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Friends of the Rosary,
Today, December 6, we celebrate the memorial of St. Nicholas of Myra (d. 346), a 4th-century bishop and one of the most popular saints in the Western world, honored as the patron saint of children.
Born in Lycia in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), he practiced remarkable spiritual and corporal works of mercy and worked tirelessly to defend the faith.
His legends of generosity made him into today’s Santa Claus, a white-bearded gentleman who captivates children with promises of gifts on Christmas Eve.
During the persecutions of Diocletian, he was imprisoned for preaching Christianity, but was released during the reign of Emperor Constantine.
His relics are still preserved in the church of San Nicola in Bari. There is an oily substance, known as Manna di S. Nicola, highly valued for its medicinal powers, that is said to flow.
Veneration for Nicholas spread throughout Europe and Asia, and countless miracles were attributed to the saint’s intercession.
The story of Saint Nicholas reached America in a distorted form. The Dutch Protestants carried a version of the saint’s life to New Amsterdam, portraying Nicholas as a Nordic or North Pole magician and wonder-worker who brings happiness to small children.
Our present-day conception of Santa Claus has grown from this version.
Catholics should think of Nicholas as a saint, a confessor of the faith and the bishop of Myra, not merely as a jolly man from the North Pole.
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
To Jesus through Mary!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Please give us the grace to respond with joy!
+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New York
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