Today we celebrate the feast of the wonderful Saint Cecilia. She is the patroness of all musicians and singers. It is written that at her wedding as the musicians were playing, she sang in her heart to the Lord. She is one of the most famous Roman martyrs and she is one of the seven women, (excluding the Blessed Mother) who are mentioned in the Canon of the Holy Mass. She was martyred for burying the bodies of the martyrs of Rome.
I remember when I was in seminary in Rome and we went to visit the catacombs found underneath her villa. It is still there and has been turned into a basilica in her honor. She survived miraculously many attempts to kill her but finally succumbed to beheading, but still lasted three days in agony, in honor of the Holy Trinity. Her body was found in the late 1500’s and it was incorrupt! Her hands bore witness to the Holy Trinity by the way she held them, pointing with her index finger on her right hand, while extending her thumb and two fingers on her left hand; Three in One. It is written that she played the organ and she is often depicted playing one.
Great Saint Cecilia, pray for us!
