Disciple of Saint Paul (First Century)
Her life
According to the Acts of the Apostles (16:13ff), Lydia was merchant of purple cloth in Philippi. When Saint Paul visited that city sometime around the year 55, he baptized Lydia and her household.
+ The baptism is celebrated as the first recorded conversion to Christianity in Europe.
+ A woman of wealth and influence, Lydia is remembered for the hospitality she offered to Paul, Luke and Silas.
+ Saint Lydia was added to the Church’s official list of saints, The Roman Martyrology, at the time of the Council of Trent.
Spiritual bonus
On this day, we also remember Blessed Arnaldo Serra. A member of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy (the Mercedarians), he exchanged his own life in exchange for 30 Christians imprisoned in Tunis, Tunisia. Blessed Arnoldo died of starvation in 1492.
For reflection
“In this vast domain of service, the Church’s two-thousand-year history, for all its historical conditioning, has truly experienced the ‘genius of woman’; from the heart of the Church there have emerged women of the highest caliber who have left an impressive and beneficial mark in history.”—Pope Saint John Paul II, Letter to Women
Prayer
O God, who gladden us each year with the feast day of blessed Lydia, grant, we pray, that we, who are called to honor her, may also follow her example of holy living. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal: Common of Holy Men and Women—For a Holy Woman)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
And today we celebrate...