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About Saints |
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The word "saint" comes from the Latin word sanctus, which translates
to "consecrated" or "holy."
Saints are men and women who have lived their lives (and very often gave them up freely) in such a way as to be rewarded with the Kingdom of God. The road to being officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as a saint in a long one. In the earliest stage, the saint-in-the-making is identified as a "Servant of God." That stage is followed by a recognition of being "Venerable" and then "Blessed" before being recognized by the Church as a saint or "Friend of God." This official recognition by the Roman Catholic Church as a saint comes at the conclusion of the process and ceremony called "canonization." Saints, having lived exemplary lives, provide for us examples of special dedication to God and his plan for salvation. Patron saints are chosen as special protectors or guardians over areas of life. These areas can include occupations, illnesses, churches, countries, causes ― anything that is important to us. The earliest records show that people and churches were named after apostles and martyrs as early as the fourth century. Recently, the popes have named patron saints but patrons can be chosen by other individuals or groups as well. Patron saints are often chosen today because an interest, talent, or event in their lives overlaps with the special area. For example, Francis of Assisi loved nature and so he is patron of ecologists. Francis de Sales was a writer and so he is patron of journalists and writers. Clare of Assisi was named patron of television because one Christmas when she was too ill to leave her bed she saw and heard Christmas Mass - even though it was taking place miles away. Angels can also be named as patron saints. Roman Catholics believe that a patron saint can help when a person follows the example of that saint's life and when a person asks for that saint's intercessory prayers to God. While the Knights of Anagoge do not believe that it is necessary for others to intercede with God on our behalf, we see nothing wrong with requesting that saints pray along with us; therefore we have selected two saints to be our patron saints. Their lives are described below. Saint John of Capistrano was selected because of his willingness to lead Christian forces against enemies of the faith. He is also the patron saint of military chaplains and many other groups. Saint Benedict was selected for many reasons, including his belief that work was a necessary instrument of virtue almost on a par with prayer. He is also the patron saint of religious orders and many other groups. He is believed by some to have special powers for exorcism.
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Saint John of Capistrano |
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SAINT JOHN CAPISTRAN Saint John was born at Capistrano, near Naples in Italy, in 1385. Having studied both secular and canon law, he became so skilled in it that his reputation spread over all of Italy. He was imprisoned during a war and abandoned by his protector for some time, during which his young wife died. He resolved while still in prison to serve in the future no other interests but those of God. His property was sold at his command, his ransom paid, and from his prison he entered a monastery near Peruse where the Rule of Saint Francis was observed in its purity. The superiors, fearing this vocation to be a passing fancy, tested him severely, even sending him away twice; but he remained day and night at the door, suffering joyfully all trials. His heroic perseverance disarmed their fears and severity, and he was admitted to religious profession. For seven years he practiced great austerities, cared for the sick in the hospitals, and preached on all sides the word of God. In this, say his biographers, he succeeded so admirably that few preachers in the course of all the centuries can be compared with him. He became a disciple of Saint Bernardine of Siena, assisting him in public conferences and discussions. Like many great servants of God he was calumniated, as though he had taught errors; he went to Rome to justify his teachings in the presence of the Pope and a group of cardinals, which he did admirably well, and they recognized the obvious innocence of the accused Saint. Afterwards he preached all over Italy, and everywhere brought about the reform of lives. Five Popes in succession gave commissions to this remarkable Franciscan to represent them in important affairs, and he traveled to France, Austria, Poland and Germany. Everywhere his negotiations were crowned with success. But none of the Popes succeeded in raising him to the episcopal dignity; their efforts met an absolute resistance in his humility. His extraordinary qualities proved to be of great assistance to the Holy See in another circumstance. When Mohammed II was threatening Vienna and Rome, Saint John Capistran, at the bidding of Pope Callixtus III, enrolled for a crusade 70,000 Christians. In a vision he was assured of victory in the Name of Jesus and by the Cross he bore. Marching at the head of the crusaders, he entered Belgrade at the head of the army. This General of the Friars Minor won a remarkable victory in that year of 1455, when 40,000 of the enemies of the Christians perished, but virtually none among the latter. He himself died the following year at the age of 71. He is regarded as a martyr, for enemies of the faith twice succeeded in giving him poison, which was ineffectual; he died only from the immense fatigue he had suffered in the defense of the city of Belgrade. “An infinity of miracles” followed his death. He was canonized in 1690. Source: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 11.
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Saint Benedict |
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concerning St. Benedict. What is known is that he was born in the
Umbrian town of Nursia, near Spoleto, Italy, in the waning years of the
Roman Empire, c. AD 480. (St. Francis of Assisi would emerge from
this same region some 700 years later). In his mid-to-late teens,
accompanied by a nurse - as would have been customary for a son of the
lesser nobility - he journeyed to Rome to complete his studies in rhetoric
and law. However, according to our principal source, the
"Dialogues" of Pope St. Gregory the Great, written ca. AD 593, he gave
over "his books and, forsaking his father's house and wealth, with his
mind only to serve God, he sought for some place where he might achieve
his holy purpose; and in this wisdom he departed, instructed with learned
ignorance and furnished with unlearned wisdom." Benedict thus
turned his back on the world, and a life that promised a measure of
success in business or government. Still with his nurse he left Rome
and joined what can only be termed a small community of like-minded
seekers in a village some 40 miles away, at the foot of Mount Affile. At Affile Benedict's life would have been one of prayer, silence and much study of both holy scripture and histories of church fathers, especially the writings of John Cassian. One could suppose that, had he remained there, his career in the Church would have been radically different. However, after a period of several years a miracle was unexpectedly granted him, and whether he feared that he would be venerated as a Saint, or for some other reason, he departed. The nature of this miracle and the effect it had on others was immediate and profound, as can be seen in the account handed down by St. Gregory. Apparently, Benedict's nurse had borrowed an earthenware sieve and, after using it, had left it casually on a table. It was subsequently knocked off and broke in two. The nurse was devastated over her carelessness and Benedict, seeking to comfort her, picked up the shards and began to pray; by the time he rose from his knees, the object was once again whole. There was not a mark on it. This incident caused Benedict to become so admired, (in fact, the sieve was promptly displayed in the porch of the village church), that he may have been practically forced into the next phase of his life. He left Affile, but this time he journeyed alone, making his way to the solitude of Subiaco and an existence in which, according to St. Gregory, for God's sake, he deliberately chose the hardships of life and the weariness of labor. It was this radical blending of holiness and hard work that was to become his great legacy. There were, of course, many long-established monasteries to be found throughout Italy and Southern Gaul at the time of Benedict's departure from Affile, and had been since the days of Sts. Athanasius and Jerome. These were inhabited by monks of every conceivable kind, from the nondescript to the disreputable, and from the solitary to the cenobitic. By chance, a small cenobium happened to be located on the summit of the mountain on which Benedict sought a solitude for himself. A monk by the name of Romanus came upon and interrogated the youthful aspirant. Whether or not he initially urged the younger man to continue his search for God within the confines of the existing monastery is not known. That he must have been impressed with what he saw and heard is certain, however, for we are told that Romanus dressed the youth in a melota (a plain sheepskin garment that had become the traditional robe of the Eastern monks), and conducted him to an isolated and almost impenetrable cave on the side of the promontory. It was there that Benedict lived as a hermit, subdued the flesh, prayed and emptied himself, and sanctified his person in anticipation of the spiritual entrance of God. He lived in the cave for three years, fed daily by Romanus, who would lower a loaf of bread by cord from the clifftop monastery above. Benedict's solitude cannot have been absolute, for as time passed his reputation for sanctity grew and he seems to have gained a great local following. Indeed, he was eventually invited by another monastery to assume the office of abbot. After some urging, he reluctantly accepted, but warned that they would find his austerities too extreme for them. Sure enough, not long afterwards, in an attempt to rid themselves of their new superior, they offered him a poisoned goblet of wine. Tradition holds that it miraculously shattered as he made the Sign of the Cross over the vessel prior to raising it to his lips. After leaving Vicovaro, Benedict returned to his solitude at Subiaco. However, so great was his renown that disciples soon began to seek him out. It did not take long before there were a total of twelve monasteries in the valley, each consisting of a superior and twelve men under the general supervision of the Saint. A pattern of life soon began to develop at Subiaco: that of a laborious existance designed to be at the same time useful to man and pleasing to God. After leaving Vicovaro, Benedict returned to his solitude at Subiaco. However, so great was his renown that disciples soon began to seek him out. It did not take long before there were a total of twelve monasteries in the valley, each consisting of a superior and twelve men under the general supervision of the Saint. Benedict had the revolutionary idea that work was a necessary instrument of virtue almost on a par with prayer, and often indistinguishable from it. To him it was the natural condition of man, and he envisioned a state of life in which the physical components of work, prayer and reading were in all ways equal. He warned against outward expressions of piety and excessive mortification, especially when they were found to be, as is most often the case, an end in themselves. His was a voice of moderation and reason; his Rule is, indeed, a document about how a man can live with God in an imperfect world. He died about the year AD 547, and was interred in the same tomb with his sister, Saint Scholastica at Monte Cassino.
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