Butler's Lives of the Saints

by Bernard Bangley

  In the ruins of Rome, Gregory conceptualized a world filled with the supernatural presence of wizards, ghosts, and demons. Rational order had departed the universe, and people believed the end of the world was near. Only faith sustained life in the horror and terror of the seven centuries some now call the Dark Ages. Someone described Gregory as “the first completely medieval man.” But his hand was so steady on the wheel, his integrity and insight so valuable to his times, that people would come to value his office as a stabilizing base for a society spinning out of control.

  SEPTEMBER 4

  Rose of Viterbo (1234–52)

  Mysticism

  Rose was born to a poor Italian family living at Viterbo. Religiously inclined from childhood, Rose had a mystical experience during an illness when she was eight, and she began to preach in the streets of her hometown. Her messages supported the pope, who was in considerable political difficulty. Crowds of the curious attempted to catch a glimpse of her at home. This distressed her father, who told her to stop speaking in public but relented at the parish priest’s urging. Rose continued her street preaching for the next two years.

  Opponents of the pope declared that Rose was not preaching, but meddling in politics. Emotions and pressures grew, until Viterbo’s podesta banished Rose and her parents to Soriano.

  Emperor Frederick II soon died, ending the contest with the pope that had been the subject of Rose’s street messages, and the family safely returned home. She attempted to join the Poor Clare convent of St. Mary of the Roses at Viterbo, but the nuns repeatedly refused to admit her.

  After her death as a young woman of eighteen, Rose was buried in the church of Santa Maria in Podio. Five years later, on September 4, 1252, her remains were exhumed and reburied at the convent of St. Mary of the Roses.

  SEPTEMBER 5

  Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910–97)

  Selfless

  An exception to the normal five-year waiting period for beatification was made for this exceptional woman. Less than two years after Mother Teresa of Calcutta died, the shortest such interval in modern history, Pope John Paul II pronounced her “blessed.” There is little doubt that if Mother Teresa had lived in the early centuries of Christianity, the church would have declared her a saint before her grave was covered.

  The defining moment in this Albanian woman’s life came on September 10, 1946. For twenty years, Teresa had taught school in India. On this day, she was riding the train to Darjeeling when an overwhelming sense of divine calling came to her. She was convinced that God wanted her “to be poor with the poor.” Responding to that divine impulse, she became the “Saint of the Gutters,” and gave the world a new and defining example of applied Christianity.

  Born in the Balkans at Skopje in 1910, she began life as Gonxha Agnes Bojaxhiu. After growing up under the care of her widowed mother, she left home in 1928 to join the Sisters of Loreto, in Ireland. Her religious name became Mary Teresa, after St. Thérèse of Lisieux (October 1), and soon the nineteen-year-old was on her way to Calcutta where she began to teach girls at St. Mary’s School. In 1944 Mother Teresa became the school’s principal, recognized for her organizational skill, hard work, loving care, and selflessness.

  After the inspired moment of her train ride, her “call within a call,” she established the Missionaries of Charity and waited two years for the Pope’s official approval of the order. When the way was clear, she donned her now familiar white sari with a blue border, and entered the slums of Calcutta. She washed children’s sores, cared for an old man lying on the road, and cared for a woman dying of tuberculosis and starvation. The following days began in the same manner. After communion she walked out, rosary in hand, looking for “the unwanted, the unloved, the uncared for.” She did not have to search far. An overwhelming opportunity to minister in the name of Christ waited for her. As the months passed, her former students began to join in the work with her.

  By the 1960s, Mother Teresa was sending sisters to other Indian cities. Thirty years later, her work had spread all over the world. “We are not social workers,” she said. “We may be doing social work in the eyes of some people, but we must be contemplatives in the heart of the world. Do ordinary things with extraordinary love.”

  After Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, she became the center of the media’s attention, but her simple labor among the poor did not change. “Holiness is not the luxury of the few. It is a simple duty for you and for me.” Others asked to join her in her work in Calcutta. She responded, “Find your own Calcutta. Don’t search for God in far lands—he is not there. He is close to you, he is with you.”

  The government of India gave Mother Teresa a state funeral when she died on September 5, 1997. She was buried in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity. Her tomb soon became a shrine for people of many religions.

  SEPTEMBER 6

  Eleutherius of Spoleto (d. ca. 590)

  Effective prayer

  When Gregory the Great (September 3) needed someone to pray for his health, he turned to Eleutherius. Being himself the beneficiary of a cure, Gregory included an article on the life of Eleutherius in his book of saints.

  Known as a miracle worker, Eleutherius was abbot of St. Mark’s near Spoleto, Italy. Moving to Rome, he became a monk at Gregory’s monastery.

  Eleutherius died in Rome.

  SEPTEMBER 7

  Clodoald (d. ca. 560)

  Seeking solitude

  St. Cloud, Minnesota, and St. Cloud, Florida, carry the familiar name of Clodoald, the grandson of King Clovis, of France. His father died of a wound in Burgundy when the future saint was only three years old. Grandmother Clotilde reared Clodoald and his brothers with much loving attention. By the time Clodoald became a young man, he had seen murder, mayhem, assassinations, and political intrigue enough to make him weary of the world. He declined an opportunity to seize the French throne and decided instead to become a monk. Retreating to a hermit’s cell, he attempted to master his life through austerity and prayer.

  Uncomfortable with his proximity to Paris, where people knew and recognized him, Clodoald decided to move to Provence. But once he was there, many people then began to visit the hermit for healing and guidance. It became impossible for Clodoald to have enough personal time for solitude and prayer. He returned to Paris and was welcomed with celebrations of joy. In 551, Clodoald became an ordained priest. He founded the monastery of Nogentsur-Seine near Versailles and became its abbot. Today, the church there is named St. Cloud.

  Clodoald was only thirty-six when he died.

  SEPTEMBER 8

  Corbinian (670–730)

  Proclamation of the Gospel

  Corbinian originally took the name of his father, Waldegiso, but his mother renamed him after herself. Growing up near Fontainebleau, France, he became a hermit late in the seventh century. Retreating from society, Corbinian lived reclusively for fourteen years. The familiar trend of people in those days to seek divine guidance and miracles from Christian hermits disturbed his peace.

  Searching for his proper place in the world, Corbinian arrived in Bavaria, Germany, and began to preach the gospel. Duke Grimoald of Bavaria was pleased to have him in his country and gave him both support and protection. Corbinian’s preaching produced excellent results, with many conversions to Christ, but his relationship with Duke Grimoald soon turned sour.

  The Duke married his brother’s widow, Biltrudis. Corbinian interpreted church law as forbidding such a marriage. The duke agreed, but Biltrudis was outraged. She began to harass Corbinian, calling him a foreign interloper in Bavarian affairs. It became necessary for him to flee for safety. He remained in exile until both Grimoald and Biltrudis were deceased. Returning to Bavaria, Corbinian continued his missionary efforts.

  SEPTEMBER 9

  Peter Claver (1581–1654)

  ’Kindly example

  If we do not have the ability to stop a great social evil such as slavery, we can find a way to minister to its vict
ims. Wanting to do something to help victims of slavery, Peter Claver, a Spanish Jesuit, went to Cartagena (Columbia), a busy port of entry to the Americas for African slaves. Each year about ten thousand slaves passed through Cartagena after a dangerous and inhumane voyage from West Africa. Slave traffickers packed their human cargo into the holds of ships with no concern for sanitation or freedom of movement. Given minimal food and water, and treated cruelly, about a third of each load died at sea. The desolate people who survived the voyage had one friend when they arrived—Peter Claver, who called himself the slave of slaves.

  Peter met each ship as it pulled into port, went aboard, and tried to help its unwilling passengers. As the slaves were being sold at public auction, he gave them food, medicine, and other necessities. “We must speak to them with our hands,” Peter said, “before we try to speak to them with our lips.” Using pictures and a team of seven interpreters, he told them of Jesus Christ. He attempted the impossible task of giving the slaves a sense of the human dignity they had been denied, by telling them of God’s love. Peter baptized an estimated three hundred thousand arrivals from Africa. He visited slaves as they worked on plantations and in the gold and silver mines, staying in the slaves’ quarters rather than with the owners. Those who were making money in the slave trade suspected that Peter might be attempting to undermine their livelihood. If a slave misbehaved, they considered it Claver’s fault. His presence was not always welcomed.

  The plague destroyed Peter Claver’s ability to function in 1650. He remained alone for four years, receiving barely enough attention to keep him alive, dying in 1654.

  SEPTEMBER 10

  Nicholas of Tolentino (1245–1305)

  Making a difference

  More than forty saints are named Nicholas. The saint we remember today, Nicholas of Tolentino, was an answer to a childless mother’s prayer. An Augustinian friar, he wandered from place to place, never really settling down until he perceived a voice directing him, “To Tolentino, to Tolentino. Persevere there.” He lived the remaining thirty years of his life in Tolentino.

  This Italian town was in a state of disorder when Nicholas arrived. Immorality was rampant, and religion had become fragmented and diluted with paganism. Nicholas began three decades of preaching to the public on street corners and ministering to the needs of people outside the church. He died in 1305.

  SEPTEMBER 11

  Jean-Gabriel Perboyre (1802–40)

  Religious persecution

  Born in France, Jean-Gabriel Perboyre became a priest in 1826. His brother Louis died while on a voyage to mission work in China, and Jean-Gabriel volunteered to take his place. Arriving in China in 1835, Jean-Gabriel worked his way to Nanyang, Hunan, and devoted half a year to learning the language. He then began Christian ministry up the Yang Tze River at the lake region of Hupei.

  Religious persecution began suddenly in 1839. Soldiers arrested Jean-Gabriel and treated him badly. There were many “trials” with repeated questioning. In an effort to get him to reveal the names of other Chinese Christians, the soldiers hung him by his thumbs and beat him with bamboo rods. Jean-Gabriel remained silent and suffered in the same manner exemplified by his Lord.

  Sentenced to die by strangulation, Jean-Gabriel came to the end of his life on a hill named “Red Mountain.” He was tied to a cross and strangled with a rope around his neck on September 11, 1840.

  SEPTEMBER 12

  Guy of Anderlecht (d. ca. 1012)

  Service to Christ

  “The poor man of Anderlecht” was a church janitor in Belgium during the eleventh century. He spent most of his time in a church near Brussels, sweeping the floors, polishing brass, and washing sacred vessels, but always found time to be friendly with others as poor as himself. A thick veneer of legendary material, composed long after his death in Anderlecht, hides from our eyes today the events in Guy’s life.

  SEPTEMBER 13

  John Chrysostom (ca. 347–407)

  Interpretation of Scripture

  “Chrysostom” is a nickname. In English, it means “Golden Mouthed.” John Chrysostom was a powerful and eloquent preacher in the early years of Christianity, mingling scholarship with practical direction. The sermons he preached in Antioch, Syria, during the fourth century are easily found in print today, and comprise the best representations of biblical interpretation from his time. They remain surprisingly relevant.

  Born an army officer’s son in 347, John was nurtured by his widowed mother. At the age of twenty-four, he became a monk in a community in the hills not far from his home. His attempt at cave dwelling and fasting had a devastating effect on his health. He returned to Antioch and became a priest in 386, and by 398 was archbishop of Constantinople. His comments about politics, women’s clothing, and everyday behavior brought him both fame and criticism.

  In 404, John Chrysostom, one of the great teachers of the church, was banished to Armenia by a petulant empress. He died while being forced to travel on foot in hot weather and in a state of exhaustion.

  SEPTEMBER 14

  Notburga of Eben (d. 1313)

  Generosity

  From the Tyrol Mountains of Austria, Notburga became a servant in a castle at Innsbruck. As cook for Count Henry of Rothenburg, she would pass food along to the poor. When Ottilia, the Count’s wife, ordered Notburga to give any table scraps to the hogs, Notburga then began to save some of her own food to pass along to those who had little to eat.

  Notburga has a reputation for being a hard worker who cared for others and regularly participated in public worship. As she was dying in 1313, she asked that her body be placed on an oxcart, and that she should be buried wherever it stopped. After a trip that sprinkled blessings along the way, the cart came to a stop at the door of the church of St. Rupert at Eben. She was buried there.

  SEPTEMBER 15

  Catherine of Genoa (1477–1510)

  Activity and contemplation

  Mystical experiences are less common among saints than many realize. The mystic Catherine of Genoa was one of the less common. Her writings about the spiritual life are among the major classics. She reports that she felt God burning within her, like a flame. These experiences came to her with increasing frequency as the years passed, while she labored in the physical world, working at a variety of jobs.

  We begin her story with an arranged marriage that may have been a good idea for two families at odds, but took no consideration of the personalities and affections of bride and groom. Sixteen-yearold Catherine suffered pure misery for ten years attempting to be the wife of Julian Adorno. He was careless with their money, inordinately sensual, ill-tempered, and frequently absent and unfaithful. When she turned twenty-five, she asked God to send her an illness that would make her bedridden.

  On March 22, 1473, Catherine knelt for confession and had an intimate experience of the divine that made her conscious of her sins and confident of God’s love. Someone heard her say, “No more world. No more sins.” Bitterness and resentment evaporated from her spirit. From that early spring day, Catherine was a new person. She realized her life would be meaningful only if she lived it in service to others. Though she had grown up in a fastidious aristocratic family, Catherine sought out the most repulsive hospital patients and gave them personal care. Her happiness grew as she learned how to share the love of God.

  Her husband was throwing their money away, seeking pleasure and distraction. Forced into bankruptcy, they sold their luxurious house and moved into an unpretentious cottage. Catherine told Julian the new place was much more to her liking. Touched by her spirit, and learning some tough lessons about life, Julian also experienced a change of heart and became a lay Franciscan. Eventually they moved into the hospital of Pemmatone, and Catherine became its director.

  There is no doubt that Catherine was an able administrator and bookkeeper, but her main impact at the hospital continued to be her devotion to the care of the sick. In 1493, the plague killed four-fifths of the residents of Genoa. One day, Catherine kis
sed a dying woman and contracted the deadly illness herself. After lingering near death, she recovered, but before the year was over, Julian died.

  In the years that followed, people responded to Catherine’s spirituality and mission of charity. They came to help and they came to learn. Her wide-awake soul was an example of faith and works combined in a healthy way. The deeper her prayer life, the harder she labored. The more important her work, the more she prayed. Force applied at one end of the swing of the spiritual pendulum pushed it still higher at the other end of its arc. While having spiritual ecstasies, she also gave focused attention to caring for the needs of others.

  Catherine of Genoa became seriously sick with an undiagnosed illness for the last three years of her life, dying in 1510.

  SEPTEMBER 16

  Cornelius and Cyprian (d. 258)

  Leadership

  Cornelius became pope in 251. Because of the Roman persecution of the Church, there had been no pope for more than a year. As Cornelius emerged as a leader, others vied for the position. One of the contestants, a priest named Novatian, had a strong opinion against forgiving the sins of church members who denied their faith when threatened with death. He found enough support to become an “anti-pope” to Cornelius, who held the opposite position, welcoming the return of apostate members to the Church. Though very much in the spirit of Christ, the gentle and forgiving view of Cornelius was unpopular with the rigorist faction.

  Cornelius received written support from Cyprian [October 12}, a prominent lawyer in North Africa whose letter supporting Cornelius effectively defeated Novatian.