Saturday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time

Saint Maximus of Nola, born in Nola in 201, is remembered as a presbyter who served the Church with quiet fidelity in the early centuries of Christian life. Though few details of his days have come down to us, his witness endures in the reverence shown to his name and in the devotion of the faithful who continue to honor him. He died in 250, leaving behind the simple but enduring legacy of a life given to God and to the care of souls. Saint Maximus is especially venerated as patron of Orta di Atella, where his intercession is sought with trust. His feast is kept on February 7, inviting believers to imitate his steadfast service and to pray for the grace of perseverance in faith.

Saint Paul Miki was born around 1562 into a wealthy Japanese family. Educated by the Jesuits in Azuchi and Takatsuki, he came to know Christ deeply and entered the Society of Jesus. Gifted with clarity and warmth, Paul became a renowned preacher, drawing many in Japan to the Catholic faith at a time when the Gospel was taking root in new soil. As suspicion and fear of foreign influence grew, the ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi began a harsh persecution of Christians. Paul was arrested with fellow believers and, after imprisonment, was forced to march nearly 600 miles from Kyoto to Nagasaki, singing hymns of praise along the way. In Nagasaki, on February 5, 1597, he was crucified and pierced with a lance. From the cross he preached one last time, professing faith in Christ and forgiving his executioners. Canonized in 1862, he is honored among the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan and is venerated as a patron of Japan. His feast day is February 6.