The image of Holy Great-martyr Barbara — Glorified in the Kingdom of Christ photo by Fr. Brendan

What is a saint? Every Sunday we go to church and hear about what the saints did out of love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But what makes a saint a saint? Is it because they follow the footsteps of Jesus? Is it because they chose death over denying that Jesus is Christ, or because they are people of great holiness and virtue? A saint is all of the above: They follow the footsteps of Jesus no matter what the consequences are. Many saints gave up their lives because they believed with all their heart in Jesus. Saint Barbara and Saint Catherine of Alexandria are two saints who were tortured and killed in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and spread Jesus’ teachings.

Saint Barbara was a beautiful young lady who lived during the time of the impious tyrant Emperor Maximian (203-335). Throughout Barbara’s life, she lived in a high tower with a beautiful view of the town below. One day while she was looking out of the window, she asked one of her servants who made all living things. Her maid answered by saying that it was the gold, silver, and wooden gods. Thinking over this, Barbara decided that this could not have been because how could these sculptures, which are made by men, make the land?

When she was old enough to be married, her father Dioscoros spoke to her about the men who had been asking for her hand in marriage, but Barbara desired to stay single. Dioscoros thought that if he went on a very long business trip then Barbara would miss him and when he came back it would be easier to get Barbara to do what he wanted. Before he left, he decided to build a bathhouse outside Barbara’s chamber. Because her father left town, Barbara was free to walk around town and talk to whom ever she wanted to. She decided to talk to a group of Christian women to find out more about the creator of all living things.

While her father was out of town, the workers began building the bathhouse with only two windows. Saint Barbara, however, declared that there needed to be a third window, and ordered the workers to make that change. Once the bathhouse was done, Saint Barbara traced the holy cross upon the east side of the wall, and her finger left a mark in the stone, as if the marble had been engraved with a chisel. Her virginal footprints remained imprinted in the stone floor of the bath; and from them, water began to flow, which later became a source of healing for the faithful.

When her father Dioscoros came back and asked why there was a third window she said, “Three windows shine upon every person who comes into the world.” Saint Barbara said that this reflected upon the Tri-Hypostatic God. Outraged, Dioscoros brought her to the bathhouse and asked how the three windows could shine on everyone. Saint Barbara drew the sign of the cross while saying “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Dioscoros, who believed in false gods, drew his sword to slay his daughter. Saint Barbara then fled from her father and hid on a nearby mountain. Chasing her, Dioscoros encountered two shepherds and asked if they had seen his daughter. One shepherd denied seeing her; but the other pointed the way for Dioscoros — and then immediately became a prickly plant.

Once Dioscoros found Saint Barbara, he dragged her into her chamber and locked her in. Then he went to Governor Martianus and told him that Barbara had turned from the gods and not to take pity on her. When Saint Barbara approached Martianus, he asked why she had turned on the gods whom her parents worshipped. Saint Barbara simply answered, “I offer praise to my God who made the heavens, the earth and all creation. The gods, however, that you worship are constructed from wood, silver, and gold, and made with the hands of men and the company of demons.” Hearing this, Martianus ordered Barbara to be whipped and put in prison.

In the middle of the night, Christ appeared to Saint Barbara, saying, “In nowise fear, Barbara, neither grow weary before the torments and punishments of those hard-hearted men, but remain firm in thy resolve, for I desire to abide forever with thee and to guard thee under my protection.” When Christ finished speaking, all of Saint Barbara’s wounds vanished. Juliana, a God-fearing and virtuous woman witnessed this miraculous event and decided in her heart that she too would endure every kind of torture and torment for the love and name of Jesus Christ.

When the governor ordered Saint Barbara to approach him, she said that Jesus Christ had healed her. The Martianus refused to recognize the true God, was vexed with the holy maiden, and ordered his executioners to lacerate her flesh with iron claws, to burn her with torches and to strike her venerable head with a hammer. The goodly pious Juliana witnessed Saint Barbara’s punishments and began to cry. When asked why she was crying, she said it was because she was a Christian and sympathized for Saint Barbara. Then Juliana was also punished harshly. Barbara and Juliana prayed together and Saint Barbara heard a voice from on high call forth both her and Juliana to that eternal and ineffable rejoicing.

Saint Catherine, the second of the two saints in this article, did not just praise God and die for Jesus Christ, but she also debated against the smartest philosophers from all over the empire. Catherine of Alexandria was a beautiful young lady who was instructed in the wisdom of the Greeks, learning all the works of the poets, philosophers and medical writers. She was a master of all the nuances of many languages and surpassed all others in rhetoric and logic.

When Catherine was old enough to be married, many men asked for her hand in marriage, but she refused. Her Christian mother found a man outside the country who was a counselor to advise her. When they met, he talked about Jesus Christ. Once he finished, Catherine wanted to meet Jesus right away. The man gave her an icon of the Virgin Mary and told her to lock herself in her chamber and pray. While praying, she fell asleep. In her dreams Catherine saw the Virgin Mary carrying her son Jesus Christ. Whenever she tried to see Jesus’ face, He would position himself so that she could not see him. After the third try, the Virgin Mary asked Jesus why he would not look at Catherine. He answered “She is gloomy and so repugnant that it is not possible for me to look upon her!” Jesus told Catherine to go back to the man who gave her the icon and follow whatever instructions he gave her.

When Catherine went back to the blessed elder, he further instructed her in the faith and told her that she needed to be baptized. So after the elder baptized her, he instructed her to beseech the Virgin Mary to appear once again. After praying and fasting all night, Catherine fell asleep and the Virgin Mary appeared once again with Jesus Christ. The blessed Theotokos then took the right hand of the maiden and said to her Son, “My Child, give her a ring as a token of Thy betrothal to her, so as to deem her worthy of Thy Kingdom.” Jesus Christ then gave Catherine a ring and put it on her right hand. Then she woke up. Looking down at her hand, Catherine saw that she was wearing the ring.

Later, she went to the emperor, Maxentius, and told him that he was giving his faith to lifeless gods. After arguing about which was the true god, the emperor saw that he was no match for Catherine's wisdom, so he sent an invitation to every philosopher in the empire to compete against the great Catherine — in order to prove to her that his gods were the true gods. The greatest fifty of the emporer's philosophers came ready to argue their beliefs with Catherine.

When Catherine arrived, the Archangel Michael appeared and told her not to be afraid to debate the philosophers, because she would win the battle and convert not only them, but many others, to Christianity. Catherine's arguments convinced the philosophers who then confessed Christ.

The emperor then tried to win Catherine over by giving her a palace as well as by offering to marry her. However, Catherine refused the offer, so the emperor ordered her tortured and killed. When Saint Catherine was beheaded, all the bystanders witnessed milk flow from her sacred head instead of blood. At that hour, her revered and precious relics were translated by holy angels to Mount Sinai.

Saint Barbara and Saint Catherine suffered tragic deaths in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. They became saints because they followed the footsteps of Jesus Christ. They chose death over denying that Jesus is Christ. They are people of great holiness and virtue. Many people today follow Jesus’ footsteps and some are people of great holiness, but most sadly would not choose to be tortured and killed for their belief in Christ. Saint Barbara and Saint Catherine have made themselves worthy of entering the Kingdom of Heaven.