February 14

These two brothers were from Thessalonica, Greece. Methodius was born

in 815 and Cyril in 827. Both became priests and shared the same holy

desires to spread the faith. They became missionaries to the Slav nations

of Moravia, Bohemia and Bulgaria. This is how it happened: In 862, just

seven years before Cyril's death, the prince of Moravia asked for

missionaries. They would bring the Good News of Jesus and the Church to

his country. The prince added one more request: that the missionaries

speak the language of his people.

The two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, volunteered and were accepted.

They realized that they were being asked to leave their own country,

language and culture behind out of love for Jesus. They did this

willingly. Cyril and Methodius invented a Slaw alphabet. They translated

the Bible and the Church's liturgy into the Slav language. Because of

them, the people were able to receive Christianity in words they could

understand.

Some in the Church at that time did not approve of the use of a native

language in the Church's liturgy. The two brothers faced criticism. They

were called to Rome to have a meeting with the pope. Some people may have

been surprised at the way the meeting went. Pope Adrian II showed his

gratitude and admiration for the two missionaries. He approved their

methods of spreading the faith and named them bishops. It seems that

Cyril, a monk, died before he could actually be consecrated a bishop but

Methodius was. Cyril died on February 14, 869. He is buried in the

Church of St. Clement in Rome. Methodius returned to the Slav countries

and continued his labors for fifteen more years. He died on April 6, 885.

On December 31, 1980, Pope John Paul II declared St. Cyril and St.

Methodius co-patrons of Europe along with St. Benedict.

Let us admire the generosity of these two holy brothers. We can ask

them to inspire us with courage and kindness. They will help us be

respectful of all people even if their religion, customs, language and

culture may be different from our own.