Christian communities were established in Rome around a dozen years following Jesus’s death, and notably, they were not converts of the “Apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 15:20). At the time when Paul penned his pivotal letter in 57-58 A.D., he had not yet visited these communities.

Rome boasted a substantial Jewish population at the time. It’s likely that due to escalating disputes between Jews and Jewish Christians, Emperor Claudius decreed the expulsion of all Jews from Rome in 49-50 A.D. Historian Suetonius attributes this mass expulsion to unrest in the city instigated by a figure named “Chrestus,” a probable reference to Christ. It’s plausible that many returned to Rome following Claudius’s death in 54 A.D. Consequently, the Church to which Paul addressed his letter consisted of members with both Jewish and Gentile origins.

In July of 64 A.D., a devastating fire ravaged more than half of Rome. Rumors circulated that the Emperor Nero, who had plans to expand his palace, was responsible for the catastrophe. In an attempt to deflect blame, Nero accused the Christians. As historian Tacitus documented, numerous Christians faced execution due to perceived “hatred of the human race.” Among these victims were likely the apostles Peter and Paul.

Eventually, faced with the prospect of a military rebellion and having been sentenced to death by the senate, Nero committed suicide in 68 A.D., ending his life at the age of 31.

Photo credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Love uCATHOLIC?
Get our inspiring content delivered to your inbox every morning – FREE!







The post The First Martyrs of the Church of Rome appeared first on uCatholic.

Daily Reading

 

Daily Meditation

 

More...

The Word Among Us

Regnum Christi

One Bread, One Body

Evangeli

Living Faith

Simon Peter or Cephas, the first pope, Prince of the Apostles, and founder, with Saint Paul, of the see of Rome.

Peter was a native of Bethsaida, near Lake Tiberias, the son of John, and worked, like his brother St. Andrew, as a fisherman on Lake Genesareth. Andrew introduced Peter to Jesus, and Christ called Peter to become a disciple. In Luke is recounted the story that Peter caught so large an amount of fish that he fell down before the feet of Jesus and was told by the Lord, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men”.

Jesus also gave Simon a new name: Cephas, or the rock. Becoming a disciple of Jesus, Peter acknowledged him as “… the Messiah, the son of the living God”. Christ responded by saying: “… you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church…. He added: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”.

Peter was always listed as the first of the Apostles in all of the New Testament accounts and was a member of the inner circle of Jesus, with James and John. He is recorded more than any other disciple, and was at Jesus’ side at the Transfiguration, the raising of Jairus’ daughter, and the Agony of the Garden of Gethsemane. He helped organize the Last Supper and played a major role in the events of the Passion. When the Master was arrested, he cut off the right ear of a slave of the high priest Malchus and then denied Christ three times as the Lord predicted. Peter then “went out and began to weep bitterly”.

After the Resurrection, Peter went to the tomb with the “other disciple” after being told of the event by the women. The first appearance of the Risen Christ was before Peter, ahead of the other disciples, and when the Lord came before the disciples at Tiberias, he gave to Peter the famous command to “Feed my lambs…. Tend my sheep…. Feed my sheep”.

In the time immediately after the Ascension, Peter stood as the unquestionable head of the Apostles, his position made evident in the Acts. He appointed the replacement of Judas Iscariot; he spoke first to the crowds that had assembled after the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; he was the first Apostle to perform miracles in the name of the Lord; and he rendered judgment upon the deceitful Ananias and Sapphira.

Peter was instrumental in bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles. He baptized the Roman pagan Cornelius, and at the Council of Jerusalem he gave his support to preaching to Gentiles, thereby permitting the new Church to become universal. Imprisoned by King Herod Agrippa, he was aided in an escape by an angel. He then resumed his apostolate in Jerusalem and his missionary efforts included travels to such cities of the pagan world as Antioch, Corinth, and eventually Rome. He made reference to the Eternal City in his first Epistle by noting that he writes from Babylon .

It is certain that Peter died in Rome and that his martyrdom came during the reign of Emperor Nero, probably in 64. Testimony of his martyrdom is extensive, including Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea, St. Clement I of Rome, St. Ignatius, and St. Irenaeus. According to rich tradition, Peter was crucified on the Vatican Hill upside down because he declared himself unworthy to die in the same manner as the Lord. He was then buried on Vatican Hill, and excavations under St. Peter’s Basilica have unearthed his probable tomb, and his relics are now enshrined under the high altar of St. Peter’s.

From the earliest days of the Church, Peter was recognized as the Prince of the Apostles and the first Supreme Pontiff; his see, Rome, has thus enjoyed the position of primacy over the entire Catholic Church. While Peter’s chief feast day is June 29, he is also honored on February 22 and November 18. In liturgical art, he is depicted as an elderly man holding a key and a book. His symbols include an inverted cross, a boat, and the rooster.

Photo credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Love uCATHOLIC?
Get our inspiring content delivered to your inbox every morning – FREE!







The post Saint Peter appeared first on uCatholic.

Daily Reading

 

Daily Meditation

 

More...

The Word Among Us

Regnum Christi

One Bread, One Body

Evangeli

Living Faith

Saint Paul, the indefatigable Apostle of the Gentiles, was converted from Judaism on the road to Damascus. He remained some days in Damascus after his Baptism, and then went to Arabia, possibly for a year or two to prepare himself for his future missionary activity. Having returned to Damascus, he stayed there for a time, preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. For this he incurred the hatred of the Jews and had to flee from the city. He then went to Jerusalem to see Peter and pay his homage to the head of the Church.

Later he went back to his native Tarsus, where he began to evangelize his own province until called by Barnabus to Antioch. After one year, on the occasion of a famine, both Barnabus and Paul were sent with alms to the poor Christian community at Jerusalem. Having fulfilled their mission they returned to Antioch.

Soon after this, Paul and Barnabus made the first missionary journey, visiting the island of Cypress, then Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia, all in Asia Minor, and establishing churches at Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.

After the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem Paul, accompanied by Silas and later also by Timothy and Luke, made his second missionary journey, first revisiting the churches previously established by him in Asia Minor, and then passing through Galatia. At Troas a vision of a Macedonian was had by Paul, which impressed him as a call from God to evangelize in Macedonia. He accordingly sailed for Europe, and preached the Gospel in Philippi. Thessalonica, Beroea, Athens, and Corinth. Then he returned to Antioch by way of Ephesus and Jerusalem.

On his third missionary journey, Paul visited nearly the same regions as on the second trip, but made Ephesus where he remained nearly three years, the center of his missionary activity. He laid plans also for another missionary journey, intending to leave Jerusalem for Rome and Spain. Persecutions by the Jews hindered him from accomplishing his purpose. After two years of imprisonment at Caesarea he finally reached Rome, where he was kept another two years in chains.

The Acts of the Apostles gives us no further information on the life of the Apostle. We gather, however, from the Pastoral Epistles and from tradition that at the end of the two years St. Paul was released from his Roman imprisonment, and then traveled to Spain, later to the East again, and then back to Rome, where he was imprisoned a second time and in the year 67, was beheaded.

St. Paul untiring interest in and paternal affection for the churches established by him have given us fourteen canonical Epistles. It is, however, quite certain that he wrote other letters which are no longer extant. In his Epistles, St. Paul shows himself to be a profound religious thinker and he has had an enduring formative influence in the development of Christianity. The centuries only make more apparent his greatness of mind and spirit. His feast day is June 29th.

Photo credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Love uCATHOLIC?
Get our inspiring content delivered to your inbox every morning – FREE!






The post Saint Paul appeared first on uCatholic.

Daily Reading

 

Daily Meditation

 

More...

The Word Among Us

Regnum Christi

One Bread, One Body

Evangeli

Living Faith

The writings of Saint Irenaeus grant him a prominent position among the early Church fathers. Not only did his works establish the foundations of Christian theology, but they also played a crucial role in safeguarding the Catholic Faith by exposing and refuting the errors propagated by the Gnostics.

Saint Irenaeus was likely born around 125 AD in one of the coastal regions of Asia Minor. These areas held a strong connection to the apostles and were home to thriving Christian communities. He was greatly influenced by St. Polycarp, who had personal connections with the apostles or their immediate disciples.

Numerous Asian priests and missionaries brought the Gospel to the pagan Gauls, establishing a local church. Irenaeus joined the Church of Lyon and served as a priest under its first bishop, St. Pothinus, who hailed from the same Oriental background. In 177 AD, Irenaeus was sent to Rome, which spared him from sharing in the martyrdom of St. Pothinus during a brutal persecution in Lyons. Upon his return, he assumed the position of the vacant bishopric. By then, the persecution had subsided, but the spread of Gnosticism in Gaul and its devastating impact on Christians in his diocese compelled him to confront and expose its erroneous teachings.

Irenaeus authored a five-book treatise in Greek, swiftly translated into Latin, where he thoroughly expounded upon the inner doctrines of various Gnostic sects. He then contrasted their teachings with the apostolic tradition and the Holy Scripture. His work gained widespread circulation and effectively dealt a fatal blow to Gnosticism, eliminating it as a significant threat to the Catholic faith.

The exact date of Saint Irenaeus’s death is unknown, but it is believed to have occurred in the year 202 AD. His body was laid to rest in a crypt beneath the altar of the church initially known as St. John’s but later renamed after Saint Irenaeus himself. Sadly, this tomb or shrine was destroyed by Calvinists in 1562, and any trace of his relics seems to have been lost.

Photo credit: Morphart Creation / Shutterstock.com

Love uCATHOLIC?
Get our inspiring content delivered to your inbox every morning – FREE!







The post Saint Irenaeus appeared first on uCatholic.

Daily Reading

 

Daily Meditation

 

More...

The Word Among Us

Regnum Christi

One Bread, One Body

Evangeli

Living Faith

Saint Cyril was born at Alexandria, Egypt. He was nephew of the patriarch of that city, Theophilus. Cyril received a classical and theological education at Alexandria and was ordained by his uncle. He accompanied Theophilus to Constantinople in 403 and was present at the Synod of the Oak that deposed John Chrysostom, whom he believed guilty of the charges against him.

He succeeded his uncle Theophilus as patriarch of Alexandria on Theophilus’ death in 412, but only after a riot between Cyril’s supporters and the followers of his rival Timotheus. Cyril at once began a series of attacks against the Novatians, whose churches he closed; the Jews, whom he drove from the city; and governor Orestes, with whom he disagreed about some of his actions.

In 430 Cyril became embroiled with Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople, who was preaching that Mary was not the Mother of God since Christ was Divine and not human, and consequently she should not have the word theotokos (God-bearer) applied to her. He persuaded Pope Celestine I to convoke a synod at Rome, which condemned Nestorius, and then did the same at his own synod in Alexandria. Celestine directed Cyril to depose Nestorius, and in 431, Cyril presided over the third General Council at Ephesus, attended by some two hundred bishops, which condemned all the tenets of Nestorius and his followers before the arrival of Archbishop John of Antioch and forty-two followers who believed Nestorius was innocent.

When they found what had been done, they held a council of their own and deposed Cyril. Emperor Theodosius II arrested both Cyril and Nestorius but released Cyril on the arrival of Papal Legates who confirmed the council’s actions against Nestorius and declared Cyril innocent of all charges. Two years later, Archbishop John, representing the moderate Antiochene bishops, and Cyril reached an agreement and joined in the condemnation, and Nestorius was forced into exile.

During the rest of his life, Cyril wrote treatises that clarified the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation and that helped prevent Nestorianism and Pelagianism from taking long-term deep root in the Christian community. He was the most brilliant theologian of the Alexandrian tradition. His writings are characterized by accurate thinking, precise exposition, and great reasoning skills. Among his writings are commentaries on John, Luke, and the Pentateuch, treatises on dogmatic theology, and Apologia against Julian the Apostate, and letters and sermons.

He was declared a doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1882.

Editorial credit: Storm Is Me / Shutterstock.com

Love uCATHOLIC?
Get our inspiring content delivered to your inbox every morning – FREE!







The post Saint Cyril of Alexandria appeared first on uCatholic.

Daily Reading

 

Daily Meditation

 

More...

The Word Among Us

Regnum Christi

One Bread, One Body

Evangeli

Living Faith

Saint Josemaria Escriva, born as one among six children to Jose and Dolores Escriva, was a notable figure who suffered the loss of three siblings during infancy. His father was a modest businessman, and following the collapse of his business in 1915, the family relocated to Logroño, Spain. It was here, in his early years, that Josemaria stumbled upon the imprint of a monk’s bare footprints in the snow. The image struck a chord with him, kindling a deep-seated desire to pursue a religious vocation.

Subsequently, Josemaria committed himself to studying for the priesthood in Logroño and Zaragoza. However, the death of his father in 1924 added an extra burden to his shoulders, as he had to balance his academic pursuits with the responsibility of supporting his family. Despite these challenges, Josemaria was ordained in Zaragoza on March 28, 1925.

Following a brief assignment to a rural parish, Josemaria relocated to Zaragoza, and eventually to Madrid in 1927 to study law. This period marked a profound spiritual transformation for him, culminating in the founding of Opus Dei on October 2, 1928. This pioneering move opened up a new pathway for believers to find sanctification in their everyday lives through their work, personal, familial, and social responsibilities. His subsequent years were consumed by intense studying at the University of Madrid, teaching to support his family, ministering to the poor and sick, and laying the groundwork for Opus Dei.

The outbreak of religious persecution during the Spanish Civil War forced Josemaria into hiding, from where he discreetly ministered to his congregation. He managed to escape to Burgos, Spain by traversing the treacherous Pyrenees. Once the war concluded in 1939, he resumed his academic pursuits in Madrid, ultimately earning a doctorate in law, and becoming a retreat master for the laity, priests, and religious orders.

On February 14, 1943, Josemaria established the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, which was closely aligned with Opus Dei. Three years later, in 1946, he relocated to Rome, Italy, where he earned a doctorate in theology from the Lateran University. His accomplishments and dedication were recognized by the Vatican, which led to him becoming a consultant to two Vatican Congregations, an honorary member of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, and being named a prelate of honor by Pope Pius XII.

Following its approval by the Holy See on June 16, 1950, Josemaria dedicated himself to the expansion of Opus Dei. He frequently traveled across Europe and Latin America, and by the time of his death, the organization had established its presence across five continents, with over 60,000 members from 80 different nationalities. Today, Opus Dei boasts over 80,000 members, a majority of whom are laymen.

Editorial credit: jorisvo / Shutterstock.com

Love uCATHOLIC?
Get our inspiring content delivered to your inbox every morning – FREE!







The post Saint Josemaria Escriva appeared first on uCatholic.

Daily Reading

 

Daily Meditation

 

More...

The Word Among Us

Regnum Christi

One Bread, One Body

Evangeli

Living Faith

Saint William was born in Vercelli, a city of Lombardy, and lost his father and mother in his infancy and was brought up by a relative in great sentiments of piety. At fifteen years of age, having an earnest desire to lead a penitential life, he left his native region and made a long and austere pilgrimage to the shrine of the Virgin founded by Saint James at Saragossa. He would have made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but God made known to him that he was calling him to a solitary life, and he retired into the kingdom of Naples. There he chose for his abode an uninhabited mountain, and lived in perpetual contemplation and the exercises of rigorous penitential austerities.

After a miracle of healing wrought by his prayers, he was discovered and his contemplation interrupted, so he decided to move to another mountain, where he built a very beautiful church in honor of Our Lady. With several former secular priests who joined him there, in 1119 he began the establishment of the Congregation of Monte Vergine, or Mount of the Virgin. This site is between Nola and Benevento in the same kingdom of Naples. These sons of Our Lady lived in great austerity. Seeing the progress in holiness of the good religious being formed there, the devil sowed division and criticism; but God drew good from the evil when Saint William went elsewhere and founded several more monasteries, both for men and women, in various places in the kingdom of Naples. He assisted the king of Naples, who greatly venerated him, to practice all the Christian virtues of a worthy sovereign, and the king in gratitude had a house of the Order built at Salerno opposite his palace, to have him near him more often.

When Saint William died on the 25th of June, 1142, he had not yet written a Rule for his religious; his second successor, Robert, fearing the dissolution of a community without constitutions, placed them under that of Saint Benedict, and is regarded as the first abbot of the Benedictine Congregation of Monte-Vergine. A portrait of the Virgin venerated there has been an unfailing source of holy compunction; pilgrims continue to visit it.

Photo credit: Nheyob via Wikimedia Commons

Love uCATHOLIC?
Get our inspiring content delivered to your inbox every morning – FREE!







The post Saint William of Vercelli appeared first on uCatholic.

Daily Reading

 

Daily Meditation

 

More...

The Word Among Us

Regnum Christi

One Bread, One Body

Evangeli

Living Faith

The birth of Saint John the Baptist was foretold by an angel of the Lord to his father, Zachary, who was offering incense in the Temple. It was the office of St. John to prepare the way for Christ, and before he was born into the world he began to live for the Incarnate God. Even in the womb he knew the presence of Jesus and of Mary, and he leaped with joy at the glad coming of the son of man. In his youth he remained hidden, because He for Whom he waited was hidden also.

But before Christ’s public life began, a divine impulse led St. John into the desert; there, with locusts for his food and haircloth on his skin, in silence and in prayer, he chastened his own soul. Then, as crowds broke in upon his solitude, he warned them to flee from the wrath to come, and gave them the baptism of penance, while they confessed their sins. At last there stood in the crowd One Whom St. John did not know, till a voice within told him that it was his Lord. With the baptism of St. John, Christ began His penance for the sins of His people, and St. John saw the Holy Ghost descend in bodily form upon Him.

Then the Saint’s work was done. He had but to point his own disciples to the Lamb, he had but to decrease as Christ increased. He saw all men leave him and go after Christ. “I told you,” he said, “that I am not the Christ. The friend of the Bridegroom rejoiceth because of the Bridegroom’s voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled.” St. John had been cast into the fortress of Machærus by a worthless tyrant whose crimes be had rebuked, and he was to remain there till he was beheaded, at the will of a girl who danced before this wretched king. In this time of despair, if St. John could have known despair, some of his old disciples visited him. St. John did not speak to them of himself, but he sent them to Christ, that they might see the proofs of His mission. Then the Eternal Truth pronounced the panegyric of the Saint who had lived and breathed for Him alone: “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist”

Editorial credit: Renata Sedmakova / Shutterstock.com

Love uCATHOLIC?
Get our inspiring content delivered to your inbox every morning – FREE!







The post Solemnity Of The Nativity of John The Baptist appeared first on uCatholic.

Daily Reading

 

Daily Meditation

 

More...

The Word Among Us

Regnum Christi

One Bread, One Body

Evangeli

Living Faith

Around 640, there was an English princess named Ethelreda, but she was known as Audrey. She married once, but was widowed after three years, and it was said that the marriage was never consummated. She had taken a perpetual vow of virginity, but married again, this time for reasons of state. Her young husband soon grew tired of living as brother and sister and began to make advances on her. She continually refused. He eventually attempted to bribe the local bishop, Saint Wilfrid of York, to release Audrey from her vows.

Saint Wilfrid refused, and helped Audrey escape. She fled south, with her husband following. They reached a promontory known as Colbert’s Head, where a heaven sent seven day high tide separated the two. Eventually, Audrey’s husband left and married someone more willing, while Audrey took the veil, and founded the great abbey of Ely, where she lived an austere life.

She eventually died of an enormous and unsightly tumor on her neck, which she gratefully accepted as Divine retribution for all the necklaces she had worn in her early years. Throughout the Middle Ages, a festival, “St. Audrey’s Fair”, was held at Ely on her feast day. The exceptional shodiness of the merchandise, especially the neckerchiefs, contributed to the English language the word “tawdry”, a corruption of “Saint Audrey.”

Photo credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Love uCATHOLIC?
Get our inspiring content delivered to your inbox every morning – FREE!







The post Saint Ethelreda appeared first on uCatholic.

Daily Reading

 

Daily Meditation

 

More...

The Word Among Us

Regnum Christi

One Bread, One Body

Evangeli

Living Faith

Saint Thomas More is the patron Saint of politicians, statesmen, and lawyers. He was the son of John More, a prominent lawyer. As a boy he served as a page in the household of Archbishop Morton. He studied at Oxford, and the public affairs. In 1499 he determined to become a in public affairs. In 1499 he determined to become a monk and subjected himself to the discipline of the monk and subjected himself to the discipline of the Carthusians.

During his early manhood, he wrote comedies and spent much time in the study of Greek and Latin literature. One of his first works was a translation of a biography of Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494); he became a close friend with Desiderius Erasmus (ca. 1466-1536) and he, like them, became a great humanist.

More’s sense of obligation to active citizenship and statesmanship finally won out over his monastic inclinations.  He entered the parliament in 1504. In 1510, he was appointed undersheriff of London.

During the next decade, More attracted the attention of King Henry VIII, and served frequently on diplomatic missions to the Low Countries. In 1518 he became a member of the Privy Council; he was knighted in 1521.

Two years later, More was made Speaker of the House of Commons. As speaker of the House of Commons in 1523, More helped establish the parliamentary privilege of free speech.

He refused to endorse King Henry VIII’s plan to divorce Catherine of Aragon (1527) and marry Ann Boleyn. Nevertheless, after the fall of Thomas Wolsey in 1529, More became Lord Chancellor of England. He was the first layman to hold the post. His work in the law courts was exemplary, but he resigned in 1532, citing ill health and probably feeling that he could not in conscience serve a government that was interfering with the church.

Two years later he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for refusing to acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the Church of England. He was found guilty of treason, on evidence that was probably perjured.  He was beheaded on July 6, 1535 his last words being “”I die the king’s good servant, but God’s first.” St. Thomas More was canonized in 1935.

Photo credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Love uCATHOLIC?
Get our inspiring content delivered to your inbox every morning – FREE!







The post Saint Thomas More appeared first on uCatholic.

Daily Reading

 

Daily Meditation

 

More...

The Word Among Us

Regnum Christi

One Bread, One Body

Evangeli

Living Faith