Feasts in the Third Week of April

Sunday, April 21

This is St. Anselm's feast-day. He is famous for resisting the Kings of England as they attempted to seize the lands and rights of the Church during the 11th & 12th centuries of our Lord. St. Anselm boldly appealed to the See of Rome and went into exile for his defense of the Church's rights, and he ultimately triumphed over the regal power. Perhaps more remarkable is the fact that he found time and energy during these struggles to author writings which have made him famous as one of the fathers of scholastic theology. He is also noted as being the first to establish the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. St. Anselm (who died in 1109), is one of those saints whose life was sacrificed in the perennial battle against "the rulers of the world of this darkness"; a battle which only the Catholic Church has waged successfully against secular control in contrast to the Anglicans, Protestants and Orthodox.

"Whoever, like St. Anselm, contends for the Church's rights, is fighting on the side of God against the tyranny of Satan" (Lives of Saints by A. Butler).

Monday, April 22

April 22 is the feast of Saints Soter and Leonides. St. Leonides was the father of the famous Apologist Origen of Alexandria and was martyred in the persecution of Lætus, the Roman governor of Egypt. Upon his death, Rome seized all the possessions of the Saint and thus gives us an excellent example of the cupidity which regularly serves as the true cause for persecution of the Church in all ages, even back to the foot of the Cross where the Romans divided the last earthly possessions of Christ.

Tuesday, April 23

Tuesday of last week was the feast of St. George. He was a Roman soldier martyred under the Emperor Diocletian at the end of the third century of Our Lord, a little over 100 years before Constantine ended such persecutions. Veneration for the Martyr is both ancient and universal for he is held in honor by both East and West, and even the Saracens hold him in honor. Many churches from antiquity bear his name. One of these was built by a successor of the same emperor who killed its namesake, for it was the Emperor Constantine who is credited with the construction of a basilica to St. George. Thus the blood of the martyrs humbles the mightiest monarchs.

The reflection of Alban Butler is a quotation from St. Bruno: "What shall I say of fortitude, without which neither wisdom nor justice is of any worth? Fortitude is not of the body, but is a constancy of soul; wherewith we are conquerors in righteousness, patiently bear all adversities, and in prosperity are not puffed up. This fortitude he lacks who is overcome by pride, anger, greed, drunkenness, and the like. Neither have they fortitude who when in adversity make shift to escape at their souls’ expense; wherefore the Lord saith, 'Fear not those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.' In like manner those who are puffed up in prosperity and abandon themselves to excessive joviality cannot be called strong. For how can they be called strong who cannot hide and repress the heart's emotion? Fortitude is never conquered, or if conquered, is not fortitude."

Wednesday, April 24

Four days ago the Church celebrated the feast of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen. He began as a lawyer, but finding that this profession conflicted with his conscience, he entered the order of Capuchin Friars - a conversion worthy of imitation by a numerous multitude of lawyers, judges and politicians of our day. After living a religious life in great austerity, he was sent to Switzerland and preached against Calvinism. After being repeatedly threatened by the increasingly violent "Reformers", he was finally murdered by them with poignards, and achieved everlasting glory among the Martyrs thereby.

"We delight in decorating the altars of God with flowers, lights, and jewels, and it is right to do so; but if we wish to offer to God gifts of higher value, let us, in imitation of St. Fidelis, save the souls who but for us would be lost; for so we shall offer Him, as it were, the jewels of paradise" (Lives of Saints).

Thursday, April 25

This past Thursday was the feast of St. Mark. His Gospel was taken from the accounts of St. Peter and was written under that apostle's direct instruction. For this reason the Father's called it "Peter's Gospel". According to Tradition, St. Mark was sent to Alexandria by his master and became so renowned for his asceticism that St. Jerome calls him the father of the anchorites. After governing the see of Alexandria for many years, St. Mark was martyred by the heathens. They alternately dragged him across the rocks and threw him in prison until he expired. His Gospel, although the shortest of the Four, contains personal details which the others do not. He tells us that Jesus slept, "on a pillow" (Mark 4:38); that He "embraced" the children (Mark 9:35); and that he looked "round about on [the Jews] with anger" (Mark 3:5). He also records more of the actual words of the Lord than other Gospels. It was with "Ephpheta" (Mark 7:34) and "Talitha cumi" (Mark 5:41) that he loosed the tongue and opened the ears of the man in Decapolis and raised Jairus' daughter from the sleep of death.

"Learn from St. Mark to keep the image of the Son of man ever before your mind, and to ponder every syllable which fell from His lips" (Lives of Saints).

Friday, April 26

Saints Cletus and Marcellinus were celebrated on Friday. They were both Popes of Rome, but they reigned at an interval of more than 200 years. This gives us some idea of the antiquity of the Church and of the Roman See which (according to Catholic dogma) is its ruler. The succession of St. Cletus (or "Anacletus") was about the Year 76, following St. Linus, but this is much disputed. According to Tertullian, for instance, St. Cletus succeeded in the place of Peter directly after the Apostle himself, but the older account of St. Irenaeus is generally preferred to this in which he says: "After the Holy Apostles (Peter and Paul) had founded and set the Church in order (in Rome) they gave over the exercise of the episcopal office to Linus. The same Linus is mentioned by St. Paul in his Epistle to Timothy. His successor was Anacletus." The fact that some fathers refer to Rome as the see of Peter (e.g. St. Cyprian says that Pope Cornelius succeeded in, "the place of Fabian which is the place of Peter" [Epistle 51:8; cf. 75:3]) and others refer to both "Peter and Paul" but none refer to it only as the see of "Paul" demonstrates the primacy which the former apostle held over the latter. To the same effect we must note that it is never "Paul and Peter" but always of "Peter and Paul" spoken of by the Fathers. In any case, St. Cletus is thought to have been martyred about the year 91, and (according to Irenaeus) was succeeded by Clement (author of the famous Epistle of Clement to the Church of Corinth). Some 200 years or more after St. Cletus died, Pope St. Marcellinus succeeded to Pope St. Caius (or "Gaius") in the Year of Our Lord 296. St. Marcellinus was martyred under Diocletian in 304, only 10 years before St. Sylvester I become Pope (under whom Constantine was to put an end to the persecutions of the Church with the great Council of Nicea).

Saturday, April 27

Yesterday was the feast of St. Zita of Montsegradi. She served as the servant of a certain Fatinelli in Lucca Italy. For 48 years she rose before dawn to hear mass and then labored in the household doing both her own work and those of her fellow servants. At first she was despised and persecuted but eventually become their heroin and advocate to the master, Fatinelli, whose anger was always appeased at her presence. St. Zita's household was greatly and often miraculously blessed by the labors, prayers and presence of the saint. As an example: it is said that angels baked a wonderfully fragrant loaf of bread for her when she stayed too long at prayer one day.

"'What must I do to be saved?' said a certain one in fear of damnation. 'Work and pray, pray and work,' a voice replied, 'and thou shalt be saved.' The whole life of St. Zita teaches us this truth" (Lives of Saints).