Saints for January |
St. Elizabeth
Ann Seton (1774-1821)
January 4
I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. John 6: 35
Born in New York City, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was the first American-born person to be canonized. Baptized and raised in the Episcopalian church, she married William Seton at the age of 20 and soon had five children. Their loving marriage had its troubles—William’s father died, and the young couple took charge of his many siblings. Then William Seton was forced to declare bankruptcy, and about the same time contracted tuberculosis. William’s poor health took them to Italy. There William died. Elizabeth stayed with a devout Catholic family, and soon found herself drawn to the Church, and especially to the Eucharist. Upon her return home in 1805, Elizabeth became a Catholic and founded the first religious community in the United States. She established schools, orphanages, and hospitals. She was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1975.
In Her Words
Elizabeth Ann Seton describes her first communion,
1805
MY GOD—to the last breath of my life will I not remember this night of watching for morning dawn—the fearful beating heart so pressing to be gone—the long walk to town, but every step counted nearer that street, then nearer that tabernacle, then nearer the moment he would enter the poor little dwelling all his own--...and when he did—the first thought, I remember, was let God arise let his enemies be scattered; for it seemed to me my King had come to take his throne, and instead of the humble tender welcome I had expected to give him, it was but a triumph of joy and gladness that the deliverer was come, and my defense and shield and strength and Salvation made mine for this World and the next--…how many times did rapturous Joy and adoration fill the whole Soul of thanksgiving that I was permitted to dwell in this divine region of “Superstition” as the English-man calls it—to be a Catholic—Heavenly Mercy I would be trampled on by the Whole World…
These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7: 14
Little is known about St. Agnes except that she was martyred for Christ at a very young age—as young as 12 or 13. Many legends grew up around this child-saint, each more colorful than the last. For example, it was said that the authorities gave this young Christian two choices: to offer sacrifice to the goddess Vesta, or to be thrown naked into a brothel. Agnes refused to deny her love for Jesus, and was stripped of her clothes; but immediately (the story goes) her hair grew so long that it covered her whole body! What is important about her story, as the great St. Ambrose observed in a homily on her feast day, is her dauntless witness to Christ: “Girls of her age cannot bear even their parents’ frowns and, pricked by a needle, weep as for a serious wounds. Yet she shows no fear of the blood-stained hands of her executioners. She stands undaunted by heavy, clanking chains. She is too young to know of death, yet is ready to face it.”
In Her Words
What I longed for, I now see; what I hoped for, I now possess; in heaven I am espoused to him whom on earth I loved with all my heart. Antiphon for the Feast of St. Agnes
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God, and God in him. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear. I John 4: 16-17
One of the many great saints of the Counter-Reformation, St. Francis de Sales was born in Savoy in 1567. He was elected Bishop of Geneva—the very hotbed of Protestantism!—at the age of 35. He spent the remaining years of his life there working to restore and rebuild the Catholic Church in Geneva. He was a prolific writer, and his Introduction to the Devout Life and A Treatise on the Love of God have become classics. The keynote of Francis’ life was kindness. A favorite saying of his was, “a spoonful of honey attracts more flies than a barrelful of vinegar.” Though he died at the relatively young age of 55, he accomplished an incredible amount in his lifetime, including founding, with St. Jeanne de Chantal, the Sisters of the Visitation.
In His Words
Devotion must be exercised in different ways by the gentleman, the worker, the servant, the prince, the widow, the young girl, and the married woman. I ask you, Philothea, is it fitting for a bishop to want to live a solitary life like a Carthusian? Or for married men to want to own no more property than a Capuchin, for a skilled workman to spend the whole day in church like a religious, for a religious to be constantly subject to every sort of call in his neighbor’s service, as a bishop is? Would not such devotion be laughable, confused, impossible to carry out?... No, Philothea, true devotion does us no harm whatsoever, but instead perfects all things. When it goes contrary to a man’s lawful vocation, it is undoubtedly false. The Introduction to the Devout Life
On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He said, “Who are you, sir?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Acts 9: 3-5
St. Paul’s is one of the greatest conversion stories of all time. In one brief, dramatic encounter with Jesus, Saul—persecutor of the followers of Christ—became Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. As Leonard Foley observes, the simple words Christ spoke to him—“I am Jesus whom you are persecuting”—are the key to Paul’s theology. Jesus lives in his followers; those who are baptized in his name are not simply becoming part of a sect or organization; rather, they are becoming members of the very body of Christ.
In His Words
Last of all, as to one born abnormally, Christ appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me. (I Corinthians 15: 8-10)