Saints for September |
September 3: Saint Gregory (540-604) was a monk and an abbot before he was elected Pope on this day in 590. Later ages have added “the Great” to Gregory’s name, because of the holiness of his life and the depth of his teaching. He was a rock of integrity in the Church at a time when the world seemed to be falling apart. He instituted liturgical reforms, and promoted a simple style of chant—it is called “Gregorian” not because he wrote it, but because he loved it. His Pastoral Care, a handbook for bishops, is still a formative text.
September 9: Peter Claver (1610-1654) may have been born 400 years ago, but he is truly a saint for our times. A Jesuit missionary, he discovered his vocation in caring for the tens of thousands of African people sold into slavery. Peter Claver would board the slave ships when they docked in Cartagena, tending to the physical and spiritual needs of the slaves. Where others saw only chattel, a commodity to be bought and sold, Claver saw precious souls, human beings made in the likeness of God. He called himself “the slave of the slaves forever.”
September 17: Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) a Jesuit priest, a scholar, a theologian, and later a Cardinal, helped to define the Church’s position following the Reformation. It was he who was placed in the unfortunate position of condemning Galileo’s theory that the earth revolved around the sun. He inspired others as much by the example of his holy and austere life as by his teaching. The opening prayer for his feast refers to his “wisdom and goodness.”
September 28: “Good King Wenceslaus looked out, on the feast of Stephen…” Today we remember the 10th-century ruler whose story we hear in the favorite carol at Christmastime. Wenceslaus was the ruler of Bohemia, a devout man who sought to bring his people to faith. He was especially mindful of the poor. He was assassinated on orders from his own brother, Boleslaus. He was probably only 30 years old at the time of his death. We are all called to use what we have for the good of all, as Wenceslaus did. As the carol has it, “therefore, Christian men, be sure, / Wealth or rank possessing, / Ye who now shall bless the poor / Shall yourselves find blessing.”
September 30: Saint Jerome (c. 340-420) is one of the most influential figures in the early Church. He single-handedly translated the Old and New Testaments into Latin, which at that time was the most widely-spoken language in the world. His “vulgate” translation—it means “vernacular”—was the Bible for the Catholic Church for centuries. Jerome isn’t a saint because he translated the Bible: he is a saint because of the way he lived the Christian life. He was extremely ascetic, struggled with a bad temper, and promoted the monastic life. St. Jerome said, “Ignorance of the scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”