WEBVTT 00:00:04.880 --> 00:00:10.439 I can tell you about a saint that liked that 00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:15.980 too. He's painted on our wall, this saint. Do 00:00:15.980 --> 00:00:18.480 any of you catch the name of the saint that the 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:23.519 choir sang about? What his name was? I'll tell 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:28.920 you. His name was Olypius. Do any of you know 00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:32.859 where this saint is painted on our wall? Adults, 00:00:32.859 --> 00:00:35.039 you can chime in too, because I have a feeling 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:41.119 that it's not well known. Well, we have, you 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:59.700 know where it is. And that's St. Simeon the Stylite. 00:01:00.359 --> 00:01:03.219 And over here we have St. David of Thessalonica. 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:07.540 He lived in a tree. He loved trees so much. And 00:01:07.540 --> 00:01:13.099 over here you have St. Olivia's. You see him. 00:01:13.159 --> 00:01:17.159 We're asking his prayers today to inspire us, 00:01:17.219 --> 00:01:21.099 to help us. And I'm asking his prayers so I could 00:01:21.099 --> 00:01:25.019 tell a little bit about his life. He was born 00:01:25.019 --> 00:01:29.709 about 1 ,500 years ago. And you might think, 00:01:29.769 --> 00:01:31.230 well, that's a long time ago. What's that have 00:01:31.230 --> 00:01:34.810 to do with us? Well, he was a Christian. His 00:01:34.810 --> 00:01:37.150 parents were Christians. He was born in the year 00:01:37.150 --> 00:01:41.189 522. You can tell me exactly how many years ago 00:01:41.189 --> 00:01:46.189 that was. I'll take you to In -N -Out after Christmas 00:01:46.189 --> 00:01:56.750 as a reward. His mother and his father were Christians. 00:01:56.890 --> 00:01:59.069 They were Orthodox Christians. They loved God. 00:01:59.109 --> 00:02:00.769 They went to liturgy just like what we have. 00:02:01.469 --> 00:02:05.569 A little bit different, but the same. His mother, 00:02:05.689 --> 00:02:08.830 I don't know her name, when she was asleep, she 00:02:08.830 --> 00:02:11.990 had a vision from an angel. And the angel showed 00:02:11.990 --> 00:02:15.810 her many, many people. And they were all coming 00:02:15.810 --> 00:02:19.530 to see her son, who was at that point in her 00:02:19.530 --> 00:02:22.550 vision, grown up. And she had another vision 00:02:22.550 --> 00:02:25.270 of a lamb. Well, actually it was a ram with his 00:02:25.270 --> 00:02:27.830 horns. And there were lambs hanging from it. 00:02:28.569 --> 00:02:32.870 And somehow she thought, that must be somehow 00:02:32.870 --> 00:02:35.870 my son. It's not clear what that means, but that 00:02:35.870 --> 00:02:40.889 was her vision. So he was born. And when he was 00:02:40.889 --> 00:02:45.069 three years old, his father died. And his mother 00:02:45.069 --> 00:02:50.050 said, I'm going to dedicate my son to God. I'm 00:02:50.050 --> 00:02:53.189 going to take him to the church. Just like we 00:02:53.189 --> 00:02:58.389 see Mary bringing Jesus to the temple. Just like 00:02:58.389 --> 00:03:02.250 we saw a couple days ago. The parents of the 00:03:02.250 --> 00:03:06.569 Virgin Mary bringing her to the temple. Dedicating 00:03:06.569 --> 00:03:09.509 the child to God. You have all been dedicated 00:03:09.509 --> 00:03:12.650 to God. Did you know that? You were baptized. 00:03:13.870 --> 00:03:18.689 You are a servant, a handmaid of God. Whatever 00:03:18.689 --> 00:03:22.639 you say. whatever you do, either sends glory 00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:29.300 to God or doesn't. Either makes you closer to 00:03:29.300 --> 00:03:33.439 God or doesn't. So you think about the things 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:35.879 you say and the things you do in your life, that 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:39.300 God has given you not only life, you have legs, 00:03:39.460 --> 00:03:41.439 you have feet, you have lungs, you have a heart, 00:03:41.500 --> 00:03:44.219 you have mind, a voice, and ears and eyes. He 00:03:44.219 --> 00:03:48.000 gave all of that to you. What an incredible thing. 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:53.860 We didn't earn it. But we also want all those 00:03:53.860 --> 00:03:56.800 things to be sanctified, to be dedicated to the 00:03:56.800 --> 00:04:00.240 love of God. Well, when he was about 15 years 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:03.020 old, when Olympias was 15 years old, his mother 00:04:03.020 --> 00:04:06.439 took him to a monastery and said to this bishop, 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:09.039 his name was Theodore. Now, this was in a place 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:13.360 called Adrianopolis in Paphlagonia. That doesn't 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:15.860 help you any, I know. But it's up there by the 00:04:15.860 --> 00:04:21.990 Black Sea. She took her son and she said, you 00:04:21.990 --> 00:04:25.509 take care of my son now. He loves God so much. 00:04:25.589 --> 00:04:29.670 He wants to be in the monastery. And this bishop, 00:04:29.730 --> 00:04:33.509 Theodore, he took charge of the boy, Olypius. 00:04:35.589 --> 00:04:38.430 He died and another bishop came. His name was 00:04:38.430 --> 00:04:43.370 also Theodore. Well, when Olypius was about, 00:04:43.509 --> 00:04:48.959 probably about 21 years old. He said to his mother, 00:04:49.139 --> 00:04:53.939 didn't tell anybody else. He said, my soul wants 00:04:53.939 --> 00:04:57.740 to go to the holy land. My soul wants to be in 00:04:57.740 --> 00:05:01.519 the holy places where Jesus was. And she said, 00:05:01.639 --> 00:05:05.139 go, my son. She didn't say, oh, you're leaving 00:05:05.139 --> 00:05:07.920 me, your mother, and I have nothing. You know, 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:11.579 she said, go, my son. She trusted God. This story 00:05:11.579 --> 00:05:14.600 about St. Olympias teaches us the first thing, 00:05:14.699 --> 00:05:18.949 trusting God. Trusting God. Putting our faith 00:05:18.949 --> 00:05:21.389 in God. When we love God, when we do his commandments, 00:05:21.610 --> 00:05:29.389 we can trust God. And so he went. Secretly. He 00:05:29.389 --> 00:05:31.689 didn't. Oh, by the way, he was made a deacon. 00:05:33.629 --> 00:05:37.850 And he was also put in charge of the parish. 00:05:38.970 --> 00:05:43.529 Like the counting of the contributions, the olive 00:05:43.529 --> 00:05:47.600 oil. Getting the wine, getting the candles. They 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:49.639 thought this man, the people in this parish loved 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:53.139 this boy so much. But he secretly left. The bishop 00:05:53.139 --> 00:05:55.220 heard about it. What do you think he did? He 00:05:55.220 --> 00:05:59.939 got on a horse and he chased him. And he found 00:05:59.939 --> 00:06:04.759 him not too far. And he said, you have to come 00:06:04.759 --> 00:06:08.300 back. The people love you so much. And Olympias 00:06:08.300 --> 00:06:11.879 was very humble. He went back with the bishop. 00:06:13.610 --> 00:06:17.269 And everybody rejoiced. Then Olympia said, I 00:06:17.269 --> 00:06:20.629 have to find a holy place. And he had a vision, 00:06:20.670 --> 00:06:24.829 too, from an angel in his dream. But probably 00:06:24.829 --> 00:06:27.470 it wasn't a dream. It was a vision. And the vision 00:06:27.470 --> 00:06:32.029 said, you can go to the holy land. You can be 00:06:32.029 --> 00:06:35.509 in the holy place where Jesus Christ is, where 00:06:35.509 --> 00:06:41.069 he was. That's your heart. Wherever you are when 00:06:41.069 --> 00:06:44.439 you carry Jesus with you. That's the holy land. 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:48.540 That's the holy place. Because the kingdom of 00:06:48.540 --> 00:06:53.600 God is within us. So he didn't worry anymore. 00:06:54.600 --> 00:06:56.879 But he thought, I have to find a place to pray. 00:06:57.019 --> 00:07:00.240 A quiet place. So imagine Santa Rosa. We have 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:04.759 the church here. And he thought, I'll go up to 00:07:04.759 --> 00:07:09.079 Mount Taylor. And I'll find a secret place. And 00:07:09.079 --> 00:07:11.639 so he went up there. Except it was a little bit 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:17.800 farther away. let's say, as far as Mount Tamalpais. 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:21.660 And he thought, oh, I can't live without water, 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:24.420 so he's digging. He spends all day digging, looking 00:07:24.420 --> 00:07:28.579 for water to dig a well. And he's exhausted. 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:32.339 He falls asleep. Guess what happens? Vision? 00:07:32.620 --> 00:07:37.100 He has a vision. An angel says to him, dummy, 00:07:37.259 --> 00:07:41.120 you're digging in the wrong place. That's not 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:44.139 the first time he gets called a name. And the 00:07:44.139 --> 00:07:46.740 angel said, don't dig there. Dig in this other 00:07:46.740 --> 00:07:50.259 place. And so he digs. And water comes out. And 00:07:50.259 --> 00:07:54.860 there's a fresh spring coming. And he tells the 00:07:54.860 --> 00:07:56.620 bishop. And the bishop says, oh, that's wonderful. 00:07:56.800 --> 00:07:58.339 You can have your place. And the bishop's thinking, 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:02.519 that's not wonderful. He's too far away. So the 00:08:02.519 --> 00:08:08.720 bishop, true, sends somebody when Olypius is 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:15.500 not there to cover up the spring. He does. And 00:08:15.500 --> 00:08:19.279 Olympias thinks, well, I can't be here. And so 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:23.620 he goes back to the city near the church. And 00:08:23.620 --> 00:08:27.339 when he is near the church, there is an old cemetery 00:08:27.339 --> 00:08:31.519 that belonged to pagans. And they had pagan sacrifices 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:34.179 there. And they were praying to the demons. And 00:08:34.179 --> 00:08:36.000 it was a very scary place. And there were many 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:40.000 demons. Nobody went into that cemetery. And Olympias 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:43.820 thought, That's where I'm going to go. And his 00:08:43.820 --> 00:08:47.580 friend said, you're crazy. They said that. It's 00:08:47.580 --> 00:08:49.820 in the story. It says, you're crazy. We're not 00:08:49.820 --> 00:08:52.639 going with you. And so he goes into the cemetery. 00:08:52.860 --> 00:08:56.360 And what does he find? He finds a big, really 00:08:56.360 --> 00:09:00.220 big, bigger than I am, pillar. A column. You 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:03.320 see the picture of him up there. It must have 00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:05.039 been bigger than that. In fact, that one is a 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:08.580 stairway going into it. And he climbs up there. 00:09:09.179 --> 00:09:14.529 And there's a... statue of a half lion, half 00:09:14.529 --> 00:09:19.370 bear from before. He goes to the column and he 00:09:19.370 --> 00:09:21.889 embraces the column. He puts his arms around 00:09:21.889 --> 00:09:24.730 the column. He says, this is the stone which 00:09:24.730 --> 00:09:27.950 the builders rejected. It has become the cornerstone. 00:09:28.250 --> 00:09:31.970 This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in 00:09:31.970 --> 00:09:36.409 our lives. And he hugged the column. He says, 00:09:36.409 --> 00:09:40.159 this is where I will be. And he got across. And 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:43.019 he got an icon, and he went up to the top, and 00:09:43.019 --> 00:09:46.259 he had a crowbar, and he knocked the lion bear 00:09:46.259 --> 00:09:51.179 off. And he went back down, and he built himself 00:09:51.179 --> 00:09:56.000 a little hut. And people came to him. You might 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:00.000 think, this is a strange man. He goes away, then 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:02.299 he tries to go to a mountain, and then he goes 00:10:02.299 --> 00:10:05.419 into a cemetery, and there's many demons, and 00:10:05.419 --> 00:10:08.659 the demons are afraid of him, and they all scatter. 00:10:09.259 --> 00:10:12.519 They throw rocks at him, but it doesn't bother 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:16.879 him. He says, the holy martyr Stephen suffered 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:19.440 from being stoned. If that's the way I'm going 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:21.720 to die, that's okay. But he didn't. They were 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:24.120 afraid of him and they all ran away. And he built 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:29.500 a little hut. And people came. And they were 00:10:29.500 --> 00:10:34.320 healed of diseases. People came. And he gave 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:38.960 them money because a monastery for women. Grew 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:42.240 up here. And a monastery for men. Grew up over 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:47.360 there. And people gave funds for charity. And 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:51.960 then one day, he decided, I'm not going to live 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:54.639 down here anymore. I'm going to live on top. 00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:59.019 And he climbed the pillar. And he built a little 00:10:59.019 --> 00:11:05.480 hut. And he stood in prayer on his pillar. Day 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:09.519 and night. Day and night. Day and night. And 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:13.039 people could see him sometimes at night. He was 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:17.120 shining as bright as a star. As bright as the 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:21.279 sun. Because his love for Christ was so great. 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:25.039 His heart was so pure. He had fasted. He had 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:28.720 prayed. He had given alms. Guess what? He is 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:31.639 a saint not because he went up on the pillar. 00:11:31.820 --> 00:11:34.580 But because he followed the commandments of Christ. 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:38.899 You can fast a little bit. We're done with Thanksgiving 00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:43.379 now. Now we're back into the fast. Now it's more 00:11:43.379 --> 00:11:46.580 serious for us. You can do works of charity. 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:49.220 You could give something away. You probably have 00:11:49.220 --> 00:11:50.899 lots of toys, lots of clothes you don't even 00:11:50.899 --> 00:11:55.399 use. You can give it to the poor. And you can 00:11:55.399 --> 00:11:58.600 pray. You can come to church. You can pray to 00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:06.240 God. Mostly, you can trust in God. One day, Olympias... 00:12:06.620 --> 00:12:10.039 sent his mother to the city to get some food 00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:15.919 for the monasteries down here. And she came back, 00:12:15.980 --> 00:12:18.559 and he noticed. He could see her. She's standing 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:20.399 on those pillars way down there. She's coming 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:26.740 back. She had nothing. She had no food, and she 00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:30.059 had less clothes than when she started. And he 00:12:30.059 --> 00:12:32.419 said, Mother, what happened? What happened? She 00:12:32.419 --> 00:12:35.820 said, Well, there were many poor people. And 00:12:35.820 --> 00:12:38.299 I gave away all the money, and I gave away all 00:12:38.299 --> 00:12:40.720 the food, and I gave away some of my clothes. 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:45.679 And he said, Mother, God has blessed you. He 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:48.340 didn't worry about what he was going to eat. 00:12:48.899 --> 00:12:51.100 Jesus said, Why are you worried about that? Seek 00:12:51.100 --> 00:12:55.019 the kingdom of God first. This man does something 00:12:55.019 --> 00:12:57.620 that we're not going to do. We're not going to 00:12:57.620 --> 00:12:59.820 climb up a pillar. Maybe one of you will do that. 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:04.100 I don't know. It'd be strange, but it'd be wonderful. 00:13:04.970 --> 00:13:10.570 But he trusted in God, in God's loving providence. 00:13:10.610 --> 00:13:14.990 And God showered him with gifts of healing and 00:13:14.990 --> 00:13:18.309 wisdom so people could come to him and he could 00:13:18.309 --> 00:13:22.149 give them comfort. His heart was changed. He 00:13:22.149 --> 00:13:25.110 became like Christ. You know how long he lived 00:13:25.110 --> 00:13:31.590 on his pillar? 50 years. The last 14 years of 00:13:31.590 --> 00:13:34.700 his life. He was very sick. Obviously, he was 00:13:34.700 --> 00:13:37.820 outside all the time. And he was paralyzed, and 00:13:37.820 --> 00:13:42.440 he could only lie down. And he died, and he was 00:13:42.440 --> 00:13:47.399 buried, and people rejoiced that they had a saint 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:52.299 in heaven interceding for them. He followed a 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:56.240 way that is very difficult, but his heart was 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:59.090 on fire. Fire with love for God. And this is 00:13:59.090 --> 00:14:02.029 what he had to do. And he obviously loved climbing 00:14:02.029 --> 00:14:07.230 rocks too. That's St. Olypius the Stylite. When 00:14:07.230 --> 00:14:10.929 you come into church now, you will see him. And 00:14:10.929 --> 00:14:14.350 you will come to church every year on November 00:14:14.350 --> 00:14:18.549 the 26th. And you'll remember his name. Olypius. 00:14:18.690 --> 00:14:20.929 Pray to God for us. Amen.