Catherine of Alexandria is the saint we commemorate today. A martyr in the era right before Constantine embraced Christianity, Catherine died for the faith around the year 305 CE, when she was still a teenager. She was greatly honored and admired by Medieval Christians. Pope John Paul II restored her feast day to the status of memorial in our liturgical calendar in 2002. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, a great center of learning and education in the ancient world. Catherine was highly educated and came from a noble pagan family. Tradition holds that Catherine was converted through a vision she had of the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus, inspiring her to live as a virginal spouse of Christ and to reject a marriage proposal that she received. Tradition also holds that Catherine came before the Emperor Maxentius during a time of brutal repression of Christians. She successfully defended the faith before a group of pagan philosophers and refused to renounce Christ. She also refused to become the emperor’s mistress. The was beheaded after brutal torture. It is interesting that more than 1,000 years after her death, Catherine would appear to the young French maid Joan of Arc in a vision, urging her to take up arms in defense of France. We know that Joan would allow die a martyr for the faith and become a beloved saint just like St Catherine of Alexandria. In a time when Christianity is facing hostility and persecution, when Christians are having to defending themselves from different kinds of attacks, Catherine’s example of faith speaks to us very profoundly today.
As we hear Catherine’s witness of faith today, we hear Jesus in the Gospels declare that his followers will be seized and persecuted, handed over to synagogues and prisons, lead before governors and kings, leading to his followers to give testimony of the their faith. Jesus tells his followers that he will accompany them in their persecution, giving them courage and strength and helping them with the words they need to say to defend themselves. Yet, sometimes we suffer and make sacrifices for our faith. Let us pray that we may have the courage to be true to our faith, no matter the cost. Let us not be surprised or shocked that the response to our faith could be anger and hostility. However, at the same time, let us reach out to others in truth, love and mercy, to quell the unjustified fears that others may have in response to our faith.
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