DECEMBER 20, 2025 – ST. PHILOGONIUS, BISHOP.

• St. Dominic of Silos (1073). Abbot or Abbess, Patron or Patroness. Patron of captives. (Historical)
• Sts. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Historical)

ST. PHILOGONIUS was educated for the law, and appeared at the bar with great success. He was admired for his eloquence, but still more for his integrity and the sanctity of his life. This was considered a sufficient motive for dispensing with the canons, which require some time spent among the clergy before a person be advanced to the highest station in the Church. Philogonius was placed in the see of Antioch, upon the death of Vitalis in 318. When Arius broached his blasphemies at Alexandria in 318, St. Alexander condemned him, and sent the sentence in a synodal letter to St. Philogonius, who strenuously defended the Catholic faith before the assembly of the Council of Nice. In the storms which were raised against the Church, first by Maximin II and afterward by Licinius, St. Philogonius deserved the title of Confessor; he died in the year 322, the fifth of his episcopal dignity.

REFLECTION: St. Philogonius had so perfectly renounced the world, and crucified its inordinate desires in his heart, that he received in this life the earnest of Christ’s Spirit, was admitted to the sacred council of the heavenly King, and had free access to the Almighty. A soul must here learn the heavenly spirit, and be well versed in the occupations of the blessed, that hopes to reign with them hereafter.

WORD OF THE DAY

FATHER. Theologically, a father is the principal one who produces of his own substance another person like himself. There is, consequently, a Father within the Trinity, who begets God the Son. But the triune God is himself spoken of as a Father, with respect to the rational beings whom he made to share in his own possession of knowledge and love. Among human beings a father is the male parent of his own children and, ultimately, the ancestor of all his progeny. In Church usage the term is applied to the early spokesmen and defenders of Christianity, bishops who attend regional and especially ecumenical councils, and priests in general or specific priests in their role as confessors or spiritual counselors of the faithful.

Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon SJ (Get the real one at Eternal Life — don’t accept an abridged or edited version of this masterpiece!)

Advent & The Great Truths

Advent: Short Meditations and The Great Truths Day 24 (Dec 20) O Clavis David & The First Sin (Advent Meditation)

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