Onomastics to celebrate today: the saints of Saturday, March 11

Decades ago, one could even speak of centuries ago, parents used to assign the first names of their children according to the feasts of the saints of that day, even among Catholics and Orthodox the custom of congratulating people on Your saint’s day. Not in vain in the famous “Mañanitas” there is a stanza that says: “Today, because it’s your birthday, we sing them to you here…”.

He onomastic alludes to the day when a saint is celebrated, although it is common for many people to use it as a synonym for birthday, which is wrong, because when they talk about it, they only allude to the list of holy names.

Like every day of the year, today also commemorates the women and men who stood out for having special connections with the deities, who did good deeds for their neighbors and who had high ethics and morals, reasons that led them to to be canonized or beatified and be among the saints.

It is the day of the saint Saturday March 11.

Santa Áurea (Orea or Oria) was born in the Rioja town of Villavelayo, invaded by the Moors, daughter of Santa Amunia. His teacher and spiritual father was Don Munio, who wrote his life in Latin and later translated Gonzalo de Berceo into Alexandrian sound verse. A credible life, because, according to the poet, even for a rich county he would not have consented to lie: In everything he said, he told the whole truth.

The very name of Áurea (Golden) was already an omen of rich quality: “How precious, more precious than gold, the name via de oro: Oria was called”. Berceo’s verses are delicious: “She was this amorous servant of God, she wanted to be blind more than to see herself married. He preferred liturgical “hours” more than other chants and listening to clerics more than other minstrels. “Pesque lost his teeth, then after a few years very little was paid by lay people.” He was jealous of Mary, Lazare’s sister. Like her, he will spend his life near the altar, at the feet of Christ.

One day he went on a pilgrimage and arrived at the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla. The prior was called Dominique and later founded the Abbey of Silos. Oria fell at his feet and asked his advice to live separate from the world and surrender to God. “Lord, God wills it, this is my will, to put order and the veil, to live in chastity, in a closed corner, to lie in poverty, to live on what the Christian would give for me.”

After the prior asked her to think seriously about the step she was going to take and Oria insisted on her commitment, Domingo accepted and gave her the habit of the bride of Christ. The masons opened a hole in the wall of the church of San Millán de Suso, the one above —where the seven infants of Lara were also buried— in front of the main altar and the choir where the monks sang and there the fearless maiden Oria was imprisoned. .

These were heroic times. There were people who were not content to shut themselves up in a monastery. They wanted even more stiffness. They locked themselves in incredibly small cells, where sometimes they couldn’t stand on their feet, so they couldn’t get out. They only opened a small window that faced the altar. Sometimes people came to ask their opinion. But normally his solitude was total, only interrupted by the fight with the demons and by his dealings with the angels. The women were the most generous for this voluntary prison. It was called the sandwiches and the memory of his heroism remains.

“Ovo grants joy” when granted, says the couplet. Oria was not afraid of the narrow wall. It is still considered today and not without a certain thrill. Days and nights were devoted to praying, reading the Holy Scriptures and the lives of the saints. She advised those who came to see her. She made the hosts for the mass, sewed chasubles for the church, prayed the psalms when the monks “and their prayer foradaba the heavens”.

“But the blessed daughter, the friend of the Creator”, had great temptations from the devil. Domingo discovered her, he came from Silos, sprinkled her with holy water, said mass at the main altar, confessed her, gave her communion and the blessed girl received no more visits from demons, but from angels and saints.

After such austere confinement, Oria fell ill. The Lady of Heaven herself warned him of her death. Don Munio came to take care of her. The night has come. Oria raised her right hand and made the sign of the cross. And then “she raised both hands, joined them also, like one who gives thanks to the good celestial king, the loyal recluse closed her eyes and her mouth, and abandoned her soul to God: she never felt bad again”. And he went from being held by God to heaven with God.

With this character is other saints and martyrs which are also celebrated this Saturday, March 11 as follows:

Saint Benedict of Milan

Saint Constantine of Scotland

Santo Domingo Camera

San Oengo Culdeo

Saint Pionio

Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem

Saint Vincent, Abbot

San Vidiciano

Blessed Juan Bautista by Fabriano Righi

Beato Juan Kearney

Blessed Thomas Atkinson

Saints are the group of people (women and men) who they are venerated by the Church when they are proclaimed saints or blessed on a certain calendar date.

On the path to canonization there are four stages: the first is to be named a servant of God, the second is to be venerable; the third step is to be blessed and finally the fourth step is to be a saint.

There beatification It can only be attained by the faithful who have died with the reputation of being saints in various places and this process can be achieved in two ways: by a cause of heroic virtues and the second is martyrdom, that is- ie if the person He died for his faith.

On another side, the process of becoming a saint This involves adding the name of the sanctified person in the canon (list of recognized saints) and with this the believing community is authorized to render public and universal worship to him, while a liturgical feast is assigned to him, altars, chapels and his power to intercede with God is recognized.

Although the Church has not given an exact figure, it is estimated that there are currently up to nine thousand recognized saints. According Roman Martyrologyupdated in 2005, the Catholic Church has at least seven thousand saintsalthough the martyrs are not counted, so many believe the figure could even be as high as 20,000.

In recent history, Pope John Paul II succeeded in canonizing 388 saints, while Pope Francis broke all records after that, to date, he canonized 898 saints, 800 of them at the same time.