SAINTS: February 12 - 18, 2005: Part 2

["Alfred de Tavares" <alfredtavares@hotmail.com>]

SAINTS:  February 12 - 18,  2005: TOP-of-the WEEK:--14/2 Valentine's Day; 
18/2: Fra ANGELICO

Monday, February 14: St. Valentine, Patron of Love, Young People, Happy 
Marriages.  Martyred ca 270. Valentine was a holy priest in Rome, who, with 
St. Marius and his family, assisted the martyrs in the persecution under 
Claudius II. He was apprehended, and sent by the emperor to the prefect of 
Rome, who, on finding all his promises to make him renounce his faith 
ineffectual, commended him to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards, to be 
beheaded, which was executed on February 14, about the year 270. Pope Julius 
I is said to have built a church near Ponte Mole to his memory, which for a 
long time gave name to the gate now called Porta del Popolo, formerly, Porta 
Valetini. The greatest part of his relics are now in the church of St. 
Praxedes. His name is celebrated as that of an illustrious martyr in the 
sacramentary of St. Gregory, the Roman Missal of Thomasius, in the calendar 
of F. Fronto and that of Allatius, in Bede, Usuard, Ado, Notker and all 
other martyrologies on this day. To abolish the heathens lewd superstitious 
custom of boys drawing the names of girls, in honor of their goddess 
Februata Juno, on the fifteenth of this month, several zealous pastors 
substituted the names of saints in billets given on this day.

The Origin of St. Valentine, and how many St. Valentines there were, remains 
a mystery. One opinion is that he was a Roman martyred for refusing to give 
up his Christian faith. Other historians hold that St. Valentine was a 
temple priest jailed for defiance during the reign of Claudius. Whoever he 
was, Valentine really existed because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman 
catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine. In 496 AD Pope 
Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom.
The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in a The Nuremberg 
Chronicle, a great illustrated book printed in 1493. [Additional evidence 
that Valentine was a real person: archaeologists have unearthed a Roman 
catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine.] Alongside a 
woodcut portrait of him, text states that Valentinus was a Roman priest 
martyred during the reign of Claudius the Goth [Claudius II]. Since he was 
caught marrying Christian couples and aiding any Christians who were being 
persecuted under Emperor Claudius in Rome [when helping them was considered 
a crime], Valentinus was arrested and imprisoned. Claudius took a liking to 
this prisoner -- until Valentinus made a strategic error: He tried to 
convert the Emperor -- whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was 
beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn't do it, he was beheaded 
outside the Flaminian Gate [circa 269].
Saints are not supposed to rest in peace; they're expected to keep busy: to 
perform miracles, to intercede. Being in jail or dead is no excuse for 
non-performance of the supernatural. One legend says, while awaiting his 
execution, Valentinus restored the sight of his jailer's blind daughter. 
Another legend says, on the eve of his death, he penned a farewell note to 
the jailer's daughter, signing it, "From your Valentine."
St. Valentine was a Priest, martyred in 269 at Rome and was buried on the 
Flaminian Way. He is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, 
engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, 
lovers, plague, travellers, young people. He is represented in pictures with 
birds and roses.

In yet another claim, St Valentine?s Day legend account for the custom of 
choosing a life-partner of opposite sex is said to have arisen from the old 
idea that birds (in Europe) began to pair on that date.

There is also another Valentine (martyred bishop at Terni /Interamna) whose 
feast is February 14.
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Other Saints Today: Sts ABRAHAM of CARRHAE; ANTONIUS of SORRENTO; AUXENTIUS; 
CONRAN; CYRIL & METHODIUS; DIONYSIUS; ELEUCHADIUS; MARO; NOSTRIANUS
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Tuesday, February 15: St. CLAUDE de la COLOMBIERE, Jesuit confessor. B. 
1641; d. 1682. This is a special day for the Jesuits, who claim today?s 
saint as one of their own. It?s also a special day for people who have a 
special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?a devotion Claude de la 
Colombière promoted, along with his friend and spiritual companion, St. 
Margaret Mary Alacoque. The emphasis on God?s love for all was an antidote 
to the rigorous moralism of the Jansenists, who were popular at the time.

Claude showed remarkable preaching skills long before his ordination in 
1675. Two months later he was made superior of a small Jesuit residence in 
Burgundy. It was there he first encountered Margaret Mary Alacoque. For many 
years after he served as her confessor.

He was next sent to England to serve as confessor to the Duchess of York. He 
preached by both words and by the example of his holy life, converting a 
number of Protestants. Tensions arose against Catholics and Claude, rumored 
to be part of a plot against the king, was imprisoned. He was ultimately 
banished, but by then his health had been ruined.

He died in 1682. Pope John Paul the Second canonized Claude de la Colombière 
in 1992.  (Saint of the Day: Day by Day With Followers of Francis and Clare)
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Other Saints Today: Sts. AGAPE; BERACH; CRATON; DECOROSUS; DOCHOW; DRUTHMAR; 
FAUDTINUS; FAUSTUS; GEORGIA; JORDAN; JOVITA; JOSEPH of ANTIOCH; QUINIDOS; 
SATURNINUS; SIGFRID; WALFRID; WINAMAN
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Wednesday, February 16: St. GILBERT of SEMPRINGHAM. B. ca 1083; d. 1189. 
Gilbert was born in Sempringham, England, into a wealthy family, but he 
followed a path quite different from that expected of him as the son of a 
Norman knight. Sent to France for his higher education, he decided to pursue 
seminary studies.

He returned to England not yet ordained a priest, and inherited several 
estates from his father. But Gilbert avoided the easy life he could have led 
under the circumstances. Instead he lived a simple life at a parish, sharing 
as much as possible with the poor. Following his ordination to the 
priesthood he served as parish priest at Sempringham.

Among the congregation were seven young women who had expressed to him their 
desire to live in religious life. In response, Gilbert had a house built for 
them adjacent to the Church. There they lived an austere life, but one which 
attracted ever more numbers; eventually lay sisters and lay brothers were 
added to work the land. The religious order formed eventually became known 
as the Gilbertines, though Gilbert had hoped the Cistercians or some other 
existing order would take on the responsibility of establishing a rule of 
life for the new order. The Gilbertines, the only religious order of English 
origin founded during the Middle Ages, continued to thrive. But the order 
came to an end when King Henry VIII suppressed all Catholic monasteries.

Over the years a special custom grew up in the houses of the order called 
"the plate of the Lord Jesus." The best portions of the dinner were put on a 
special plate and shared with the poor, reflecting Gilbert's lifelong 
concern for less fortunate people.

Throughout his life Gilbert lived simply, consumed little food and spent a 
good portion of many nights in prayer. Despite the rigors of such a life he 
died at well over age 100.

Comment: When he came into his father?s wealth, Gilbert could have lived a 
life of luxury, as many of his fellow priests did at the time. Instead, he 
chose to share his wealth with the poor. The charming habit of filling ?the 
plate of the Lord Jesus? in the monasteries he established reflected his 
concern. Today?s Operation Rice Bowl echoes that habit: eating a simpler 
meal and letting the difference in the grocery bill help feed the hungry. 
(Saint of the Day: Day by Day With Followers of Francis and Clare)
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Other Saints Today: Sts. AGANUS; BEATRICE; DANIEL; ELIAS & COMPANIONS; 
HONESTUS; JEREMY; JULIAN of EGYPT; JULIANA of CUMAE; ONESSIMUS
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Thursday, February 17: The Seven Founders of the Order of Servites. 13th 
century. Can you imagine seven prominent men of Boston or Denver banding 
together, leaving their homes and professions, and going into solitude for a 
life directly given to God? That is what happened in the cultured and 
prosperous city of Florence in the middle of the thirteenth century. The 
city was torn with political strife as well as the heresy of the Cathari. 
Morals were low and religion seemed meaningless.

In 1240 seven noblemen of Florence mutually decided to withdraw from the 
city to a solitary place for prayer and direct service of God. Their initial 
difficulty was providing for their dependents, since two were still married 
and two were widowers.

Their aim was to lead a life of penance and prayer, but they soon found 
themselves disturbed by constant visitors from Florence. They next withdrew 
to the deserted slopes of Monte Senario.

In 1244, under the direction of St. Peter of Verona, O.P., this small group 
adopted a religious habit similar to the Dominican habit, choosing to live 
under the Rule of St. Augustine and adopting the name of the Servants of 
Mary. The new Order took a form more like that of the mendicant friars than 
that of the older monastic Orders.

Members of the community came to the United States from Austria in 1852 and 
settled in New York and later in Philadelphia. The two American provinces 
developed from the foundation made by Father Austin Morini in 1870 in 
Wisconsin.

Community members combined monastic life and active ministry. In the 
monastery, they led a life of prayer, work and silence while in the active 
apostolate they engaged in parochial work, teaching, preaching and other 
ministerial activities.

Comment: The time in which the seven Servite founders lived is very easily 
comparable to the situation in which we find ourselves today. It is ?the 
best of times and the worst of times,? as Dickens said. Some, perhaps many, 
feel called to a countercultural life, even in religion. All of us are faced 
in a new and urgent way with the challenge to make our lives decisively 
centered in Christ.

Quote: ?Let all religious therefore spread throughout the whole world the 
good news of Christ by the integrity of their faith, their love for God and 
neighbor, their devotion to the Cross and their hope of future glory.... 
Thus, too, with the prayerful aid of that most loving Virgin Mary, God?s 
Mother, ?Whose life is a rule of life for all,? religious communities will 
experience a daily growth in number, and will yield a richer harvest of 
fruits that bring salvation? (Decree on the Renewal of Religious Life, 25).
(This entry appears in the print edition of Saint of the Day.)
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Other Saints Today: Sts. ALEXIS FALCONIERI; BENEDICT of CAGLIARI; 
CONSTABILIS; DONATUS; FLAVIAN; FAUSTINUS & COMPANIONS; FINAN; FINTAN of 
CLONEENAGH; FORTCHERN; HABET DEUS; HUGH dei LIPPI UGGUCIONI: JULIAN OF 
CAESAREA; LOMAN; MANETTUS; POLYCHRONIUS; THEODULUS
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Friday, February 18: Bl. JOHN of FRIESOLE (universally known as Fra 
ANGELICO), Dominican monk. B. ca 1400; d. 1455. The patron of Christian 
artists was born around 1400 in a village overlooking Florence. He took up 
painting as a young boy and studied under the watchful eye of a local 
painting master. He joined the Dominicans at about age 20, taking the name 
Fra Giovanni. He eventually came to be known as Fra Angelico, perhaps a 
tribute to his own angelic qualities or maybe the devotional tone of his 
works.

He continued to study painting and perfect his own techniques, which 
included broad-brush strokes, vivid colors and generous, lifelike figures. 
Michelangelo once said of Fra Angelico: ?One has to believe that this good 
monk has visited paradise and been allowed to choose his models there.? 
Whatever his subject matter, Fra Angelico sought to generate feelings of 
religious devotion in response to his paintings. Among his most famous works 
are the Annunciation and Descent from the Cross as well as frescoes in the 
monastery of San Marco in Florence.

He also served in leadership positions within the Dominican Order. At one 
point Pope Eugenius approached him about serving as archbishop of Florence. 
Fra Angelico declined, preferring a simpler life. He died in 1455.
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Other Saints Today: Sts. AGATHA LIN; ANGILBERT; CHARALAMPIAS; CONRAD; COLMAN 
of LINDISFARNE; FLAVIAN of CONSTANTINOPLE; LEO & PAREGORIUS; LUCIUS; MARTIN; 
MAXIMUS; SIMON; THEOTONIUS; Bls. JOHN PIBUSH; WILLIAM HARRINGTON
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(SOURCES: An AmericanCatholic.org Web Site from the Franciscans and St. 
Anthony Messenger Press ?©1996-2004; The Penguin Dictionary of Saints and 
other.)

Alfred de Tavares,
Maltesholmsvagen 83,
SE-165 55 Hasselby, Sweden
Tel: 0046 8 759 6213; 0046 (0)70 295 4091

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