Saint John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom was born in 349 in Antioch to a pagan father who was a high-ranking military officer and a Greek mother. At the age of 23, his friends St. Basil and St. Meletius, Bishop of Antioch, encouraged him to study Holy Scripture instead of Greek classical studies. Two years later, he was baptized and ordained as a "lector" and spent several years living as a hermit in a cave. In 386, John became a priest and was deeply committed to his Bishop's teachings. He wrote many books and treatises on scripture, but it was his spiritually profound preaching that earned him the nickname Chrysostom, meaning "golden-mouthed," and influenced the lives of many in the East. During his Mass, God granted him the privilege of seeing the saints come down from heaven to assist in the consummation of the great mystery. After serving as a priest for 12 years, John was secretly brought to Constantinople by Emperor Arcadius, who had realized that the people of Antioch would not willingly let their beloved priest leave. There, John was consecrated as the Bishop of the city. He immediately began to correct abuses and initiate much-needed ecclesiastical reform. He reduced the expenses of his household and lived a simple life. He purged the ranks of the clergy of unworthy elements and tightened monastic discipline. In his sermons, John spoke out against the excessive luxuries and vanities of the imperial court, which greatly delighted the common people who came to hear him. However, this also made him enemies at court, including Queen Eudoxia. In the fifth year of his episcopate, the Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria convened the so-called "Oak-Synod," which declared John deposed under various pretexts and sent him into exile. But the people loved him so much that the Empress had him recalled almost immediately. After surviving two assassination attempts, John was banished again, this time to Armenia and the wilds of the East of the Black Sea, where he passed away on 14 September 407. St. John Chrysostom is one of the four great Fathers of the Eastern Church and the reformer of its liturgy. He is the patron saint of preachers and is invoked against epilepsy.

Prayer attributed to St. John Chrysostom:

O Lord Jesus Christ, open the eyes of my heart that I may hear your Word and understand and do your will, for I am a sojourner upon the Earth. Hide not your commandments from me, but open my eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of your Law. Speak unto me the hidden and secret things of your wisdom. On you do I set my hope, O my God, that you shall enlighten my mind and understanding with the light of your knowledge; not only to cherish those things which are written, but to do them. For you are the enlightenment of those who lie in darkness, and from you comes every good deed and every gift. Amen.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,

Most High Servant,

Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 

(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)