
Every January, the Church honors many saints for their unique contributions to the faith. From an apostle who contributed multiple books to the New Testament, to a missionary who abandoned her life on the mainland to serve a leper community in Hawaii, these saints each have something to teach us. Read about three saints celebrated this month and be encouraged by their lives of devotion.
January 21 — St. Agnes
A martyr of the early church in Rome, St. Agnes demonstrated wisdom and devotion beyond her years. Living during the end of the third century, Agnes was admired by the governor’s son, who intended to make her his wife. However, when Agnes instead pledged herself to Christ and took a vow of virginity, the man vindictively demanded that she be dragged through the streets to a brothel. Tradition holds that as she was taken through the streets, her hair miraculously grew to cover her nakedness, and an angel prevented her tormentors from bringing her into the brothel. Though she was spared this disgrace, she was later beheaded. St. Agnes’s resolve to remain true to her faith, rather than live a life of comfort and prominence as the wife of the governor’s son, is an inspiration to all the faithful.
January 23 — St. Marianne Cope
Born in Germany in 1838, Marianne Cope came to New York with her family as an infant. Shortly after finishing eighth grade, her father became ill, and she began working in a factory to help support her parents and nine siblings. At the age of 24, Marianne joined the Sisters of St. Francis, where she worked as a teacher for a few years before serving in more administrative roles. She went on to help establish two of the first hospitals in Central New York, and in 1870 became the head administrator at St. Joseph’s in Syracuse.
In 1883, Marianne’s life shifted dramatically when she took a position as manager at the Kaka’ako Branch Hospital on Oahu, where she primarily served a community of lepers. In her new role, Marianne worked to improve patient treatment and living conditions, expanding the hospital’s care to include the family members of lepers, who often had difficulty finding doctors to treat them. When the government sent the lepers to be quarantined on the island of Molokai in 1887, Marianne chose to follow and dedicate her life to caring for them. Though the work was often exhausting and overwhelming, she devoted herself “to make life as pleasant and as comfortable as possible for those of our fellow creatures whom God has chosen to afflict with this terrible disease.”
January 25 — St. Paul the Apostle
January 25 marks the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. His radical transformation is demonstrative of the extraordinary redemptive power of the Gospel.
Before dedicating his life to Christ, Paul (also called Saul) was a zealous Jewish scholar who had persecuted countless Christians. One day, when he was traveling on the road to Damascus, Paul was blinded by a light, and a voice asked him,
“‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ He said, ‘Who are you, sir?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.’” — Acts 9:4-6
Unable to see, his companions had to guide him into Damascus, where he remained without sight for three days until a Christian named Ananias laid hands on him and baptized him.
Transformed by his newfound faith in the Savior, Paul would go on to significantly mold the Mediterranean’s early Christian communities, traveling and writing countless letters of spiritual guidance and insight. Paul’s ministry is set apart from other apostles because of his message that the gospel is for Gentiles and Jews alike. He is thought to be the author of 13 books in the New Testament – more than any other biblical writer.
Sources:
“Biography of Marianne Cope,” The Vatican.
Butler’s Lives of Saints, ed. Bernard Bangley.
Rohling, Geraldine M., PhD, MAEd. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception: Guide and Tour Book. Washington, D.C.: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 2018
The Way of Saints, Tom Cowan.