St. Blaise

SAINT BLAISE
Bishop and Martyr
(†316)

Saint Blaise devoted the earlier years of his life to the study of philosophy, and afterwards became a physician. In the practice of his profession he saw so much of the miseries of life and the hollowness of worldly pleasures, that he resolved to spend the rest of his days in the service of God. From being a healer of bodily ailments, he became a physician of souls, then retired for a time, by divine inspiration, to a cavern where he remained in prayer.

When the bishop of Sebaste in Armenia died, Blaise, much to the gratification of the inhabitants of that city, was chosen to succeed him. Saint Blaise at once began to instruct his people, as much by his example as by his words, and the great virtues and sanctity of the servant of God were attested by many miracles. From all parts, the people came flocking to him for the cure of bodily and spiritual ills.

When the governor of Cappadocia and Lesser Armenia, Agricolaus, began a persecution by order of the Emperor Licinius, Saint Blaise was seized. After interrogation and a severe scourging, he was hurried off to prison. While he was under custody, a distraught mother, whose only child was dying of a throat disease, threw herself at his feet and implored his intercession. Touched at her grief, he offered up his prayers, and the child was cured.

The prisoner was brought before Agricolaus again for further questioning, and again was whipped while tied to a pillar. He was spared from drowning when thrown into a lake; the governor ordered then that he be beheaded. At the execution site he prayed aloud to God for his persecutors, and asked that in the future those who would invoke him might be aided, as he had been permitted to assist them during his lifetime. Our Lord appeared to him and said in a voice which all bystanders heard, that He granted his prayer. Since that time his intercession has often been effectually solicited, especially in cases of all kinds of throat problems.

There is no sacrifice which, by the aid of grace, human nature is not capable of accomplishing. When Saint Paul complained to God of the violence of temptation, God answered, "My grace is sufficient for thee, for strength is made perfect in infirmity."

St. Blaise is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. He helps those with throat problems, and we get a blessing for the throat with the crossed candles on this day.


The Blessing of the Paschal Candle


The paschal or Easter candle represents the risen Christ, and also the pillar of fire in the desert. For as in olden time this fiery pillar led the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, so did Christ, the Risen One, rescue us from the slavery of Satan.

The paschal candle is blessed on Holy Saturday with solemn and impressive ceremonies. It should be made of bleached wax, in order to symbolize properly the pure and holy body of Christ, which proceeded from the immaculate bosom of the Blessed Virgin. To the candle are attached in five separate openings, in the form of a cross, five grains of incense, which have been blessed that same morning. These five openings represent the five wound-marks of Christ which He retained after His resurrection, and which we shall all look upon on the day of judgment, either to our joy or to our sorrow. The incense grains represent the spices and ointments with which Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea embalmed the body of Jesus.

As this Easter candle is an emblem of the risen Saviour, it stands burning on the gospel side of the altar all through Eastertide. After the gospel at High Mass on Ascension Thursday it is extinguished and carried away, in memory of Christ's departure from the earth, when He ascended from Mount Olivet.