In this story you will discover why St. Christopher is patron of travelers, and he was also a martyr for the faith. Beginning his life in a pagan land, he was a reprobate, but finding Christ, he converted thousands to the faith. He died a glorious death. St. Christopher, pray for us.
An ancient tradition concerning St. Christopher relates: He was born in the land of Canaan, and was named Reprobus, that is Reprobate, for he was a barbarous heathen. In stature and strength he was a giant. Thinking no one his like in bodily vigor, he resolved to go in search of the mightiest master and serve him. In his wanderings, he met with a king who was praised as the most valorous man on earth. To him he offered his services and was accepted. The king was proud of his giant and kept him near him. One day a minstrel visited the king’s castle, and among the ballads he sung before the court was one of the power of Satan. At the mention of this name the king blessed himself, making the Sign of the Cross. Reprobus, wondering, asked him why he did that. The king replied, “When I make this sign, Satan has no power over me.” Reprobus rejoined, “So thou fearest the power of Satan?” Then he is mightier than thou, and I shall seek and serve him.”
Setting forth to seek Satan, he came into a wilderness. One dark night he met a band of wild fellows riding through the forest. It was Satan and his escort. Reprobus bravely accosted him, saying he wished to serve him. He was accepted. But soon he was convinced that his master was not the mightiest on earth. For one day, while approaching a crucifix by the wayside, Satan quickly took to flight, and Reprobus asked him for the reason. Satan replied, “That is the image of my greatest enemy, who conquered me on the cross. From him I always flee.” When Reprobus heard this, he left the devil, and went in search of Christ.
In his wanderings, he one day came to a hut hidden in the forest. At its door sat a venerable old man. Reprobus addressed him, and in the course of the conversation that ensued the old man told him that he was a hermit, and had left the world to serve Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth. “Thou art my man,” cried Reprobus.; “Christ is He whom I seek, for he is the strongest and the mightiest. Tell me where I can find him.”
The hermit then began instructing the giant about God and the Redeemer, and concluded by saying, “He who would serve Christ must offer himself entirely to him, and do and suffer everything for his sake. His reward for this will be immense and will last forever.” Reprobus now asked the hermit to allow him to remain, and to continue to instruct him. The hermit consented. When Reprobus was fully instructed, he baptized him. After his baptism, a great change came over the giant. No longer proud of his great size and strength, he became meek and humble, and asked the hermit to assign to him some task by which he might serve God, his Master. “For,” said he, “I cannot pray and fast; therefore I must serve God in some other way.” The hermit led him to a broad and swift river nearby, and said, “Here build thyself a hut, and when wanderers wish to cross the river, carry them over for the love of Christ.” For there was no bridge across the river.
Henceforth, day and night, whenever he was called, Reprobus faithfully performed the task assigned to him. One night he heard a child calling to be carried across the river. Quickly he rose, placed the child on his stout shoulder, took his staff and walked into the mighty current. Arrived in midstream, the water rose higher and higher, and the child became heavier and heavier. “O child,” he cried, “how heavy thou art! It seems I bear the weight of the world on my shoulder.” And the child replied, “Right thou art. Thou bearest not only the world, but the Creator of heaven and earth. I am Jesus Christ, thy King and Lord, and henceforth thou shalt be called Christophorus, that is, Christ-bearer. Arriving on yonder shore, plant thy staff in the ground, and in token of My power and might, tomorrow it shall bear leaves and blossoms.”
And the child disappeared. On reaching the other shore, Christophorus stuff his staff into the ground, and behold, it budded forth leaves and blossoms. Then, kneeling, he promised to serve the Lord ever faithfully. He kept his promise, and thenceforth became a zealous preacher of the Gospel, converting many to the faith. On his missionary peregrinations he came also to Lycia, where, after his first sermon, eighteen thousand heathens requested baptism. When Emperor Decius heard of this, He sent a company of four hundred soldiers to capture Christophorus. To these he preached so convincingly, that they all asked for baptism. Decius became enraged thereat and had him cast into prison. There he first treated him with great kindness, and surrounded him with every luxury to tempt him to sin, but in vain. Then he ordered him to be tortured in the most cruel manner, until he should deny the faith. He was scourged, placed on plates of hot iron, boiling oil was poured over and fire was lighted under him. When all these torments did not accomplish their purpose, the soldiers were ordered to shoot him with arrows. This, too, having no effect, he was beheaded, on July 25, 254.
Two great saints refer to the wonderful achievements of St. Christophorus. St. Ambrose mentions that this saint converted forty-eight thousand souls to Christ. St. Vincent Ferrer declares that when the plague devastated Valencia, its destructive force was stayed through the intercession of St. Christophorus.
LESSON
The legend of St. Christophorus conveys a wholesome truth. We ought all to be Christ-bearers, by preserving in our hearts faith, hope, and charity, and by receiving Our Lord worthily in Holy Communion. He alone is worthy of our service. In the service we owe to men, we ought to serve God by doing his will. We cannot divide our heart, for Our Lord himself says, “No man can serve two masters.”(Matt. 6:24). If you serve the world, it deceives you, for it cannot give you what it promises. If you serve sin, Satan is your master. He too, deceives his servants, and leads them to perdition. (They are his slaves. They do whatever he tells them. Most people will tell you they don’t believe in slavery, but if they are serving the devil, they are slaves to the devil). Christ on the cross conquered these two tyrants, the world and the devil, and with his help you also can vanquish them. * Therefore, give yourself to him with all your heart, and you shall have peace in this world, and eternal bliss in the next. St. Augustine learned this truth by sad experience, and therefore exclaims, “Thou hast created us for Thee, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee.”
Note: St. Christophorus is usually called St. Christopher. He is the patron of travelers, especially motorists, and is invoked in storms and tempests. His feast day is July 25th.
PRAYER: Grant us, Almighty God, that while we celebrate the memory of Thy blessed Martyr St. Christophorus, through his intercession may the love of Thy Name be increased in us, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
*In order to serve God, we must begin a life of prayer, to communicate with him. “He who prays shall be saved. He who prays not shall be condemned. One of the greatest pains of the damned is that they could have saved themselves so easily by prayer, but neglected to do so.” St. Alphonsus. Especially the holy rosary. Mary in her 15 promises said, “Devotion to my rosary is a great sign of predestination.” Jesus said to “pray always,” because in the Garden He told his Apostles that “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Our Lady of Fatima told St. Jacinta that “More souls go to hell for sins of the flesh than for any other reason.” When fornication, adultery, birth control, and abortion are going on by numberless people, how can we believe that hardly any are saved? And how can many of the clergy be saved (including protestant preachers), who never instruct or warn souls about these evils? At Garabandal, Spain, 1965 , our Blessed Mother in her second warning said, “Many cardinals, many bishops, and many priests, are on the road to perdition, and are taking many souls with them…” Be careful who you follow.
We should be baptized. We must give up worldly pleasures, for how can we speak to God when music is blasting in our ears? “Sporting themselves to excess,” said St. Peter, 2 Peter 2:13. Drunkenness, debauchery, fornication, adultery, stealing and murder, detraction, swearing, immodesty, gambling, falsehood and lying, and so on. “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, Idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, sects, Envies, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like. Of the which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God.” Gal. 5:19-21, drbo.org. God killed 23,000 in one day for the sin of fornication. 23,000! There’s a lot of fornication going on, illicit sex, adultery, etc. You can go into almost any quick stop and buy you know what to have sex with. And some department stores like (family-friendly) Walmart also provide them. How many of these owners of businesses do you think will be saved, when on the Day of Judgement they see how much fornication they provided for? Not one in a thousand. They are all about the money!
SOME CONSIDERATIONS
Is my tongue my downfall? “He that hath no guard on his speech, shall meet with evils.” Proverbs 13:3. “He that would love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.” 1 Peter 3:10. Do you have a bridle on your tongue? “If any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.” St. James 1:26. Is your mouth filled with vulgar talk, and taking God’s Holy name in vain? “Put you all away all filthy speech out of your mouth.” Col. 3:8. Imagine a person taking the beautiful name of Mother, and putting that filthy word behind it? “Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain: for he shall not be unpunished who takes his name in vain.” Deut. 5:11. One man took God’s Holy Name in vain, and an hour later he slipped in the river and drowned. Another man who had that damnable habit lost his daughter at 12 years of age. Another man lost his son in a car accident at only 16. This same man flew into a rage one morning taking God’s Name in vain, and before the morning was out, he ripped his hand and had to go to the hospital to get stitches.
Am I immodest? This applies both to men and women, but especially to women. In the book, HELL AND HOW TO AVOID HELL, it relates the story of a woman who was damned mainly for dressing immodest and inciting men to lust after her. It said she had not otherwise lived that badly, but mainly was damned for the sin of immodesty. She was not afraid, it said, to dress immodestly. No fear of the Lord. “The fear of the Lord driveth out sin.” Ecclus. 1:27, drbo.org. Also, women like to dress like men, wearing jeans and so forth. “A woman shall not be clothed with man’s apparel, neither shall a man use woman’s apparel: for he that doeth these things is abominable before God.” Deut. 22:5.
Sin has consequences. Either sickness, accidents, and eventually death, and usually the fire of purgatory following if we die in the grace of God; or everlasting hellfire if we die in sin. “He that sinneth in the sight of his maker, shall fall into the hands of the physician.” Ecclus. 38:15. You see, even in this life, we are punished either by accidents or sickness when we offend the Lord.
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