Perhaps this is the first time you have ever heard of this saint, but it is good to learn about many different saints because they are all good friends to have on the road to Heaven.

St. Syncletica was born at Alexandria in Egypt, of wealthy parents. From the time she was a little child she had a great love for virtue and when she was still very young, she consecrated her virginity to God. Because she was beautiful and her parents were rich, many young noblemen came to ask her hand in marriage. But since she had already given her heart to Jesus; her Heavenly Spouse, she refused these noblemen.

Syncletica looked upon herself as her most dangerous enemy. She began early to fast and do many penances. She suffered greatly when her parents asked her to eat oftener than she wanted to, because she felt that fasting would keep her soul closer to God.

At their death, Syncletica’s parents left their entire estate to her. Syncletica had a blind sister whom she was to look after, so the goods she received from her parents could be of good use to her and her sister. But our saint was not one to love the riches of this world, so she gave all of her money and goods to the poor and with her blind sister, went to live in a place on her relatives land. There she sent for a priest and cut off her hair in his presence. She did this as a sign that she had given up the world and then renewed her consecration to God. From that time on she kept herself busy, praying and doing penance.

In time, people found out about the Syncletica’s virtues and women flocked to her place to talk to her about spiritual matters. Being very humble, at first our saint was unwilling to instruct these women in the spiritual life. But thinking it over, she realized that she must do so for the sake of charity. With tears in her eyes and with much zeal and humility, Syncletica taught the women who came to see her.
“Oh,” said our saint, “how happy should we be if we would take as much pains to gain Heaven and please God, as worldly people do to heap up riches and goods that never last! By land they go among thieves and robbers. At sea they expose themselves to the fury of winds and storms and they suffer shipwrecks and all perils. They attempt all, try all, and hazard all.

But we in serving so great a Master, for our Heavenly home, are afraid of every contradiction such as crosses, trials, loss of family and friends, and of loss of our homes and the goods we have. ”

At other times Syncletica would warn these ladies about the dangers of this life, saying: “We must be continually upon our guard, for we are engaged in a constant war. Unless we take care, the Devil will surprise us when we least expect him! A ship sometimes passes safe through hurricanes and storms. But on a calm day, if the captain does not steer the ship well, a single wave, raised by a sudden gust of wind, may sink the ship. It does not matter if the Devil enters by a window, of if all at once he shakes the very foundations, if at last he destroys the house!

In this life we are never secure and never out of danger. And if we fall asleep on the path to Heaven, we are sure to perish. Jesus is the most intelligent and experienced captain who will steer our ship safely to the Heavenly shores, if we don’t sleep, but keep our eyes on Him!”

And Syncletica taught these women that: “Humility is a treasure, so long as it remains hidden, and that virtue is safe as long as it is kept secret.”

The Devil was enraged because all his attempts to make Syncletica fall into sin were useless. He got permission from God to send her a trial like the trial that Job received, in the Old Testament. At first, poor Job lost his livestock and children and then his body was covered with an ulcer of sores from head to foot.

When St. Syncletica was eighty years old, she was seized with an inward burning fever, which caused her great suffering because of its terrible heat. At the same time she received an abscess in her lungs which made it very difficult for the poor woman to breathe. On top of this she got scurvy which caused the gums of her mouth to become swollen and bleeding. At the same time she received a smelly ulcer that ate away at her jaws and mouth, and caused her not to be able to speak! So we can well understand that Syncletica suffered very much indeed, much like Job in the Old Testament.

Syncletica bore all these pains with a wonderful patience and resignation to God’s holy will and she wished to suffer even more if it was God’s will! It was only with difficulty that she permitted doctors to lighten her pains by cutting away or embalming the dead parts of her jaws or mouth.

During the last three months of her life, Syncletica was not able to rest. And even though her illnesses had robbed her of her speech, her wonderful patience served to preach to others more powerfully than words could have done. You can see by this, how powerful good example is. And you must remember that it is more often by good example that we are able to help and convert others, than by words.

Syncletica suffered the pains of all these diseases for a period of four years. Then, three days before her death God revealed to her that she would die three days later. When the third day came, she was surrounded by a heavenly light and had beautiful visions of heavenly things. She died in the year 400 A.D. and her feast day is January 5th.

How many people there are in the world who work day and night, always worried about heaping up earthly treasures? And when they die they are not able to take a single penny of it with them! The saints loved God and truly listened to the inspirations of the Holy Ghost—they acted much differently. Their constant care was to heap up treasures in Heaven.

By reminding themselves that they were always in the presence of God, by keeping themselves in the state of grace and by prayers and good works, they were always storing up treasures for their next life in Heaven. They knew that the more spiritual treasures they stored up in Heaven, the greater would be their glory for all eternity. They worked only for Heaven.

But you might say, “How can I live in this world if I don’t put money in the bank or save up for times when things are tough or for when I might have to repair my bike, my car or my house, etc.” It is good for you to do these things but remember; it is always good to store spiritual things up in Heaven at the same time. In fact it is better to make sure that you have a bigger bank account in Heaven, than on earth.

“What are some of the best ways to do this?” you might ask.
You could try to do these little things every week:

You will find that it is not so difficult, if every day you try a little harder to do these things. Pray to St. Syncletica to be patient when you are faced with trials or problems and she will be only too glad to help you.

The End

Perhaps this is the first time you have ever heard of this saint, but it is good to learn about many different saints because they are all good friends to have on the road to Heaven.

St. Syncletica was born at Alexandria in Egypt, of wealthy parents. From the time she was a little child she had a great love for virtue and when she was still very young, she consecrated her virginity to God. Because she was beautiful and her parents were rich, many young noblemen came to ask her hand in marriage. But since she had already given her heart to Jesus; her Heavenly Spouse, she refused these noblemen.

Syncletica looked upon herself as her most dangerous enemy. She began early to fast and do many penances. She suffered greatly when her parents asked her to eat oftener than she wanted to, because she felt that fasting would keep her soul closer to God.

At their death, Syncletica’s parents left their entire estate to her. Syncletica had a blind sister whom she was to look after, so the goods she received from her parents could be of good use to her and her sister. But our saint was not one to love the riches of this world, so she gave all of her money and goods to the poor and with her blind sister, went to live in a place on her relatives land. There she sent for a priest and cut off her hair in his presence. She did this as a sign that she had given up the world and then renewed her consecration to God. From that time on she kept herself busy, praying and doing penance.

In time, people found out about the Syncletica’s virtues and women flocked to her place to talk to her about spiritual matters. Being very humble, at first our saint was unwilling to instruct these women in the spiritual life. But thinking it over, she realized that she must do so for the sake of charity. With tears in her eyes and with much zeal and humility, Syncletica taught the women who came to see her.
“Oh,” said our saint, “how happy should we be if we would take as much pains to gain Heaven and please God, as worldly people do to heap up riches and goods that never last! By land they go among thieves and robbers. At sea they expose themselves to the fury of winds and storms and they suffer shipwrecks and all perils. They attempt all, try all, and hazard all.

But we in serving so great a Master, for our Heavenly home, are afraid of every contradiction such as crosses, trials, loss of family and friends, and of loss of our homes and the goods we have. ”

At other times Syncletica would warn these ladies about the dangers of this life, saying: “We must be continually upon our guard, for we are engaged in a constant war. Unless we take care, the Devil will surprise us when we least expect him! A ship sometimes passes safe through hurricanes and storms. But on a calm day, if the captain does not steer the ship well, a single wave, raised by a sudden gust of wind, may sink the ship. It does not matter if the Devil enters by a window, of if all at once he shakes the very foundations, if at last he destroys the house!

In this life we are never secure and never out of danger. And if we fall asleep on the path to Heaven, we are sure to perish. Jesus is the most intelligent and experienced captain who will steer our ship safely to the Heavenly shores, if we don’t sleep, but keep our eyes on Him!”

And Syncletica taught these women that: “Humility is a treasure, so long as it remains hidden, and that virtue is safe as long as it is kept secret.”

The Devil was enraged because all his attempts to make Syncletica fall into sin were useless. He got permission from God to send her a trial like the trial that Job received, in the Old Testament. At first, poor Job lost his livestock and children and then his body was covered with an ulcer of sores from head to foot.

When St. Syncletica was eighty years old, she was seized with an inward burning fever, which caused her great suffering because of its terrible heat. At the same time she received an abscess in her lungs which made it very difficult for the poor woman to breathe. On top of this she got scurvy which caused the gums of her mouth to become swollen and bleeding. At the same time she received a smelly ulcer that ate away at her jaws and mouth, and caused her not to be able to speak! So we can well understand that Syncletica suffered very much indeed, much like Job in the Old Testament.

Syncletica bore all these pains with a wonderful patience and resignation to God’s holy will and she wished to suffer even more if it was God’s will! It was only with difficulty that she permitted doctors to lighten her pains by cutting away or embalming the dead parts of her jaws or mouth.

During the last three months of her life, Syncletica was not able to rest. And even though her illnesses had robbed her of her speech, her wonderful patience served to preach to others more powerfully than words could have done. You can see by this, how powerful good example is. And you must remember that it is more often by good example that we are able to help and convert others, than by words.

Syncletica suffered the pains of all these diseases for a period of four years. Then, three days before her death God revealed to her that she would die three days later. When the third day came, she was surrounded by a heavenly light and had beautiful visions of heavenly things. She died in the year 400 A.D. and her feast day is January 5th.

How many people there are in the world who work day and night, always worried about heaping up earthly treasures? And when they die they are not able to take a single penny of it with them! The saints loved God and truly listened to the inspirations of the Holy Ghost—they acted much differently. Their constant care was to heap up treasures in Heaven.

By reminding themselves that they were always in the presence of God, by keeping themselves in the state of grace and by prayers and good works, they were always storing up treasures for their next life in Heaven. They knew that the more spiritual treasures they stored up in Heaven, the greater would be their glory for all eternity. They worked only for Heaven.

But you might say, “How can I live in this world if I don’t put money in the bank or save up for times when things are tough or for when I might have to repair my bike, my car or my house, etc.” It is good for you to do these things but remember; it is always good to store spiritual things up in Heaven at the same time. In fact it is better to make sure that you have a bigger bank account in Heaven, than on earth.

“What are some of the best ways to do this?” you might ask.
You could try to do these little things every week:

You will find that it is not so difficult, if every day you try a little harder to do these things. Pray to St. Syncletica to be patient when you are faced with trials or problems and she will be only too glad to help you.

The End