WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:03.399 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 00:00:03.399 --> 00:00:11.900 of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We're still celebrating 00:00:11.900 --> 00:00:16.839 this profoundly beautiful, sweet, quiet feast 00:00:16.839 --> 00:00:20.579 of the entrance of the Theotokos into the temple. 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:24.500 The icon is in the middle of the church. This 00:00:24.500 --> 00:00:27.420 feast is about her dedication at the age of three. 00:00:28.670 --> 00:00:31.489 dedication by her parents to God in fulfillment 00:00:31.489 --> 00:00:35.590 of a promise. As parents, we make lots of promises 00:00:35.590 --> 00:00:38.109 to God, but we don't often fulfill them. But 00:00:38.109 --> 00:00:41.990 in this case, glory to God, and an amazing sacrifice 00:00:41.990 --> 00:00:45.369 on their part as well. I won't say more about 00:00:45.369 --> 00:00:47.909 this feast because we had it on Thursday, and 00:00:47.909 --> 00:00:50.350 we sang wonderful hymns last night, and we have 00:00:50.350 --> 00:00:53.969 a few more today. I want to spend a few moments 00:00:53.969 --> 00:00:57.509 now, rather, and briefly, I hope, Remembering 00:00:57.509 --> 00:01:00.770 one of the great saints of our church, I want 00:01:00.770 --> 00:01:03.289 to congratulate all those that bear the name, 00:01:03.329 --> 00:01:05.310 all the women in the parish that bear the name 00:01:05.310 --> 00:01:08.969 Catherine. After the great martyr Catherine, 00:01:09.170 --> 00:01:12.670 her fresco is over in the north aisle next to 00:01:12.670 --> 00:01:16.590 St. Irene, and there's a lovely icon here next 00:01:16.590 --> 00:01:23.290 to the Lord. Saints, our saints, are those whose 00:01:23.290 --> 00:01:28.189 lives are so transformed. Their hearts are so 00:01:28.189 --> 00:01:31.769 captivated with love of God and burning with 00:01:31.769 --> 00:01:35.890 love of God and for their neighbor that they 00:01:35.890 --> 00:01:43.730 are like God. A saint is not merely a kind or 00:01:43.730 --> 00:01:49.310 compassionate or churchly person. A saint is 00:01:49.310 --> 00:01:55.430 holy, and holiness comes from God. participation 00:01:55.430 --> 00:01:59.430 in holiness of God. They share that, they bear 00:01:59.430 --> 00:02:03.150 God. There's an old saying about the saints, 00:02:03.329 --> 00:02:07.790 so we don't get frustrated or discouraged when 00:02:07.790 --> 00:02:11.669 we read their lives, thinking that, well, that's 00:02:11.669 --> 00:02:15.330 them. The old saying is this, I think it's St. 00:02:15.389 --> 00:02:19.590 John Klimako said, everything in the life of 00:02:19.590 --> 00:02:25.180 a saint is worthy of admiration. But not all 00:02:25.180 --> 00:02:30.099 things are proper for emulation. We should keep 00:02:30.099 --> 00:02:33.819 those words in mind, especially today when we 00:02:33.819 --> 00:02:37.139 think about St. Catherine the Great Martyr. In 00:02:37.139 --> 00:02:40.460 our everyday lives, in our society, in our times, 00:02:40.539 --> 00:02:44.699 we have very little in common with the way she 00:02:44.699 --> 00:02:48.919 lived. Hardly anything, probably. She lived in 00:02:48.919 --> 00:02:53.300 the early 4th century. She was of noble lineage. 00:02:54.189 --> 00:02:59.250 Her father was a patrician. He had a place in 00:02:59.250 --> 00:03:02.990 the government, the imperial government. He was 00:03:02.990 --> 00:03:08.270 a pagan. Her mother was a secret Christian. She 00:03:08.270 --> 00:03:13.569 received the best possible education. You heard 00:03:13.569 --> 00:03:15.789 last night, I read part of it last night, so 00:03:15.789 --> 00:03:18.590 I won't go into all that again today. But the 00:03:18.590 --> 00:03:21.270 best possible education, philosophy and rhetoric 00:03:21.270 --> 00:03:24.990 and poetry and medicine and languages and mathematics, 00:03:25.330 --> 00:03:29.530 she was stunningly beautiful. She was virtuous. 00:03:29.930 --> 00:03:33.389 She was constantly courted for marriage, but 00:03:33.389 --> 00:03:37.909 had no desire for that. And when her mother tried 00:03:37.909 --> 00:03:42.000 to arrange something, she says, okay, but. this 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:47.060 person has to be of equal education, equal social 00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:54.159 status, and equal wisdom and beauty to me. I'll 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:58.740 mention something later about that, because that's 00:03:58.740 --> 00:04:01.020 an important thing to remember about how she 00:04:01.020 --> 00:04:05.800 became a Christian, how she met Christ. And it 00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:09.520 was only at the age of 18. And she was brought 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:12.370 before the authorities. So I'm skipping a whole 00:04:12.370 --> 00:04:15.930 section here. She was brought before the authorities 00:04:15.930 --> 00:04:19.629 when she confessed that she believed in the Lord 00:04:19.629 --> 00:04:23.529 Jesus Christ as the Savior. You know, imperial 00:04:23.529 --> 00:04:29.129 rhetoric, not rhetoric, imperial language about 00:04:29.129 --> 00:04:33.490 the emperor was that he was the Son of God, and 00:04:33.490 --> 00:04:37.490 he is the Savior, and he brings the gospel. These 00:04:37.490 --> 00:04:41.699 are all technical names. she would not possibly 00:04:41.699 --> 00:04:44.300 say the emperor is the savior and the son of 00:04:44.300 --> 00:04:49.079 God. She was brought before the emperor Maximinos, 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:52.199 maybe it was Maximian, not 100 % sure about the 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:57.279 name, who flattered her. He was taken by her 00:04:57.279 --> 00:05:02.060 beauty and by her wisdom, by her eloquence. He 00:05:02.060 --> 00:05:08.699 promised her wonderful things. Just make a sacrifice. 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:15.040 of some incense, and that's it. She spoke to 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:19.160 the emperor so boldly and so decisively and so 00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:22.459 eloquently about God, using language that he 00:05:22.459 --> 00:05:26.399 would know of the philosophers, the ancient philosophers, 00:05:26.819 --> 00:05:31.779 that he was speechless, it says. He was speechless. 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:35.540 He was captivated by that brilliance and her 00:05:35.540 --> 00:05:38.519 beauty and her courage, and he thought, OK, I 00:05:38.519 --> 00:05:42.160 can still win her for myself. She could be mine. 00:05:43.639 --> 00:05:50.839 And so he arranged that a debate would take place. 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:53.959 And he was sure she would lose and bow her head 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:58.579 and accept the philosophy and the paganism. So 00:05:58.579 --> 00:06:00.860 this is what it says in The Life of the Saint. 00:06:01.019 --> 00:06:03.939 It says, deciding it was below him to argue with 00:06:03.939 --> 00:06:06.870 a woman. The emperor announced that he would 00:06:06.870 --> 00:06:09.329 seek to convert Catherine back to paganism by 00:06:09.329 --> 00:06:13.350 means of 50 of the wisest, most cunning pagan 00:06:13.350 --> 00:06:16.709 philosophers and rhetoricians in the land. He 00:06:16.709 --> 00:06:20.310 summoned these learned men to Alexandria, where 00:06:20.310 --> 00:06:24.709 they assembled in the arena and prepared to defeat 00:06:24.709 --> 00:06:28.129 the maiden in a debate, addressing them using 00:06:28.129 --> 00:06:31.649 examples of their own philosophers, their own 00:06:31.649 --> 00:06:37.360 intellectual tradition. all 50 became silent. 00:06:38.139 --> 00:06:42.939 And somehow their hearts were touched and they 00:06:42.939 --> 00:06:47.000 were open to the Spirit of God. And as St. Paul 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:50.720 says, the preaching of the cross has made foolish 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:54.639 the wisdom of this world. And they all. All of 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:57.019 them, all 50, confessed their faith in Jesus 00:06:57.019 --> 00:07:00.060 Christ. Sorry, Richard Dawkins and Christopher 00:07:00.060 --> 00:07:03.899 Hitchens. All courageous 50 men whose hearts 00:07:03.899 --> 00:07:07.180 somehow became alight with the love of God then 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:13.819 endured martyrdom before her. Still unable to 00:07:13.819 --> 00:07:16.620 persuade the saint to change her mind, to renounce 00:07:16.620 --> 00:07:18.920 Jesus Christ, the emperor tried to entice her 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:21.319 with the promise of riches and fame. Of course, 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:24.360 he had all these at his disposal, and she categorically 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:28.579 refused. What is that to me when the Lord who 00:07:28.579 --> 00:07:32.800 has made heaven and earth and all things, visible 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:37.180 and invisible, will give me his kingdom? So she 00:07:37.180 --> 00:07:41.600 refused, and so began terrible tortures. and 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:45.439 imprisonment. The story about the, is it called 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:47.680 the Catherine Wheel with the spikes? Well, it 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.500 fell apart before she ever was tortured by it. 00:07:52.339 --> 00:07:55.680 And as these tortures and imprisonment continued, 00:07:56.040 --> 00:07:59.339 more and more and more people seen her courage 00:07:59.339 --> 00:08:03.519 and her faith and her love for God and her patience 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:08.800 and her fortitude were converted and she was 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:13.120 eventually beheaded. Again, St. Paul, if we are 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:18.079 children, then heirs, says St. Paul, heirs of 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:22.019 God, joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer 00:08:22.019 --> 00:08:25.180 with him, that we also may be glorified together. 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:28.480 For I consider that the sufferings of this present 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:32.460 time are not worthy to be compared with the glory 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:38.220 which shall be revealed in us. Our own Catherine 00:08:38.220 --> 00:08:42.299 de Carlo. in a wonderful essay, wrote this. She 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:44.899 said, St. Catherine always pointed the way to 00:08:44.899 --> 00:08:50.139 Christ. As a result, her faith and courage bore 00:08:50.139 --> 00:08:54.639 fruit, not only in her sanctity, her sainthood, 00:08:54.899 --> 00:08:58.580 but also in the sainthood of hundreds of others, 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:02.720 perhaps thousands, yes, around her, as she inspired 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:06.700 the Empress. the emperor's wife, the military 00:09:06.700 --> 00:09:10.139 gentle Porphyrius, who came with 200 guards, 00:09:10.440 --> 00:09:14.440 the 50 philosophers, and numerous other onlookers 00:09:14.440 --> 00:09:17.440 to her martyrdom to embrace Christ, paying the 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:21.879 ultimate price as testimony with their lives 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:26.620 to the resurrection. What does this have to do 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:30.029 with us? The times are so different. She was 00:09:30.029 --> 00:09:32.330 so different. Everything is different. The lives 00:09:32.330 --> 00:09:35.870 of the saints, however, are a reality check on 00:09:35.870 --> 00:09:39.529 our own faith, especially the martyrs, our own 00:09:39.529 --> 00:09:43.370 assumptions, our culture, our way of living as 00:09:43.370 --> 00:09:48.690 Christians, whom it is we seek first and what 00:09:48.690 --> 00:09:52.190 it is we seek first in our life. It's a reality 00:09:52.190 --> 00:09:57.029 check. From the viewpoint of the lives... Of 00:09:57.029 --> 00:09:59.830 the normal modern person, whatever normal is. 00:09:59.950 --> 00:10:04.370 What Catherine did was insane. She had youth. 00:10:04.789 --> 00:10:08.889 She had beauty. She had education. She had career. 00:10:09.210 --> 00:10:11.950 She enjoyed life. She had happiness. She had 00:10:11.950 --> 00:10:15.710 money. All gone. She gave it up. What kind of 00:10:15.710 --> 00:10:19.129 power motivates a martyr, a person to do that? 00:10:20.529 --> 00:10:25.309 No strength of conviction is going to help. Because 00:10:25.309 --> 00:10:31.090 all conviction disappears in the face of severe 00:10:31.090 --> 00:10:37.169 physical pain. You simply give in. St. Catherine 00:10:37.169 --> 00:10:40.950 acted in this way, not on strength of her conviction, 00:10:41.129 --> 00:10:45.909 the purity of her theological thought, but because 00:10:45.909 --> 00:10:54.009 she had had a deep... Real experience of communion 00:10:54.009 --> 00:10:59.950 with Jesus Christ. Christ was for her the only 00:10:59.950 --> 00:11:05.769 and the supreme value. He gave her, and she experienced 00:11:05.769 --> 00:11:09.210 this, peace, joy, happiness above all human well 00:11:09.210 --> 00:11:13.429 -being. Nothing would convince her to renounce 00:11:13.429 --> 00:11:16.470 Christ, the way, the truth, the life, and the 00:11:16.470 --> 00:11:20.500 resurrection. A martyr is the one who bears testimony 00:11:20.500 --> 00:11:24.000 to that resurrection. So what else have we learned 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:27.039 for ourselves in this brief account? Well, something 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:31.340 about the power of repentance. Because Catherine, 00:11:31.500 --> 00:11:39.740 when she met a holy elder, taken to see that 00:11:39.740 --> 00:11:43.600 elder by her mother, was introduced to Christ 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:48.279 and given an icon. She went home and prayed. 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:52.620 And she had this dream. Which the Theotokos holding 00:11:52.620 --> 00:11:58.200 Christ. Comes and says. Oh my son. Look at this 00:11:58.200 --> 00:12:03.059 beautiful woman. Educated. Lovely. Virtuous. 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:06.399 And in the dream she hears. Remember this is 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:11.220 a dream. She hears. She's ugly. I can't look 00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:16.299 upon her. She has sin and pride. And she wakes 00:12:16.299 --> 00:12:20.659 up and she has tears and she prays and she prays 00:12:20.659 --> 00:12:22.980 all night long. She goes back to the holy elder, 00:12:23.080 --> 00:12:27.779 Porphyrios. She's praying to God. This is her 00:12:27.779 --> 00:12:30.600 repentance and she has another vision, another 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:34.820 dream in which the Theotokos says, she is beautiful, 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:41.200 my son. And he says, yes, she is beautiful. This 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:46.720 is her repentance. We can learn from that. that 00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:50.659 we should not give up in our repentance. We should 00:12:50.659 --> 00:12:55.059 not give up whatever happens to us. We also learned 00:12:55.059 --> 00:12:57.559 that even Catherine, in her beauty and virtue 00:12:57.559 --> 00:13:00.620 and pride and social connections, learned in 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:05.759 that vision that all those things would not save 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:09.240 her, and she needed Christ. We should certainly 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:12.279 emulate her in that repentance. And we can emulate 00:13:12.279 --> 00:13:15.080 her in that fervent prayer all night long in 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:18.600 any way we can, desiring to meet Christ, to have 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:21.799 such an experience of the Lord that in the face 00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:27.539 of resistance, we would stand firm because we 00:13:27.539 --> 00:13:34.350 know God's love personally. We should... Finally, 00:13:34.350 --> 00:13:38.450 emulate her to not be enticed or captivated or 00:13:38.450 --> 00:13:44.450 distracted by the offers of riches or beauties 00:13:44.450 --> 00:13:47.490 or wealth or anything else in this fallen world. 00:13:48.210 --> 00:13:52.070 She placed all her hope on Christ who is risen 00:13:52.070 --> 00:13:55.169 from the dead. We can be inspired by this saint 00:13:55.169 --> 00:13:59.009 and indeed emulate her in so many ways. Through 00:13:59.009 --> 00:14:01.990 her prayers, may our Lord grant us this vision. 00:14:02.490 --> 00:14:08.029 His love and salvation and firmness in our faith. 00:14:08.250 --> 00:14:08.870 Amen.