CATHERINE was a noble virgin of Alexandria. Before her baptism, it is said, she saw in vision the Blessed Virgin ask her Son to receive her among His servants, but the Divine Infant turned away. After baptism, Catherine saw the same vision, when Jesus Christ received her with great affection, and espoused her before the court of heaven. When the impious tyrant, Maximin II, came to Alexandria, fascinated by the wisdom, beauty, and wealth of the Saint, he in vain urged his suit. At last in his rage and disappointment he ordered her to be stripped and scourged. She fled to the Arabian mountains, where the soldiers overtook her, and after many torments put her to death. Her body was laid in Mount Sinai, and a beautiful legend relates that Catherine having prayed that no man might see or touch her body after death angels bore it to the grave.
REFLECTION: The constancy displayed by the Saints in their glorious martyrdom cannot be isolated from their previous lives, but is their natural sequence. If we wish to emulate their perseverance, let us first imitate their fidelity to grace.
WORD OF THE DAY
PRIVILEGE. A concession, more or less permanent, made against or beyond the law. The popes have granted privileges at least since the eighth century. They are acquired orally or in writing, by direct concession or by communication. Personal privileges are granted to a person; real privileges are attached to things. A personal privilege need not be used and is not lost by lack of use. A real privilege is lost by destruction of the object. Privileges are perpetual unless otherwise stated.
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!)
This article, NOVEMBER 25 – ST. CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA. is a post from The Bellarmine Forum.
https://bellarmineforum.org/november-25-st-catherine-of-alexandria/
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