The priest Gonzalo Martín shares with the readers of Exaudi this article on the figure of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the truth in the encounter with faith, whose feast is celebrated today, November 25.
“Almighty and eternal God, who gave to your people the undefeated virgin and martyr Saint Catherine, grant us, through her intercession, to be strengthened in a constant faith and to work tirelessly for the unity of the Church.” This is how the Church prays on the day of the memory of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, every November 25, to ask for that strength that each Christian should have, following the example of the martyr, to bear witness to our Savior.
Everything surrounding this saint is a story that extols the virtues of this intelligent and wise young woman who, seeking and defending the truth, not only lived the faith, but also bore witness to it until her own martyrdom, in front of the powerful and intellectuals of the time. Tradition tells us of an intelligent and beautiful young woman, who was born into a noble family in Alexandria. She was well versed in the philosophical currents of that time and a tireless seeker of the truth, which was what made her interested in discovering the Christian faith, which led her not only to receive baptism, but to consecrate her entire life in virginity to Christ.
We do not know the veracity of her story, but everyone agrees that at a pagan festival before the Emperor Maxentius, sacrifices had to be offered to the gods, to which Catherine not only made no offering, but made the sign of the Cross in front of everyone. Thus, her martyrdom ritual began, as she then addressed the emperor and challenged him to know God through a debate.
The emperor sent his wise men, who were unable to defeat Catherine, who spoke eloquently of God and even the one who was to be converted to paganism, was the one who converted said debaters to the Christian faith. This angered the emperor himself, creating many enemies, who, since they could not defeat her with dialectics, tried to do so with weapons with the approval of the emperor, who, moved by anger, ordered her life to end.
Her martyrdom is known as the “martyrdom of the wheel”, as she was embedded in a wheel of spikes that, as they passed over her body, jumped and wounded, not the saint, but her executioners. Not achieving her death, they proceeded to decapitate her with the sword, cutting off her head. Although before dying, and in prison, she did not stop giving testimony of the faith, even converting an officer and many soldiers.
Her remains rest on Mount Sinai in the monastery that bears her name. And she is considered the patron saint of philosophers, students and people with jobs related to wheels. According to some “acts” found in reference to the saint, it is said that from a young age she was distinguished by her intelligence and beauty, and that many nobles and rich people wanted to marry her, to which Catherine responded to her relatives: “if you want me to marry, find me someone who equals me in beauty and erudition.”
Through an anchorite, Catherine had a dream, a vision, where she discovered that the Groom was superior in everything to her, and that he was hand in hand with the Virgin Mary. Thus the saint, virgin and martyr discovered that her life had to be committed to Christ and the only goal that excited her and filled her with peace was to live for Christ. Her life was a continuous knowledge of the Truth, and a profound experience of faith, showing that there can only be one wise man, Creator of all, who with his perfections is far above all those pagan gods who tried to prove their existence to Catherine, but that she, with her eloquence, truth and faith, showed that their reasoning about pagan religion were not supported. And one after another she refuted them, convinced and converted many of her interlocutors.
In the year 527, the Emperor Justinian built a fortified monastery for the hermits of Sinai, where, it is said, the alleged relics of the Saint were transferred in the 8th or 9th century. We can say on this day of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, that she was that beautiful and intelligent woman who sought the Truth that is Christ and defended and spread the faith that she herself found along the way until she gave her own life in martyrdom.
