How St. Bibiana can help us prepare for Christmas

St. Bibiana is another Advent saint who provides for us an example of a wise virgin, ready to see the Bridegroom.

The Catholic Church honors the memory of St. Bibiana on December 2, though there is little information about her outside of medieval legends.

She is considered a martyr of the early Church and most stories of her life refer to her as a virgin.

Dom Prosper Guéranger in his Liturgical Year connects her life to the season of Advent by recalling the biblical parable of the five wise virgins (cf. Matthew 25):

Holy Bibiana, most wise Virgin, thou hast gone through the long unbroken watch of this life and when suddenly the Spouse came, thy lamp was bright and richly fed with oil. Now thou art dwelling in the abode of the eternal marriage feast, where the Beloved feeds among the lilies.

Jesus, our Savior, Spouse and Judge

He then expands on this connection by recalling our spiritual mood during Advent:

We are awaiting the Birth of the Savior of the world, which is to be the end of sin and the beginning of justice; we are awaiting the coming of this Savior into our souls, that he may give them life and union with himself by love; we are awaiting our Judge, the Judge of the living and the dead. Most wise Virgin, intercede for us by thy fervent prayers with this our Savior, our Spouse and our Judge; pray that each of these three visits may work and perfect in us that divine union for which we have all been created.

During this Advent season, may we imitate the example of St. Bibiana and be like a “wise virgin,” looking forward to the coming of our Savior, always ready for his coming into our lives.