| 2 December |
• yesterday • tomorrow |
Chromatius' father died when the boy was an infant, and he was raised by his mother and large family of older siblings. Ordained c.387. Attended the Synod of Aquileia, and worked for the strong denunciation of Arianism that resulted from the synod. Bishop of Aquileia in 388.
He worked for peace with invading troops led by Alaric, and provided aid to those who suffered by being in his path. Active correspondent with Saint Ambrose of Milan. Friend of Saint Jerome, who dedicated several works to him. Influential in the translation of early Christian works into Latin for wider use. Financed Saint Jerome's translation of the Bible, and Rufinus' translation of Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History. Wrote several respected scripture commentaries, seventeen of which survive. Friend of Saint John Chrysostom, supporting him and writing on his behalf against the unjust accusations of Emperor Arcadius.
4th century at Aquileia, Italy
2 December 407 in Italy of natural causes
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp only to put it under a bushel basket; they put it on a stand where it gives light to all in the house. The Lord called his disciples to salt of the earth because they seasoned with heavenly wisdom the hearts of men, rendered insipid by the devil. Now he calls them the fight of the world as well, because they have been enlightened by him, the true and everlasting light, and have themselves become a light in the darkness. Since he is the Sun of Justice, he fittingly calls his disciples the light of the world. The reason for this is that through them, as through shining rays, he has poured out the light of the knowledge of himself upon the entire world. For by manifesting the light of truth, they have dispelled the darkness of error from the hearts of men. Moreover, we too have been enlightened by them. We have been made light out of darkness as the Apostle says: For once you, were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light. He says another time: For you are not sons of the light and of darkness, but you are all sons of light and of the day. Saint John also rightly asserts in his letter: God is light, and whoever abides in God is in the light just as God himself is in the light. Therefore, because we rejoice in having been freed from the darkness of error, we should always walk in the light as children of light. This is why the Apostle says: Among them you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life. If we fail to live in the light, we shall, to our condemnation and that of others, be veiling over and obscuring by our infidelity the light men so desperately need. As we know from Scripture, the man who received the talent should have made it produce a heavenly profit, but instead he preferred to hide it away rather than put it to work and was punished as he deserved. Consequently, that brilliant lamp which was lit for the sake of our salvation should always shine in us. For we have the lamp of the heavenly commandment and spiritual grace, to which David referred: Your law, is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Solomon also says this about it: For the command of the law is a lamp. Therefore, we must not hide this lamp of law and faith. Rather, we must set it up in the Church, as on a lamp stand, for the salvation of many, so that we may enjoy the light of truth itself and all believers may be enlightened." - from a treatise on the Gospel of Saint Matthew by Saint Chromatius
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-chromatius-of-aquileia/
• John Ruysbroeck
• Jan van Ruusbroec
• John the Admirable Doctor
• John the Divine Doctor
• Ruysbroeck the Admirable
Nothing is known of John's father, but history remembers his mother as a very pious woman who eventually entered a convent. At age eleven John moved in with and was educated by his uncle, Father John Hinckaert at Saint Gudule's, Brussels, Belgium. Ordained in 1317. Served as chaplain at Saint Gudule's for 26 years.
In response to pamphlets teaching heresy, John began to write his own, primarily on false mysticism being taught. None of these writings have survived.
In 1343, John and his uncle retired to a hermitage in Groenendael. His reputation for wisdom and holiness began to spread, and the hermitage attracted like-minded men. The group founded a formal community of Augustinian canons regular on 13 March 1349 with John as prior. Many people came for spiritual guidance by the canons, and especially from John. He led a life of extreme austerity, became famous as a sublime contemplative and skilled director of souls. As the Spirit moved him, he resumed writing. Noted as the greatest of the Flemish mystical writers.
1293 near Brussels, Belgium
• 2 December 1381 at Groenendael of natural causes
• relics translated to Saint Gudule's, Brussels, Belgium in 1783, but were lost or destroyed during the French Revolution
1 December 1908 by Pope Pius X
in canonical habit, seated in the forest with his writing tablet on his knee, rapt in ecstasy and enveloped in flames, which encircle without consuming the tree under which he is resting
• The Sparkling Stone
• The Book of Supreme Truth
• The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage
• The Spiritual Tabernacle
• The Twelve Points of True Faith
• The Book of the Four Temptations
• The Kingdom of God's Lovers
• The Mirror of Eternal Salvation
• The Seven Cloisters
• The Seven Degrees of Love
• The Twelve Beguines
Where I assert that we are one in God, I must be understood in this sense that we are one in love. - Blessed John
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-john-van-ruysbroeck/
Melchior Chylinski
A pious youth, his family nicknamed him "the little monk." After graduating the Jesuit college in Poznan, Poland, Melchior joined the cavalry, and was made an officer within three years. In 1715, against the advice of his brothers in arms, Melchior joined the Conventual Friars Minor in Kraków, Poland, took the name Rafal, and was ordained in 1717.
Assigned to parishes in nine cities, he was eventually sent to Lagiewniki in central Poland, where he spent most of the last 13 years of his life. He distributed food, supplies and clothing to the poor, and played the harp, lute and mandolin to accompany liturgical hymns. Spent 20 months in Warsaw ministering to flood and epidemic victims. Known for simple and candid sermons, generosity, and as a great confessor. All classes were drawn to the self-sacrificing way he lived out his religious profession and priestly ministry.
8 January 1694 at Buk, Poznan, Poland as Melchior Chylinski
• 2 December 1741 at Lagiewniki, Lodzkie, Poland
• the Conventual church there became a place of pilgrimage
9 June 1991 at Warsaw, Poland by Pope John Paul II
May Blessed Rafal remind us that every one of us, even though we are sinners, has been called to love and to holiness. - Pope John Paul II
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-rafal-chylinski/
• Jerónima María Astorch
• Jerónima María Cortey
• Jerónima Maria Agnese
• Mystic of the Breviary
Raised in a pious family. Poor Clare Capuchin nun at Barcelona, Spain, entering the Order on 16 September 1603 and making her religious profession on 8 September 1609. Novice mistress and director of formation. Founded a monastery in Zaragoza, Spain on 9 May 1614. Abbess in 1627. Founded a monastery in Murcia, Spain on 2 June 1645 where she served abbess until 1661. She spent her spare time studying the sacred texts and the great Church writers, she came to a profound understanding of the Breviary, the schedule of prayers and hymns recited each day. Mystic and visionary who could see and communicate with her guardian angel.
1 September 1592 at Barcelona, Spain
• 2 December 1665 in Murcia, Spain
• body incorrupt
• relics damaged during the Spainsh Civil War
23 May 1982 by Pope John Paul II
From her we can learn to respect the ways of man, and at the same time make men open to the ways of God. She was able to respect the individuality of each person, helping the one concerned 'to keep in step with God' which means something different for each one. In this way, her profound understanding did not become inert tolerance. - Pope John Paul II's homily during the beatification of Blessed Maria
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-maria-angela-astorch/
Viviana, Vivian, Vibiana
Her parents, Saint Flavian of Acquapendente and Dafrosa of Acquapendente, were martyred in the persecutions of Julian the Apostate, and Vivian and her sister Demetria were turned over to a woman named Rufina who tried to force them into prostitution. Upon her continued refusal to co-operate, Vivian was imprisoned in a mad house, then flogged to death.
A church was built over her grave, in the garden of which grew an herb that cured headache and epilepsy. This and her time spent with the mentally ill led to her areas of patronage.
in 4th century in Rome, Italy
• scourged to death c.361
• her body was left to the dogs, but none would touch her, and she was buried two days later in the Pretestato Catacombs, Rome, Italy
• relics enshrined in the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, Los Angeles, California from 1855 until the building burned in August 1865
*bull; relics enshrined in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles, California
• against epilepsy; epileptics
• against hangovers
• against headaches
• against insanity or mental illness; mentally ill people
• Los Angeles, California, archdiocese of
• single laywomen
• torture victims
• branch
• pillar
• green branch covered with twigs and foliage
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-bibiana/
• Ivan Slezyuk
• John Sleziuk
27 June as one of the Martyrs Killed Under Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe
Greek Catholic. Ordained in 1923. Co-adjutor bishop in April 1945. Arrested for his faith on 2 June 1945, and sentenced to ten years in the forced labour camps in Vorkuta, Russia; transferred in 1950 to Mordovia, Russia. Released on 15 November 1954, and returned to Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. Arrested again for his faith in 1962; sentenced to five years in the forced labour camps. Released on 30 November 1968. Routinely and repeatedly interrogated by the KGB until his death.
14 January 1896 at Zhyvachiv, Stanislaviv District, Ukraine
2 December 1973 in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
27 June 2001 by Pope John Paul II in Ukraine
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-ivan-sleziuk/
Sylvere, Silverius
Son of Pope Hormisdas, who had entered religious life after raising a family. Sub-deacon when elected pope at the insistence of King Theodaha the Ostrogoth. A humble man caught in the middle of a political ploy by Vigilius and the Empress Theodora to seize the pontificate for the Monophysites. Kidnapped, convicted of a trumped-up charge of treason, and exiled to the island of Ponza, Italy.
480 at Frosinone, Campania (in modern Italy)
8 June 536
starved in November 537
• Ponza, Italy
• Valprato Soana
https://catholicsaints.info/pope-saint-silverio/
Oderisius I, Odorisius
Born to the nobility, son of the count of Marsi. Educated at Monte Cassino monastery. Poet. Benedictine monk at Monte Cassino under the direction of Diseiderius II who would become Pope Blessed Victor III. Deacon of Saint Agatha's church. Priest. Cardinal in 1059, elevated by Pope Nicholas II. Abbot at Monte Cassino in 1087. Patron of impoverished scholars of his day, hugely expanded the abbey library and promoted the work of its copyists. Mediator between Crusaders and the Greek emperor Alexicus.
at Marsi, Italy
1105 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-oderisius-de-marsi/
• Our Lady, Cause of our Joy
• Our Lady of Joy
An ancient statue of the Madonna and Child. It was brought from Egypt to France during the Crusades by three Knights of Malta who had been briefly captured by Saracens. It was enshrined at Liesse, diocese of Soissons. The original statue was destroyed during the French Revolution. A duplicate was installed and crowned in 1857.
diocese of Soissons, France
https://catholicsaints.info/our-lady-of-liesse/
• Athanasius of Kiev
• Athanasius of the Resurrection
• Afanasij of
Hermit in the caves around Kiev, Ukraine. He was found dead, and his brother monks and hermits prepared to bury him; he suddenly sat back up, returned from the dead. He would not tell the brothers what he had seen, just told them to stay true to their Rule and obey their abbot. Known as a healer and miracle worker.
c.1176 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-athanasius-of-the-caves/
Avidien, Avinziano, Avinzio, Avit, Avitianus, Avitien, Avito, Evincianus
Bishop of Rouen, France in the early 4th-century. Signed and supported the decrees of the First Council of Arles in 314.
• 325 of natural causes
• interred in a crypt in the church of Saint-Gervais, Rouen, France
• relics dispersed during the Norman invasions of the area
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-avitus-of-rouen/
Brother Leon Justino
Member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.
25 May 1906 in Grañon, Logroño, Spain
2 December 1936 in Manresa, Barcelona, Spain
28 October 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-francisco-del-valle-villar/
Nennos, Ninos, Nono, Nonnos
Deacon. Monk at the monastery of Tabenna in upper Egypt. Bishop of Edessa, Mesopotamia. Attended the Council of Chalcedon in 451. It was through his prayers that Saint Pelagia the Penitent was converted to Christianity.
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-nonnus-of-edessa/
Benedictine Cistercian monk of La Criste in Champagne, France. Abbot at the Matallana monastery in Valladolid, Spain.
1185 of natural causes
against vermin
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-robert-of-matallana/
Avvakoum, Habacuc
Seventh century BC Old Testament prophet in Judea during the time of the captivity.
https://catholicsaints.info/habakkuk-the-prophet/
Dominican lay-brother at Baeza, Spain. Noted for having only two interests in life: study and prayer. Directed by his spiritual directors to take holy orders.
1566 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-john-amero/
Sylvanus
Monk at Constantinople. Bishop of Troas, Phrygia. Prohibited his priests from working in secular courts.
c.450 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-silvanus/
Pimen
Priest. Martyr.
cemetery of Pontian, on Via Portuense, Rome, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-pimenio-in-rome/
Martyred with four unnamed in the persecutions of Emperor Valerian.
c.259 at Rome, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-pontian/
Early, possibly first, bishop of Brescia, Italy.
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-evasius-of-brescia/
Bishop of Verona, Italy.
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-lupus-of-verona/
Martyrs Groeci
Several Greek Christians martyred in the persecutions of Valerian - Adria, Aurelia, Eusebius, Hippolytus, Marcellus, Mary Martana, Maximus, Neon and Paulina.
• by various means between 254 and 259 in Rome, Italy
• buried in the Callistus catacombs
https://catholicsaints.info/greek-martyrs-of-rome/
Four Christians martyred in Africa in the persecutions of Arian Vandals - Januarius, Securus, Severus and Victorinus.
https://catholicsaints.info/martyrs-of-africa-2-december/
• Aurelia of Alexandria
• Berengar Cantull
• Bernardin Palaj
• Blanche of Castile
• Jesse of Tsilkani
• Lucius of Chur
• Stefan Uros of Serbia
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