Saint of the Day: St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Bishop and Doctor of the Church (315-386)

His life

+ After studying philosophy, Scripture, and the Fathers of the Church, Cyril was ordained a priest in 345. He was elected bishop of Jerusalem three years later.

+ Cyril was exiled shortly after his episcopal consecration by Acacius, the heretical bishop of Caesarea, who claimed authority over the Church in Jerusalem. Cyril was exiled a second time by the emperor Valens.

+ Cyril took part in the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople and accepted the full Nicene Creed.

+ As bishop, Cyril was a strong and beloved teacher of the Faith and his Jerusalem Catechesis remain an important source for our understanding of baptism and Christian initiation.

+ Saint Cyril died in the year 386 was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1883. Pope Benedict XVI dedicated his General Audience of June 27, 2007, to Saint Cyril of Jerusalem.

For prayer and reflection

“The Spirit comes gently and makes himself known by his fragrance. He is not felt as a burden, for he is light, very light. Rays of light and knowledge stream before him as he approaches. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend and protector to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, to console.”—Saint Cyril of Jerusalem

Spiritual bonus

On this day we also remember Blessed Roger Wrenno. A layman in Lancashire, England, he ministered to fellow Catholics during the persecution of King James I. He was martyred on March 18, 1616, and was beatified with other martyrs from England, Scotland, and Wales in 1987.

Prayer

O God, who through the Bishop Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
led your Church in a wonderful way
to a deeper sense of the mysteries of salvation,
grant us, through his intercession,
that we may so acknowledge your Son
as to have life ever more abundantly.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.