Nov 22 – S Cecilia

22/11/2025 9 min
Nov 22 – S Cecilia

Listen "Nov 22 – S Cecilia"

Episode Synopsis

It’s the Feast of St Cecilia, 3rd Class, with the color of Red. In this episode: the meditation: “The Loss of all Things in Death”, today’s news from the Church: “American Bishops Opt for Continuity”, and today’s thought from the Archbishop.
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Sources Used Today:
“The Loss of all Things in Death” – Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell: Meditations on the Four Last Things by St. Alphonsus de Liguorihttps://www.amazon.com/Death-Judgment-Heaven-Hell-Meditations/dp/1530479126

“American Bishops Opt for Continuity” (FSSPX.news)
https://fsspx.news/en/news/american-bishops-opt-continuity-55518

The Spiritual Life – Archbishop Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
https://angeluspress.org/products/spiritual-life-archbishop


Saint Cecilia is one of the most beloved martyrs of the early Church, yet the heart of her story is quieter than the legends that grew around her. What Christians have cherished for centuries is the sense that Cecilia lived with one ear turned always toward heaven, hearing a music the world could not silence. Born into a noble Roman family sometime in the second or third century, she was raised a Christian at a time when the faith was still illegal. Her family arranged a marriage to a young pagan named Valerian, but on her wedding day, Cecilia sang to God in her heart, praying for the courage to remain faithful to her vow of chastity.
What we know with greater confidence is this: Cecilia’s witness drew others to Christ. The ancient Passio tells that Valerian and his brother Tiburtius were converted through her influence and were soon baptized. In a city where professing Christ could bring death, Cecilia taught them to treasure purity, charity, and prayer. The brothers were arrested and executed for burying Christian martyrs. Cecilia, undaunted, continued her own works of mercy, distributing alms and encouraging the persecuted. When she was brought before the Roman authorities, she spoke with a calm boldness that astonished her judges.
Her martyrdom became the core of her cult. Tradition says she was condemned to die in the steam of her own bathhouse, but when she survived the ordeal, she was struck down by the sword. Even then, she remained conscious for days, urging those around her to remain steadfast in the faith. Christians of Rome honored her as a model of courage — not dramatic rebellion, but steady, joyful fidelity.
By the fifth century her house in Trastevere had become a church, and her tomb in the catacombs became a place of pilgrimage. When her relics were...