Today we celebrate one of the most revered saints of the
early Church. In fact, I was very
impressed to see one of our first graders dressed up as Saint Catherine two
weeks ago. St. Catherine lived at the
end of the thirst century in the city of Alexandria in Egypt. She was so beautiful and wise that she
attracted the attention of the Emperor Maximian. She however, would not marry the emperor
because she had consecrated herself to Jesus, vowing to remain unmarried so she
could be devoted to Jesus in a special way.
The Emperor sent his 50 wisest philosophers to convince
Saint Catherine to change her mind, but they proved no match for Catherine’s
amazing debating skills; they were so impressed with her, and her explanation
of the Gospel, that all 50 became Christian.
The Emperor had Catherine imprisoned; yet while imprisoned
she converted the empress, the leader of the armed forces, over 200 soldiers,
and other members of the emperor’s family
This angered that Catherine would not give up her faith and
marry Him, the Emperor ordered Catherine to be tied to a wheel and
tortured. The wheel however was struck
by ‘fire from heaven’ and was shattered.
Catherine was uninjured, but angered even more, the emperor had
Catherine beheaded. Legend has it that
her body was carried away by angels and buried on Mount Sinai—the place where
Moses received the 10 commandments.
Neither political pressure, imprisonment, torture, or death
could cause this great saint to compromise her faith. Through her reception of the Eucharist,
through prayer and study, Catherine was filled with tremendous faith and love
of God which transformed the lives of others even as she suffered.
Similarly God wishes to fill us with that same faith and
love through the Eucharist and through our prayer and study. The saints remind us that we must have
courage in allow God’s life to grow within us, to let Him be the One who guides
our thoughts and actions. The Christian
life demands that we seek to grow every day in our faith.
Only when we are faithful, constant, and trusting in God
will God give us the ability and strength to live happily in this life
throughout all of life’s challenges and to witness courageously to Him.
This week, families will gather for the great thanksgiving
meal. It is a good and holy thing for
families to put aside all of their worldly responsibilities in order to share a
good meal with each other. Yet, God
calls us to gather as a family of faith every week, for the Eucharist. Many would never dream of skipping
thanksgiving dinner, but have no problem skipping Sunday Mass.
Saint Catherine and so many thousands of martyrs died to
show us that the practicing our faith is more important than anything
else. Let nothing keep us from the
sacred banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of his passion is
renewed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given
to us.
Through her intercession and holy example may Saint
Catherine teach us to be truly grateful for the gift of our salvation and help
us to be faithful to Christ in all things, for the glory of God and salvation
of souls.
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