The month of May heralds spring and lush, abundant life throughout creation – in the blossoms on trees, vibrant colors of flowers, and songbirds who return to nest after a long winter’s hiatus.  A month largely devoted to our Blessed Mother, May also holds several notable feast days of other saints, many of whom withstood intense trials and false accusations of heresy.  Throughout history, saints have been those who choose exemplary virtue in the face of uncertainty, possible failure, and even death.  If we want to learn about and honor their heroism, we must walk alongside them by pondering their lives and legacies, and beseech their intercession for the fortitude necessary to join them in Heaven. Let us contemplate their trials and their courage so that our spiritual lives may blossom and bear joy this month.

1. St. Bertha of Kent

Born a Frankish princess, Bertha was betrothed to a pagan in Kent, England, and she agreed to marry him on the condition that she would be permitted to practice her Catholic faith without persecution.  When this was accepted, Bertha brought to England with her a chaplain, who assisted her in restoring Christianity to Canterbury.  Bertha commissioned the building of a private chapel, which she used frequently and dedicated to St. Martin of Tours.  She is credited for her role in establishing Catholicism in sixth-century England and is venerated in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches.  Her feast day is May 1.

2. St. Athanasius

Athanasius is considered one of the greatest saints of his time and is also a Doctor of the Church.  Born to Christian parents in Alexandria during the late third century, Athanasius was drawn at an early age to asceticism and a life of virtue.  After spending some time with the well-known hermit, St. Anthony of the Desert, Athanasius was ordained a deacon and eventually became a bishop.  His most noteworthy accomplishment was his untiring fight against the Arian heresy, which was a cause of great and prolonged suffering and trials for him.  Athanasius spent seventeen years of his episcopate in exile because of his unwavering stance against Arianism, but he died peacefully despite the persistent struggles against which he fought.  His feast day is May 2.

3. Sts. Timothy & Martha

Timothy and Martha were newlyweds and Catholics when the Church was in its infancy.  Fervent and devout, their faith never faltered when Timothy was ordered to “hand over the Scriptures to Roman officials.”  He was likely the target of such persecution because he was a lector in his Egyptian church, for which reason he is called Timothy the Reader.  Timothy unhesitatingly refused, so he – along with his wife, Martha – was arrested and condemned to martyrdom.  Suffering a horrific and lingering death in which they were both nailed to a wall for nine days, Timothy and Martha encouraged each other in hope as they suffered together for the sake of their faith.  They are commemorated on May 3.

4. Martyrs of England

During the peak of Henry VIII’s break from the Catholic Church, in which he established himself as the head of the new Anglican Church, many who remained faithful to Catholicism were denied adequate trial, or any trial at all, and were instead immediately sentenced to merciless martyrdom.  Between 1535 and 1679, a group of forty men and women who died under Henry VIII’s rule were eventually canonized as a collective group under the title “The Forty Martyrs of England” by Pope Paul VI.  He granted permission for the group of martyrs to be canonized together on the basis of one astounding miracle in which a young mother was cured of a cancerous tumor based on the intercession of one of the martyrs.  The original feast day (which is still celebrated in Wales) was October 25, but Catholics in England and elsewhere honor these saints on May 4.

5. St. Simon Stock

Best known for the apparition he received of the Virgin Mary handing him a scapular, St. Simon received the surname “Stock” based on the legend that he lived in the hollow of a tree as a hermit for a period of time in his life.  “Stock” is loosely translated as “tree trunk.”  After meeting a group of Carmelites while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, St. Simon Stock founded several Carmelite communities and “helped change the Carmelites from a hermit order to one of mendicant friars.”  He received the apparition of Our Lady handing him a brown scapular during a time when the Carmelites were being heavily oppressed (in the thirteenth century), and her words to him have been consolation to countless numbers of faithful devotees of the scapular for centuries: “Receive, my beloved son, this scapular of thy Order; it is the special sign of my favor, which I have obtained for thee and for thy children of Mount Carmel. He who dies clothed with this habit shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger, and a pledge of special peace and protection.”  We celebrate St. Simon’s feast day on May 16.

6. Pope St. John I

St. John I was elected pope during a troubling time in history, a time that some might call unfortunate while others would deem providential.  In the early sixth century, the ruler of Italy was Theodoric the Goth, who had been at one time sympathetic towards Catholics, though he was a believer in the Arian heresy.  But he became unreasonably suspicious of a plot against him, and, in addition, he was outraged by the Byzantine Emperor Justin I’s “severe edict against heretics” and the measures being taken against Arians in Constantinople.  Theodoric began targeting Catholics and in particular, John I, whom he imprisoned for treason.  Before St. John was arrested, he successfully reunited the Eastern and Western Churches, which had been suffering a schism of about 150 years.  St. John I died as a result of his maltreatment in prison and was later canonized.  His feast day is May 18.

7. St. Augustine of Canterbury

A quiet and contented prior of a monastery in the sixth century, Augustine was commissioned by Pope St. Gregory the Great to lead a dangerous trip to England to reinstate public worship after the Saxon conquest had forced missionaries to practice in secret.  Despite unpromising and gruesome tales that England wasn’t prepared for Christianity, Augustine fearlessly and obediently led the missionaries to speak with King Ethelbert of Kent (St. Bertha’s husband).  The king was so impressed that he permitted Augustine and his missionaries to preach to the English people, as long as no one was forced to convert.  The king himself was later baptized a Catholic.  Even though Augustine was successful in this mission, he was prudent enough to discern that it must be a careful transition from paganism to Christianity, due to the people's deep-seated respect for their old religion.  He died after only six years in England. He is commemorated on May 26 in England and May 28 elsewhere.

8. St. Joan of Arc 

The well-known and widely beloved patroness of France and of soldiers, St. Joan of Arc was born to devout peasant parents in the fifteen century and is said to have heard the voices of St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret from a young age.  When she was a mere thirteen years old, the saints who visited her boldly instructed her to “drive the English from French territory.”  Three years later, she petitioned to the Royal Court with her bizarre request, which was, of course, initially denied.  She persisted, however, and predicted “a military reversal at the Battle of Rouvray,” which gave her credibility, and she was granted permission to accompany the male soldiers to battle against England.  Her heaven-guided aid in battle and strategy changed France's approach to the war and freed it from an expansive English occupation, which otherwise may have become permanent. St. Joan was falsely accused as a witch and heretic, given a mock trial, and sentenced to death by burning at the stake.  The feast day of this warrior and mystic is May 30.

Everyone’s life is, at some point, shrouded in mystery, and these May saints were no exception to that.  Yet they trusted God with such unprecedented confidence that He was able to accomplish truly miraculous and historically monumental things through their persistent “yes” to Him.  What if our faith mirrored theirs?  Imagine what God could do if we possessed but a mustard seed of their faith!  Holy May saints, pray for us.

What other May saints do you know?