Feast of St Catherine of Alexandria

Readings:

Revelation 12.10-12a; Ps 24; Romans 8.31b-39; Luke 6.17-23

May I speak in the name of God, always creating redeeming and sanctifying. Amen.
Please be comfortable.

Today we celebrate the witness of St Catherine of Alexandria. Her feast day is November 25 which means it usually clashes with our celebration of Christ the King, so we are celebrating a week early.

The painting above is by an unknown painter from the Flemish School.  In this image, Catherine is holding a sword (the method of her execution) and has an open book in her lap symbolising her scholarly accomplishment.

St Catherine’s symbols are:

  • A book

  • A spiked wheel, the Breaking Wheel (often broken)

  • A sword

  • A wedding ring

  • A bridal veil

Symbols of martyrdom are often also included:

  • Palm branches

  • A crown

As far as we know, Catherine of Alexandria is not a historical person. Some scholars believe that her story is a combination of lots of young women from the time which have been put together to create one great hero of the faith from whom we can draw inspiration and encouragement.

It is important to clarify which St Catherine we are celebrating because there are many Saints named Catherine, and many of them were historical people whose writings still exist. You might like to look at St Catherine of Siena as an example. [1]

It was in the Middle Ages that the veneration of St Catherine of Alexandria was at its peak. Joan of Arc claimed that St Catherine was one of the heavenly voices who instructed her to aid Charles VII to reclaim his throne and liberate France from the English. Joan, too, was martyred for her unwavering faith and was canonised by the Catholic Church in 1920. [2]

St Catherine was a smart young woman who was accomplished in all subjects especially the sciences and philosophy. Her love of learning turned toward the scriptures and she had an amazing grasp of them. She is also said to have been very beautiful.

When she came of age, her parents began to search for a husband for her, but they were all intellectually inferior to her and she couldn’t abide the thought of marrying someone who wasn’t her equal. In a dream one night, Mary and Jesus visited Catherine and Jesus held out a ring claiming her as his bride. From that moment on Catherine was committed to Jesus alone, to the exclusion of all offers of marriage from men. [3]

The painting above is “After Bernardino Luini.”  Above you can see the angel on the left is holding a palm branch, and the angel on the right is holding a breaking wheel. Catherine herself is reading. She is wearing a crown, a symbol of martyrdom, and a halo a symbol of saintliness.

One year, the emperor came to visit Alexandria. It is said that Catherine’s family was of nobility, and therefore, her path crossed with the emperor who noticed her beauty and declared his intent to marry Catherine. The emperor was already married, and illustrated above, as far as Catherine was concerned she was also already married. Catherine refused the emperor’s advances and was imprisoned. To try to convince her of the error of her ways, the emperor sent to her his wisest scholars to debate and turn her faith toward some other god. Each scholar arrived a devoted follower of the Roman gods and left a follower of Jesus. Catherine was able to impart the wisdom of God to them in such a way that inspired them to convert. When the emperor learned of this he executed each of those scholars.

One part of the story tells of the emperor’s wife hearing of Catherine’s strength of character, her unwavering faith, and her ability to convert the wisest scholars in her husband’s household and was curious about Catherine. So, taking a small guard with her, the emperor’s wife visit’s Catherine in prison. Again, they all leave – the guard included – followers of Christ. Again, the emperor executes each of them.

The emperor is now widowed. He renews his attentions to Catherine telling her she is required to marry him which she continues to refuse. She is condemned to death by Breaking Wheel.

Christians love a good bit of irony. The symbol of the Cross is ironic. A crucifix is an instrument of torture and execution, a symbol of shame, and a symbol of the terror of an oppressive government. Yet, for Christians, it is the symbol of Christ’s glory. It is the symbol of our hope. It is ironic.

It is ironic that the spiked Breaking Wheel which was designed to be the instrument of Catherine’s tortuous execution breaks when she touches it. Catherine breaks the Breaking Wheel. God breaks the wheels of oppression.

I wish that is where the story ends… Alas, the emperor was not perturbed by this miraculous moment of liberation, and Catherine is immediately beheaded by sword.

She was a courageous young woman. Her story has provided inspiration to Christians and especially young women for over a millennium.

Catherine is the patron saint of:

  • Scholars I wonder what our ministry to scholars might be?

  • Young women What might our ministry to young women look like?

  • People who work with wheels Do we have a ministry to offer mechanics, cyclists,
    potters?

You may have heard of the firework named for Catherine, the Catherine Wheel. Given that it is illegal for me to access fireworks, and the safety checks would take me a year to complete, we’re going to do the next best thing I could think of: make paper windmills.

As we make them, you might like to think of a Catherine in your life, or a young woman, or another person who’s example is an inspiration to your life of faith. You could write something about their character on the blades of your windmill.  (See two options on how to make a paper windmill below.)

Later on, if it’s possible, call the person that you were thinking of and let them know how they are an encouragement to you. Share your stories with one another – if you are comfortable – and pray for them.

How to make an origami paper windmill/pinwheel.

How to make a paper windmill/pinwheel.

Step 1)

Cut two 20cm squares of paper, one in each colour (we just used a single sheet). Place one sheet on top of the other. Matching edges all round, fold the paper in half diagonally and open out. Fold diagonally again, this time on the opposite diagonal and open out.

Step 2)

Cut from one corner along the diagonal fold stopping around 3cm from the centre. Repeat along the remaining diagonal folds.

Step 3)

Fold four alternate corner sections down to the centre of the paper, holding each section under your thumb at the centre as you work (we used some glue on each layer to help). Place a sticker centrally on the windmill so that it holds the four blades in position.