saints

June 25, 2014 By Sam Guzman 13 Comments

5 Patron Saints of Beer

“From man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world.” – St. Arnulf of Metz

Ah, beer. This blessed brew is one of life’s great enjoyments and an incontrovertible sign of God’s great love for us.

Brewed by monks for centuries, beer has always had a close relationship to Catholicism. In fact, Holy Mother Church has proven her love for this beverage by enshrining of an official beer blessing in the texts of the Roman Ritual.

Today, I want to share 5 holy men who have the distinction of being named patron saints of the noble art of brewing.

1. St. Arnulf of Metz – Perhaps the most famous of brewing patrons is St. Arnulf of Metz. St. Arnulf was a bishop and advisor to king Theudebert II of Austrasia. After his death at Remiremont Abbey, parishioners from his former diocese of Metz, who already venerated him as a saint, went to recover his body. The journey was during a particularly hot part of the year, and the travelers were ready to faint of thirst. One of the parishioners, by the name of Duc Notto, cried out, “By his powerful intercession the Blessed Arnold will bring us what we lack.” Miraculously, their supply of beer was replenished and lasted until they returned home.

2. St. Gambrinus – First of all, St. Gambrinus is not really a saint. In fact, it’s unclear whether he was a real person or simply a myth based on real personages. Nevertheless, St. Gambrinus embodies the joyful enjoyment of alcohol, and has even been credited by some with being the inventor of beer. Other say he learned the art of brewing from the gods, and still others say he simply was a man who could down epic amounts of beer. Regardless, he is famous in European folklore for typifying the merriment brought by the blessed brew.

3. St. Augustine – The Doctor of Grace is the patron saint of many things, not the least of which is those who practice the art of brewing. While it is unclear how he achieved this distinction, it is likely through his profound conversion in which he was transformed from a wild, drunken, and dissipated soul into a holy and temperate bishop.

4. St. Luke the Evangelist – Yes, this is St. Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke. This holy man is the patron of everything from goldsmiths to lace makers to sculptors—and he is also another patron saint of brewers. If anyone can explain to me the connection between St. Luke and brewing, I will be much obliged!

5. St. Wenceslaus – Known for his heroic almsgiving and compassion for outcasts, St. Wenceslaus was venerated immediately upon his martyrdom in 935 A.D. You may have heard of this good king before due to his holy life being celebrated in song, but you probably didn’t know he is also a patron saint of brewers. Now you do.

Conclusion

Brewing has always been honored as a noble and honorable art, and through the centuries, many brew masters have called upon these saintly patrons to aid them in their craft. Whether you’re taking up home brewing or simply enjoy beer, you can’t go wrong by invoking the intercession of these holy men. Cheers!

May 15, 2014 By Guest Contributer Leave a Comment

An Everyman Saint: St. Isidore the Farmer

All you really need to know about St. Isidore the farmer (or “the laborer”) is that in the town of Pulilan in the Philippines, parishioners of San Isidro Labrador make their water buffalos kneel before a statue of the saint. This is a fitting veneration for a saint who was often accompanied by a team of heavenly oxen driven by angels. St. Isidore is known as the patron saint of farmers and laborers but he isn’t some morality tale on the benefits of hard work. In fact, Isidore spent so much time praying instead of working that he’s hardly a model of an employer’s ideal worker.

Born to a poor family in Madrid in 1070 AD, St. Isidore lived his entire life as a hired hand for a wealthy landowner, Juan de Vargas. Despite his poverty, Isidore was well known for his charity to the poor. His wife, St. Maria Torribia, always kept a pot of stew over the fire because of Isidore’s habit of bringing home beggars to dinner. He was also known for his devotion to his faith, praying often and attending mass daily before going out to the fields. Stories of miracles followed St. Isidore throughout his life and after his death.

Isidore was canonized in 1622 along with Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Avila, Francis Xavier, and Philip Neri. Neither a scholar nor a religious, Isidore stands out from these other Spanish saints. St. Isidore is a kind of “everyman’s saint,” serving as a model for those of us who find ourselves behind a plow or desk and not an altar. He shows us that all of us can and should aspire to sainthood.

We might be tempted to see St. Isidore as the patron saint of hard work, the Catholic idealization of the Protestant work ethic. But Isidore’s virtue was not in his zeal for manual labor. Actually, in many ways, he wasn’t a very good worker. His daily trips to morning mass often caused him to be late to his fields. Once he did finally make it to work, he often stopped his labors to take up prayer. He also poured out valuable grain for wild birds and gave food to beggars.

While these qualities would make Isidore an undesirable worker, they made him a very good Catholic. And it was for these qualities, not his hard work, that he was rewarded. One of Isidore’s fellow farmhands, who didn’t share the saint’s habit of attending daily mass, became angry at Isidore’s occasional tardiness and informed their master of the offense. When the master came out to the fields the next day to learn the truth, he found that Isidore was indeed absent. But he didn’t find his plow idle. Angels had taken up the task to ensure the work got done.

Interestingly, God didn’t send these angels to work the plow for Isidore as a reward for his exceptional dedication to his work. On the contrary, they joined Isidore because the saint was exceptionally dedicated to prayer and the sacraments. Similarly, St. Isidore was not rewarded for thriftiness. Although poor himself, the saint gave freely to the poor, sometimes past his means. But when Isidore dumped out grain for hungry wild birds, the grain bag miraculously refilled. When Isidore brought home a house full of beggars, his wife’s stew pot never emptied. The miracles that accompanied St. Isidore were not the results of unceasing diligence at work or frugality in the home. Instead, it was his devotion to God and charity to neighbors that brought about the miraculous events.

There is certainly something to be said for hard work and good stewardship of wealth. But, from the Catholic perspective, there is a great deal more to be said for charity and spiritual devotion. In St. Isidore, we see that God values these virtues even in poor laborers; so much so that he will perform miracles for the sake of a hired hand’s daily mass attendance.

One reason this may seem so odd to us in our culture is that it’s easy to think of our occupations as our “real” work and our spiritual lives as a helpful, secondary kind of labor. Prayer may be a good thing, we think, but our jobs are the necessary things we do for money. We may even think of those with priestly or religious vocations as those who perform spiritual work for a living while the rest of us go about making money to support this work.

I’ve fallen into this way of thinking before and used it to justify neglecting spiritual exercises. But, in St. Isidore, we see that our spiritual work ought to come first. We see that the Lord eagerly wishes to meet with us in prayer and the sacraments and will take care of our other work if we make time for him. If I’m late to my office because of morning mass, it’s unlikely a pair of oxen will show up at my desk. But I am convinced that we will be blessed for placing our real work first.

The following post was written by Daniel Stewart, and it originally appeared at Catholic Exchange. It is reprinted with permission.

May 1, 2014 By Tyler Blanski 2 Comments

St. Joseph, Pray for Us

Pull out your highlighters. What word stands out most when you read Matthew 1:24? Isn’t it that small, overused, three-letter word our English teachers told us to avoid?

“When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded.”

Joseph did.

It’s that simple.

Saint Joseph is the patron saint of workers and fathers, a simple carpenter who obeyed God’s will immediately and completely—and God was glorified.

Twice Joseph’s gut told him one thing, but when God’s will was the polar opposite, twice he obeyed. Joseph intended to divorce Mary. But instead, he followed the angel’s instructions to marry her and to raise the Christ child as his own (Matt. 1). Even though it didn’t make any sense, he obeyed immediately and completely. Joseph then worked hard to provide for his family. Yet he heeded the angel a second time, and moved his family to Egypt, even though it didn’t make any sense (Matt. 2:13-18). Joseph obeyed immediately and completely.

And God was glorified.

We can look to this patron saint of workers and fathers to help us go about our business in obedience to our one true Father in Heaven. We can learn from this carpenter how to trust God with the measurements when it’s time to make a cut. Like him, we can live in such a way that the word “did” will be highlighted.

Saint Joseph.

The man who did.

And God was glorified.

Saint Joseph pray for us, that we may obey God’s will immediately and completely, so that God may be glorified. Holy Spirit, come. O most adorable Jesus, give us obedient hearts so that, like Saint Joseph, we may join you in bringing glory to the Father in Heaven. Amen.

Tyler Blanski is a writer who possesses a beard of medieval proportions. Tyler is the author of When Donkeys Talk and Mud and Poetry.

March 19, 2014 By Sam Guzman 5 Comments

St. Joseph: The Model of Manhood

St. Joseph was an ordinary sort of man on whom God relied to do great things. He did exactly what the Lord wanted him to do, in each and every event that went to make up his life. – St. Josemaria Escriva

Recently, I have been growing in devotion to St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus. St. Joseph is the model for every man.

But, you might say, we know so little about him! How can we imitate a man we barely know? Actually, we know more about St. Joseph than you might think. Here are 5 attributes of St. Joseph that we can imitate.

1. St. Joseph was a righteous man – Scripture refers to Joseph as a “righteous” man (Matthew 1:19). In other words, he was a holy and devout Jew who fulfilled the two greatest commandments— he loved the Lord his God with all his heart and strength, and he loved his neighbor as himself. He was also a man of prayer who knew the Psalms and the Mosaic Law inside and out, and, like all devout Jews, he prayed at least 3 times daily. He fulfilled all that was required with him with a humble heart of worship, not legalism. Unlike the Pharisees, he understood the spirit as well as the letter of the law.

As Catholics, we can imitate St. Joseph by giving God the first place in our lives and by loving our neighbor selflessly. We can fulfill the commandments of Holy Mother Church without grumbling or complaining. After all, the law of the Church is incredibly easy to fulfill, especially in comparison to the Mosaic law. We should be men of prayer, reading Scripture and sanctifying each day with prayer.

2. St. Joseph loved Jesus – Joseph was entrusted with the care of Jesus, the Son of God. While this is an awe-inspiring thought, his encounters with Jesus were those of a normal father. He held Jesus lovingly in the stable at Bethlehem. He helped him learn to walk. When Jesus hurt himself (as all little boys do), he comforted him. They prayed together, they talked together, they spent many long hours in the shop together working with their hands.

In short, St. Joseph had the deep love a father for Jesus. If you’ve ever had children, you know the kind of love I’m talking about. And guess what? Jesus loved St. Joseph, and he loves you and I with all the fiery intensity of Divine Love. We can imitate St. Joseph by loving Jesus fervently and by giving our lives to him.

3. St. Joseph loved Mary – Imagine being married to the perfect woman. You could say, “My wife is the Queen of the Universe” with a straight face. In one sense, it must have been the most humbling job ever given to a man. In another sense, though, Joseph loved Mary devotedly as his wife— because that’s exactly what she was. He would have died to protect her honor. When she was distraught, he comforted her. When she was tired, she leaned on him. He patiently listened to her and he worked long hours to provide for her. He was the best husband to the greatest woman who ever lived.

Every man should have a devotion to Mary (I will write more on this in the future). She is our mother and our Queen. Let’s love her, protect her honor, and give ourselves to her like St. Joseph did.

4. St. Joseph embraced work – St. Joseph is known “the worker.” He worked so hard that work is forever identified with his name. He wasn’t a lazy procrastinator, and he didn’t idolize comfort and ease as we so often do. He labored with his hands to provide for his wife and Son, and no task was too insignificant for him. He poured his body and soul into his daily duties, and this work was an act of worship and prayer.

As men, we are called to embrace our work like St. Joseph, no matter how mundane it may be. Whether we are business professionals, in the military, craftsman, graphic designers, professors, writers, or anything else we can glorify God with the labor of our minds and bodies.

5. St. Joseph did the will of God – Why did God choose St. Joseph? Of all the thousands of Jewish men, many of whom no doubt were righteous, why was a humble carpenter chosen for the task of being the earthly father of the Savior? The answer is simple: God knew St. Joseph would immediately do anything that was asked of him, no matter how difficult.

The saints agree that conformity to the will of God through prompt obedience is one of the surest paths to holiness. St. Joseph exemplified this virtue, and a perfect example is the flight into Egypt. The angel of the Lord appeared to St. Joseph in a dream, warning him of the danger that was coming. Scripture then tells us that, “When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt.” Did you catch that? The minute he woke up, he obeyed. He didn’t let fear of uncertainty paralyze him, he didn’t spend weeks planning, and he didn’t save up some money first. He took Jesus and Mary and left for Egypt, entrusting his family to the providence of God. That is prompt obedience, and that is why St. Joseph was entrusted with the greatest responsibility ever given to a man.

Conclusion

St. Joseph was an extraordinary man, the holy head of the Holy Family. While Jesus and Mary were both sinless, they both obeyed St. Joseph. He had the toughest job on the planet, and he passed with flying colors. He has a special place in heaven and a special place in the hearts of Jesus and Mary.

He is also patron of the Universal Church and one of the most powerful intercessors among the saints. St. Andre Bessette, the recently canonized Canadian brother, was credited with healing thousands of individuals. His secret? Praying to St. Joseph. If you are in trouble, if you are tempted, if you need anything at all, turn to St. Joseph for help.

Learn more about St. Joseph. A great place to start is the encyclical of Leo XIII on devotion to St. Joseph, entitled Quamquam Pluries. Meditate on his life and his interactions with Jesus and Mary. Ask for his intercession. It will make you a better man.

Prayer:

O Joseph, virgin-father of Jesus, most pure spouse of the Virgin Mary, pray every day for us to the same Jesus, the Son of God, that we, being defended by the power of His grace and striving dutifully in life, may be crowned by him at the hour of death. Amen.

PS: If you want to take your devotion to St. Joseph up a notch, you may want to look into the cord of St. Joseph, a knotted rope worn in honor of St. Joseph’s virtues, especially chastity.

February 14, 2014 By Sam Guzman 12 Comments

Gentleman Saint: Saint Valentine

Ah yes, St. Valentine’s day is here again. For one day each year, the world turns pink and red, floral shops and chocolatiers turn a handsome profit, and candlelight makes a comeback at dinner time.

But buried and forgotten somewhere beneath chocolates and candy hearts lies a courageous man named St. Valentine. Let’s learn a little about him.

Life and Martyrdom

Unfortunately, the life of St. Valentine has been mostly lost to history, but according to the Nuremburg Chronicle, a huge book of history written in the Middle Ages, St. Valentine was arrested for marrying Christian couples and helping Christians escape persecution at the hands of the emperor Claudius II.

While Valentine was imprisoned, a strange thing happened— he somehow won the favor of the emperor. Because of his new benefactor, St. Valentine was well on his way to freedom when he made a fatal mistake: He tried to convert Claudius to the Christian faith.

For his audacity, St. Valentine was immediately sentenced to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned, all the while being asked to deny the faith. When he refused to deny Christ, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian gate. The year was 296 A.D.

St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of engaged couples, epilepsy, bee keeping, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, travelers, and young people. If you’re thinking of taking up beekeeping or getting married, St. Valentine would make a good patron!

Virtues to Imitate

While we don’t know much about St. Valentine’s life, we do know that he was a virtuous and holy man. Here are four things we can learn from him.

Courage – Imagine hundreds of your fellow Catholics are being rounded up by the government and executed in the most gruesome ways. Would you have the courage to openly defy the government? That’s exactly what St. Valentine did. The Latin name Valentinus means “strong” or “filled with valor,” and St. Valentine certainly lived up to his name, displaying courage and strength in choosing to obey God rather than man. We, too, should have the courage to do what is right in God’s eyes, no matter what the consequences.

Faith – To St. Valentine, denying the faith was not an option. He preferred suffering and a bloody death rather to denying the Catholic and Apostolic faith. How firmly do we believe the teaching of the Church? Are we cafeteria Catholics who pick and choose which teachings we will follow? Do we disobey when Mother Church asks us to make hard choices or sacrifice in obedience? Like St. Valentine, we should show our commitment to Christ by our unwavering fidelity to the faith— always submitting to it, proclaiming it, and defending it.

Love for souls – While there is a lot of talk about the New Evangelization, Catholics are, generally speaking, terrible evangelists. Yet, if we really love others, we will care about their salvation. If we care about their salvation, we will share the Catholic faith with them. St. Valentine had the courage to share the Gospel with the man who had the power of life or death over him— and yet most of us won’t broach the topic of faith with our friends out of fear of disapproval. Let’s choose to courageously share the faith we have received with others as God provides opportunity.

Sacrifice – In the modern world, many trivialize love. To most, it is a sentimental feeling or a physical attraction. But that is not real love. Real love always costs something. St. Valentine loved Christ more than himself, and he demonstrated this through the sacrifice of his life. In our marriages and interactions with others, let’s truly love others as Christ loved us—by giving of ourselves until it hurts.

Conclusion

It is ironic that most of the world celebrates St. Valentine’s day, and yet hardly anyone knows about the man they are honoring. Let’s celebrate St. Valentine’s day by imitating his virtues and praying for the courage to be a saint. (Oh, and don’t forget some chocolates for your honey…)

St. Valentine, pray for us!