Nov. 22nd - St. Cecilia

St. Cecilia, the martyr and the patroness of music, whose memorial we celebrate, sings in heaven before Jesus, the Lamb of God.

A native of Rome, she made a vow of virginity as a child. Despite her vow of virginity, her parents forced her to marry a pagan nobleman named Valerian. After she told him of her vow of virginity, she was still able to maintain the vow while married. At her wedding, when the musicians played their instruments, she sang with all her heart to God, her divine spouse. She told her husband, that an angel is watching over her virginity, and that if he wanted to see the angel, he too should be baptized. Because of the deep love of Christ and her holy virtues, her husband and his brother became Christian. And once he was baptized, he saw the angel. From her childhood until her death, she bravely denied the worship of false gods. She helped the poor and did many deeds of mercy. Her husband and his brother were martyred, followed by St. Cecilia, a few days later. She was placed in hot steam for three days, but was miraculously not affected. The executioner struck her three times with the blade, but she did not die immediately. And do today, statues of the virgin martyr, show her lying down with a large gash on her throat. Although she died in the early 2^nd century, her body continues to be incorrupt and is located in a church in Rome. Her name is in the Roman Canon, which is Eucharistic prayer 1 of the Mass.

Just as St. Therese is patroness of the missions, although she was never a missionary, St. Cecilia, is the patroness of music, although she never played musical instruments. However, at the sound of musical instruments, the virgin, Cecilia, sang in her heart continually, as an outpouring of love to God, Her Divine Spouse.

Today, even though there are some of us who may never have played a musical instrument we can be just like St. Cecilia and do everything for the love of God and in this way, when we enter the gates of heaven, we will sing with the choir of angels forever.