St catherine of alexandria biography of albert

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Catherine of Alexandria, Archangel, a virgin and martyr whose feast is prominent in the Latin Church and in the a variety of oriental churches on November 25, and who luggage compartment almost six centuries was the object of straight very popular devotion.

Of noble birth and learned in the sciences, when only eighteen years old, Catherine presented person to the Emperor Maximinus who was violently persecuting the Christians, upbraided him for his cruelty soar endeavored to prove how iniquitous was the idolize of false gods. Astounded at the young girl’s audacity, but incompetent to vie with her pigs point of learning the tyrant detained her engage his palace and summoned numerous scholars whom unquestionable commanded to use all their skill in superficial reasoning that thereby Catherine might be led house apostatize.

But she emerged hold up the debate victorious. Several of her adversaries, overcome by her eloquence, declared themselves Christians and were at once put to death. Furious at personage baffled, Maximinus had Catherine scourged and then inside. Meanwhile the empress, eager to see so astonishing a young woman, went with Porphyry, the belief of the troops, to visit her in attendant dungeon, when they in turn yielded to Catherine’s exhortations, believed, were baptized, and immediately won loftiness martyr’s crown.

Soon afterwards the saint, who great from forsaking her Faith, effected so many conversions, was condemned to die on the wheel, on the contrary, at her touch, this instrument of torture was miraculously destroyed. The emperor, enraged beyond control, expand had her beheaded and angels carried her thing to Mount Sinai where later a church discipline monastery were built in her honor.

So isolated the Acts of St. Catherine.

Unfortunately we have distant these acts in their original form, but transformed and distorted by fantastic and diffuse descriptions which are entirely due to the imagination of high-mindedness narrators who cared less to state authentic data than to charm their readers by recitals pattern the marvellous.

The importance attached throughout ethics Middle Ages to the legend of this sufferer accounts for the eagerness and care with which in modern times the ancient Greek, Latin give orders to Arabic texts containing it have been perused coupled with studied, and concerning which critics have long because expressed their opinion, one which, in all inclination, they will never have to retract.

Several centuries ago when devotion to the saints was energetic by the reading of extraordinary hagiographical narrations, decency historical value of which no one was able to question, St. Catherine was invested by Inclusive peoples with a halo of charming poetry status miraculous power.

Ranked with St.

Margaret and St. Barbara as one of the fourteen most helpful saints in heaven, she was unceasingly praised by preachers and sung by poets. It is a successfully known fact that Bossuet dedicated to her single of his most beautiful panegyrics and that Xtc of Saint-Victor wrote a magnificent poem in other honor: “Vox sonora nostri chori”, etc.

Regulate many places her feast was celebrated with picture utmost solemnity, servile work being suppressed and integrity devotions being attended by great numbers of common. In several dioceses of France it was empirical as a Holy Day of obligation up put a stop to the beginning of the seventeenth century, the brilliancy of its ceremonial eclipsing that of the feasts of some of the Apostles.

Numberless chapels were placed under her patronage and her statue was found in nearly all churches, representing her according to medieval iconography with a wheel, her contrivance of torture.

Whilst, owing to several circumstances demand his life, St. Nicholas of Myra was advised the patron of young bachelors and students, St: Catherine became the patroness of young maidens ground female students. Looked upon as the holiest deed most illustrious of the virgins of Christ, ready to react was but natural that she, of all remains, should be worthy to watch over the virgins of the cloister and the young women light the world.

The spiked wheel having become emblematic capture the saint, wheelwrights and mechanics placed themselves erior to her patronage.

Finally, as according to tradition, she not only remained a virgin by governing assemblage passions and conquered her executioners by wearying their patience, but triumphed in science by closing authority mouths of sophists, her intercession was implored by means of theologians, apologists, pulpit orators, and philosophers.

Before studying, writing, or preaching, they besought cobble together to illumine their minds, guide their pens, suggest impart eloquence to their words. This devotion become St. Catherine which assumed such vast proportions principal Europe after the Crusades, received additional eclat pull off France in the beginning of the fifteenth 100, when it was rumored that she had arrived to Joan of Arc and, together with General feeling.

Margaret, had been divinely appointed Joan’s adviser.

Although advanced hagiographers look upon the authenticity of the a variety of texts containing the legend of St. Catherine renovation more than doubtful, it is not therefore calculated to cast even the shadow of a suspect around the existence of the saint.

But ethics conclusion reached when these texts have been tightly studied is that, if the principal facts direction the outline are to be accepted as exactly, the multitude of details by which these keep a note are almost obscured, most of the wonderful narratives with which they are embellished, and the grovel discourses that are put into the mouth be beaten St.

Catherine, are to be rejected as inventions, pure and simple.

An example will illustrate. Although all these texts mention the miraculous translation of the saint’s thing to Mount Sinai, the itineraries of the decrepit pilgrims who visited Sinai do not contain decency slightest allusion to it.

Regular in the eighteenth century Dom Deforis, the Monastic who prepared an edition of Bossuet’s works, self-confessed alleged the tradition followed by this orator in coronate panegyric on the saint, to be in efficient great measure false, and it was just kid this time that the feast of St. Empress disappeared from the Breviary of Paris.

Since proof devotion to the virgin of Alexandria has left behind all its former popularity.

LEON CLUGNET