The cookbook also gives instructions for a farmers feast featuring beef tenderloin wrapped in bacon, mushroom gravy, mixed zucchini, and cheddar mashed potatoes. The instructions are at times verbose, giving a paragraph where a simple, “Peel, quarter, and boil potatoes” would suffice. The meal turned out well, however using a low broiler setting was recommended on the meat. This led to an underwhelming steak in desperate need of browning on the outside. This was an instance where I regretted not going with my gut and cooking the meat at a high broil; by the time I realized it would never cook right, it was too late to turn up the heat without destroying the meat. St. Isidore the Farmer, pray for us.
|
Son of Hylas, a pagan hostile to Christianity, Vitus was taught the faith by his nurse Crescentia and her husband Modestus. When his father failed to defeat his son's invincible love of Christ, he sent him before the Emperor Valerian. Two soldiers were ordered to scourge the boy, when miraculously, their hands and those of Valerian withered. Vitus was implored by his enemies, “Please boy, restore our hands!” He made the sign of the cross over their lame members and they were healed. Valerian promptly sent him back to his father. | |
With the aid of Crescentia and Modestus, the three fled for Naples. However, they attracted the attention of Diocletian and were seized by his men. Thrown before wild beats, the creatures cowered at the feet of Vitus and his companions. They were ordered boiled in a cauldron of lead, but emerged unharmed. They finally succumbed on the rack in Lucania, in the year 303. Unfortunately St. Vitus has become associated with a mediocre metal band from the eighties; likely taking their name from a song by the blasphemous group Black Sabbath titled, “St. Vitus’ Dance.” This dance refers to symptoms associated with Sydenham's chorea, which causes rapid uncoordinated jerking movements of the face, hands, and feet. In the Middle Ages, this was called St. Vitus’ Dance. As such, he is the patron of those who suffer from epilepsy; and more erroneously dancers. Artistic renderings often show him in a cauldron or holding a palm branch. His feast day is celebrated on June 15. |
A Roman missionary sent to Gaul in the fourth century, he and his disciples set up the sees’ of Chartres, Senlis, Meaux, and Cologne. The first bishop of Paris, he was arrested and beheaded under Valerian. Legend says that he carried his own severed head two thousand paces to the spot where a church was later built in his honor. The method of his execution makes him patron of headaches; the location of his see, the patron of France.
Also called St. Denis, he has been confused with Dionysis of Areopagite, who was converted by St. Paul when he visited Athens, allegedly met St. Peter, and conversed with the Blessed Mother. The works of an author writing under the alias “Dionysios” in the late fifth century, known as Pseudo-Dionysius, have also been attributed to this saint. What we truly know about him is related above; and that his feast day is kept on October 9. |
Originally called Placidus, he was a distinguished officer of the Roman army under Trajan. While out on a hunt one day, he perceived the image of the crucified savior in between the antlers of a stag. He told his wife Tatiana, who relayed that she too saw a similar apparition. The pair told the pope at the time, who then proceeded to instruct them in the faith and later baptize them with their children. This profound conversion brought many trails for Eustachius.
Persecution broke out against Christians and our saint lost his commission, all his possessions, and was separated from his family. Reduced to abject poverty, he took work laboring for a rich landowner. When all seemed darkest, circumstance raised Eustachius again to prominence. Attacked on all sides by barbarians, Trajan called upon Eustachius to command his troops. Leaving the plow for the sword, he led a valiant march against the empire's enemies. Favored by the Lord’s grace, he miraculously recovered his wife and children while on campaign and returned home victorious. |
Defeating the barbarian hordes, thanksgiving was in order, and Trajan ordered the hero Eustachius to offer sacrifice to false gods. His refusal meant martyrdom. He along with his family were thrown before lions, but the beasts left them unharmed. So the emperor had recourse to entombing them within a brazen bull and roasting them alive. They gave up their spirits this way while singing divine praises in 118. In Chartres Cathedral one can find a rendering of St. Eustachius along with a stag and bow. He is the patron of hunters and is invoked against family troubles. St. Eustachius, pray for us. Christ Our King: Thy Kingdom Come! Here is a link to the article: |
Jacobus de Voragine tells us in The Golden Legend, that the name Valentine (Valentinus in Latin) comes from the words valorem, value, and tenens, holding. Thus, he write St. Valentine "held on to— preserved in-- holiness." Or the name is similar to valens tiro, valiant. As was his unwavering faith in his willingness to suffer and die for Christ. Contemporary criticism on the subject of St. Valentine's identity is as wandering and borderline pedantic as is to be expected. What can be gleaned from them is that another saint by the name of Valentine existed, possibly resulting in some confusion regarding the details of his legend. |
St. Valentine was a priest in Rome who, according to Fr. Alban Butler, assisted Christians along with St. Marius and his family under the persecution of Claudius II. He was captured and sent by the emperor to the prefect of Rome. The Golden Legend states that the prefect was intrigued by St. Valentine's preaching on Christ being the true light. "I have a daughter who has stricken with blindness for some time," the prefect said. "If you can bring light to her by this Christ, I will do whatever you ask." The saint prayed over the girl and her sight was restored, converting the prefect and his entire household to the faith.
Ordered to be beaten with clubs and beheaded, St. Valentine was martyred near the year 270 A.D. In the nineteenth century, an ancient catacomb and church dedicated to St. Valentine was uncovered in Rome. Pope Gelasius officially marked February 14th "Valentines Day," in 496 A.D.
Ordered to be beaten with clubs and beheaded, St. Valentine was martyred near the year 270 A.D. In the nineteenth century, an ancient catacomb and church dedicated to St. Valentine was uncovered in Rome. Pope Gelasius officially marked February 14th "Valentines Day," in 496 A.D.
Some may be familiar with the tradition of the blessing of the throats, which generally occurs on or near his feast day of February 3. Two slightly different accounts give the reason for his association with the throat. The more popular relates how he prayed over a boy choking on a fishbone. The other, how he encountered a mother and her dying son while imprisoned during the persecution of Licinius. In both cases, his intercessory prayer miraculously healed the boy. |
Accounts of the saint say he devoted his early life to the study of Philosophy and became a physician; he would go from healing the body's ailments to that of the souls. Devoting his life to Christ, he was eventually appointed to the bishopric of Sebaste in Armenia. Following the edict of Licinius, the governor of Cappadocia and lesser Armenia began to persecute Christians. Blaise was scourged and beheaded for the faith in 316. His iconography is typified by the holding of two crossed candles.
Called Reprobus (reprobate) before his baptism, Christopher was a Canaanite by birth and a giant of a man. Legend says he traveled for a time in search of the most powerful prince in the world, that he might serve him. This quest eventually led him to follow the devil himself! However, seeing the unholy one's fear of cross posted at a nearby roadway, he promptly left to follow Christ.
Eventually he met a hermit who told him that his new Lord much requires prayer and fasting. Neither of these Christopher could do; for he knew not what prayer meant, and fasting was out of the question for such a large man. The hermit told him to instead assist travelers who attempted to cross a famous river, where most were pulled under and perished. This Christopher found acceptable.
Eventually he met a hermit who told him that his new Lord much requires prayer and fasting. Neither of these Christopher could do; for he knew not what prayer meant, and fasting was out of the question for such a large man. The hermit told him to instead assist travelers who attempted to cross a famous river, where most were pulled under and perished. This Christopher found acceptable.
One day a small boy sought to ford the river and our saint came to his service. To his astonishment, the child's weight was almost more than he could bear. Having struggled to ferry the river, he set the child ashore. Exasperated he exclaimed, “Boy, you were so heavy that it felt as though I were carrying the entire weight of the world on my back.” “Not only that,” the boy replied, “but He who created it.” For this reason, the saint is often depicted holding the Christ child on his shoulder. Eventually he was imprisoned and suffered numerous tortures. Christopher was beheaded in 254, and is known as the patron saint of travelers. |
Born of noble Christian parents in Cappadocia, after the death of his father, George travelled with his mother to Palestine. He became a soldier and was later made a tribute, or colonel, in the army. He found the favor of the Emperor Diocletian, until he began to persecute Christians. Whereupon, George resigned his commission and rebuked the emperor.
His defiance in the face of the emperor's bloody cause led him before a cruel judge. Imprisoned and tortured on a wheel, his conviction was only hardened. Hearing a voice from heaven saying, “Fear not, I am with thee,” he courageously met his end. Led through the streets of the city of Lydda, where the Acts of the Apostles tell St. Peter healed a man sick with the palsy, he was beheaded. This occurred in 303, and many pagans are said to have converted on account of the saint's fortitude. St. George is the patron of soldiers, England, and Catalonia; he is often depicted tilted against a dragon.
His defiance in the face of the emperor's bloody cause led him before a cruel judge. Imprisoned and tortured on a wheel, his conviction was only hardened. Hearing a voice from heaven saying, “Fear not, I am with thee,” he courageously met his end. Led through the streets of the city of Lydda, where the Acts of the Apostles tell St. Peter healed a man sick with the palsy, he was beheaded. This occurred in 303, and many pagans are said to have converted on account of the saint's fortitude. St. George is the patron of soldiers, England, and Catalonia; he is often depicted tilted against a dragon.
Over the next several months, I will be posting segments from a larger article on the Fourteen Holy Helpers.
"So who are these Holy Helpers?"
"So who are these Holy Helpers?"
It all goes back to the Black Death (1346-49), a time when plague devastated the land. Attacking without warning, it's victim would be bereft of reason and succumb to the malady within hours. Consequently, many souls were deprived of their last sacraments. Some researchers have extrapolated that as high as sixty percent of Europe's population was decimated by the flea-borne pestilence. With civil authorities incapable of responding to the misanthropic threat, the pious turn their confidence heavenward; inclining their prayers to special patrons of disease, known to the Church since its earliest days. The association of a saint with particular afflictions is generally drawn from their virtues, but more often,
from the method of their martyrdom. For example, St. Dionysius’ beheading being the reason he is invoked against headaches. The efficacy of prayers to the saints in heaven for our bodily and spiritual ills is by no means trivial on such accounts. As Christ taught through parables, so a greater meaning lay dormant in the legends of the saints. A meaning often expressed by the poet, and truly understood through the potent work of the Holy Spirit upon the intellect.
If this line of thinking were not reason enough to accept the merit of evoking the saints in the face of even an epidemic of medieval proportion, consider the following apparition: On September 22, 1445, a young shepherd by the name of Herman Leicht was driving his flock homeward on a farm owned by the abbey of Langheim in the diocese of Branberg, Bavaria. As he looked out over a nearby field, he noticed a small child. Herman approached the child, but to his astonishment, the boy disappeared. Returning to his sheep he turned his gaze behind him, only to see the boy sitting in the field again. This time, in a circle of light between two burning candles. |
The boy's parents told him it was a delusion, but a monk at the nearby monastery told him that if he should ever see the boy again, to ask him what it was he wanted. That opportunity came on June 28, 1446.
As before, the child appeared; only now joined by thirteen others in a halo of glory. “In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!,” Herman commanded, “What is it that you want?” The child replied, “We are the fourteen holy helpers, and we desire a chapel built for us.”
The following Sunday, Herman saw two candles descend from the sky at the very spot of the vision. A woman passing by also witnessed the occurrence and the account was brought before Abbot Frederic IV and his community. They were understandably incredulous. But, after several extraordinary favors were granted to those who prayed at the site, the decision was made to build a chapel in honor of the fourteen holy helpers.
As before, the child appeared; only now joined by thirteen others in a halo of glory. “In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!,” Herman commanded, “What is it that you want?” The child replied, “We are the fourteen holy helpers, and we desire a chapel built for us.”
The following Sunday, Herman saw two candles descend from the sky at the very spot of the vision. A woman passing by also witnessed the occurrence and the account was brought before Abbot Frederic IV and his community. They were understandably incredulous. But, after several extraordinary favors were granted to those who prayed at the site, the decision was made to build a chapel in honor of the fourteen holy helpers.
The St. Andrew Daily Missal celebrates these holy helpers collectively on July 25, referring to them as the Fourteen Auxiliary Saints. Spiritual privileges granted to their chapel and an indulgence from Pope Nicholas V is said to have helped spread their devotion. Atop the site of the apparition today stands a grand Baroque-Rococo basilica, under the care of Franciscan friars. |
Why should you care about figures whose lives are often obscured in legend? If you are reading this, the answer should be because you are a practicing Catholic. Thus, you appreciate the place of sacred tradition. On the chance that the reader gives little care to the lives of the saints, or worse yet, is hostile towards them on account of their veracity, I offer the thoughts of Joseph von Goerres on the artform of legendary lore. In the Middle Ages, “the science of criticism was unknown; therefore little care was exercised in separating the poetic additions from the authentic legends.” The Church had not spoken on the subject, canonical rules and the necessary organs for the rigid examination of all the evidence in these matters had not been developed; legendary lore flourished under these conditions.
The authors of legends which we might find fanciful in our age were generally convinced that the reader could distinguish between truth and poetic embellishment. Legends should be regarded as illustrations rather than portraits of the person depicted. St. George likely didn’t spar with an actual dragon, but the allegorical meaning shouldn’t be lost on our modern age. The persecution of Diocletian was like a fire breathing menace and St. George’s defiance, in a sense, slew the enemy. His martyrdom won a number of souls over to the Christian faith, and his legacy lives still today in spite of his mortal death.
"The question remains; who are the fourteen?"
Sts. Christopher, Blase, George, Giles, Vitus, Eurasmus, Cyriacus, Achatius, Eustachius, Dionysius, Pantaleon, Margaret, Barbara, and Catherine. Now, let's learn a little bit about them.
Continued next week...
Sts. Christopher, Blase, George, Giles, Vitus, Eurasmus, Cyriacus, Achatius, Eustachius, Dionysius, Pantaleon, Margaret, Barbara, and Catherine. Now, let's learn a little bit about them.
Continued next week...
Every January 6th, the Church celebrates the Epiphany of our Lord. While at Christmas we extolled the union of our Lord's divinity with His humanity, at Epiphany we honour the mystic union of souls with Christ.
On this day a star led the Wise Men to the manger; Gentiles from afar came to glorify and praise the King of kings. The names of the Magi have come down to us from pious tradition; Casper, Melchior, and Balthazar. Todays Gospel reads:
On this day a star led the Wise Men to the manger; Gentiles from afar came to glorify and praise the King of kings. The names of the Magi have come down to us from pious tradition; Casper, Melchior, and Balthazar. Todays Gospel reads:
...seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And entering into the house, they found the Child with Mary His mother, and falling down they adored Him. And opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matt. ii. 1-12)
A wonderful tradition my family has adopted is baking a King's Cake to celebrate the Epiphany. Different European cultures have their own iteration of the cake, the specific title of "King's Cake" has it's origins in the New Orleans Marti Gras celebration.
A wonderful tradition my family has adopted is baking a King's Cake to celebrate the Epiphany. Different European cultures have their own iteration of the cake, the specific title of "King's Cake" has it's origins in the New Orleans Marti Gras celebration.
While in Catholic grade school, I recall the mother of a classmate bringing in a king's cake. The student whose slice contained a pea was "king" for the rest of the day. I no longer remember what that designation meant for the child; probably just bragging rights. In my family, the reward is being the one to scrawl the year above the doorway with the blessed chalk received at mass. This year is (20+c+B+M+21).
I tried the following recipe this year, it turned out quite well.
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/traditional-new-orleans-king-cake/
( I substituted brown sugar for the filling and added raisins.)
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/traditional-new-orleans-king-cake/
( I substituted brown sugar for the filling and added raisins.)
Here are several short prayers that may be recited during the festivities:
"May all who come to our home this year rejoice to find Christ living among us; and may we seek and serve, in everyone we meet, that same Jesus who is your incarnate Word, now and forever. Amen.
God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only-begotten One to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who inhabit it. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our concern for others may reflect your love. We ask this through Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Loving God, bless this household. May we be blessed with health, goodness of heart, gentleness, and abiding in your will. We ask this through Christ our Saviour. Amen."
Christ Our King: Thy Kingdom Come!
Author
Shawn Briggs is a father, musician, and traditional Catholic with a love for the faith and dedication to Christ the King.
Archives
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020