Butler's Lives of the Saints Read online

  An Irish monk, Modomnoc was a monastery beekeeper who carried the royal O’Neil family name. After a time in Wales, he moved into a hermitage at Tibraghny near Kilkenny, Ireland. It may be that he became a bishop, but that there is no way to confirm this.

  There is a delightful legend about Modomnoc O’Neil. He was a passenger on a ship that was returning him to Ireland when some of his bees followed him, swarming on the boat’s framework. They traveled with him to the Emerald Isle and became the origin of a fine strain of honeybees in that country.

  FEBRUARY 14

  Valentine (d. ? 269)

  Love in action

  Valentine would be astonished by the way so many generations have celebrated his day. He would look with wonder at the hearts school children cut from folded red construction paper. “Be my valentine” printed on candy hearts, the exchange of imaginative and colorful cards, and gifts of fancy chocolates have little to do with this saint. The association began centuries ago in England, apparently because an observant bird watcher noticed that British birds begin courting in preparation for nesting around the middle of February, or on St. Valentine’s Day.

  Valentine was a third-century Roman priest who devoted himself to helping Christians who were suffering persecution under Claudius II. Arrested, he appeared before the prefect of Rome, who attempted to persuade him to renounce his faith. Valentine stood firm in his faith and was beaten with clubs and then decapitated. His execution day was February 14.

  FEBRUARY 15

  Sigfrid (d. ? 1045)

  Missionary to the North

  When Norway’s King Olaf Tryggvason (July 29) became a Christian, he asked Ethelred, king of England, to send missionaries to his country. Three quickly responded: Sigfrid, John, and Grimkel. The trio not only worked in Norway, but also in Sweden, where Sigfrid established his headquarters in Växjo. Sigfrid converted and baptized Sweden’s king in a spring pond near Husaby that now carries the name “Sigfrid’s Spring.” Miraculous events have happened at that spot.

  The Englishman Sigfrid conducted an energetic ministry at Växjö for many years. When he died around 1045, he was buried in the church there.

  FEBRUARY 16

  Onesimus (first century)

  Conversion

  The New Testament contains a one-page letter from Paul to Philemon. Paul wrote the letter on behalf of the runaway slave Onesimus, who had robbed his master before departing. On his flight, Onesimus encountered Paul, who told him about Christ. In the process of Onesimus’s conversion, a warm filial bond developed between the two. In his letter to Philemon, which Onesimus hand delivered, Paul says he is returning his “very heart.” It is clear that Onesimus has been an extraordinary help to Paul. Paul sends the converted slave back to his master with the hope that he will receive him as a Christian brother, suggesting that Paul would welcome Onesimus back as a free person who could resume helping him in jail.

  In some cases, the remainder of the story of a New Testament saint’s life is undocumented tradition. For Onesimus, we have some reliable written records that may continue his story. In the second century, Ignatius of Antioch (October 17) wrote a letter to the church at Ephesus in which he praises Onesimus as an outstanding bishop. It is possible that as bishop Onesimus helped to collect Paul’s letters and had them published in Ephesus.

  Paul also states that he sent Onesimus with Tychicus to deliver his letter to the Colossian church. Paul calls both men “beloved brothers.”

  FEBRUARY 17

  Finan of Lindisfarne (d. 661)

  Respectful faith

  On the beautiful island of Iona, Finan served as an Irish bishop and abbot in the seventh century. Well-educated and far-sighted, he involved himself in the political process of Northumbria, England. Finan maintained respect for Celtic customs and resisted exchanging them for the religious patterns of other cultures. He became bishop of Lindisfarne and worked untiringly for the evangelization of Northumbria. Finan helped to establish monasteries in Gilling, Tynemouth, and Whitby. He also sent missionaries into East Anglia.

  FEBRUARY 18

  Theotonius (1086–1166)

  Leadership

  Portugal was a newly established kingdom in the twelfth century when Theotonius returned from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The political leaders of Portugal appreciated his special abilities and encouraged him to become bishop. He refused, and instead devoted himself to ministry for the poor. Today, Portuguese Christians have a high regard for Theotonius.

  Following a second trip to the Holy Land, Theotonius came back to Portugal and helped establish a monastery at Coimbra. This project received significant financial support from King Alphonsus and Queen Mafalda. In spite of her strong support for the Monastery of the Holy Cross, the queen’s request to visit the enclosure was never granted.

  Theotonius became abbot of the monastery, living his remaining thirty years there. He was eighty when he died in 1166

  FEBRUARY 19

  Boniface of Lausanne (d. 1265)

  Personal burden

  Some of us do not achieve impressive goals or make a great name for ourselves, and yet we live a thoroughly Christian life in what some have called “quiet desperation.” A saintly example of this is Boniface, who began life in Brussels, Belgium. His schoolteachers were nuns at La Cambre. When he became seventeen, they sent him to the University of Paris for higher education. He turned out to be an excellent student and remained in Paris for seven years as a popular teacher of Christian doctrine. Personal conflicts among the faculty and students resulted in a boycott of his classes.

  Rather than continue the struggle, Boniface moved to Cologne and began to teach in the cathedral school. Two years later he became the bishop of Lausanne. He accepted the post with enthusiasm and devoted himself to the task. As has been true of so many who labor for Christ, Boniface ran into years of opposition and misunderstanding. Exasperated, he publicly expressed his poor opinion of the clergy who worked with him. Opposition intensified, and Emperor Frederick II also began to work against Boniface. An unruly group of men ambushed and seriously wounded him in 1239. Weak and completely discouraged, he resigned his post as bishop and returned to Brussels and the nuns at La Cambre. He lived his remaining years at the abbey, dying in 1265.

  FEBRUARY 20

  Eucherius of Orleans (d. ? 738)

  Heavy responsibility

  Eucherius recognized the brevity of human life and focused on eternity. An eighth-century Frenchman with a Christian background, Eucherius left home in 714 and entered a Benedictine abbey in Normandy. He followed an exceptional life of quiet prayer for seven years, and became bishop of Orléans. He was only twenty-five and did not want to depart from the abbey to take the role of bishop, but after a reluctant beginning, he turned out to be a respected and helpful leader.

  Charles Martel, a powerful politician, supported his military campaigns against invading Arabs with money taken from the church’s treasury. When Bishop Eucherius objected to the practice, he was consequently arrested. In 737, Charles had him exiled to Cologne, Germany, and then to a fort near Liege, Belgium.

  Eucherius maintained a humble and accepting attitude that impressed the people watching over him in Liege. With no obvious reason to keep him in prison, they turned him over to the monks at the abbey of St. Truiden, where he lived quietly until his death.

  FEBRUARY 21

  Peter Damian (1007–72)

  Quiet service

  Orphaned as a young child in Ravenna, Italy, Peter became the ward of an older brother who was abusive and uncaring. Another brother, named Damian, recognized his plight and took him to his own home, changing the course of his life. Damian treated him affectionately and saw to it that he received a good education. Later in life, he expressed his gratitude by taking this loving brother’s name.

  In 1035, Peter became a Benedictine monk. He joined an austere group at the monastery of Fonte Avellana who were applying the reforms of Romuald (June 19). Eight years later, the monks elec
ted Peter abbot of the monastery. As their leader, he practiced what we now call “tough love,” being kind and forgiving when appropriate, but strict and demanding when necessary. His writings reveal a strong disapproval of any kind of laxity among monks.

  In 1057 Peter Damian became a bishop and took a leading role in reforming religious life in Germany and France. Always remaining a monk in the core of his being, he asked to be relieved of his wider responsibilities and returned to the quiet and solitude of his monastery. Inside its walls, he busied his hands with woodcraft and writing highly regarded Latin poems and hymns, while sustaining a life of prayer that was interrupted a few times by the need to settle ecclesiastical conflicts outside.

  He died in seclusion with his monks at the monastery, but respect for him was widespread. Dante wrote Peter Damian into the seventh heaven of his Divine Comedy.

  FEBRUARY 22

  Margaret of Cortona (1247–97)

  New life

  Margaret began her life on a little farm in Tuscany. Her mother died while she was still a child, and her stepmother took little interest in her. She became involved with a young cavalier from Montepulciano, living openly with him as his mistress for nine years and bearing him a son. When her lover was murdered during his travels, Margaret took her boy and returned home, begging her father to give her another chance. Responding to his second wife’s opinion, he refused to take them in.

  Margaret had heard that Franciscan friars were compassionate toward sinners. In desperation, she took her son to Cortona to seek their help. Two women there, Marinana and Raneria, recognized Margaret as someone in trouble and offered to help. After hearing her story, they took mother and son to their home.

  The next three years were a sordid mixture of hope and despair as Margaret struggled, trying to begin a new way of life. She left the home of her two friends, and began to live in a small cottage while taking care of the sickly poor. At last, she experienced a religious awakening and the Franciscans accepted her.

  Around 1289 Margaret began to have vivid moments of inspiration. Feeling guilty about her past, she did everything imaginable to make amends. Her nights were nearly sleepless as she prayed and meditated. When sleep overtook her, she would rest on the bare ground. She subsisted on the simplest plain food and wore uncomfortable clothes that made her bleed. She died at the age of fifty, having given the second half of her years to acts of penance for the first half.

  FEBRUARY 23

  Polycarp (ca. 69– ca. 155)

  Faithful courage

  The story of Polycarp’s heroic martyrdom has stirred Christians since the first century. He was introduced to Christ by the original disciples who were companions of Jesus. Church tradition maintains that the apostle John (December 27) was involved in Polycarp’s conversion. When Ignatius of Antioch (October 17) passed through Smyrna as a prisoner on his way to execution in Rome, Polycarp kissed his chains.

  Polycarp was an experienced and beloved bishop who, at the age of eighty-six, became a victim of the anti-Christian movement that was sweeping though the Roman Empire. The Romans arrested him in 155. We know about his death because his church in Smyrna wrote and circulated an account of it. Except for the New Testament, this is the oldest report of Christian martyrdom in existence. Because of its great value, a condensed modernization follows:

  At Caesar’s festival several Christians were forced to fight wild beasts. The crowd grew restless and cried out for Polycarp. For a few days Polycarp moved from place to place outside the city, always praying for the churches throughout the world. A tortured servant revealed Polycarp’s location, and mounted police hurried to make an arrest. Late in the day they found Polycarp in an upper room of a cottage. He could have escaped, but he refused, saying, “God’s will be done.” He came downstairs and talked with the police, who were surprised to find such an old man. Polycarp ordered food and drink for them because it was well past suppertime. He then asked for an hour alone for prayer. They gave him permission and he remained in prayer for two hours. The Roman police were sorry they had come to arrest such a venerable old man.

  After Polycarp had prayed for everyone he knew, and for the Church, they put him on a donkey and led him into the city. Polycarp’s father attempted to persuade him to save himself by saying “Lord Caesar” and offering incense. He refused to listen and the police led him roughly into the stadium. The crowd made a deafening roar when they saw him enter.

  The proconsul asked him if he were truly Polycarp. When he affirmed that he was, the proconsul began to dissuade him. “Have respect for your age. Swear by Caesar. Denounce Christianity. Curse Christ and I will release you.”

  Polycarp replied, “I have served him for eighty-six years and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved me?”

  The proconsul continued to plead with Polycarp, who answered, “Hear plainly that I am a Christian. If you are willing to learn our doctrine, give me a day to teach you.”

  The proconsul said, “Persuade the people.”

  “I think you would be a worthy student. Christianity teaches respect for civil authorities. But I will not attempt to defend myself against this unruly mob.”

  “I have wild animals! If you do not repent, I will throw you to them.”

  “Send for them. We are not permitted to repent from better to worse.”

  “If you are not afraid of the beasts, I will have you burned.”

  “You threaten me with fire that burns for a little while. You don’t know about the fire of judgment that is to come. Don’t wait. Do what you will.” Polycarp was full of courage and joy as he spoke.

  The proconsul sent his herald into the stadium to announce three times, “Polycarp admits he is a Christian.” The residents of Smyrna cried out in a rage, “This is the teacher of Asia, the father of Christians, the destroyer of our gods.”

  The crowd rapidly gathered wood from the workshops and baths. They were going to nail Polycarp to a stake, but he said, “Let me be as I am. God will keep me here without the nails.”

  They lit the fire, but the flames took the shape of a vaulted chamber, like a ship’s sail full of wind. It made a wall around Polycarp who was unharmed, like bread baking in an oven, or gold being refined. The executioner stabbed him in the heart with a lance, and so much blood gushed out that it extinguished the flames, and the crowd marveled.

  FEBRUARY 24

  Montanus and Lucius (d. 259)

  Courageous martyrs

  In the case of these third-century martyrs we have a trustworthy and uncontested report. Two letters from the saints themselves record their suffering in prison, and other written accounts come from the pens of people who were present when they were martyred.

  The Emperor Valerian severely persecuted the young Christian Church. Montanus and Lucius were among eight or ten Christians arrested in 259 and placed in a filthy dungeon among other prisoners. They remained in this inhumane circumstance for months, sometimes without food or water.

  When led outside to the place of execution, each had an opportunity to utter last words. Lucius was in poor health and quiet by nature. With nothing to say, he died first. Montanus remained strong and repeatedly quoted a verse from Exodus: “Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed.” He criticized Christian heretics and urged believers to be courageous. He spoke his final prayer loud enough for everyone to hear. The Romans beheaded all of them, one by one.

  FEBRUARY 25

  Tarasius (d. 806)

  Sacred and secular

  One of the less well-known saints, Tarasius lived in the second half of the eighth century. He was secretary of state for the tenyear-old emperor Constantine VI and his mother, the Empress Irene. While working for the government, Tarasius managed to live a thoroughly religious life. In 784 he reluctantly became patriarch of the Church and began a program to reinstate the value of icons and other images.

  Tarasius, though the example of his life was exemplary, fell into disrepute for
being associated with Constantine, who divorced his wife and married one of her maids. Though Tarasius did counsel the emperor against the action, other religious leaders thought he was too lenient. In fact, he lost the support of Constantine and had a difficult time during the remainder of his reign.

  Tarasius died of natural causes in 806, having devoted twentyone years to full-time Christian ministry.

  FEBRUARY 26

  Paula Montal (1799–1889)

  Good example

  When she was only ten, Paula’s Spanish father died. To make enough money to educate her younger brothers, she began making lace with her mother. The turn of the nineteenth century was a troubled era in Spanish history, but Paula lived in peace, making the best of her circumstances.

  In 1829, Paula opened a school helping girls earn a living by teaching them lace making. In the process, she also taught them the basics of Christianity. She commented, “I want to save families by teaching children the love of God.” Her work spread throughout the world.

  Paula lived for nine decades. Those at her bedside recalled her last words: “Mother, my mother.”

  FEBRUARY 27

  Francis (Gabriel) Possenti (1838–62)

  Turning away

  Here is a saint who as a teenager earned the nickname Il Damerino, ”the Lady’s Man.” His friends in Assisi, Italy, observed his great interest in fine clothes, theater, and dancing. Handsome and popular, he was the life of the party. When two serious illnesses threatened his life, he vowed to enter a monastery. Both times, after recovering, he changed his mind.

  Still, life as Il Damerino was not satisfying. He had a deep hunger in his soul for the things of God, and partying became tiresome and dull. When a religious procession passed through the streets Francis saw the processioners carrying a picture of the “Sorrowful Mother,” Mary. An inner voice said, “Francis, the world is not for you anymore.” This was a life-changing event.