Nov 20 – S Felix of Valois
1Description
It’s the Feast of St. Felix of Valois, 3rd Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: “The Patience of God in Waiting for Sinners”, today’s news from the Church: “Religion Viewed More Positively in the US”, a preview of the Sermon: “Christ in the Home”, and today’s thought from the Archbishop.
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Sources Used Today:
- “The Patience of God in Waiting for Sinners” – Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell: Meditations on the Four Last Things by St Alphonsus
- “Religion Viewed More Positively in the US” (FSSPX.news)
- “Christ in the Home” (SSPX Sermons)
- The Spiritual Life – Archbishop Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
Saint Felix of Valois is remembered as a man who carried the peace of Christ into a world marked by violence and captivity. Born around 1127 in northern France, he grew up in a noble family but longed from youth for a life of prayer. He spent years seeking solitude, moving from one quiet hermitage to another, always searching for the place where God wanted him. Those who met him during these wandering years described him as gentle, unhurried, and filled with a serenity that made people trust him instantly.
According to tradition, Felix eventually settled in the forest of Cerfroid and lived in poverty with a few companions. His life changed when Providence brought him into friendship with Saint John of Matha, a young priest who had experienced a powerful calling from God during his first Mass. John shared with Felix a vision he had received: two captives in chains, one Christian and one Muslim, with an angel standing between them holding a cross. The meaning was clear. They were to found a new religious order dedicated to the redemption of Christian slaves who had been seized in the ceaseless conflicts between Europe and North Africa.
Felix immediately recognized the hand of God in this mission. Together he and John traveled to Rome, where Pope Innocent III approved their new community, the Order of the Most Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives. The white habit with a blue and red cross became a sign of hope for countless families whose loved ones had been taken by pirates or enemy forces. The Trinitarians begged alms, organized missions, and personally traveled into hostile lands to negotiate the release of prisoners. Felix, already elderly, continued to guide the order with fatherly calm, teaching his brothers that the work of redeeming captives began first in their own hearts.
Stories from his later life describe his great gentleness. He comforted frightened newcomers, counseled nobles and peasants with equal patience, and encouraged his brothers to treat every captive with dignity. The forests around Cerfroid became a place of refuge where the poor were fed and travelers found rest. Felix died peacefully in 1212, his long life spent in prayer, humility, and the quiet labor of bringing freedom to the oppressed.
His feast on November 20 recalls a man whose holiness flowed from compassion rather than grandeur. Saint Felix of Valois shows that the heart of the Gospel is liberation, and that even the simplest life can become a path of mercy.
Saint Felix of Valois, pray for us!
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