Catholic Fire

On August 18, we commemorate Saint Helena of Constantinople (246-330), mother of Constantine the Great, and finder of the True Cross of Jesus Christ. St. Helena is the patroness of archaeologists, converts, difficult marriages, and divorced people. St. Helena was the daughter of an innkeeper in Bithynia, Asia Minor. She was married to an ambitious Roman general and they had one son, Constantine.  When her husband was named emperor, he promptly divorced Helena to marry another woman for political gain. Following the death of his father, Constantine became emperor of Rome, and one of his first acts as ruler was to declare his mother empress. Constantine had converted to Christianity, and with his encouragement, Helena also became a Christian. As empress, Helena spent her days in acts of charity, and built magnificent churches on the holy sites of the faith, frequently tearing down pagan temples that had been built on those sites. She worked tirelessly for the poor, relea...

May 12 marks the feast of Saints Nereus, Achilleus, and Pancras, martyrs. Each was martyred for his faith in Christ, in the same year during the persecution of Christians under the order of Emperor Diocletian. Nereus and Achilleus were soldiers in the Praetorian Guard, who became Christians--baptized by Saint Peter, it is said--and decided that they must give up fighting. They escaped from the guard, but were discovered and sent into exile first to the island of Pontia with Saint Flavia Domitilla and then to Terracina. There during the reign of Emperor Trajan in 100 A.D. both saints were beheaded. Their sepulcher is preserved in the cemetery on the Ardeatine Way, where a basilica has been built in their honor. Toward the end of the 4th century, Pope Saint Damasus inscribed a tombstone in honor of the saints. It read:"Nereus and Achilleus the martyrs joined the army and carried out the cruel orders of the tyrant, obeying his will continually out of fear. Then came a miracle...