Nicholas of Myra, Bishop

Today the Church commemorates Nicholas of Myra, bishop and wonder-worker, whose memory became inseparable from hidden generosity, the protection of the vulnerable, and mercy offered before it was asked.

Nicholas served as bishop of Myra in Lycia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor, early in the fourth century. According to tradition, during the persecutions under Diocletian and Maximian, he openly confessed the Christian faith and was beaten, tortured, and imprisoned with other Christians. When Constantine brought the persecution to an end, Nicholas returned to his church.

He was remembered among the bishops who gathered at Nicaea in 325 to confess that the Son is truly God with the Father. The pastor who had suffered for Christ was remembered also as one who guarded the faith of the people entrusted to him.

Again and again, Nicholas came to the aid of people who had nowhere else to turn.

In Myra, a poor father had three daughters. Without money for their dowries, he feared that poverty would force them into exploitation. Nicholas came to their aid without revealing himself. Under cover of night, he brought gold to their home, providing the daughters with the means to marry. He protected their future without putting the family’s poverty on display.

When a corrupt governor condemned three innocent men to death, Nicholas hurried to the place of execution. The executioner had raised his sword, but Nicholas seized it, freed the prisoners, and confronted the governor. Three imperial officers witnessed his intervention. Later, those same officers were falsely accused and sentenced to die. From prison they called upon God for help through Nicholas’s prayers. That night Nicholas appeared in dreams to Emperor Constantine and the imperial prefect, commanding them to release the three officers. The officers were spared.

Sailors also sought his prayers. On a voyage, a violent storm threatened to overwhelm the ship carrying Nicholas. He prayed, and the wind and waves subsided. Sailors who heard of his help invoked him in their own storms, and his name traveled from port to port. Children, prisoners, travelers, and people facing sudden danger came within the widening circle of his care.

Nicholas died at Myra after a long episcopate. His tomb became a place of pilgrimage, and in 1087 merchants from Bari carried his relics to southern Italy, where they remain. His feast traveled even farther. Medieval England alone had hundreds of churches under his patronage.

Nicholas used what he had for those who needed help: his money for a family facing ruin, his authority for condemned prisoners, and his prayers for people threatened by the sea. With him, we ask for generosity that does not seek attention, courage to defend the vulnerable, and the mercy to answer another person’s need.