Nov 25 – Memorial for St. Catherine of Alexandria, virgin, martyr
St. Catherine (d. 305) was a noble who was learned in science and oratory. After receiving a vision, she converted to Christianity. At the age of 18, during the persecution of Maximus, she offered to debate the pagan philosophers. Many were converted by her arguments, and immediately martyred. Maximus had her scourged and imprisoned.
The empress and the leader of Maximus’ army were amazed by the stories and went to see Catherine in prison. They converted and were martyred. Maximus ordered her broken on the wheel, but when she touched it, the wheel was destroyed. She was then beheaded, and her body whisked away by angels.
Catherine was immensely popular during the Middle Ages, and there were many chapels and churches devoted to her throughout western Europe. She was reported as one of the divine advisors to St. Joan of Arc. Her reputation for learning and wisdom led to her patronage of libraries, librarians, teachers, archivists, and anyone associated with wisdom or teaching. Her debating skill and persuasive language has led to her patronage of lawyers. And her torture on the wheel has led to those who work with them asking for her intercession. She is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.
While there may well have been a noble, educated, virginal lady who swayed pagans with her rhetoric during the persecutions, the accretion of legend, romance and poetry has long since buried the real Catherine.
The Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints invoked with special confidence because they have proven themselves efficacious helpers in adversity and difficulties. Though each has a separate feast or memorial day, the group was collectively venerated on Aug 8, until the feast was dropped and suppressed in the 1969 reform of the calendar.
They are invoked as a group because of the Black Plague which devastated Europe from 1346-1349. Among its symptoms were the tongue turning black, a parched throat, violent headache, fever, and boils on the abdomen. It attacked without warning, robbed its victims of reason, and killed within a few hours; many died without the last Sacraments. Brigands roamed the roads, people suspect of contagion were attacked, animals died, people starved, whole villages vanished into the grave, social order and family ties broke down, and the disease appeared incurable. The pious turned to Heaven, begging the intervention of the saints, praying to be spared or cured. This group devotion began in Germany, and the tradition has remained strong there.
- Patron Saint Index
Dan 2:31-45
Lk 21:5-11
“…the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.”
Today’s readings have a sombre consistency in their focus on how everything will eventually be destroyed. They remind me of a book I read earlier this year, which touched on the history of ancient civilisations which flourished and fell; they also seem grimly relevant in today’s context where we regularly hear about regimes and/or figures of authority being toppled and, more recently, how our planet itself is under threat. On a personal level, the passages also remind me of the transience of our own lives, something I used to think a bit about every November when we mark All Souls’ Day, but perhaps increasingly more often, as I see my family and friends ageing. It is a bit difficult not to feel overwhelmed with fear and despair, especially since we are still in the midst of a pandemic that has upended much of life as we know it.
However, the readings also made me recall instances when signs of God’s kingdom remained standing, when everything else fell into ruin. Probably the most striking example I can think of now is the golden cross of the Notre Dame Cathedral, shining intact amid the destruction wrought by the massive fire which ravaged the cathedral in 2019. Nonetheless, there have been other churches which remained largely unscathed after natural disasters, and the saints — both known and unknown — whom we celebrated earlier this month, are shining examples of how ordinary people’s acts of love, courage and devotion live on through the ages.
Perhaps these readings ultimately bring us back to this week’s overall theme — that Christ is our true King, whose kingdom is already among us right now, if we keep our minds and hearts open to His gentle call. This also brings to mind a homily I recently heard about how we need to remember that we are accountable to God, not because He is keeping track of how ‘good’ or ‘bad’ we are, but because He wants a genuine relationship with us. This is a truth we can hold on to always.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Jaclyn Lam)
Prayer: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Thanksgiving: Lord, thank you for keeping us close to you always. Strengthen our faith and grant us the grace and wisdom to discern Your ways amid the ways of the world.
OXYGEN 
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