[Pope Damasus]December 11
Saints of the Day...and Events
 

Pope St. Damasus I, 306-384
The Pope who gave us the Canon, the books that make the Bible... and commission Jerome to write the Vulgate

    All lovers of Scripture have reason to celebrate this day. Damasus was the pope who commissioned Saint Jerome to translate the Scriptures into Latin, the Vulgate version of the Bible.

    Pope Damasus I was a scholar and as such published the canon of Holy Scripture, including the New Testament specifying the authentic books of the Bible as decreed by the Council in Rome in 382... and the same Bible was confirmed by Pope Paul III at the Ecumenical Council of Trent (1545).
    Many Protestants do not realize that the New Testament they cherish was given to them by a Pope, at the times of St. Jerome and St, Augustine, in the Council of Rome, the same Books used today in all Protestant Bibles.
     When Luther broke with the Pope, he kept the same New Testament as the one Pope Damasus I had given us... if the Pope is no good, then, the Bible is no good!.

    It was during the pontificate of Damasus that both Emperor Theodosius the Great in the East and Emperor Gratian in the West decreed Christianity to be the religion of the Empire.    

    Damasus was of Spanish descent, however, it is believed that he was born in Rome and became a deacon in the church of his father, Antonio, who had become a priest after the death of his wife.
 
    The anti-pope: Damasus was elected Pope in 366 by a large majority, but his election was contested by number of over-zealous followers of the deceased Liberius. They chose the deacon Ursinus, had him irregularly consecrated, and resorted to much violence and bloodshed trying to seat him in the Chair of Peter. However, Emperor Valentinian exiled Ursinus. Despite the exile of Ursinus, the opposition remained active and in 378 they charged him with adultery, but he was cleared by a synod of forty-four bishops, which also excommunicated his accusers.

    His pontificate also suffered from the rise of Arianism, and from several schisms including break-away groups in Antioch, Constantinople, Sardinia, and Rome. Pope Damasus was zealous in his opposition to Arianism and sent legates to the General Council of Constantinople in 381, which accepted papal teaching, again condemned Arianism, and denounced the teaching of Macedonius that the Holy Spirit is not divine.

    Damasus restored catacombs, shrines, and the tombs of martyrs, and wrote poetry and metrical inscriptions about and dedicated to martyrs. They state that he would like to be buried in the catacombs with the early martyrs, but that the presence of one of his lowly status would profane such an august place. Ten of his letters, personal and pontifical, have survived.

Born c.306 in Rome of Spaniard descendents
Papal Ascension 366
Died 384
Additional Information
          http://www.catholicexchange.com/church_today/message.asp?message_id=1918&sec_id=4
          http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintd10.htm
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Readings
He who walking on the sea could calm the bitter waves, who gives life to the dying seeds of the earth; he who was able to loose the mortal chains of death, and after three days' darkness could bring again to the upper world the brother for his sister Martha: he, I believe, will make Damasus rise again from the dust.  epitaph Damasus wrote for himself
The arrangement of the names of Christ, however, is manifold: Lord, because He is Spirit; Word, because He is God; Son, because He is the only-begotten son of the Father; Man, because He was born of the Virgin; Priest, because He offered Himself as a sacrifice; Shepherd, because He is a guardian; Worm, because He rose again; Mountain, because He is strong; Way, because there is a straight path through Him to life; Lamb, because He suffered; Corner-Stone, because instruction is His; Teacher, because He demonstrates how to live; Sun, because He is the illuminator; Truth, because He is from the Father; Life, because He is the creator; Bread because He is flesh; Samaritan, because He is the merciful protector; Christ, because He is anointed; Jesus, because He is a mediator; Vine, because we are redeemed by His blood; Lion, because he is king; Rock, because He is firm; Flower, because He is the chosen one; Prophet, because He has revealed what is to come.  from the Decree of Damasus (attributed to Damasus); from The Faith of the Early Fathers, by William A Jurgens, copyright 1970, the Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota [portrait of Saint Maria]

St. Maria Maravillas de Jesus, 1891-1974, Maravillas Pidal y Chico de Guzmán; Maria de las Maravillas Jesus
The Marquise from Madrid who founded many Carmelite houses, even in India... as many as St. Teresa herself!

    Daughter of the Marquess of Pidal; her father was Spanish ambassador to the Vatican and a very active supporter of the Church. She was baptized at the age of eight days, Confirmed in 1896, made her first Communion in 1902, grew up in a pious family, was known as an intelligent and religious child, and early perceived a call to religious life. She entered the Carmelite novitiate at El Escorial, Madrid in 1920.

    On 19 May 1924 Maria and three sisters founded a house at Cerro de los Angeles, Madrid, the geographical center of Spain, and she took her final vows there on 30 May 1924. Prioress of the house in 1926. The house expanded so quickly that Mother Marvillas was sent to found another in Kottayam, India, which over the years has expanded to many other Carmels in that country.

    She returned to Spain, and in 1936, as part of the anti-clerical actions of the Spanish Civil War, she and her sisters were arrested, relocated to Madrid, and subjected to fourteen months of house arrest and harassment.

    In September 1937 Mother Maravillas and her community relocated to las Batuecas, Salamanca where they founded a new house.

    In 1939 she led a group of sisters to restore the house at Cerro de los Angeles. From there she led an expansion of the Carmelites with houses in Mancera de Abajo, Salamanca in 1944, Duruelo, Avíla in 1947, Cabrera, Salamanca 1950, Arenas de San Pedro, Avíla in 1954, San Calixto, Córdoba in 1956, Aravaca, Madrid in 1958, Talavera de la Reina, Toledo c.1960, la Aldeheula, Madrid in 1961, and Montemar-Torremolinos, Málaga in 1964. To unite these and other far-flung houses, she founded the Association of Saint Teresa in 1972. The Carmel in la Aldeheula was hugely expanded with schools, a community of houses for the local poor, church, community halls and other structures in what effectively became a small town.

    In all these works Mother Maravillas was known for her dedication for work and prayer, her humility and care of her younger sisters, and her dedication to the Rules and spirituality of the Discalced Carmelites.

Born 4 November 1891 in Madrid, Spain
Died 11 December 1974 in La Aldehuela monastery, Madrid province, Spain of natural causes
Beatified 10 May 1998 by Pope John Paul II in Rome - Canonized 4 May 2003 by Pope John Paul II
Additional Information
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintma6.htm
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Readings What happiness to die a Carmelite! - Saint Maria's dying words


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