If I may be granted a small indulgence this morning, I pray everyone with a devotion to Saint Cecilia, including my daughter Samantha, will have a joyful and holy feast day.
My faith journey, the awakening of the seeds of Confirmation in my life, in a way, intersected with my daughter’s preparation for Confirmation. When I learned she selected Saint Cecilia to be her Confirmation saint, I took the opportunity to learn more about the virgin and martyr that absolutely captured the heart of the early Church. For all intents and purposes, Saint Cecilia was very likely the first saint I became acquainted with in my spiritual journey.
It made sense to me that Samantha, being a very fine musician in her own right, would choose the “Patron Saint of Musicians” to be her Confirmation saint. Though, I have to admit, I was a bit unprepared to learn the depth of what is behind the title “Patron Saint of Musicians”.
I learned that Saint Cecilia, who had taken a vow of consecration to our Blessed Lord, was known for hearing heavenly music in her heart at a time when she was forced into marriage with a pagan nobleman. She sang to God in her heart throughout the wedding ceremony. On the night of her wedding, an angel appeared at her side to protect her virtue and to crown her with a chaplet made of roses and lilies.
Picture that for a moment. Can you imagine this level of trust in God’s providence? Can you imagine this level of trust in God’s protection? Both of these attributes were on display throughout the life of Saint Cecilia, which truly struck me.
Saint Cecilia lived in a time when true faith in God’s providence and protection was vital to the daily life of a Christian. She lived in a time marked by war, border incursions, violent riots and rebellion, political instability, economic disruption, trade issues, and currency debasement (which generally occurs when the government artificially creates more money). I am sure none of that sounds familiar to any of us.
She lived at a time before Christianity was legalized. Public displays of faith oftentimes led directly to martyrdom. At the risk of her own life, she introduced hundreds to Jesus Christ, converting them to the Catholic faith, leading them to be baptized, and accompanying them into the sacramental life of the Church. Included in those she converted was her husband and his brother, both of whom would later die as martyrs.
Saint Cecilia cheerfully embraced martyrdom around the year 230. Her martyrdom came in a fashion that only the “Patron Saint of Musicians” could. Her martyrdom was exceptionally brutal. She was sentenced to be suffocated in the balnea of her house. You can think of a balnea as being somewhat similar to a modern-day sauna.
Saint Cecilia was shut in the balnea for a full day and night with the furnace fed seven times its normal amount of fuel. During that time, she did not even break a sweat. She was then condemned to be decapitated. After three blows with the sword, Saint Cecilia was still alive. She was left to bleed to death on the floor of the balnea. She finally passed on the third day, but not before converting dozens more as many came to listen to her sing and collect her blood.
In the 9th century, Pope Paschal I had a vision where he saw Saint Cecilia. She exhorted him to search for her body. With the information from the vision, Saint Cecilia’s incorrupt body was found in the Catacombs of Saint Callisto, very near to the papal crypt. She was the first incorrupt saint identified by the Church, an enduring sign of the providence and fidelity of God in all situations.
Her house is now the site of the Basilica of Saint Cecilia in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome. Inside the Basilica is her crypt, containing her incorrupt body; along with the remains of the balnea, the site of her martyrdom.
As we continue to trudge the road of happy destiny, a road full of turbulent political, economic, and social pressures, let us always remember the eternal joy of Saint Cecilia. A joy that can only come with being in complete harmony with our Blessed Lord. A joy that comes through trust that the Lord is with us in our suffering and protects us at our darkest hour. A joy that comes when we truly meet Saint Cecilia and the bridegroom through the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Thanks be to God.
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