St. Lorenzo Ruiz

St. Lorenzo Ruiz- 1st Filipino Saint

Saint Lorenzo Ruiz is one of the most widely regarded saints in the Philippines. He is the first Filipino saint and the first one to be martyred for his faith as a Catholic. 

He grew up in Manila around the 1600s and was taught under a Dominican schooling. He was very active in his faith during Masses as he grew up as an altar server and then moved up into a clerk-sacristan. He also joined the Confraternity of the Rosary. He earned his keep as a calligrapher meaning he was highly educated since during this time period, many were not even close to achieving greatness in this art. 

Some time later, he was accused of being involved in a criminal case (whether this was true or not was unclear). Due to this, he fled to Japan which was currently persecuting Christians. He was incarcerated along with his comrades. He was violently persecuted, but St. Lorenzo stayed steadfast in his faith and persevered and even told them that he was ready to die for the faith. He was hung by the gallows from his feet on September 27,1637. His body fell into a pit from this fall. He died of suffocation and bleeding after managing to hold on for two more days. 

Pope John Paul II beautified him along with his companions on February 18, 1981. They were all canonized on October 18 of that very same year. They all share the same feast day of September 28.

Mother Night: St. George and the Dragon

During an assignment I have to do for English, I read Kurt Vonnegut's novel Mother Night. During it I came across a chapter called called "St. George and the Dragon." I was immediately struck by curiosity for I did not know what this novel was referring to, so I decided to investigate.


The episode Saint George and the Dragon appended to the hagiography of Saint George was Eastern in origin, brought back with the Crusaders and retold with the courtly appurtenances belonging to the genre of Romance. The earliest known depictions of the motif are from tenth- or eleventh-century Cappadocia and eleventh-century Georgia; previously, in the iconography of Eastern Orthodoxy, George had been depicted as a soldier since at least the seventh century. The earliest known surviving narrative of the dragon episode is an eleventh-century Georgian text.
The dragon motif was first combined with the already standardised Passio Georgii in Vincent of Beauvais' encyclopedic Speculum Historiale, and then Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend (ca 1260) guaranteed its popularity in the later Middle Ages as a literary and pictorial subject. The legend gradually became part of the Christian traditions relating to Saint George and was used in many festivals thereafter.

St. George story is incredibly interesting and I hope you enjoyed it as much as me. My theology teacher became of that last week. I ask that we pray for him.

Thoughts on: 'The Church in the Life of the Faithful'

This will not be an ordinary post about saints or specific aspects of the Church in full detail. This will be a post explaining my thoughts on  'The Church in the Life of the Faithful' and all that I believe it entails.

The first few things to come to mind are the following: how does the Church affect the life of the faithful, how do the people respond the Church, how can Christians grow closer to being faithful, etc. Another thing would to actually define the word 'Church' in this case. Does it mean the body of members or does it mean the teaching authority given by Christ.

First off, I would say that this title probably refers to how Christians are called to serve. It is one thing to go to Mass, but it is another to spread the Word of God and follow the words "Ite, missa est" (literally:"Go, it is sent" or commonly known as "Go, the Mass has ended"). Just as the Church has the important role of being the instrument of salvation, it is just as important that the members of the faith grow in holiness and actually spread the faith instead of just going through the motions.

This is not to say that everyone has the same vocation. Even though we are called to holiness, each person also has a specific vocation whether they be a teacher, missionary, brother, sister, etc. Even though we all have a universal call, each person is different.

The title also implies something to do with how the Church celebrates the Mass. I would probably take that to mean the different Scriptures stated every three years through the liturgical years of A, B, and C. It would also imply how the Church celebrates specific Church holidays. Easter and Christmas automatically come to the forefront of my mind.

The last thing I would think would be about the Sacraments. The whole point of going to Church is to grow closer to God by receiving the graces necessary to be saved. I would say that would be an important part of how the Church affects the lives of the people.

Well, these are just my thoughts on the subject matter.

St. Irenaeus

St. Irenaeus of Lyons

St. Irenaeus was one of the most important people in the early Church to the point he was called one of the fathers of the Church.

He was born circa A.D.125 in a province in Asia Minor. There he   was influenced by another saint, Saint Polycarp. Sometime later he along with many priests and missionaries went to Gaul and formed a local church which would be the foundation of the church of Lyon. He served as a priest there under the bishop St. Pothinus. He was then sent in 177 to Rome. It is because of this that he avoided the persecutions in Lyons. When he got back, the persecution ended and he was sent to be the temporary bishopric.

During this time, Gnostic teachings had spread very far in Gaul. This prompted him to reveal the errors in these heresies. In five books he contrasted these heretical teachings vs. the true message passed on to the Apostles. Originally in Greek, once the writings spread, it was converted into Latin; this ultimately created the finishing blow to the teachings of Gnostics in that Gnosticism never again would be a serious threat to the Church.

It was assumed that his death year is 202 although it is not certain. The tomb/shrine that contained his bodily relics were destroyed by the Calvinists in 1562 making the relics seem to have perished. Although not considered a Doctor of the Church, he was still a pivotal saint that was the major contributor to defeating one of the great heresies of the time making him one of the most important saints in early Church history.