Daily Reflections - January 14th, 2026

January 14^th: Feast of St. Felix of Nola - Felix of Nola was a priest who lived in the 200s. When his father, a centurion named Hermias, passed away, Felix sold most of his property and gave the proceeds to the poor. He then decided to become a priest. When the bishop of Nola, Maximus, fled to the mountains when the Roman government began persecuting Christians, Felix stayed behind and instead was beaten and thrown in jail for his faith. Legend says that he was freed from jail by an angel, who instructed him to go assist Maximus. He hid from the Romans with him in a vacant building. It is said that a spider quickly spun a web all over the building’s front door so that the Romans would think it was abandoned. The two would end up surviving that round of persecution. When Maximus died, the Christians of Nola wanted Felix to replace him as bishop, but he instead nominated a fellow priest named Quintus for the role. Some legends say that he was eventually martyred in another round of Roman persecution. Still other’s say that he lived to grow old and died in poverty. I feel like there are lessons we can take from Felix’s life. I find the fact that he sold most of his possessions to be very inspiring. Things tie us down to the world and to the evils of it. While of course it is ok to have and to cherish things in a healthy way with intent, I feel like, especially today, people are increasingly vain and consumeristic. We should all strive to live simple lives, if we must own things they should be meaningful things that bring us true joy, not disposable items or things we only buy because they are trendy (Eg. Labubus and water bottles). That’s what I think anyway. I feel like we should strive to be more like Felix. Sell your possessions and give them to the poor. Instead of chasing trends, use that money for charity.

Prayer: Grant us, O Lord, the gift of being able to detach from what the world wants us to buy. May we cease the endless race of trends and fads, and may we use our resources with careful intent and generosity. Amen.