Saint Nicetius

CATHOLICISM AND HERESY.-St. Nicetius, bishop of Trèves, one of the most distinguished prelates of Gaul, as well on account of his virtues as for his eloquence, zeal, and untiring labours, thus wrote to Queen Clodosinde, the wife of Alboin, king of the Lombards, who was an upholder of Arianism: "To procure the conversion of Alboin, do what your ancestress, Clothilde, accomplished for the conversion of Clovis. And if the king hesitates as to the truth, let him send to the church of St. Martin of Tours; there his envoys will behold the blind restored to sight, the deaf to hearing, the dumb receiving the power of speech, and lepers their speedy cure. What wonders have not you yourself witnessed at the tombs of the holy bishops, Medard and Remigius ? My tongue could not recount all the miracles of the bishops Germain, Hilary, and Lupus. Is anything similar to be met with in the churches of the Arians? No; for the spirit of darkness cannot work miracles." Such, in reality, is the distinguishing characteristic between the true religion and heresy; the latter is utterly sterile. St. Nicetius died full of days and good works, about the year 566.

MORAL REFLECTION.-"If any one abide not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch," says the Saviour, "and shall wither."(John xv. 6.) Pictorial half hours with the saints by Rev. Fr. Auguste François Lecanu

Saint Barbara

PARENTS ACCORDING ΤΟ THE ORDER OF NATURE.- Those parents who seek to corrupt either the faith or morals of their children are guilty of a heinous crime. Such there are, even in the bosom of Christianity. Let us cite one example, however, borrowed from paganism and from another period. St. Barbara, a young virgin of Nicomedia, had been brought up secretly in the Christian religion. It was not possible, however, that her father, a headstrong supporter of the superstitions of paganism, should remain ignorant of the fact. On learning it, he broke out into a violent rage, and then, being unable to move his daughter either by tears or threats, he shut her up in a tower, and kept her in prison there. Finding that he gained nothing by such treatment, of his own accord he denounced her to the judges during the persecution of Maximinus. To the application of burning coals to her body, the cutting off of her breasts, to the rack, and the dislocation of her limbs, the Christian virgin bravely submitted. She was beheaded in the year 255 or 256. The acts of her martyrdom are not well known, but she is held in universal veneration.

MORAL REFLECTION. -The Saviour has foretold it: "You shall be betrayed by your parents and brethren, but in your patience you shall possess your souls."-(Luke xxi. 16.) Pictorial half hours with the saints by Rev. Fr. Auguste François Lecanu

Saint Francis Xavier

"AMONG those who have laboured most successfully in the conversion of nations in these latter ages, is St. Francis Xavier. He prepared himself by extraordinary application to prayer and mortification, and thus obtained of God that great spirit with which he undertook and discharged with so wonderful success the mission of the East. When John III., king of Portugal, had requested of Pope Paul III. some labourers for the East, of the Society of Jesus, then recently established, St. Francis Xavier was commissioned by the Pope to proceed upon the important work, with the powers of Apostolic Nuncio. On his arrival in the East Indies, he at once acquired by divine inspiration the knowledge of the most difficult languages of those nations, to whom he came to preach. He travelled over numerous provinces, always on foot, and often barefoot. He carried the faith of Christ into Japan, and six other countries. He converted many hundreds of thousands to Christ in the East Indies, and baptised several kings. The Almighty was pleased to confirm this his ardent zeal and courage in diffusing the gospel, by the multitude and splendour of the miracles which he was enabled to perform; among which were four dead persons restored to life. He was also favoured with the gift of prophecy, and foretold many things far distant as to time and place. Worn out at length with labours, and full of merits, the saint died in the island of Sancian on the 2nd of December, 1552.

St. Bibiana by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

"She was a virgin: pray for all under the profession of virginity. She was a martyr, and her father, mother, and sister, were all martyrs. Pray for your parents and relations, that God would perfect them in faith and charity.

St. Bibiana, and her sister Demetria, after the death of their holy parents, were stripped of all they had in the world, and suffered much from poverty for five months; but spent that time in their own house in fasting and prayer. The governor of Rome had flattered himself that hunger and want would force them to renounce their faith; but seeing himself mistaken, he gave orders that St. Bibiana should be put into the hands of a wicked woman, who was extremely artful, and undertook to bring her to another way of thinking; but Bibiana, making prayer her shield, remained invincible. The judge, enraged at the courage and perseverance of a tender virgin, at length passed sentence of death upon her, and ordered her to be tied to a pillar, and whipped with scourges loaded with leaden plummets, till she expired. The saint underwent this punishment cheerfully, and died under the hands of the executioner.

Pray for a like fidelity and patience under all trials, that neither convenience nor any worldly advantage may ever prevail upon you to transgress your duty; but that you may be proof against all flatteries, and choose all evils before that of sin. The only affair of a Christian in this world is to seek God, to attain to the possession of his grace and love, and in all this perfectly to do his will. In this consists all his joy and happiness. By this disposition of heart, he is raised above all created things, and united to the eternal and unchangeable object of his felicity." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother