Today, the second day of the novena to our patron, St. Francis Xavier, we also celebrate the feast of the patron of the Cathedral, St. Catherine of Alexandria, and the theme of the day’s liturgy is “Kristacho onnbhov ami ghetla, Tache govai ami” (Messengers of the Encounter with Christ). This theme speaks clearly of the life and witness of St. Catherine of Alexandria, who was so convinced of her experience of Christ, that she willingly gave her life in witness to Him.
Catherine is reported to have converted to Christianity at the age of fourteen, when she was already a learned scholar. So convinced of Christ was she, that she managed to convert others to the true faith. However, Catherine also lived at a time when Christianity was subject to vicious persecution by the Roman emperors. Rather than hide from these persecutions, Catherine is reported to have rather borne her witness to Christ by presenting herself before the emperor and converting the many men who came to debate with her. At this point, the emperor proposed marriage to her. Catherine may have well been inspired by the words of Saint Paul we heard in the second reading today:
I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Therefore, she refused the emperor’s offer, having decided to present herself as a chaste virgin to Christ. She was sentenced to death, and eventually gave the foremost witness to her experience of Christ, by becoming a martyr for him. In fact, we should remember that the word martyr is derived from the Greek word for witness.
What could have made a girl of eighteen years so willingly give up her life for Christ? The answer, my dear brothers and sisters, is present in the words of the Gospel we just heard, where Our Lord teaches us that we should not be afraid of those who can only kill the body, but not the soul. We should fear only one person, and that is God, who can kill both body and soul by condemning us to Hell for all eternity at the time of the Final Judgement.
Indeed, the first reading tells us that it is the foolish who think that physical death is a disaster and the end. We Christians know, and more than know, we believe, that physical death is sleep, and – once again as the first reading tells us – in the course of this sleep we are purified in purgatory, so that at the time of the Final Judgement we can be presented before God with our souls purified so that we can be reunited with our glorified bodies.
My dear brothers and sisters, it is not only this knowledge that should allow us to bear witness to Christ before the foolishness of the world we live in; A world that is more concerned with money, and consumption, and power, and fame, and pleasure. We also have another knowledge, which Catherine was also convinced of. That God loves us. The Gospel today tells us “all the hairs of your head are counted” and so, do not be afraid. If you have to boast, boast of Our Lord, proclaim Christ, not only in words, but in every action that you do. Believe and know that at the end of our physical life, we will come before Him and He will demand an account for the life we have led. And if we fail, my dear brothers and sisters, we can be sure that we will be punished.
My dear brothers and sisters, this city of Old Goa was conquered for Christ in 1510 on the feast day of St. Catherine of Alexandria, and we must believe that it was through her intercession that the conditions were created for us to become Catholic, to know God and to love Him, for St. Francis Xavier to come to Goa, and for him to then go out from Goa to other parts of Asia and preach Christ and win souls for Him. Let me emphasize the point, we are here today, because of St. Francis Xavier; and St. Francis Xavier is here today, and was here in his life on earth, because of St. Catherine. Let us, therefore, intercede to St. Catherine of Alexandria today, that we gain the depth of her experience of Christ, and gain the courage to bear witness to Christ every day of our lives.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us. Saint Francisco Xavier, pray for us.
(This homily was first preached to the faithful at the Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa on 25 Nov 2024.
Image Reference: The patrons of Goa and Goans: St. Francis Xavier, St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. José Vaz, David Silva Fernandes, 2023.)
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