St. Olympias – December 17th
This Saint belonged to a great family of Constantinople and when she was left an orphan, she was given into the care of a wonderful Christian woman. Olympias had inherited a large fortune and was both sweet and attractive. So her uncle found it easy to marry her to Nebridius, a man who had been governor of Constantinople. St. Gregory of Nazianzen apologized for not being able to attend the wedding, and sent a poem full of good advice for Olympias.
Nebridius died very soon afterwards, however, and the Emperor urged Olympias to marry again. She answered: “Had God wished me to remain a wife, He would not have taken Nebridius away.” And she refused to marry again. St. Gregory called her “the glory of the widows in the Eastern Church.”
With a number of other pious ladies, Olympias gave herself to works of charity. She dressed plainly, prayed much, and gave her money away to everyone. Finally St. John Chrysostom had to tell her to be careful in giving away her goods. “You must not encourage laziness of those who live upon you without necessity,” he said. “It is like throwing your money into the sea.”
When St. John Chrysostom became Archbishop of Constantinople, he guided St. Olympias and her disciples in their works. A home for orphans and a chapel were opened, and help given to great numbers of people.
Among St. Olympias’ friends were five other saints, but her own bishop, St. John Chrysostom, was her dearest guide and when he was exiled, she was deeply grieved. She then had to suffer persecution and her community of widows and maiden were forced to stop their charitable works. Besides this, she was in poor health and was being criticized and even exiled. Yet St. John wrote to her: “I cannot stop calling you blessed. The patience and dignity with which you have borne your sorrows, your prudence, wisdom and charity have won you great glory and reward.”
St. Olympias died when she was about forty. Some one described her as “a wonderful woman, like a precious vase filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Let us make sure to have a good guide in our spiritual work, so that we will be certain of spending our lives in the best possible way.
