Saint George is the object of a vast amount of imagination. There is every reason to believe that he was a real martyr who suffered at Lydda in Palestine, probably before the time of Constantine. The Church adheres to his memory, but not to the legends surrounding his life. That he was willing to pay the supreme price to follow Christ is what the Church believes. And it is enough.
The story of George’s slaying the dragon, rescuing the king’s daughter, and converting Libya is a 12th-century Italian fable. George was a favorite patron saint of crusaders, as well as of Eastern soldiers in earlier times. He is a patron saint of England, Portugal, Germany, Aragon, Catalonia, Genoa, Milan and Bologna.
Reflection
Human nature seems to crave more than cold historical data. Americans have Washington and Lincoln, but we somehow need Paul Bunyan, too. The life of Saint Francis of Assisi is inspiring enough, but for centuries the Italians have found his spirit in the legends of the Fioretti, too. Santa Claus is the popular extension of the spirit of Saint Nicholas. The legends about Saint George are part of this yearning. Both fact and legend are human ways of illumining the mysterious truth about the One who alone is holy.
A conscientious objector who wanted to be a monk; a monk who was maneuvered into being a bishop; a bishop who fought paganism as well as pleaded for mercy to heretics—such was Martin of Tours, one of the most popular of saints and one of the first not to be a martyr.
Born of pagan parents in what is now Hungary, and raised in Italy, this son of a veteran was forced at the age of 15 to serve in the army. Martin became a Christian catechumen and was baptized when he was 18. It was said that he lived more like a monk than a soldier. At 23, he refused a war bonus and told his commander: “I have served you as a soldier; now let me serve Christ. Give the bounty to those who are going to fight. But I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight.” After great difficulties, he was discharged and went to be a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers.
He was ordained an exorcist and worked with great zeal against the Arians. Martin became a monk, living first at Milan and later on a small island. When Hilary was restored to his see following his exile, Martin returned to France and established what may have been the first French monastery near Poitiers. He lived there for 10 years, forming his disciples and preaching throughout the countryside.
The people of Tours demanded that he become their bishop. Martin was drawn to that city by a ruse—the need of a sick person—and was brought to the church, where he reluctantly allowed himself to be consecrated bishop. Some of the consecrating bishops thought his rumpled appearance and unkempt hair indicated that he was not dignified enough for the office.
Along with Saint Ambrose, Martin rejected Bishop Ithacius’s principle of putting heretics to death—as well as the intrusion of the emperor into such matters. He prevailed upon the emperor to spare the life of the heretic Priscillian. For his efforts, Martin was accused of the same heresy, and Priscillian was executed after all. Martin then pleaded for a cessation of the persecution of Priscillian’s followers in Spain. He still felt he could cooperate with Ithacius in other areas, but afterwards his conscience troubled him about this decision.
As death approached, Martin’s followers begged him not to leave them. He prayed, “Lord, if your people still need me, I do not refuse the work. Your will be done.”
Reflection
Martin’s worry about cooperation with evil reminds us that almost nothing is either all black or all white. The saints are not creatures of another world: They face the same perplexing decisions that we do. Any decision of conscience always involves some risk. If we choose to go north, we may never know what would have happened had we gone east, west, or south. A hyper-cautious withdrawal from all perplexing situations is not the virtue of prudence; it is in fact, a bad decision, for “not to decide is to decide.”
St. Adrian of Nicomedia (d. 306 A.D.) lived under the Christian persecutions of the Roman Emperor Galerius Maximian. Thirty-three Christians were seized in Nicomedia, brought before a judge, and ordered to be savagely beaten. With each new torture the men received, they bravely proclaimed their faith in Christ. They argued with the judge that by his tortures he was only increasing their heavenly glory, while guaranteeing his own damnation to hell. Adrian, a man of 28 years, was head of the praetorium and witnessed the steadfast faith of these men. He was moved to the point of conversion, and exclaimed that he, too, would reject paganism to suffer and die for the name of Christ along with the other Christians. One of Adrian’s servants ran to tell his wife, Natalie, what her husband had done. Natalie, who was secretly a Christian, ran to the prison in joy at the news of her husband’s newfound faith, and encouraged him to stay strong and steadfast in it. After Adrian refused to recant his profession of faith in Christ, he was thrown into prison with the other men and cruelly tortured. His arms and legs were severed on an anvil before finally dying as a martyr. Saint Adrian is the patron saint of soldiers, arms dealers, and butchers. His feast day is September 8th.
Saint George is the object of a vast amount of imagination. There is every reason to believe that he was a real martyr who suffered at Lydda in Palestine, probably before the time of Constantine. The Church adheres to his memory, but not to the legends surrounding his life. That he was willing to pay the supreme price to follow Christ is what the Church believes. And it is enough.
The story of George’s slaying the dragon, rescuing the king’s daughter, and converting Libya is a 12th-century Italian fable. George was a favorite patron saint of crusaders, as well as of Eastern soldiers in earlier times. He is a patron saint of England, Portugal, Germany, Aragon, Catalonia, Genoa, Milan and Bologna.
Reflection
Human nature seems to crave more than cold historical data. Americans have Washington and Lincoln, but we somehow need Paul Bunyan, too. The life of Saint Francis of Assisi is inspiring enough, but for centuries the Italians have found his spirit in the legends of the Fioretti, too. Santa Claus is the popular extension of the spirit of Saint Nicholas. The legends about Saint George are part of this yearning. Both fact and legend are human ways of illumining the mysterious truth about the One who alone is holy.
How do you know someone is alive if you don’t see them? I’ve taken a clue from the sheriff detective…there is fresh evidence. For instance, you may not see a family member for a day, but you know they are alive, right? You see dirty plates right where they left them. You see your husband’s dirty socks right where he left them. I guess he figured the Molly Maid Service would come by and pick them up. You may not see the person, but you see fresh evidence that they’ve been there and that they are alive. They may have left a note for you. They may have cooked dinner for you. You know they are alive even though you may not have touched them or laid eyes on them. Likewise, we have not touched the resurrected Christ, but we know that He is alive. We see the evidence.
From the very beginning, the Chief Priests bribed Roman soldiers to lie and say that disciples stole the body of Christ. That must have been one big bribe. The Romans knew quite well what betrayal meant. It meant instant death. The Romans did not refer anyone to defense counsel. If you failed in doing your duty, you were duly executed in a very brutal way. The Roman army did not play. No bail. No defense attorney. You were executed. So, it had to be a pretty big bribe. Even back then, there was fake news. “Christ wasn’t resurrected.” “His body was stolen.” You don’t steal a body after a couple days in Palestine. Trust me on this one. Ask any police officer or nurse. Nobody steals a body after that length of time. That’s fake news. Sound familiar? As scripture says, there’s nothing new under the sun. All through the centuries, people have claimed that Christ is dead or He was just a nice guy or He was the same as Muhammad and Buddha. None of them claimed that He was God. They try to relegate religion to just old wives tales. But, as much as they tried, the Chief Priests couldn’t keep a lid on the news of Christ’s resurrection even with the use of armies and the threat of persecution. That’s because it’s true. If it wasn’t, why would they spend all the time, money, and energy to say it’s not?
Why do people complain about the Catholic Church and its teachings? It’s the message of Christ. If it’s not true, why do they bother? If it’s not true, why do they care? They can go live their lives and do other stuff. They complain, because they know it is true. Our Lord proved Himself to all those detractors. They are gone, but we are still here. We have evidence through the centuries that Christ is still alive. Look at what our Catholic Church has done. We have built universities and hospitals. These are the things we do best. What was the cause of all those centuries of good works? It was the love of Christ in us. The living love of Christ is still evident today. You know it’s true, because you are here today. You have faith in the resurrection, and you have faith in Jesus Christ. You are here to be touched by the love of God and to draw closer to Him. Is there some fear in all of us? Of course there is, just as there was for the women at the tomb. But, you overcome your fear through your faith. That’s why you are here today. By your presence, you proclaim the resurrection of Christ, and that He is not dead. He’s not a footnote in history. He wasn’t just some really nice guy. By your faithful attendance at Mass and participation in the Sacraments, you are making your profession and belief in the resurrection and that Christ lives. One day you will share His life. Most of us won’t be around for the end of the world; as far as I know.. I haven’t gotten any phone calls. On that day, we too will go to the tomb just like Mary Magdalene and the women did on Good Friday morning.
As you look through the history of the Church, God has never been unfaithful to His followers. Never…not once. In seminary I learned a lot of stuff, well they think I did, but I was supposed to learn a lot of stuff. We studied Thomas Aquinas and the five proofs of God. I will prove to you that God exists and also how faithful He is. I guarantee that if you pray for this it will happen on your way home. Guaranteed. Pray for patience. “Lord, I want to grow in patience, I want to be meek, humble, and understanding,” Pray that prayer, and I guarantee that you will find five nitwits who will irritate the living heck out of you and try your patience on the way home. Patience is an acquired virtue that you get by practice. Ask for patience, and our good Lord will say, “Great! You got it.” He will send all those nitwits to help you grow in that virtue. That’s the quickest way to prove that God exists. The quickest proof that God listens to your prayers and answers them. God is alive and active. We have 2,000 years of proof. We see His results. Do we see them as often as we’d like? No. He hides in our human nature.
We believe in the resurrection of Christ. If it wasn’t true, why have so many people for over 2,000 years kept saying it’s not true? You can see that God is alive. We do not see Him directly, but He is alive. He is working in us. He is working through you. He took the humanity that He received from the Blessed Mother to His sacred Passion and resurrection and then to Heaven. He uses His humanity to make His love present and known to the world. He does that for us. Each of us, in our own vocation, are to prove to the world that God’s love is alive. The grave could not hold Him. God promised that we will imitate His resurrection. So, for those who follow Him, the grave will not hold us. We will be like Him. We will suffer probably, in one way or another, and we will rest in our graves until the day of our own resurrection. That is not defeat…that is victory.
How will you apply this message to your life? Will you help prove to the world that God’s love is alive?
Father’s Afterthoughts…
Now part of my Irish cultural heritage is the belief that leprechauns are real. I think it’s because we drank a wee bit too much ale. You never hear anyone complain about leprechauns. But, they don’t exist. If you see any, I can get you some help. I know people. You will feel much better.
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