During the council, the emperor sent the exarch Olympius to Italy to depose the Pope. But Olympius soon died a miserable death, after failing to harm Pope Martin [...]

St. Martin of Tours is known as the glory of Gaul and the light of the Western Church in the 4th century. [Note: Listen to a sermon on St. Martin by Fr. Rodríguez.] Martin was born around 316 AD in Lower Hungary, near the border of modern day Austria. His father was an officer in the Imperial Army and they moved to Italy where he was raised and educated. Even though his parents were pagan, Martin was infused with a special grace. At age ten, against their permission and wishes, he began to attend a Catholic Church and enrolled himself as [...]

St. Andrew Avellino (1521- 10 Nov 1608) was a religious in the Order of Theatines St. Andrew Avellino, previously called Lancelot, was born at Castro Nuovo, a village in Lucania. He learned jurisprudence at Naples, was ordained priest, and began to practice law, though only in ecclesiastical courts. But once, when he was presenting a case, he let slip a small lie, and then happened upon the words of Scripture: “A lying mouth slays the soul”. He was seized with remorse and sorrow, abandoned the practice of law, and begged to be admitted among the Clerks Regular. Successful in this petition, [...]

Two sets of Four Martyrs (c. 305 A.D.) On November 8th, Holy Mother Church commemorates the Four Holy Crowned Martyrs. There were actually two sets of four martyrs who are grouped together, all of whom refused to worship false idols, both groups being martyred by approximately 305 A.D, though in different places. For some time the names of these martyrs were not known, and so they were collectively referred to as the "crowned martyrs." (Sadly, their feast day was stripped from the calendar during the liturgical revolution of the 1960s that devastated the Traditional Latin Mass.) The second group was martyred [...]

St. Willibrord, Confessor, First Bishop of Utrecht and Apostle to the Friesians (658-738 A.D.) Saint Willibrord is the patron saint of The Netherlands. He was also a Benedictine monk and bishop. One biographer describes him as “comely of face, cheerful in spirit, wise in counsel, pleasing in speech, grave in character and energetic in everything he undertook for God.” Willibrord’s apostolate was one of zealous preaching shaped by the psalmody of the Divine Office and by the meditation practice of lectio divina. MONASTIC TRAINING Willibrord was born in Northumberland (England) and placed by his pious parents in the monastery of Ripon. [...]