November 24verifiedThis page has been verified with a close reading. It should read in natural hagiographic English.
Lives of the Saints
1. HOLY GREAT-MARTYR CATHERINE
Catherine was the daughter of Emperor Constus. After her father's death she lived with her mother in Alexandria. And her mother was a secret Christian, who through her own spiritual father brought Catherine also to the Christian Faith. In a vision Saint Catherine received a ring from the Lord Jesus Himself, as a sign of betrothal to Him. That ring remains to this day on her hand. Catherine was very gifted by God and very well educated in Greek philosophy, medicine, rhetoric, and logic, and besides this she was of unusual bodily beauty. When the wicked Emperor Maxentius himself offered sacrifices to idols and commanded others to do the same, Saint Catherine came out boldly before the emperor and denounced his idolatrous delusion. Seeing that she was stronger than he in wisdom and knowledge, the emperor summoned fifty of the wisest men to dispute with her about the faith and to shame her. But Catherine outwitted them and shamed them. The enraged emperor commanded that all fifty sages be burned in fire. These sages, through the prayer of Saint Catherine, before death all confessed the name of Christ and declared themselves Christians. When the martyr was in prison, she brought to the true faith the imperial commander Porphyrius with two hundred soldiers and the empress herself (Augusta-Basilissa). All suffered for Christ. During the torture of Saint Catherine, an angel of God appeared to her, stopped and broke the wheel on which the holy virgin was being tortured; and after that the Lord Christ Himself appeared to her and comforted her. After many tortures Catherine was beheaded by the sword in her eighteenth year, on November 24, 310. From her body flowed milk instead of blood. Her wonder-working relics rest on Sinai.
2. HOLY GREAT-MARTYR MERCURIUS
When Emperor Decius was waging war against barbarians, there was in his army a commander over the Armenian regiment called Martenses. That commander was called Mercurius. In battle an angel of God appeared to Mercurius, gave him a sword in his hands, and told him that he would defeat the enemies. And indeed Mercurius showed miracles of bravery, cutting down enemies with that sword like grass. After that glorious victory, Emperor Decius made him the first commander in his army. But certain envious people accused Mercurius to the emperor as a Christian, which Mercurius did not hide before the emperor but openly confessed. And Mercurius was tortured long and severely: cut into strips with knives, scorched with fire. An angel of God appeared to him in prison and healed him. Finally the emperor pronounced sentence that Commander Mercurius be beheaded by the sword in Cappadocia. When they beheaded him, his body became white as snow, and from it came a wondrous fragrance of incense. Many sick people were healed by his wonder-working relics. This most beautiful soldier of Christ suffered for the faith between 251–259.
3. HOLY VIRGIN MASTRIDIA
Mastridia lived in Alexandria and spent her solitary life entirely in prayer and manual labor. A certain young man was inflamed with bodily lust toward her and constantly troubled her. Not wishing to sin against God but seeing that she could not easily rid herself of the dissolute young man, Saint Mastridia asked him once what most attracted him to her. He answered: Thy eyes! Mastridia then took the needle with which she was sewing and pierced out her eyes. Thus she saved peace for herself and the young man's soul. The young man bitterly repented and went off to become a monk.
Hymn of Praise
Catherine the Wise, earthly princess, For Christ the Savior became a martyr. Foolish Maxentius offered her life "Only," he says, "woman, be my wife!" Holy Catherine, pure as gold, To Emperor Maxentius thus replied: "I have a Bridegroom, Christ resurrected, And I desire not love of a husband corrupted. Thou seekest my body, corruption seeks corruption While the immortal spirit is blessed with immortality. The bodily husk must wither away, The true man cares for the immortal soul. Do what thou wilt, and put me to torments, Burn me in fire, spin me on the wheel, I cannot renounce my soul, Nor worship any God outside of Christ. But remember, O emperor, soon thou shalt die, From thy corpse worms shall swarm forth, Worms shall glorify thee, worms shall eat thee, A curse shall follow thee, a curse shall meet thee. For thou makest war with Christ, with One stronger than death, Thou hast set thyself beneath the stone, He shall crush thee." Holy Catherine, Bride of Christ, For eternal truth thou didst despise the throne, Therefore now thou reignest in the kingdom without end, With the angels thou singest in the midst of sweet Paradise.
Reflection
The elder Barlaam's tale to Joasaph. In a certain city the citizens had the custom of taking as emperor a foreign man who did not know their laws and customs. When they enthroned him, they would clothe him in every beauty, feed him with every abundance, and surround him with every splendor. But as soon as one year had passed, they would dethrone their emperor, take away all his wealth, strip him, and drive him completely naked to a distant island where he would have neither bread nor shelter nor companions, and where in misery and humiliation he would end his life. Then the citizens of that city would choose another emperor, again a foreigner and again only for one year; then a third, then a fourth, then a fifth, and so on. But it happened once that they chose a very wise and prudent man. He learned from his servants what happened to emperors in that city at the end of the year, and during the whole year he diligently gathered food and wealth and daily sent them to that island. When the year expired and when he was stripped naked and thrown onto that island, he found himself in the midst of an enormous quantity of food, and silver and gold and precious stones, and continued to live there even better than he had lived as emperor in that city. The interpretation: that city represents this world, the citizens represent evil spirits, the foolish and wise emperors are people; foolish people think only of pleasures in this life and consider them eternal, but in the end death cuts off everything and they, naked of any good deeds, go to Hades; the wise, however, do many good deeds, and like treasure they send those good deeds before themselves into the other world. After death the good people – the wise emperors – go into the other world where accumulated wealth awaits them, and where they reign in greater radiance and beauty than they reigned on earth.
Contemplation
Contemplate the wondrous creation of the world, namely:
1. How God brought before Adam all the animals, birds, and beasts, to see what Adam would call them; 2. How Adam gave a name to every living creature, and to every bird and to every beast.
Homily
on Him who descended and ascended
He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things (Eph. 4:10)
The Lord Jesus in His love for mankind descended low, so low that lower was not possible, and then He ascended high, so high that truly higher was not possible. He descended into the lowest parts of the earth, that is, into Hades itself, from where He freed and led into the Heavenly Kingdom the forefathers, prophets, and righteous ones. Having finished His work both on earth and in Hades, He ascended far above all the heavens. The same One who descended also ascended, without any change, except only that He descended without a body but ascended with a body. Therefore, there are not both the Son of God and another the Son of Man, as the heretics said, but the Son of God and the Son of Man are one and the same person, one and the same God-Man and our Savior Jesus Christ. Just as He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, so He is the same in the depths and in the heights, on earth, in Hades, and in the heavens. He humbled Himself lower than all men, and exalted Himself above all the angelic powers. To show by His example the truth of His words: whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted (Matt. 23:12). If we do not humble ourselves through virtue, sin will humble us. Virtue leads to voluntary and temporary humiliation, while sin leads to humiliation irrevocable and eternal.
O Lord Jesus, who fillest all things with Thy power, fill us with the spirit of true humility. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.