Hagiography: Reading, Studying, and Writing the Lives of the Saints

Reading the Lives of the Saints

Introduction

There is a general conversion, life, and apostolic pattern by which Saints have been molded by the Holy Spirit in the history of the Church. Though few are gifted with spiritual maturity at a very young age (like St. Catherine of Siena, St. Dominic Savio, and St. Carlo Acutis), many started lives that were worldly or sinful (such as St. Camillus de Lellis, St. Mary of Egypt, St. Olga, and St. Patrick). But, after a conversion experience of encountering God, they changed their way of life from a direction that does not acknowledge God as the center of their life to one that does, with some really remarkably heroic. Their lives suddenly (as in the conversion of St. Paul the Apostle) or gradually (as many of the hermits and cenobites did in the desert of Egypt) became rooted in the love of Christ and the Catholic Church. Their conversion experience of encountering Christ was an important turning point that is often unforgettable. It was that experience that led them to begin a spiritual journey: a greater love of the Scriptures, the Sacraments, and the members of the Church, especially the sick, the poor, the uneducated, and the homeless.

The study of the lives of the Saints is called hagiography. Two definitions in Microsoft Encarta Dictionary define hagiography as: [1] biography dealing with the lives of saints; and [2] biography that shows undue reverence. In "A Dictionary of Difficult Words", hagiographa means O.T. Hebrew Scriptures excluding Law and Prophets, while hagiographer or hagiographist is a writer of saints' lives. It defines hagiology as the study or writing of saints' lives.

In the early Christian centuries, it was the monks of monastic orders who studied the lives of the Saints; many of them were hagiographers. But now, in the modern age, scholars make analytical studies of the Saints' lives, with a few who use the social sciences, such as depth psychology (as in the study of the life of St. Benedict of Nursia by Anselm Grün, OSB). These scholars consider socio-historical and modern psychological methods as tools to understand extraordinary spiritual phenomena, or literary form analysis to study the Saints' mystical writings.

In the stories of the Saints, especially those that have been written traditionally, one should note that many of these were written for pious purposes (to cultivate faith in their readers). This is why some stories of the Saints are judged by modern scholars as having no historical basis in fact. Those with more pious minds can easily relate to these stories, but those with more scientific minds can have a healthy skepticism of such stories. However, whether one is religiously or scientifically inclined, the best approach to these stories is to balance one's understanding. This means including a pious understanding as well as a social scientist's contextual worldview to know both the unique spiritual gifts of the Saint as a person and the socio-historical era in which the Saint lived and completed his mission in imitation of Christ.

In our present civilization, which has undergone many industrial revolutions, we are called to also understand the pious context of Medieval Christianity with an educated faith and reason that gives space also for the mystery and the spiritual powers of a Saint whose soul was truly gifted by God. Even in this age of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), there is still so much to know and still cannot be known (as ML and AI have not fathomed the entire universe yet and its boundaries, nor the elements of time, history, nor the depths of the human soul/psyche). Science and religious mystery are both gifts God gives to humanity so that mankind can live a balanced and sane life. The spiritual, as well as the material, have been in mankind since the beginning of its consciousness, up to now. Miracles happened in the past. They also happen now, in unassumingly simple acts of faith and hope. And they will continue to happen in the future, in small deeds of reconciliation and in big events such as the Miracle of the Sun in Fatima. Other examples of miracles in the past are the stigmata of St. Pio of Pietrelcina (died 1968 A.D.) and St. Francis of Assisi. Also beyond the ordinary are the aerial flights of St. Joseph of Cupertino and the bilocations of St. Martin de Porres (whose feast was celebrated November 3). And not to mention the countless Saints (canonized or not canonized), who have been the sources of many healings, exorcisms, and conversions.

But it is not the Saints' miracles that are primary for Christians, especially Catholics, to have faith in God. It is the way they lived the charity and mercy of Christ in their lives that is more important. The Saints' miracles are only supplementary to the miracle, and the mystery of God Himself incarnate in the Person of His Son Christ Jesus. What each of the faithful is called to believe is that each and every one of the Saints has exemplified a pattern of prayer, or ministry, which Christ Himself first did - as recorded in the gospels. The Saints applied Christ's manner of praying and mission according to the particular historical period and culture in which they lived. Some Saints have been gifted with extraordinary spiritual gifts because they were to be God's instruments for healing the sick, and instruments for performing miracles and supernatural wonders that the unbelievers may have faith in Christ. But one's attention must go beyond those seemingly impossible feats that a saint can do, and look deep within the Saint's work and writings to discover a God who made that saint's life story the "face", the "body", the "hands", and the "feet" of Jesus for his or her time, or country (like Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who was from Albania and ministered to the poorest of the poor in India). God calls the Saints in order that the Church may grow in faith and charity, not only for their particular historical period, but for all time. They embody "Jesus" for the whole Church, the world, and for a universal purpose.

Common life patterns among the lives of the saints

Every saint has his or her own unique story, but in reading, studying, and writing about each one's life and history, one will discover the following common elements:

• 1. a conversion experience where there is a turning away from a life of vice or sin;
• 2. a period of intense prayer and solitude accompanied often by a withdrawal from a worldly way of life;
• 3. a period of intense apostolic activity that involves great works of charity to a heroic degree - with some performing miracles and wonders;
• 4. experiences of persecution and suffering as a result of this apostolic work;
• 5. death by sickness, consumption, exhaustion due to penances or martyrdom

1. Conversion experience

There are inspiring conversion stories that make the Catholic Church's history of Christian heroes very interesting. Think of St. Francis of Assisi, who went home sick from battle with a fever. After his terrible fever, he suddenly changed his behavior to become the Poverello of Assisi. Think also of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who was a soldier engaged in battle and then hit by a cannonball in his right knee. While convalescing in the castle of his family, he was given Thomas a Kempis's "The Imitation of Christ" and a volume of Voraigne's life of the Saints. From then on, he resolved to turn away from his earthly soldier life to become a spiritual soldier of Christ the King. Think also of St. Augustine of Hippo. Consider how he turned away from his pursuit of worldly wisdom and his life of unchastity to a life in Christ, inspired by the leadership of St. Ambrose and the incessant prayers of his mother, St. Monica. Not to forget the story of St. Teresa of Avila, who began as a 'worldly' religious before she became a reformer of her Carmelite Order. Also consider St. Thomas a Becket, who was fond of wine, women, and song, before he took his appointment seriously as Archbishop of Canterbury. From then on, he lived an austere monastic life and often wore a hairshirt for penance.

2. Prayer, solitude, withdrawal from the busy world

St. Benedict of Nursia is reported to have entered a cave in Subiaco to live a life of solitude and prayer. St. Ignatius of Loyola also entered a cave in Manresa, where he discovered the movements of the Holy Spirit in his soul and wrote a book for discerning the movements of the spirit in the spiritual life. Then there is St. Anthony Abbot, a.k.a. St. Anthony of the Desert. He entered an empty castle for 20 years, and then, after emerging from the castle, people exclaimed how he had not changed a bit in those 20 years, and still looked like what he was before he entered. The only difference was that he produced such a remarkable calm and equanimity in his soul that could not be disturbed by the noises around him.

After an intense period of prayer and withdrawing from the world, some Saints attracted others to their way of life and prayer. These Saints founded communities that also valued the way of life, prayer, and work that these Saints did. They formed communities in the desert or on the top of hills and mountains.

3. Apostolic and missionary activity

After encountering God, withdrawing into solitude, and learning to be in union with Him in prayer and work, the majority of these saints returned to the world with a remarkable zeal and burst of energy to evangelize others. St. Ignatius of Loyola founded the Jesuit Order for the purpose of Catholic education. St. Benedict of Nursia founded the great monasteries of Europe that influenced many to follow his Rule up to now. St. Francis of Paola, the wonder-worker hermit, also founded an association of hermits called Minims. St. Teresa of Avila was a zealous reformer of the Carmelite Order.

4. Experiences of persecution and suffering

As a result of their zealous works, some of these saints had political conflicts with the Church's authorities or with the members of their own religious communities. St. Ignatius of Loyola was put under the Inquisition due to what he wrote in his book, "The Spiritual Exercises". It was a new charism (discernment) and not yet part of the mainline tradition of the Church. St. Teresa of Avila also suffered the rebukes from some Church authorities because she wanted to improve the spirit of her Order, making it stricter. Other saints suffered in different ways. St. Alphonsus Liguori was expelled as the superior general of the congregation he himself founded! St. John of the Cross was imprisoned by his own community of brothers! These stories attest to the fact that as these Saints chose Christ, they also shared in the Cross of Christ in their lives.

5. Death

The martyrology of the Church gives witness to the gift of courage and fortitude that many of these Saints have shown. Although martyrdom is the best witness to Christ, the majority of the saints simply suffered by patiently enduring whatever opposition or sickness they received from preaching the gospel in their apostolic work and life. The deaths of many of these saints were remarkable. Those who were martyred were unbelievable examples of great Christian courage. People rushed to grab the bones of these early Christian martyrs because they believed that those relics had the power of God in them to heal and to grant intercession.

The common life pattern we see in the lives of the saints is a testament to the truth that they have followed faithfully the life and mission of Jesus. The faithful are called to respect and pay reverence to them because they help all see what was important in Christian life and witness in the era in which they lived. As one reads more and more into the lives and biographies of these Saints, you will discover how each one particularly emphasized a charism of Jesus that is needed for their specific generation, for the historical period, and culture in which they were called to embody the values of the gospel.

With the exception of St. Carlo Acutis, all the Saints mentioned above were classic; they are the ones really quoted by many spiritual writings, including the Catechism. However, since the Industrial Revolution began, and more cities and areas were urbanized, the roster of those canonized at the Vatican does not begin their conversion anymore by going to the desert or going into seclusion in mountain caves. Rather, they began with what the modern world is familiar with: secular pursuits. Their pre-conversion lives were simply secular with little, or no faith, rather than one that is seriously sinful. And they are rooted instead in ordinary professions, academic pursuits, and civic or religious duties.

One remarkable example of a Saint of this description is Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, or St. Edith Stein. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross is St. Edith Stein's Carmelite name. Because of the greatness of her witness in terms of intellect and martyrdom, she is included in the roster of the patron Saints of Europe, together with St. Cyril and St. Methodius, St. Benedict of Nursia, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Bridget of Sweden.

• St. Cyril, c. 825-884 A.D., feast day February 14
• St. Methodius, c. 826-884 A.D., feast day February 14
• St. Benedict of Nursia, c. 480-c. 547 A.D., feast day July 11
• St. Catherine of Siena, 1347-1380 A.D., feast day April 29
• St. Bridget of Sweden, 1303-1373 A.D., feast day July 23
• St. Edith Stein, 1891-1942 A.D., feast day August 9

St. Edith Stein is being petitioned by her Carmelite Order for the title of Doctor of the Church (a recognized "teacher" of Catholic doctrine). One of her writings, "On the Problem of Empathy", may interest today's professionals and businesspeople, whose work involves Artificial Intelligence (AI). As acknowledged by many modern studies, empathy is a human skill used in professional/business management teams and is more valued than AI, because AI, at this time of its rapid progress, still cannot automate or replace empathy in people.

30th Sunday of the Year (A)

Sunday reflections for October 25, 2026: Edited from the year 2014 (A)

October 26, 2014
Liturgical readings
Exodus 22:20-25
Psalm 18
1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10
Matthew 22:34-40

"The second is like the first: love your neighbor as yourself."

This Sunday's gospel passage has two parallels in Mark 12:28-34 and Luke 10:25-28. There is only a slight difference in the repetition of "with your whole" text-phrase between those three gospel parallels.

The three synoptic passages all present the great commandment, which is rooted in the Shema Israel found in the OT. In Matthew, the text-phrase is presented as:

"You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

Matthew's list to love God mentions "your whole heart...soul...and mind" in succession. Mark and Luke have different sequences in their versions. Mark lists "heart...soul...mind...and strength", and Luke lists "heart...soul...strength...and mind" (Revised Standard Version 1952). All three gospel passages also use the phrase "your neighbor as yourself", but Luke's version in the RSV translation does not include the word love. Do these seemingly small differences mean anything? Maybe, if studied more deeply by Scripture specialists. However, what is more known is that each of the evangelists write specifically for his target audience, with Matthew writing to Jews who converted to the Christian faith.

Returning to the gospel passage in Matthew, and mentioning the Shema, which means "Hear", that reference from the Old Testament is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5,

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." (RSV 1973)

What was the original biblical Greek word used by the evangelist Matthew for the word "love"?

The word used is agape. Agape is the noun form. The root verb of agape is agapao. The conjugated verb form is agapeseis.

The noun form agape means self-giving love. Agape as self-giving love is distinct from eros, storge, and philia, which are also Greek words for love. Christian writer C.S. Lewis wrote a book entitled "The Four Loves" that explains in detail the nuances between those terms.

So if the nuance used for love in the gospel means self-giving love, then it is the love Christ Himself taught not only by word, but by His person, entire life, and ministry. It is a self-giving love that heals the sick, resurrects the dead back to life, defends the woman caught in adultery from condemnation and gives her a new beginning, washes the feet of His apostles, and sacrifices His life on the Cross for the salvation of the world. This is the love that is also found in the Eucharist, which is the highest form of prayer and gratitude for Christ's self-giving love to all people. Christ is the example par excellence of this love, which all Christians are called to practice. We are all called to practice that love by virtue of our baptismal consecration. The martyrs and the Saints are the chosen few who exemplified this Christian love to a heroic degree.

Returning again to the gospel, we find the lawyer from the group of Pharisees and Sadducees testing Jesus. When Jesus stated the summary of the Law and the teaching of the Prophets by His twofold counsel, He gave a new meaning to the concept of love the Pharisees knew. Christ taught a love greater than one that is based only on the letter of the Jewish Law. He raised the meaning of love to the "spirit of the Law" - a justice that is qualified by mercy. God's self-giving love above the Jewish Law.

From the dusty roads of biblical Palestine, to the Cross at Golgotha, to the empty tomb and the Resurrection appearances to all His followers; at the Mount of the Ascension, to the cenacle at Pentecost, that self-giving love of Christ was poured out to the apostolic community which then poured out to the world of Jews and Gentiles: beginning at Jerusalem, to many areas of the Roman Empire, and to Europe through the early Irish monks and the Benedictines, to the Catholic universities of the Middle Ages, and the New World missions spearheaded by intrepid Jesuit missions to India, China, and the Americas.

This concept of agape, is a concept distinct from the modern world's concept of love. Agape love is the love celebrated in the Eucharist. It is a love that binds all Christians to each other in God for the mission of extending it to all humanity.

What is the love the world presents? In itself, it is not evil. But that love can be abused, distorted, and uprooted from the context in which it ought to behave according to universal norms and the teaching of the Catholic Church. The youth are often influenced by the expression of that love they see in the media. Without guidance some of the youth can get disoriented, distracted, and directed into paths that end up in destructive and self-destructive behaviours. That is why the Church is keen on presenting love in the Christian context, to guide the youth back to a more unitive and communitarian love.

If one looks back to the Classics, sometime in the 17th to the 18th century in France, you can discover a bishop in Geneva named St. Francis de Sales. St. Francis de Sales taught the counsel of love for all Catholics of all walks of life: from soldiers to craftsmen, to princes and servants; to the widowed, married, and single. All Christians. He wrote those counsels for everyone in his book "Introduction to the Devout Life". This book earned him the reputation of "Doctor of the love of God and neighbor".

According to St. Francis de Sales, loving God means a strong resolve to follow His commandments, counsels, and inspirations. And the first step to practice this love is to purge oneself from sin, especially the desire to sin and the avoidance of occasions of sin. One has to resist all temptations and all situations which can lead to vice and sin. And the strength to do so comes from God through prayer and the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). This direction obtains the graces necessary to put to right your relationship with God, with others, and yourself.

From the teaching of Christ to the counsels of St. Francis de Sales, the Christian message of love remains true for all time. It is rooted in God's Word as it is heard in every homily of the Sunday Eucharist. Sunday Mass helps all Catholics to purify their love. Love that does not have its source and end in God can lead to evil. It has to be rooted in the meaning, value, and actions of Christ and His gospel.

That is why the Church perseveres in her mission to bring the counsel to love by Jesus to everyone. And as each one receives and embodies that love of God, that love can, in God's time, bridge individuals and communities, and heal the world from its direction towards vice, sin, destruction, and self-destruction.

Love from God can do miracles. It restores "bridges that were burned" by conflicts and irreconcilable differences.

Scripture quote:
"I love you, O Lord, my strength, O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer." (Psalm 18)
"You shall not wrong any widow or orphan." (Exodus 22)
"If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him." (Exodus 22)

The Four Loves, by C.S. Lewis

29th Sunday of the Year (A)

Edited Sunday reflections: From liturgical year 2014 (A)

October 19, 2014
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 45:1, 4-6
Psalm 96
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b
Matthew 22:15-21

"Lord, we know you teach God's way sincerely."

Although the Pharisees and the Herodians said this statement in bad faith, "Lord, we know you teach God's way sincerely," the Lord used it as a wedge to teach the wisdom of God. And God's wisdom sometimes presents a solution that eliminates any conflict of interest, in this case between paying taxes to the Roman emperor or not.

The Hebraic Law, which the Pharisees uphold, emphasizes the following of numerous and complex legalities. And much of the ministry and apostolic works Jesus performed went against many of them. So the Pharisees always sought occasions to trap the Lord in His speech. This Sunday's gospel presents one such occasion.

We read in the gospel how the Pharisees asked Jesus: "Is it lawful to pay tax to the emperor or not"? Jesus gave a simple solution. He did not quote any law of the Roman Empire nor any law of their Jewish religion to solve the conflict of interest. This would only complicate the matter all the more. So He simply asked for a coin used to pay the taxes. This coin is a concrete object with text and an image inscribed on it that everyone can see plainly. Then Jesus questioned the Pharisees: "Whose head is this inscription"? When the group of Pharisees and Herodians answered, "Caesar's", the Lord replied:

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, but give to God what is God's."

Jesus teaches from a perspective and a context that is beyond the worldly understanding of the Pharisees and the Herodians of His time. He preached about God's Kingdom and its spiritual treasures. And He taught about this Kingdom and its treasures to the people in a format they were all familiar with: like the previous Sundays' parables. Those parables describe familiar situations:

• a father with a vineyard and two sons (26th Sunday of the Year),
• a father with a vineyard who sent his son to obtain the harvest where the tenants worked for pay (27th Sunday of the Year),
• and a father-king who organized a wedding feast for his son and invited both those who have and those who have not (28th Sunday of the Year).

The people naturally listened more to Jesus because He spoke about family, vineyards, tenants, kings, and servants. Plain everyday realities that His people easily understood. The Pharisees naturally became hostile to His leadership. They were not only threatened because Jesus challenges their legal expertise and authority, but because Jesus presents, in its nascense, what will be "universally" right, true, and good for all cultures and time.

But since Jesus was born, lived, and worked in a specific time and culture, He complies with what is required of taxation laws by the Roman authorities over the Jewish people. And this is what amazed the Pharisees with His reply: He juxtaposes both the requirement to pay taxes and obedience to the will of God in a manner that, as it were, resolves the issue.

The gospel this Sunday also presents the theme of a people subject to a foreign governing power: of the Jewish people under the Roman Empire. When Christ said, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's", He brought clarity to an issue concerning their Jewish religion and the laws of the Roman Empire. This is similar to present laws separating the Church and the State. With many aware of the laws separating Church and State, Catholics know that practicing a moral balance in obeying these two institutions is the right thing to do. And respecting the laws of both institutions is also cultivating respect for oneself as well as for others.

Both the laws of the Church and the laws of the State are meant to bring order, peace, and harmony to all individuals, families, communities, institutions, and nations. The order implemented by both intersect and bring about a creative tension that produces the basic services needed by all: food, clothing, housing, essential services, and security from the State, and the life of the human spirit and moral standards from the Church necessary for ethical conduct in the management of these goods and services for themselves and the common good.

God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to save both the individual and societal structures from the sinful state and situation they find themselves in since time began. Jesus became man to heal both personal sin and social sin that causes darkness, lack, and disorder in the life of any individual or society. This mission of Jesus is continued since biblical times to this day by the Church and her missionaries to heal all cultures and generations from the causes and effects of sin. And the Church works in coordination with the international order to heal families, communities, and nations from any social structure that deprives them of life, dignity, respect, and especially, justice.

The Church brings healing to a world wounded by sin in many ways: through apostolic works, educational institutions, parish/diocesan structures, and through the Sacraments. She provides a rich treasury of spiritualities that bring order to personal lives and to all social structures. And the strength comes from Heaven. God's grace helps the Church to persevere in this mission even with the sinfulness her own members also have to contend with. It happens and succeeds one day at a time, one Sunday Mass at a time, one religious consecration at a time, one ordination at a time, one mission at a time, one parish community at a time, one school building at a time. Conscientization takes time. But they do happen. It is the work of God's Spirit in the Church. When there is healing from sin, all can see that order, justice, and peace have their ultimate source in a God who entered human history and became part of it.

Scripture quote:
"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, but give to God what is God's." (Matthew 22)