Father Christopher Zugger

He is one of the most popular saints of the Eastern and Western Churches, so much so that he has two feast days, today and May 9^th, the day that his body arrived in the city of Bari, Italy, in 1087. His relics rest in a shrine shared by Catholics and Orthodox, and both Catholics and Orthodox pray at his tomb and are anointed with the Myron that comes from his bones. He is the particular patron of the Byzantine Catholic Church, because the bishop lived at the monastery of Saint Nicholas outside of the town of Mukachevo. This was the site of an annual pilgrimage in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God, and a stronghold of the Faith. Nicholas is quite busy in heaven as the patron saint of the poor, unjustly accused, children, students, travelers, sailors, pawnbrokers and merchants. In northern Europe he is the gift-giver, bringing presents to children on this, the anniversary of his death and birth into heaven, and of course Americans’ creation of Santa Claus is rooted in the original Dutch devotion to St Nicholas in New York City.

Stories abounded of his personal holiness and simple life, as a bishop who prayed devoutly and did not live in luxury. The various accounts of his life state that his wealthy parents died when he was young, and he spent his inheritance on the poor, sick, abandoned elderly by opening orphanages and old-age homes, following the example of Saint Basil the Great.

We know that he suffered for the faith in the last persecution under Diocletian – his relics in Bari show signs of him having been beaten and having a broken nose. Among the reasons for his popularity are the fact that he interceded for those falsely accused, defying unjust civil authorities and exposed the sins of those authorities; he protected children during his lifetime by rescuing them from dangerous settings and after his death parents prayed to him for the deliverance of their children from Turkish captivity; he went down to the harbor of Myra, praying successfully for the safety of sailors and blessing their ships.

One of the most famous stories of course is that he slapped the arch-heretic Arius during the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325. That story however only shows up in the 16^th century, over 1300 years after the council of Nicaea. BUT the point is that he was passionate about defending the faith, and protecting the apostolic teaching of the divinity and humanity of Christ. It is important also to note that the story has gotten more violent in our day, with internet memes showing him punching Arius. But the Greek account uses a word for slap that means to call one to attention, to wake a person up from making mistakes. In that sense, Nicholas can call us all to awareness of the need to hold firm to the True Faith, especially now in a time when people mock the Catholic Church and so many have drifted away from the sacraments.

There is a quote attributed to Nicholas: The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to imitate his giving by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.  In other words, when we give to others, be it Christmas presents or charity or an act of kindness, or simply by doing our duty without complaint, we are imitating  God and we are doing so with His grace and His help. Going out of ourselves on behalf of others imitates our Lord Jesus Christ, who poured Himself out as the Eternal Word of God to become incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary so as to save us from sin and lead us to safety in heaven.

If we live a life of charitable sharing, if we call on God to help us at all times and in all things, we will do well and be Christians who live in the spirit of Saint Nicholas. Christ is among us!