550 B.C. The Departure of
the Great Prophet Daniel.
On this day of the last year of king Cyrus King of Babylon,
the great righteous prophet Daniel Departed. This prophet was from the tribe
of Judah, and from the posterity of king David. He was taken captive along
with the Israelites by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon when he captured Jerusalem
in the year 3398 of the world. He stayed in babylon for seventy years. This
prophet was very young in age, however, he conducted himself in virtuous
life, the Holy Spirit filled him and he prophesied in Babylon.
In the fourth year of the exile, Nebuchadnezzar the king saw
a dreadful dream and was extremely frightened. When he woke up, he forgot
the detail of his dream. He gathered all the wise men of Babylon to tell
the king his dream and its meaning. If they failed to tell the king the dream
and its interpretation they would all be killed, among those also were Daniel
and the three young men. Daniel and the young men prayed to God with supplications
to reveal to them the King's dream. God answered their prayers and revealed
to Daniel the dream and its interpretation. Daniel went to the king and
told him his dream and its interpretation. He also told him about the kings
that they are about to rule after him, and what would happen to every one
of them. Nebuchadnezzar was pleased with Daniel, and fell on his face before
him. The king presented Daniel with great gifts and appointed him over the
wise men of Babylon.
After some time had passed, Nebuchadnezzar saw another dream,
and Daniel interpreted the dream for him. Daniel told the king that because
of his arrogance, God would drive him from among men, to dwell among the
beasts of the wild and would eat grass like oxen for seven years, and then
God would bring him back to his kingdom, and all that happened to Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel also explained to Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, what the
angel of the Lord had written on the wall, when king Belshazzar drank wine
in the gold and silver vessels of the temple of the Lord. Daniel told the
king: " O king, the Most High gave Nebuchadnezzar your father, a kingdom
and majesty, glory and honor... But when his heart was lifted up in pride,
he was deposed from his kingdom and thrown from his throne into among the
animals. And you, Belshazzar, although you knew all what happened to your
father, yet you also lifted your heart against the Lord of heaven. They brought
the vessels of the house of the Lord before you, and you , your lords, wives
and concubines (mistresses) drank wine from these vessels... Then the fingers
of a Hand were send from the Lord, and His writing was written: "Mene, Mene,
Tekel, and Upharsin..which meant:
Mene means: God has numbered
your days as a king and terminated you rule. Tekel means: You have been
weighed in the balances of the Lord and was found wanting. Upharsin means:
your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians after
you. All of them came to pass and the king was killed with all his lords
and the kingdom of the Chaldeans ended. Darius, king of Persia, ruled after
him.
There was an idol in Babylon named "Bael" which king Darius
worshiped. When Daniel was asked why he did not worship it, Daniel answered:
"I do not worship something that has no life in it." The king said to him:
"He is alive for he eats and drinks every day." Daniel told him that could
not be true. The king was angry and wanted to check the matter for himself.
He put the food and the drinks in the temple of the idol and closed the door
and sealed it. On the next day, he went to the temple, opened the door and
did not find the food nor the drinks. But Daniel with the help of some of
his companions, covered the floor of the temple with fine ashes, found the
feet tracks of those who entered the temple by night and stole the food and
drinks.
The king arrested the seventy priests of the idol Bael, together
with their wives and children and tortured them until they told him about
the secret entrance to the temple. The king then ordered them all to be killed
and allowed Daniel to destroy the idol and its altar. The people rebelled
against the king and asked him to deliver Daniel to their hands. The king
surrendered to their demands and Daniel was cast into the den of lions.
However God kept Daniel safe and destroyed his enemies.
Daniel saw in a vision the kingdoms and the kings to come after
him to rule the world to the end of time. He also saw the glory of God and
the Divinity of Christ the Savior. He prophesied about His coming and His
death, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the abolition of the sacrifice and
the offerings, and all has been fulfilled.
This great prophet remained in
Babylon for seventy years, then departed in peace.
May his prayers be with us, and glory be to God for ever. Amen.
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St Mary of Egypt St Zosimas monk at a certain Palestinian monastery
on the outskirts of Caesarea
Having dwelt at the monastery since his childhood, he lived
there in asceticism until he reached the age of fifty-three. Then he was disturbed
by the thought that he had attained perfection, and needed no one to instruct
him. "Is there a monk anywhere who can show me some form of asceticism that
I have not attained? Is there anyone who has surpassed me in spiritual sobriety
and deeds?"
Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, "Zosimas,
you have struggled valiantly, as far as this is in the power of man. However,
there is no one who is righteous (Rom 3:10). So that you may know how many
other ways lead to salvation, leave your native land, like Abraham from
the house of his father (Gen 12:1), and go to the monastery by the Jordan."
Here he met Elders who were
adept in contemplation, and also in their struggles. Never did anyone utter
an idle word. Instead, they sang constantly, and prayed all night long. Abba
Zosimas began to imitate the spiritual activity of the holy monks.
Thus much time passed, and the holy Forty Day Fast approached. There was
a certain custom at the monastery, which was why God had led St Zosimas there.
On the First Sunday of Great Lent the igumen served the Divine Liturgy, everyone
received the All-Pure Body and Blood of Christ. Afterwards, they went to
the trapeza for a small repast, and then assembled once more in church.
The monks prayed and made prostrations, asking forgiveness
one of another. Then they made a prostration before the igumen and asked
his blessing for the struggle that lay before them. During the Psalm "The
Lord is my Light and my Savior, whom shall I fear? The Lord is defender of
my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps 26/27:1), they opened the monastery
gate and went off into the wilderness.
Each took with him as much food as he needed, and went into
the desert. When their food ran out, they ate roots and desert plants. The
monks crossed the Jordan and scattered in various directions, so that no
one might see how another fasted or how they spent their time. The monks
returned to the monastery on Palm Sunday, each having his own conscience as
a witness of his ascetic struggles.
It was a rule of the monastery
that no one asked how anyone else had toiled in the desert.
Abba Zosimas, according to the
custom of the monastery, went deep into the desert hoping to find someone
living there who could benefit him.
He walked into the wilderness for twenty days and then, when
he sang the Psalms of the Sixth Hour and made the usual prayers. Suddenly,
to the right of the hill where he stood, he saw a human form. He was afraid,
thinking that it might be a demonic apparition. Then he guarded himself
with the Sign of the Cross, which removed his fear. He turned to the right
and saw a form walking southward. The body was black from the blazing sunlight,
and the faded short hair was white like a sheep's fleece. Abba Zosimas rejoiced,
since he had not seen any living thing for many days.
The desert-dweller saw Zosimas approaching, and attempted to
flee from him. Abba Zosimas, forgetting his age and fatigue, quickened his
pace. When he was close enough to be heard, he called out,
"Why do you flee from me, a sinful old man? Wait for me, for
the love of God."
The stranger said to him, "Forgive
me, Abba Zosimas, but I cannot turn and show my face to you. I am a woman,
and as you see, I am naked. If you would grant the request of a sinful woman,
throw me your cloak so I might cover my body, and then I can ask for your
blessing."
Then Abba Zosimas was terrified, realizing that she could not
have called him by name unless she possessed spiritual insight.
Covered by the cloak, the ascetic
turned to Zosimas: "Why do you want to speak with me, a sinful woman? What
did you wish to learn from me, you who have not shrunk from such great labors?"
Abba Zosimas fell to the ground and asked for her blessing.
She also bowed down before him, and for a long time they remained on the ground
each asking the other to bless. Finally, the woman ascetic said: "Abba Zosimas,
you must bless and pray, since you are honored with the grace of the priesthood.
For many years you have stood before the holy altar, offering the Holy Gifts
to the Lord."
These words frightened St Zosimas even more. With tears he
said to her, "O Mother! It is clear that you live with God and are dead
to this world. You have called me by name and recognized me as a priest,
though you have never seen me before. The grace granted you is apparent,
therefore bless me, for the Lord's sake." Yielding finally to his entreaties,
she said, "Blessed is God, Who cares for the salvation of men." Abba Zosimas
replied, "Amen." Then they rose to their feet. The woman ascetic again said
to the Elder, "Why have you come, Father, to me who am a sinner, bereft of
every virtue? Apparently, the grace of the Holy Spirit has brought you to
do me a service. But tell me first, Abba, how do the Christians live, how
is the Church guided?"
Abba Zosimas answered her, "By your holy prayers God has granted
the Church and us all a lasting peace. But fulfill my unworthy request,
Mother, and pray for the whole world and for me a sinner, that my wanderings
in the desert may not be useless."
The holy ascetic replied, "You,
Abba Zosimas, as a priest, ought to pray for me and for all, for you are
called to do this.
However, since we must be obedient, I will do as you ask.
The saint turned toward the
East, and raising her eyes to heaven and stretching out her hands, she began
to pray in a whisper. She prayed so softly that Abba Zosimas could not hear
her words.
After a long time, the Elder looked
up and saw her standing in the air more than a foot above the ground.
Seeing this, Zosimas threw himself down on the ground, weeping
and repeating, "Lord, have mercy!"
Then he was tempted by a thought.
He wondered if she might not be a spirit, and if her prayer could be insincere.
At that moment she turned around, lifted him from the ground and said,
"Why
do your thoughts confuse you, Abba Zosimas? I am not an apparition.
I am a sinful and unworthy woman, though I am guarded by holy Baptism."
Then she made the Sign of the
Cross and said, "May God protect us from the Evil One and his schemes, for
fierce is his struggle against us." Seeing and hearing this, the Elder fell
at her feet with tears saying, "I beseech you by Christ our God, do not
conceal from me who you are and how you came into this desert. Tell me everything,
so that the wondrous works of God may be revealed."
She replied, "It distresses
me, Father, to speak to you about my shameless life. When you hear my story,
you might flee from me, as if from a poisonous snake. But I shall tell you
everything, Father, concealing nothing. However, I exhort you, cease not
to pray for me a sinner, that I may find mercy on the Day of Judgment.
"I was born in Egypt and when
I was twelve years old, I left my parents and went to Alexandria. There
I lost my chastity and gave myself to unrestrained and insatiable sensuality.
For more than seventeen years I lived like that and I did it all for free.
Do not think that I refused the money because I was rich. I lived in poverty
and worked at spinning flax. To me, life consisted in the satisfaction of
my fleshly lust.
"One summer I saw a crowd of people from Libya and Egypt heading
toward the sea. They were on their way to Jerusalem for the Feast of the
Exaltation of the Holy Cross. I also wanted to sail with them. Since I had
no food or money, I offered my body in payment for my passage. And so I embarked
on the ship.
"Now, Father, believe me, I am very amazed, that the sea tolerated
my wantonness and fornication, that the earth did not open up its mouth
and take me down alive into hell, because I had ensnared so many souls.
I think that God was seeking my repentance. He did not desire the death
of a sinner, but awaited my conversion. "So I arrived in Jerusalem
and spent all the days before the Feast living the same sort of life, and
maybe even worse.
"When the holy Feast of the Exaltation of the Venerable Cross
of the Lord arrived, I went about as before, looking for young men. At daybreak
I saw that everyone was heading to the church, so I went along with the
rest. When the hour of the Holy Elevation drew nigh, I was trying to enter
into the church with all the people. With great effort I came almost to
the doors, and attempted to squeeze inside. Although I stepped up to the
threshold, it was as though some force held me back, preventing me from entering.
I was brushed aside by the crowd, and found myself standing alone on the
porch. I thought that perhaps this happened because of my womanly weakness.
I worked my way into the crowd, and again I attempted to elbow people aside.
However hard I tried, I could not enter. Just as my feet touched the church
threshold, I was stopped. Others entered the church without difficulty,
while I alone was not allowed in. This happened three or four times. Finally
my strength was exhausted. I went off and stood in a corner of the church
portico.
"Then I realized that it was
my sins that prevented me from seeing the Life-Creating Wood. The grace
of the Lord then touched my heart. I wept and lamented, and I began to beat
my breast. Sighing from the depths of my heart, I saw above me an icon of
the Most Holy Theotokos. Turning to Her, I prayed: "O Lady Virgin, who gave
birth in the flesh to God the Word! I know that I am unworthy to look upon
your icon. I rightly inspire hatred and disgust before your purity, but I
know also that God became Man in order to call sinners to repentance. Help
me, O All-Pure One. Let me enter the church. Allow me to behold the Wood
upon which the Lord was crucified in the flesh, shedding His Blood for the
redemption of sinners, and also for me. Be my witness before Your Son that
I will never defile my body again with the impurity of fornication. As soon
as I have seen the Cross of your Son, I will renounce the world, and go wherever
you lead me."
"After I had spoken, I felt confidence in the compassion of
the Mother of God, and left the spot where I had been praying. I joined those
entering the church, and no one pushed me back or prevented me from entering.
I went on in fear and trembling, and entered the holy place.
"Thus I also saw the Mysteries of God, and how God accepts
the penitant. I fell to the holy ground and kissed it. Then I hastened again
to stand before the icon of the Mother of God, where I had given my vow.
Bending my knees before the Virgin Theotokos, I prayed:
"'O Lady, you have not rejected my prayer as unworthy. Glory
be to God, Who accepts the repentance of sinners. It is time for me to fulfill
my vow, which you witnessed. Therefore, O Lady, guide me on the path of
repentance.'"
"Then I heard a voice from on high: 'If you cross the Jordan,
you will find glorious rest.' "I immediately believed that this voice was
meant for me, and I cried out to the Mother of God: 'O Lady, do not forsake
me!' "Then I left the church portico and started on my journey. A certain
man gave me three coins as I was leaving the church. With them I bought three
loaves of bread, and asked the bread merchant the way to the Jordan.
"It was nine o'clock when I saw the Cross. At sunset I reached
the church of St John the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan. After praying
in the church, I went down to the Jordan and washed my face and hands in
its water. Then in this same temple of St John the Forerunner I received
the Life-Creating Mysteries of Christ. Then I ate half of one of my loaves
of bread, drank water from the holy Jordan, and slept there that night on
the ground. In the morning I found a small boat and crossed the river to
the opposite shore. Again I prayed that the Mother of God would lead me where
She wished. Then I found myself in this desert."
Abba Zosimas asked her, "How many
years have passed since you began to live in the desert?"
"'I think," she replied, "it is forty-seven years since I came from the
Holy City."
Abba Zosimas again asked, "What food do you find here, Mother?"
And she said, "I had with me
two and a half loaves of bread when I crossed the Jordan.
Soon they dried out and hardened Eating a little at a time, I finished
them after a few years."
Again Abba Zosimas asked, "Is it possible you have survived
for so many years without sickness, and without suffering in any way from
such a complete change?"
"Believe me, Abba Zosimas," the
woman said, "I spent seventeen years in this wilderness (after she had spent
seventeen years in immorality), fighting wild beasts: mad desires and passions.
When I began to eat bread, I thought of the meat and fish which I had in
abundance in Egypt. I also missed the wine that I loved so much when I was
in the world, while here I did not even have water. I suffered from thirst
and hunger. I also had a mad desire for lewd songs.
I seemed to hear them, disturbing my heart and my hearing.
Weeping and striking myself on the breast, I remembered the vow I had
made.
At last I beheld a radiant Light
shining on me from everywhere. After a violent tempest, a lasting calm ensued.
"Abba, how shall I tell you of the thoughts that urged me on
to fornication? A fire seemed to burn within me, awakening in me the desire
for embraces. Then I would throw myself to the ground and water it with
my tears. I seemed to see the Most Holy Virgin before me, and She seemed
to threaten me for not keeping my vow. I lay face downward day
and night upon the ground, and would not get up until that blessed Light
encircled me, dispelling the evil thoughts that troubled me.
"Thus I lived in this wilderness for the first seventeen years. Darkness
after darkness, misery after misery stood about me, a sinner. But from that
time until now the Mother of God helps me in everything."
Abba Zosimas again inquired, "How
is it that you require neither food, nor clothing?"
She answered, "After finishing
my bread, I lived on herbs and the things one finds in the desert. The clothes
I had when I crossed over the Jordan became torn and fell apart. I suffered
both from the summer heat, when the blazing heat fell upon me, and from
the winter cold, when I shivered from the frost. Many times I fell down
upon the earth, as though dead. I struggled with various afflictions and
temptations. But from that time until the present day, the power of God
has guarded my sinful soul and humble body. I was fed and clothed by the
all-powerful word of God, since man does not live by bread alone, but by
every word proceeding from the mouth of God (Dt 8:3, Mt.4:4, Luke 4:4),
and those who have put off the old man (Col 3:9) have no refuge, hiding themselves
in the clefts of the rocks (Job 24:8, Heb 11:38). When I remember from what
evil and from what sins the Lord delivered me, I have imperishible food for
salvation."
When Abba Zosimas heard that
the holy ascetic quoted the Holy Scripture from memory, from the Books of
Moses and Job and from the Psalms of David, he then asked the woman,
"Mother, have you read the Psalms and other books?"
She smiled at hearing this question,
and answered, "Believe me, I have seen no human face but yours from the
time that I crossed over the Jordan. I never learned from books. I have
never heard anyone read or sing from them. Perhaps the Word of God, which
is alive and acting, teaches man knowledge by itself (Col 3:16, 1 Thess 2:13).
This is the end of my story. As I asked when I began, I beg
you for the sake of the Incarnate Word of God, holy Abba, pray for me, a sinner.
"Furthermore, I beg you, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior,
tell no one what you have heard from me, until God takes me from this earth.
Next year, during Great Lent, do not cross the Jordan, as is the custom of
your monastery."
Again Abba Zosimas was amazed, that the practice of his monastery
was known to the holy woman ascetic, although he had not said anything to
her about this.
"Remain at the monastery," the
woman continued. "Even if you try to leave the monastery, you will not be
able to do so. On Great and Holy Thursday, the day of the Lord's Last Supper,
place the Life-Creating Body and Blood of Christ our God in a holy vessel,
and bring it to me. Await me on this side of the Jordan, at the edge of
the desert, so that I may receive the Holy Mysteries. And say to Abba John,
the igumen of your community, 'Look to yourself and your brothers (1 Tim
4:16), for there is much that needs correction. Do not say this to him now,
but when the Lord shall indicate."
Asking for his prayers, the woman
turned and vanished into the depths of the desert.
For a whole year Elder Zosimas
remained silent, not daring to reveal to anyone what he had seen, and he
prayed that the Lord would grant him to see the holy ascetic once more.
When the first week of Great Lent came again, St Zosimas was
obliged to remain at the monastery because of sickness. Then he remembered
the woman's prophetic words that he would not be able to leave the monastery.
After several days went by, St Zosimas was healed of his infirmity, but he
remained at the monastery until Holy Week.
On Holy Thursday, Abba Zosimas did what he had been ordered
to do. He placed some of the Body and Blood of Christ into a chalice, and
some food in a small basket. Then he left the monastery and went to the Jordan
and waited for the ascetic. The saint seemed tardy, and Abba Zosimas prayed
that God would permit him to see the holy woman.
Finally, he saw her standing on the far side of the river.
Rejoicing, St Zosimas got up
and glorified God. Then he wondered how she could cross the Jordan without
a boat. She made the Sign of the Cross over the water, then she walked on
the water and crossed the Jordan. Abba Zosimas saw her in the moonlight,
walking toward him. When the Elder wanted to make prostration before her,
she forbade him, crying out, "What are you doing, Abba? You are a priest
and you carry the Holy Mysteries of God."
Reaching the shore, she said to Abba Zosimas, "Bless me, Father."
He answered her with trembling, astonished at what he had seen. "Truly God
did not lie when he promised that those who purify themselves will be like
Him. Glory to You, O Christ our God, for showing me through your holy servant,
how far I am from perfection."
The woman asked him to recite both the Creed and the "Our Father."
When the prayers were finished, she partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
Then she raised her hands to the heavens and said, "Lord, now let Your servant
depart in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation."
The saint turned to the Elder and said, "Please, Abba, fulfill
another request. Go now to your monastery, and in a year's time come to
the place where we first time spoke."
He said, "If only it were possible
for me to follow you and always see your holy face!"
She replied, "For the Lord's sake, pray for me and remember
my wrechedness."
Again she made the Sign of the Cross over the Jordan, and walked
over the water as before, and disappeared into the desert.
Zosimas returned to the monastery
with joy and terror, reproaching himself because he had not asked the saint's
name. He hoped to do so the following year.
A year passed, and Abba Zosimas
went into the desert.
He reached the place where he
first saw the holy woman ascetic. She lay dead, with arms folded on her
bosom, and her face was turned to the east. Abba Zosimas washed her feet
with his tears and kissed them, not daring to touch anything else. For a
long while he wept over her and sang the customary Psalms, and said the
funeral prayers. He began to wonder whether the saint would want him to
bury her or not. Hardly had he thought this, when he saw something written
on the ground near her head:
"Abba Zosimas, bury on this spot the body of humble Mary. Return
to dust what is dust. Pray to the Lord for me.
I reposed on the first day of April, on the very night of the
saving Passion of Christ, after partaking of the Mystical Supper."
Reading this note, Abba Zosimas
was glad to learn her name. He then realized that St Mary, after receiving
the Holy Mysteries from his hand, was transported instantaneously to the
place where she died, though it had taken him twenty days to travel that
distance.
Glorifying God, Abba Zosimas said to himself, "It is time to
do what she asks. But how can I dig a grave, with nothing in my hands?"
Then he saw a small piece
of wood left by some traveler. He picked it up and began to dig. The ground
was hard and dry, and he could not dig it. Looking up, Abba Zosimas saw
an enormous lion standing by the saint's body and licking her feet. Fear
gripped the Elder, but he guarded himself with the Sign of the Cross, believing
that he would remain unharmed through the prayers of the holy woman ascetic.
Then the lion came close to the Elder, showing its friendliness with every
movement. Abba Zosimas commanded the lion to dig the grave, in order to
bury St Mary's body. At his words, the lion dug a hole deep enough to bury
the body. Then each went his own way. The lion went into the desert, and
Abba Zosimas returned to the monastery, blessing and praising Christ our
God.
Arriving at the monastery, Abba
Zosimas related to the monks and the igumen, what he had seen and heard
from St Mary. All were astonished, hearing about the miracles of God. They
always remembered St Mary with faith and love on the day of her repose.
Abba John, the igumen of the monastery, heeded the words of St Mary, and
with the help of God corrected the things that were wrong at the monastery.
Abba Zosimas lived a God-pleasing life at the monastery, reaching nearly
a hundred years of age. There he finished his temporal life, and passed into
life eternal.
The monks passed on the life of St Mary of Egypt by word of
mouth without writing it down.
"I however," says St Sophronius
of Jerusalem (March 11), "wrote down the Life of St Mary of Egypt as I heard
it from the holy Fathers. I have recorded everything, putting the truth
above all else."
"May God, Who works great miracles and bestows gifts on all
who turn to Him in faith, reward those who hear or read this account, and
those who copy it. May he grant them a blessed portion together with St Mary
of Egypt and with all the saints who have pleased God by their pious thoughts
and works. Let us give glory to God, the Eternal King, that we may find
mercy on the Day of Judgment through our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom is due
all glory, honor, majesty and worship together with the Unoriginate Father,
and the Most Holy and Life-Creating Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of
ages. Amen."
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120
-132 St. Theodora Roman martyr sister of Saint Hermes aid and care
to her brother in prison
Romæ pássio sanctæ Theodóræ, soróris
illustríssimi Mártyris Hermétis, quæ, sub Hadriáno
Imperatóre, ab Aureliáno Júdice affécta martyrio,
sepúlta est juxta fratrem suum, via Salária, non longe ab
Urbe.
At Rome, the passion of St. Theodora,
sister of the illustrious martyr Hermes. She underwent martyrdom in
the time of Emperor Adrian, under the judge Aurelian, and was buried at
the side of her brother, on the Salarian Way, a short distance from the
city.
According to the Acta of Pope St. Alexander (r 105-115), she was
the sister of Saint Hermes
and was martyred some time after her brother. She had given aid and care
to her brother during his difficult time in prison.
Theodora of Rome M (RM) Died 132. According to the Acta of Pope Alexander
I, Theodora buried Saint Hermes, her brother, after assisting him in prison
and as he was tortured. She was herself martyred some months later. Brother
and sister were buried side by side (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
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180 St. Philip of Gortyna
authorship of a now lost treatise against the Gnostics
Bishop of Gortyna, Crete. Little is known about him except for his authorship
of a now lost treatise against the Gnostics.
|
180
St. Melito Bishop of Sardis in Lydia, Asia Minor; powerful gift of prophecy
as attested by Saint Jerome and Eusebius
180 ST MELITO, Bishop OF SARDIS
EUSEBIUS and other ecclesiastical writers greatly commend the writings
of St Melito, Bishop of Sardis in Lydia, who during the second century
wrote an Apology for Christianity addressed to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius
and many other works, theological and ethical. Eusebius and St Jerome give
the titles or the subjects of a number of these writings, but of the books
themselves little has survived but a few fragments. According to Tertullian,
who was rather disdainful of his oratorical diction and style, St Melito was
regarded as a prophet by many people. His name occurs in some of the old
martyrologia, but beyond the fact that he was unmarried and was said to have
ruled his conduct by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, nothing whatever is
known of his life or death.
Owing to the similarity between the names of Sardis and Sardinia, St Melito
has often been confused with a fictitious namesake reputed to have been
a pupil of St Boniface, the first bishop of Cagliari, and to have suffered
martyrdom in Sardinia under Domitian.
There is a
very full article on Melito, concerned of course principally with the writings
attributed to him, in DTC., vol. x, cc. 540—547, to which the writer, E.
Amann, appends a full bibliography. See also G. Salmon in DCE., vol. iii,
pp. 894—900, and Bardenhewer, Altkirchliche Literatur, vol.
i, pp. 546—557.
He was praised by Eusebius and had the gift of prophecy. Melito
had a great reputation as an ecclesiastical writer, authoring an Apologia
for Christianity to Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He was also revered by Tertullian
as a prophet.
Melito of Sardis B (AC). Bishop Melito of Sardis, Lydia, was an ecclesiastical
writer of the period of the apologists. There are some writings attributed
him that are now believed to have been composed by an unknown writer. Nevertheless,
he was endowed with a powerful gift of prophecy, which led to the surname
of "the Prophet," as attested by Saint
Jerome and Eusebius (Attwater2, Benedictines, Husenbeth).
SAINT MELETION, THE BISHOP OF SARDIS IN ASIA MINOR
Meletion was a celebrated shepherd of the second-century Church. Governing
with great ability, he endeavored to gather all the books of Sacred Scripture
into a single Codex. By his meekness and piety, Meletion again labored to
restore peace in the Church of Laodicea, which arose over the controversy
regarding the celebration of Pascha (The Feast of the Resurrection). Besides
this, he defended Christianity against the pagans. He traveled to Rome about
the year 170 A.D. and submitted to Emperor Marcus Aurelius a written Apologia
(Defense) of the Faith and of the Christian Church. St. Meletion, this learned,
pious and zealous man, died peacefully in the Lord in the year 177 A.D.
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255 St. Venantius
Bishop martyr prelate serving Dalmatia, Croatia
Eódem die sancti Venántii,
Epíscopi et Mártyris. The same
day, St. Venantius, bishop and martyr.
Executed during the persecutions of the Church by the Roman
Empire.
His relics were translated from Split (Spalato), Dalmatia,
to the Lateran Basilica in Rome under Pope John IV (r. 640-642).
Venantius of Spalato BM (RM). Saint Venantius was a Dalmatian
bishop whose body was brought to the Lateran at Spalato by Pope John IV
in 641 (Benedictines).
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3rd v. The Martyrs
Gerontius and Basilides suffered martyrdom for Christ in
the third century
They were beheaded by the sword.
Sts. Victor and Stephen Two
martyrs executed in Egypt probably Alexandria
In Ægypto sanctórum
Mártyrum Victóris et Stéphani.
In Egypt, the holy martyrs Victor and Stephen.
Victor and Stephen MM (RM).
Egyptian martyrs (Benedictines).
St. Quintian and Irenaeus
2 Armenian martyrs whose Acts are no longer extant.
In Arménia sanctórum
Mártyrum Quinctiáni et Irenǽi. In
Armenia, the holy martyrs Quinctian and Irenæus.
Quintian and Irenaeus MM (RM)
Date unknown. Armenian martyrs about whom nothing else is known (Benedictines).
Constantinópoli
sancti Macárii Confessóris, qui, sub Leóne Imperatóre,
pro assertióne sanctárum Imáginum, in exsílio
vitam finívit.
At Constantinople, under Emperor Leo, St. Macarius,
confessor, who ended his life in exile for defending the veneration of sacred
images.
St John Shavteli of
Salosi, Bishop of Gaenati, Georgia
283 Martyrs
Chrysanthus and Daria 19 March/1 April
Saints Chrysanthus
and Daria (and with them Claudius, Hilaria, Jason and Maurus) suffered in
Rome in the year 283. Saint Chrysanthus was the son of a distinguished senator,
received a brilliant education and from his young years came to love books.
Having bought the Gospel and the Apostolic epistles, he read them with interest.
The height of the Gospel teaching captivated him, but much in these books
he could not understand.
By God's Providence, Chrysanthus became acquainted with a priest,
who explained the Christian faith to him in detail. Having studied the Gospel
more deeply and having been imbued with the ideal of Christian morality,
Chrysanthus renounced the pagan errors of his family and accepted Holy Baptism.
Chrysanthus burned with a desire to introduce other pagans also to the Christian
faith, and therefore he began diligently and fearlessly to preach the Good
Tidings.
His father, a staunch pagan, having learned of his son's baptism
and desiring to turn him away from Christianity, put him in a dungeon and
began to kill him by hunger and cold. But the sufferings only strengthened
Chrysanthus' faith. Then the father, hoping by this to return the son to
paganism, freed Chrysanthus from prison and married him to the maiden Daria
- a priestess at the pagan temple of Athena. But instead of this, Chrysanthus
shortly converted Daria to Christianity, and she was baptized.
When Chrysanthus' father died, the home of the young spouses
became an abode for newly-converted Christians. After some time, the Tribune
Claudius was informed that Chrysanthus and Daria were preaching Christianity.
Claudius gave them over to tortures, but, seeing the steadfastness and miracles
of the martyrs, he himself came to believe in Christ with his wife, Hilaria,
and their sons, Maurus and Jason.
For this, by order of the emperor, Claudius was drowned with
a stone around his neck, while his sons had their heads chopped off by the
sword.
Their mother, Hilaria, died on their grave, before they could
give her over to tortures. Chrysanthus and Daria, after terrible tortures,
were buried alive in the earth.
Subsequently, on the day of
the commemoration of Saints Chrysanthus and Daria, many Roman Christians
would gather for prayer in a cave near the place of their righteous death.
Pagans, having learned of this, blocked up the cave, and those gathered in
it perished from hunger. Among those who perished in the cave are named the
Presbyter Diodorus and the Deacon Marianus.
|
5thv to 6th
v Saint Tewdric prince of Glamorgan is discussed in the Book of Llan Dav,
written much later, Hermit (AC)
(also known as Theodoric) feast day is sometimes listed as January 3.
Saint Tewdric, prince of Glamorgan, is discussed in the Book of Llan Dav,
written much later. According to this source, in his later years he resigned
his position in favor of his son Meurig in order to become a hermit at Tintern.
During an invasion of the Saxons, he placed himself at the head of his people.
In the ensuing battle, he was mortally wounded by a lance. Tewdric was buried
at Mathern, near Chepstow, formerly called Merthyr Tewdrig, where the church
still bears his name. He is the reputed founder of the churches at Bedwas
Llandow and Merthyr Tydfil. In the early 17th century, Bishop Francis Godwin
of Llandaff found the saints bones, including a badly fractured skull in
the church at Mathern (Farmer).
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622 St.
Walericus Benedictine founder missionary abbot under St. Columbanus His
time was entirely occupied with preaching, prayer, reading, and manual labor;
miracles
Apud Ambiánum, in Gállia, sancti Waleríci Abbátis,
cujus sepúlcrum crebris miráculis illustrátur.
At Amiens in France, Abbot St. Valery,
whose tomb is well known for its frequent miracles.
also called Valery. He served under St. Columbanus
at the famed monastery of Luxeuil, in France, and was the founder of the
monastic community of Leuconay, on the Somme River.
620 ST WALARICUS, or VALÉRY, Abbot
ST WALARICUS or Valéry, whose body William the Conqueror caused
to be publicly exposed that the saint might obtain a favourable wind for his
English expedition, was born in a humble home in the Auvergne. Somehow he
learned to read, and he is said to have procured a psalter, the contents
of which he committed to memory while tending sheep. His uncle one day took
him to visit the monastery of Autumo, but when the time came for returning,
the boy insisted upon staying behind; so there he was allowed to remain
and to continue his education, though it is doubtful whether he ever took
the habit there.
Some years later he left to enter the abbey of St Germanus near Auxerre,
but his sojourn does not seem to have been a protracted one. It was not
unusual in those days for monks voluntarily to go from one monastery to
another; some indeed were vagrants by nature who could never settle anywhere,
but many of them were men striving after perfection, who were only eager
to find a director capable of assisting them to attain their goal. Of this
number was Walaricus. The renown of St Columban and of the life led by his
followers at Luxeuil determined him to seek out the great Irishman and to
place himself under his rule. With him went his friend Bobo, a nobleman
who had been converted by him and who had abandoned his possessions to join
him. At Luxeuil, where they found the leader and the spiritual life they
sought, they settled down happily. To Walaricus fell the duty of cultivating
part of the garden. The flourishing condition of his allotment, when the
rest of the estate was being devoured by insects, was regarded as miraculous,
and is said to have induced St Columban, who already had a high opinion
of him, to profess him after an unusually short novitiate.
When King Theodoric expelled the abbot from his monastery, allowing only
the Irish and the Bretons to accompany him, Walaricus, not wishing to remain
on at Luxeuil without St Columban, obtained leave to join a monk called
Waldolanus, who was about to start on a mission of evangelization. Receiving
permission to settle in Neustria, they preached freely to the people, and
Walaricus’s eloquence and miracles gained many converts. It was not long,
however, before he began to feel again the call to retire from the world,
but this time he thought it his vocation to be a hermit. By the advice of
Bishop Berchundus he chose a solitary spot near the sea, at the mouth of
the river Somme, where he proposed to live in solitude but he could not
remain hidden. Disciples discovered him and cells sprang up around, which
developed into the celebrated abbey of Leuconaus. St Walaricus would occasionally
issue forth to preach missions in the countryside, and so successful were
his efforts that he is said to have evangelized not only what is now known
as the Pas-de-Calais, but the whole eastern shore of the English Channel.
Tall and ascetic-looking, the holy man was noted for his singular gentleness
which tempered the stern Rule of St Columban with excellent results. Animals
were attracted to him: birds perched on his shoulders and ate from his hand,
and often the good abbot would gently warn off an intruding visitor with
the words, “Do let these innocent creatures eat their meal in peace”.
After ruling his monastery for six years or more, St Walaricus passed
to his rest about the year 620. Numerous miracles reported after his death
quickly spread his cultus, at least two French towns, St-Valéry-sur-Somme
and St-Valéry-en-Caux, being named after him. King Richard Coeur-de-Lion
transferred his relics to the latter town, which is in Normandy, but they
were afterwards restored to St-Valéry sur-Somme, on the site of the
abbey of Leuconaus.
We are told
that a life of St Walaricus was written by Raginbertus, who became abbot
of Leuconaus not long after the death of the saint. It was formerly believed
that this document was preserved in substance by a later writer, who
re-edited it in a new setting and in a more correct style. Bruno Krusch,
however, seems to have proved that this later life dates only from the eleventh
century and is a fabrication which borrows freely from other hagiographical
materials which have nothing to do with St Walaricus. See MGH., Scriptores Merov., vol. iv, pp. 157—175 where a more critical
text than that of the Bollandists and Mabillon may also be found. For some
criticisms of B. Krusch’s edition see Wattenbach Levison, Deutschlands
Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter Vorzeit und Karolinger, vol. (1952),
Walaricus of Leucone, Abbot (RM) (also known as Valéry,
Walericus) Born in Auvergne, France; died in Leucone, Picardy, France, on
December 12, c. 622; feast of his translation is December 12.
Valéry discovered Benedictine life at Issoire, developed
it at Auxerre, fructified it at Luxeuil under Saint Columbanus, and multiplied
it with missionary work at Leuconnais (Leuconay), in the Somme region of
northern France.
Born into a peasant family in the Auvergne, Valéry tended
his father's sheep in his childhood, which gave him plenty of time to develop
his prayer life. Out of an ardent desire to grow in spiritual knowledge,
he learned to read at an early age and memorized the Psalter. Dissatisfied
with his life as a shepherd, he took the monastic habit in the neighboring
monastery of St. Antony's at Autumo.
His fervor from the first day of monastic life led him to live
the rule perfectly. Sincere humility permitted him to meekly and cheerfully
subjected himself to everyone. Seeking a stricter rule, he migrated to the
more austere monastery of St. Germanus, where he was received by Bishop Saint Anacharius of Auxerre. He
was drawn to Luxeuil by the reputation of the penitential lives of its monks
and the spiritual wisdom of Saint Columbanus. There he spent many years,
always esteeming himself an unprofitable servant and a slothful monk, who
stood in need of the severest and harshest rules and superiors. Next to sin,
he dreaded nothing so much as the applause of men or a reputation of sanctity.
At Luxeuil he also distinguished himself as a horticulturalist--the preservation
of his fruit and vegetables against the ravages of insects that destroyed
most other crops was considered miraculous.
When Saint Columbanus was banished from Luxeuil by King Theodoric,
the monastery was placed in Valéry's hands until he was sent by Saint Eustasius with his fellow-monk Waldolanus
to preach the Gospel in Neustria. There King Clotaire II gave them the territory
of Leucone in Picardy, near the mouth of the river Somme. In 611, with the
permission of Bishop Bertard of Amiens, they built a chapel and two cells.
Saint Valéry by his preaching and the example of his virtue, converted
many and attracted fervent disciples with whom he laid the foundation of
a monastery.
His fasts he sometimes prolonged for six days, eating only
on the Sunday; and he used no other bed than twigs laid on the floor. His
time was entirely occupied with preaching, prayer, reading, and manual labor.
By this he earned something for the relief of the poor, and he often repeated
to others, "The more cheerfully we give to those who are in distress, the
more readily will God give us what we ask of him."
When Valéry died, cures were claimed at his tomb and
a cultus developed, which eventually spread to England during the Norman Conquest.
William the Conqueror exposed Valéry's relics for public veneration.
He was invoked for a favorable wind for the expedition in 1066, which sailed
from Saint-Valéry
Valéry is honored at
Chester Abbey in England and in France, where a famous monastery arose from
his cells. His vita was carefully written in 660, by Raimbert, second abbot
of Leucone after him. King Richard the Lion Hearted had his relics restored
to Saint-Valéry-en-Caux; however, his original abbey later recovered
them. Two towns in the Somme district are called Saint- Valéry after
him, and there are several dedications to him in England as well (Attwater2,
Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth).
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7th v. St. Caidoc &
Fricor Irish missionaries in northern France converts was Saint
Ricarius
One of their converts was Saint
Ricarius. Their relics are in the parish of Saint-Riquier near Amiens,
France.
In some lists Fricor is called Adrian.
Caidoc and Fricor (Adrian) HH (AC) 7th century; they had four feast days
at Centula: January 24, March 31, April 1, and May 30. The Irishmen Caidoc
and Fricor evangelized the country of the Morini in Picardy, northern France,
beginning about 622. Among the souls they won for Christ was the nobleman
Riquier (Saint Ricarius), who intervened when some locals to offense to
their preaching and took them into his home. Riquier became a fervent Christian,
who engaged in penitential austerities and eventually was ordained. In 625,
Riquier founded Centula based on the Rule of Columbanus, another Irishman.
Their relics are still venerated at the parish church of Saint-Riquier in
the diocese of Amiens, although they rested in Centula until the 17th century.
Saints Caidoc and Fricor joined Riquier's community and remained there until
they were buried in Saint Riquier's church (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Fitzpatrick2,
McCarthy, Montague, O'Hanlon).
|
644 Saint Berhard B Berhard saintly bishop who had
a great affection for Saint Valéry
and who tried to have him buried in his cathedral in Amiens (Encyclopedia)
|
7th v. St. Dodolinus bishop of Vienne, in Dauphine,
France
No details of his ministry have survived.
Dodolinus of Vienne B (AC) 7th century. Bishop Saint Dodolin of Vienne's
feast is celebrated in the Dauphiné (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
|
666 Saint Leuconus
B 18th bishop of Troyes, who founded Notre-Dame-des-Nonnains
(Encyclopedia).
|
9th v. St. Cellach abbot of lona, Scotland archbishop
of Armagh, Ireland
The abbot of lona, Scotland, and the archbishop of Armagh, Ireland. Also
called Ceilach and Keilach, he was the founder of the monastery of Kells.
|
Ardpatrícii,
in Momónia Hibérniæ província, sancti Celsi Epíscopi,
qui beátum Malachíam in Episcopátu præcéssit.
At Ard-Patrick in Munster, a province
of Ireland, Bishop St. Celsus, who preceded blessed Malachy in that bishopric.
|
Marcella A little
shepherdess of the Auvergne Date unknown.(Encyclopedia)
|
830 St.
Macarius the Wonder-Worker monk known for miracles
Constantinópoli sancti Macárii Confessóris,
qui, sub Leóne Imperatóre, pro assertióne sanctárum
Imáginum, in exsílio vitam finívit.
At Constantinople, under Emperor Leo, St.
Macarius, confessor, who ended his life in exile for defending the veneration
of sacred images.
830 ST MACARIUS THE WONDER-WORKER became celebrated for his miracles of
healing
MACARIUS the Wonder-worker was a native of Constantinople. He received
an excellent education, showing special aptitude for the study of the Holy
Scriptures, “the whole of which”, we read, “he ran through in a short time”.
Afterwards, leaving the city, he betook himself to the monastery of Pelekete
where he dropped his baptismal name of Christopher to assume that of Macarius.
A model monk, he was chosen abbot and soon became celebrated for his miracles
of healing. Crowds flocked to Pelekete to be cured of diseases both of body
and of mind. The patriarch of Constantinople, St Tarasius, who had received
many reports of his sanctity and miracles, greatly desiring to see him,
dispatched to be his escort the patrician Paul, who had once been cured
by the abbot and whose wife had recently been restored to health by him
after she had been given over by the physicians. When the two saints met,
Tarasius gave Macarius his blessing and, before allowing him to return, ordained
him priest. He was not destined to remain long at peace in his cloister.
The Emperor Leo the Armenian attacked in turn all the prominent supporters
of the cultus of holy images, and Macarius was tortured in various ways and
kept in prison until the emperor’s death. His successor, Michael the Stammerer,
released the saint and tried by promises and threats to win him over. Finding,
however, that he remained inflexible, the emperor banished him to the island
of Aphusia off the shore of Bithynia, where on August 18 he died in exile;
the precise year is unknown.
A Greek
life of St Macarius by the monk Sabas was edited in the Analecta
Bollandiana, vol. xvi (1897), pp. 140—163. Its historical character
is confirmed by certain letters of Theodore Studites. See the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxxii (1913), pp. 270—273 and cf.
Échos d’Orient, (1898), pp. 274—280. April
i seems to have been the day of his translation.
Abbot and victim of persecution by Iconoclast heretics. He
was born Christopher at Constantinople. and became a monk at Pelekete Monastery,
taking the name Macanus. Elected abbot, he was called the Wonder-Worker because
of his prodigious miracles. Two Iconoclast emperors of Constantinople exiled
him. Emperor Leo V banished him for a time and then Emperor Michael II sent
him to Aphusia Island on the coast of Bythinia, where he died on August 18.
Macarius the Wonder-Worker, Abbot (RM) Born in Constantinople; died on
Aphusia Island, Bithynia, on August 18, c. 830.
"To you, O Master, who loves all mankind I hasten on rising from sleep.
By your mercy I go out to do your work and I make my prayer to you.
Help me at all times and in all things. Deliver me from every evil thing
of this world and from pursuit by the devil. Save me and bring me to
your eternal kingdom, For you are my Creator, You inspire all good thoughts
in me.
In you is all my hope and to you I give glory, now and forever." --Saint
Macarius
Piously baptized Christopher in Constantinople, he took the name Macarius
upon becoming a monk at Pelekete nearby. Eventually he was elected abbot
and became known for the miracles he wrought.
Macarius was ordained by Patriarch Tarasius of Constantinople, was imprisoned
and tortured for his opposition to the iconoclasm proclaimed by Emperor
Leo the Armenian, and was released by Leo's successor, Emperor Michael the
Stammerer. When he refused Michael's demands that he support the iconoclastic
heresy, he was exiled to the island of Aphusia off the coast of Bithynia
and died there (Attwater2, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
Saint Macarius was born at Constantinople in 785. While still a child,
he lost his parents. The saint fervently read the Scriptures and came to realize
that earthly things are temporary and perishable, and that heavenly things
are permanent and imperishable. Therefore, he decided to devote his life
entirely to God. He entered the Pelekete monastery in Bithynia, where at
the time the igumen was the renowned ascetic, St Hilarion (March 28).
After the death of St Hilarion, St Macarius was unanimously chosen as igumen
by the brethren. During the reign of the Byzantine Emperors Leo V the Armenian
(813-820) and Michael II the Stammerer (820-829), St Macarius suffered as
a confessor for the veneration of holy icons. He was sent to the island
of Aphousia, where he died in about the year 830.
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Apud Ambiánum, in Gállia, sancti
Waleríci Abbátis, cujus sepúlcrum crebris miráculis
illustrátur.
At Amiens
in France, Abbot St. Valéry, whose tomb is well known for its frequent
miracles.
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1053
VENERABLE PROCOPIUS, THE CZECH establishing the Monastery of St. John the
Forerunner by the Sazava river
Procopius was born in Hotish, today's Czech Republic. He was ordained
a priest and retreated to a mountain to live according to the model of eastern
hermits. The Duke (Herceg) Ulrich accidentally came upon Procopius and assisted
him in establishing the Monastery of St. John the Forerunner by the Sazava
river. This holy man died in the year 1053 A.D.
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1132 St.
Hugh of Grenoble Benedictine bishop amazing modesty took upon himself all
the sins of others the cross he carried was heavy laden holy and redemptive; a great reputation for miracles
Gratianópoli,
in Gállia, sancti Hugónis Epíscopi, qui multis annis
in solitúdine vitam exégit, et miraculórum glória
clarus migrávit ad Dóminum.
At Grenoble in France, Bishop St. Hugh, who spent many years of his life
in solitude, and departed for heaven with a great reputation for miracles.
Detail from "St. Hugo of Grenoble in the Carthusian Refectory"
By Francisco de Zurbarán; Museo de Bellas Artes, Seville
Courtesy of the Web Gallery of Art
1132 ST HUGH, Bishop OF GRENOBLE
ST HUGH was born at Châteauneuf, near Valence in the Dauphine, in
the year 1052. His father, Odilo, after being twice married, became a Carthusian,
and died at the age of 100, receiving viaticum from his son in whose arms
he passed away.
After an education begun in Valence and completed with distinction
in foreign centres of learning, Hugh was presented to a canonry in the cathedral
of Valence though still a layman—such benefices at that period being often
conferred on young students without orders. Very young, good-looking, and
extremely bashful, he soon won all hearts by his courtesy and by the modesty
which led him to conceal and underrate his talents and learning.
The bishop of Die, another Hugh, was so charmed by his namesake when he
came to Valence that he insisted upon attaching him to his household. The
prelate soon proved the young Canon’s worth by entrusting him with some difficult
negotiations in the campaign then directed against simony; and in 1080 he
took him to a synod at Avignon, called to consider, amongst other matters,
the disorders which had crept into the vacant see of Grenoble. The council
and the delegates from Grenoble severally and collectively appear to have
looked on Canon Hugh as the one man who was capable of dealing with the
disorders complained of; but though unanimously elected it was with the
greatest reluctance that he consented to accept the office. The legate himself
conferred on him holy orders up to the priesthood, and took him to Rome
that he might receive consecration from the pope.
The kindness of the reception he met emboldened the young bishop elect
to consult St Gregory VII about temptations to blasphemy which sometimes
beset him, causing him great distress and, as he considered, rendering him
unfit for the high office to which he was called. The pontiff reassured
him, explaining that God permitted these trials to purify him and render
him a more fitting instrument for the divine purposes. These particular
temptations continued to assault him until his last illness, but he never
yielded to them in any way.
The Countess Matilda gave the twenty-eight-year-old bishop his crozier
and some books, including the De officiis ministrorum of St
Ambrose and a psalter to which were appended the commentaries of St Augustine.
Immediately after his consecration. St Hugh hurried off to his diocese, but
he was appalled by the state of his flock. The gravest sins were committed
without shame; simony and usury were rampant; the clergy openly flouted the
obligation to celibacy; the people were uninstructed; laymen had seized church
property and the see was almost penniless. It was indeed a herculean task
that lay before the saint.
For two years he laboured unremittingly to redress abuses by preaching,
by denunciations, by rigorous fasts and by constant prayer. The excellent
results he was obtaining were patent to all but to himself: he only saw
his failures and blamed his own incompetence. Discouraged, he quietly withdrew
to the Cluniac abbey of Chaise-Dieu, where he received the Benedictine habit.
He did not remain there long, for Pope Gregory commanded him to resume
his pastoral charge and return to Grenoble.
Coming out of his solitude, like another Moses from the mountain,
he seemed—so men declared—to preach with greater fervour and success than
before. It was to St Hugh of Grenoble that St Bruno and his companions addressed
themselves when they decided to forsake the world, and it was he who granted
to them the desert called the Chartreuse which gave its name to their order.
The bishop became greatly attached to the monks it was his delight to visit
them in their solitude, joining in their exercises and performing the most
menial offices. Sometimes he would linger so long in these congenial surroundings
that St Bruno was constrained to remind him of his flock and of his episcopal
duties. These periods of retreat were the bright oases in a hard and anxious
life.
With the clergy and the common people St Hugh was most successful, but
the nobles continued to withstand him to the end. Moreover, for the last forty
years of his life he suffered almost unremittingly from headaches complicated
by gastric trouble, and was tormented by severe temptations. Nevertheless
occasionally he was granted sensible spiritual consolations which filled
his heart with joy.
During his sermons it was not unusual to see the whole congregation in
tears, whilst individuals would be moved to make public confession on the
spot. Of sin he had the utmost horror, and his loathing of detraction was
so great that he disliked the duty of listening to official reports and
closed his ears to the news of the day. Temporal things always seemed to
him dull and irksome as compared with the heavenly things on which his heart
was set.
He besought pope after pope to release him from office. One and all refused
point-blank. Honorius II, to whom he pleaded his age and infirmities, replied
that he preferred to retain him as bishop of Grenoble—old and ill— rather
than have any younger or stronger man in his place.
A generous almsgiver, St Hugh in a time of famine sold a gold chalice
as well as rings and precious stones from his church treasury; and rich
men were stirred by his example to give liberally to feed the hungry and
supply the needs of the diocese. Although at the end of life his soul was
further purified by a lingering illness of a very painful character, Hugh
never uttered a word of complaint, nor would he speak of what he endured.
His only concern was for others. His humility was all the more striking
because everyone approached him with the utmost reverence and affection.
In reply to someone who asked, “Why do you weep so bitterly—you who never
offended God by any wilful sin?” he replied, “Vanity and inordinate affections
alone are enough to damn a soul. Only through God’s mercy can we hope to
be saved, and should we ever cease to implore it?”
A short time before his death he lost his memory for everything but prayer,
and would recite the psalter or the Lord’s Prayer without intermission.
St Hugh died on April 1, 1132, two months before attaining the age of eighty,
having been a bishop for fifty-two years. Pope Innocent II canonized
him two years later.
The main authority
for the life of St Hugh is the Latin biography by Guigo, prior of the Grande
Chartreuse, who died only five years after the saint himself. This life
is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. i, and elsewhere.
See also Albert du Boys, Vie de St Hugues (1837); Bellet
in the Bulletin Soc. Archéol. Drôme (1894),
xxviii, 5-31 and Marion, Chartulaire de l’Eglise de Grenoble
(1869). Hugh is reckoned amongst ecclesiastical writers chiefly
on the strength of this cartulary, or collection of charters, copies of which,
accompanied by curious historical notes, are preserved in Grenoble Library.
The bishop is often associated with St Bruno as co-founder of the Grande
Chartreuse.
b. 1053 Benedictine bishop of Grenoble, France, patron of St. Bruno. He
was born in the Dauphine region and became a canon of the cathedral in Valence.
In 1080, while attending a synod in Avignon, Hugh was named bishop of Grenoble.
He attempted a massive reform of the diocese, but, discouraged, retired
to Chaise Dieu Abbey, and became a Benedictine. Pope St. Gregoiy VII ordered
him back to Grenoble. Hugh gave St. Bruno
Hugh of Grenoble, OSB B (RM) Born near Valence in the Dauphiné,
France, in 1052; died in Grenoble, France, on April 1, 1132; canonized by
Pope Innocent II in 1134.
What an amazing modesty Saint Hugh possessed! You may shrug
your shoulders, of course. The 20th century is without modesty and doesn't
appreciate it. There is something about the modesty of Saint Hugh that governed
and colored his life, yet repels and confounds us. We have lost the taste
for that virtue in a world where we live like haggling beasts: industrious,
envious, quarrelsome, wretched beasts!
By contrast Saint Hugh took
to heart Saint Paul's admonition: "Let love be sincere . . . love one another
with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor...do not
be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation"
(Romans 12:9, 16). And again Paul urges: "Do nothing out of selfishness
or vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.."
(Philippians 2:3). the land on which the Grande Chartreuse was founded, thus
starting the Carthusians. Hugh died on April 1 and was canonized by Pope
Innocent II.
When Hugh of Grenoble was born at Châteauneuf, the French
churchmen were very undisciplined. He was the son of the second marriage
of Odilo, a knight of excellent reputation, who later became a Carthusian
monk. His father lived to the venerable age of 100, before he died in his
son's arms after having received viaticum from him. Odilo's goodness inspired
his son to greatness. As a youth, Saint Hugh was a pupil of Saint Bruno at
Rheims. He later studied in the best foreign centers for education.
Good looks and a diffident manner, added to his abilities,
seem to have helped Hugh's swift rise in ecclesiastical office. He won all
hearts through his courtesy and modesty that led him to underrate his own
talents and learning. Hugh, though a layman, was made a canon of Valence
Cathedral at age 25, and set out to reform the church. Bishop Hugh of Die
soon saw the young man's zeal and appointed the young man to his household.
This bishop was particularly keen to stamp out simony (that is sale for
personal gain of positions in the church) and Hugh played a huge part in
his campaign. In 1080, the bishop took Hugh to a council at Avignon.
One of the purposes of the council was to sort out the disorders that had
arisen in the diocese of Grenoble, whose bishop had just died.
To Hugh's surprise, the participants
decided that this 27-year-old was by far the best person to be consecrated
bishop. He protested that he was only a layman. "But I repeat to you
that I am not worthy of it!" sighed Hugh.
"What fairy tale is this that you're telling me?" asked the
papal legate, Bishop Hugh of Die. "Who is asking you to act on your own strength?
Count first on God, who will give you help."
Nevertheless, the bishop ordained him and then took him to
Rome where the pope consecrated Hugh as bishop though he was barely 30.
Hugh discovered that diocese of Grenoble was in a far worse
state than he had imagined. Although the clergy had taken vows of celibacy,
many of them lived more or less openly with women. Influential laymen had
seized most of the property of the church. Hugh manfully set about putting
matters aright. He was unpopular with the nobility, whose confiscation of
church property the bishop dealt with firmly. Only Hugh, however, failed to
see the excellent results of his policies. Two years after his consecration,
believing that he had vainly opposed these disorders, as well as simony
and usury, through sermons, threats, example, fast, and prayers, Hugh left
the city and withdrew to the abbey of Chaise- Dieu (Cluniac).
This was the first of several times he despaired because of
his lack of progress and went to live as a monk. "But I repeat to you that
I can't do anything that's good and worthwhile!" he complained gently to those
who wanted him to give up this sudden Benedictine vocation and his seeming
lack of faith. Each time the pope insisted that he must take up the struggle
again.
"Very well, granted. You can't do anything, my son," Pope Saint
Gregory VII said to him, "but you are bishop, and the sacrament can do everything."
Each time Hugh obeyed. This first time it took a year of discussion before
Hugh returned to Grenoble with a crushing sense of his unworthiness and
inferiority.
Bishop Hugh of Grenoble sustained the papacy in its dispute
with Emperor Henry V, and was persecuted for his loyalty. Grenoble was in
the emperor's territory, but his flock rallied to his support.
It was then, in 1084, that Saint Bruno and his companions came
in search of silence, solitude, and a perpetual conversation with God on
the fringes of the scandals of the world. Hugh was waiting for them. He rolled
up his cassock and, like a guide, led them through the craggy rocks of the
desert called the Chartreuse. He gave this land to the monks who built there
the famous monastery of Grande Chartreuse.
The charter Hugh gave them still exists.
Hugh knew the way to the Grande Chartreuse very well, and often
visited the monks. He came so often, in fact, and liked it so much that
Saint Bruno often had to send
him away, reminding him of his flock and episcopal duties. When he visited
them in their solitude, Hugh would join in their exercises and perform the
most menial tasks. Hugh saw himself as a bad bishop and wanted nothing more
than to stay in the monastery. Hugh's close association with the Carthusians
has ensured the custom that the diocesan bishop was always expected (contrary
to other monastic orders) to guide and cherish Charterhouses in their diocese.
During his 52-year episcopacy,
Hugh vainly tendered his resignation to each pope--Gregory VII, Gelasius
II, Calixtus II, Honorius II, Innocent II, and others--and they refused him
because of his outstanding ability. He never ceased imploring them to release
him from the duties of his episcopal office up to the day of his death. During
his last, painful illness he was tormented by headaches and stomach disorders
that resulted from his long fasts and vigils, yet never complained. For a
short time before his death, he lost his memory for everything but prayer,
and would recite the Psalter and the Our Father unceasingly.
It was this humility--which once almost became a blasphemy
against Divine Providence--that unwittingly made Hugh such a good bishop.
Out of the fear and shame that he was better nourished, housed, and dressed
than the poor, he sold his ring, other jewels, furs, a golden chalice, and
ornaments to raise money and gave it to those in need. His generosity stirred
other rich men to liberally follow his example.
He wept when he heard a penitent's confession and when the
disorders of his retinue were brought to his attention, he blamed himself
as though it were a personal fault. Hugh also founded three hospitals at
Grenoble, built a marketplace, and provided a stone bridge over the Isere,
in addition to restoring the cathedral and Saint Laurence's Church. For
52 years Hugh labored as bishop of Grenoble, dying at age 79, having restored
the diocese both financially and morally.
He took upon himself all the sins of others, and the cross
that he carried was so heavy laden, so holy, and so redemptive that two
years after his death, he was canonized amid the jubilation of the people
and of his church. By order of Pope Innocent II, Hugh's Carthusian friend
Gigues wrote the saints Life which brings out the attractiveness of this
modest man's character (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney,
Encyclopedia, Farmer, Gill, Walsh).
In art, Saint Hugh is a bishop seeing a vision of seven stars.
Sometimes he is shown (1) with a lantern; (2) with three flowers; (3) with
Saint Bruno, to whom he entrusted the Grande Chartreuse; or (4) turning
partridges served to Carthusians on a fast day into tortoises (Roeder).
Zurbaran gave Hugh a prominent place in his paintings of the early Carthusians
in the museum of Seville (Farmer). Saint Hugh is invoked against headache
(Roeder).
St. Hugh of Grenoble (1052-1132)
Today’s saint could be a patron for those of us who feel so overwhelmed
by all the problems in the world that we don’t know where to begin.
Hugh, who served as a bishop in France for 52 years, had his work cut out
for him from the start. Corruption seemed to loom in every direction: the
buying and selling of Church offices, violations of clerical celibacy, lay
control of Church property, religious indifference and/or ignorance. After
serving as bishop for two years, he’d had his fill. He tried disappearing
to a monastery, but the pope called him back to continue the work of reform.
Ironically, Hugh was reasonably effective in the role of reformer—surely
because of his devotion to the Church but also because of his strong character.
In conflicts between Church and state he was an unflinching defender of
the Church. He fearlessly supported the papacy. He was eloquent as a preacher.
He restored his own cathedral, made civic improvements in the town and weathered
a brief exile.
Hugh may be best known as patron and benefactor of St. Bruno, founder of
the Carthusian Order.
Hugh died in 1132. He was canonized only two years later.
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1129
St. Cellach Last hereditary archbishop of Armagh, Ireland named St. Malachy
Ardpatrícii, in Momónia Hibérniæ província,
sancti Celsi Epíscopi, qui beátum Malachíam in Episcopátu
præcéssit.
At Ard-Patrick in Munster, a province
of Ireland, Bishop St. Celsus, who preceded blessed Malachy in that bishopric
as his successor when he died on April 1 at Ardpatrick,
in Munster. He was called Cellach Mc Aedh, a native of Ireland, possibly
a Benedictine of Glastonbury, also called Celsus. Cellach taught at Oxford,
England, until 1106, when he became the archbishop of Armagh at the age
of twenty-six, serving there with distinction.
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1194
Hugh of Bonnevaux possessed singular powers of discernment and exorcism OSB
Cistercian, Abbot (AC)
Gratianópoli, in Gállia, sancti Hugónis Epíscopi,
qui multis annis in solitúdine vitam exégit, et miraculórum
glória clarus migrávit ad Dóminum.
At Grenoble in France, Bishop St. Hugh,
who spent many years of his life in solitude, and departed for heaven with
a great reputation for miracles.
A nephew of Saint Hugh of Grenoble, Saint Hugh
of Bonnevaux became a Cistercian monk at Mezières. In 1163, he was
made abbot of Léoncel, and, in 1169, promoted to the abbacy of Bonnevaux.
Hugh possessed singular powers of discernment and exorcism, but he is chiefly
remembered as the mediator between.
1194 ST HUGH OF BONNEVAUX, ABBOT his powers of divination and exorcism
The Mother of Mercy, with a look of great kindness, addressed him, saying,
“Bear yourself like a man and let your heart be comforted in the Lord; rest
assured that you will be troubled no more by these temptations.”
IN one of his letters St Bernard of Clairvaux mentions with great praise
a novice called Hugh, who had renounced considerable riches and entered
the abbey of Mézières at a very early age against the wishes
of his relations. He was nephew to St Hugh of Grenoble. Once, when greatly
troubled by temptations and longings to return to the world, he entered
a church to pray for light and help. As he raised his eyes to the altar,
he beheld above it a figure which he recognized to be that of our Lady,
and then, beside her, appeared the form of her divine Son. The Mother of
Mercy, with a look of great kindness, addressed him, saying, “Bear yourself
like a man and let your heart be comforted in the Lord; rest assured that
you will be troubled no more by these temptations.” Hugh afterwards gave
himself up to such severe penances that his health broke down and he seemed
to be losing his memory. He owed his recovery to the wise common-sense of
St Bernard, who ordered him off to the infirmary with instructions that he
should be properly tended and allowed to speak to anyone he liked.
Not long afterwards he was made abbot of Bonnevaux, and in Hugh’s care
the abbey became very flourishing. It was noted that the abbot could read
men’s thoughts and was quick to detect any evil spirit which had access to
the minds of his brethren. The stories that have come down to us testify to
his powers of divination and exorcism. Like so many of the great monastic
luminaries, both men and women, Hugh did not confine his interests to his
own house or even to his order. Moved by what he felt to be divine inspiration
he went to Venice in 1177, there to act as mediator between Pope Alexander
III and the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. To him is due the credit of negotiating
between them a peace which has become historic. St Hugh died in 1194, and
his ancient cultus was approved in 1907.
In the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. i, certain meagre details have
been collected front the chroniclers Helinandus, Vincent of Beauvais, etc.
On the other hand in vol. xi of the Cistercienser-Chronik (1899)
G. Muller has compiled an adequate account, distributed through several numbers,
drawing upon the cartularies of Bonnevaux and Léoncel, which have
been published by Canon Ulysse Chevalier. And see the unpublished vita in
Collectanea O.C.R., vol. vi (1939), pp. 214—218, edited
by A. Dimier, and that writer’s St Hugues de Bonnevaux
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XII (XIII) Century The Monk John Shauteli -- was a distinguished
Gruzinian (Georgian) poet, philosopher and rhetorician
In his youth
he received an excellent education at the Gelata academy (Western Gruzia),
where he studied the works of the holy fathers, ancient and Arabic history,
philosophy and literature. The saint later accepted monasticism and for many
years he asceticised at the famed Cave monastery of Bardzia (in South Gruzia),
in a solitary cell. Here, adding work upon work, the Monk John led the life
of a strict ascetic, constantly devoting himself to prayerful meditations
about the Trinity, the world-creation, the destiny of man and a deep insight
into the meaning of the Holy Scripture.
In his constant effort he attained to an high degree of spiritual
perfection and he received a remarkable gift of words, revealed in his poetic
creativity.
At the Bardzia monastery during
the years 1210-1214, the Monk John wrote a remarkable Ode, "Abdul-Messiya"
("Servant of Christ"), in which he intoned the image of the Christian, faithful
to the canons of the Holy Orthodox Church. In the ode the monk calls himself
very much a "wanderer" and "servant of Christ". Many a prayerful strophe
is dedicated in it to the holy Nobleborn Gruzian emperor Saint David III
the Restorer (+ 1125, Comm. 26 January) and to the holy Nobleborn Gruzian
empress Saint Tamara the Great (+ 1212, Comm. 1 May and on the Sunday of
the Myrh-Bearing Women).
Shota Rustaveli, for whom the Monk John Shauteli was a literary
predecessor, exclaimed, "For the Abdul-Messiya Shauteli did sing resounding
poetic strophe, -- he was a master in the art!" The theological significance
of the "Abdul-Messiya" is particularly evident in those strophic verses,
where the poet offers up prayers in the Name of the MostHoly Trinity, to
give thanks to the Trinity-Almighty and Divine Providence, for having vouchsafed
mankind salvation in Christ. Speaking about the array of the world-creation
by God, the Monk John writes, in concurrence with the works of Saint Dionysios
the Areopagite (+ 96, Comm. 3 October), about the Coelestial and Ecclesial
Hierarchies.
In another of his works -- "The Song to the Bardzian Mother
of God" -- the Monk John Shauteli eulogised the historical Basian Battle (1204),
in which the Gruzian national military forces, proceeding forth from the
Bardzian monastery, routed a 400,000 strong Musselman army led by sultan
Rukn-ed-din. Thanks to this victory, Gruzia preserved its independence and
remained an outpost of Orthodoxy in the Middle East, and this undoubtedly
contributed to the strengthening of the oneness of the faith of Byzantium.
The Monk John Shauteli reposed
in extreme old age. His memory from of old is venerated by the Gruzinian
Church.
14th v. St Gerontius
lived a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery all his life at the monastery,
in ascetic deeds of abstinence, obedience, and prayer
He fulfilled the obedience of canonarch (leader of church singing).
He spent all his life at the monastery, in ascetic deeds of
abstinence, obedience, and prayer.
St Gerontius was buried in the Far Caves.
His memory is celebrated also together with the Synaxis of
the Saints of the Far Caves, on August 28.
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Abraham_the_Bulgar
1220 Jacqueline V Hermit
recluse in Sicily reprimanded Pope Innocent III
The Roman orphan Jacqueline lived in a hut in Greece and passed
herself off as a monk. Later she continued her life as a recluse in Sicily,
where she lived in a tree. She reprimanded Pope Innocent III (Encyclopedia).
1220 Blessed Nicholas
of Neti Cistercian monk of the community of Santa Maria dell'Arcu near Neti,
Sicily, OSB Cist. (AC) (Benedictines).
1229 The Holy Martyr Abraham the Bulgar, Vladimir
Wonderworker convert from Islam martyred for his faith
lived during the thirteenth century, was descended from the
Kamska Bulgars and brought up as a Moslem. He was good and kindly towards
the destitute, and when the Lord enlightened him with the light of reason,
he accepted Christianity.
In the city of Bolgara, on the lower stretches of the Volga,
St Abraham began to preach to his fellow countrymen about the true God. They
seized him and tried to force him to renounce Christ, but the saint remained
firm in his confession. They tortured the martyr fiercely and for a long
while, but he endured everything with unshakable patience.
On April 1, 1229 they quartered the holy Martyr Abraham, and
then cut off his venerable head. Russian Christians living in the city buried
the saint's body in the Christian cemetery. On March 6, 1230, the relics of
St Abraham were transferred by the Great Prince St George Vsevolodovich of
Vladimir (February 4) to the Dormition cathedral of the Knyaginin (Princess)
monastery. His memory began to be celebrated from that time.
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1245 ST GILBERT, BISHOP OF
CAITHNESS “Three maxims which I have
always tried to observe I now commend to you: first, never to hurt anyone
and, if injured, never to seek revenge secondly, to bear patiently whatever
suffering God may inflict, remembering that He chastises every son whom
He receives; and finally to obey those in authority so as not to be a stumbling-block
to others.”
FOR his alleged defence of the
liberty of the Scottish church, when threatened with subordination to England,
St Gilbert was formerly held in honour by his fellow-countrymen as a great
patriot. Born in Moray, he received holy orders and became archdeacon of
Moray. Legend declared that while still a young man he was summoned with
the heads of the Scottish church to a council at Northampton in 1176. As
spokesman for the Scottish bishops he opposed with fervour and eloquence
a proposal that the northern prelates should be suffragans to the archbishop
of York. From the time that Scotland had received the Christian faith it
had been free, he maintained, and was subject to no outside authority except
that of the pope. It would be iniquitous to place it under an English metropolitan—especially
since the English and the Scots were constantly at war, He seems to have
carried his point. There was, no doubt, an ecclesiastic named Gilbert who
made such a speech, but it is barely conceivable that he can be the man who
was made bishop of Caithness in 1223.
According to the Aberdeen Breviary, St Gilbert was high steward
to several monarchs, and a legend relates that enemies maliciously burnt
the books in which he kept his accounts, hoping thereby to discredit him,
but that the books were restored intact in answer to his prayers. After the
death of Bishop Adam, who was murdered, King Alexander nominated Gilbert
bishop of Caithness, and he ruled that northern diocese wisely and well for
twenty years. He built several hospices for the poor as well as the cathedral
of Dornoch, and both by preaching and example did much to civilize his flock.
As he lay dying, he said to those who stood by him: “Three
maxims which I have always tried to observe I now commend to you: first,
never to hurt anyone and, if injured, never to seek revenge secondly, to
bear patiently whatever suffering God may inflict, remembering that He chastises
every son whom He receives; and finally to obey those in authority so as
not to be a stumbling-block to others.”
See Forbes,
KSS., pp. 355—356, the Aberdeen Breviary (‘854), and the
DNB. (vol. xxi,p. 317), with the references there indicated.
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1367 Blessed Gerard of Sassoferrato
received the Camaldolese habit OSB Cam. (AC).
Born in 1280; died November 18, 1367. At nine years of age,
Gerard received the Camaldolese habit at the abbey of the Holy Cross in Sassoferrato.
After his ordination, he was entrusted with the pastoral care of the parish,
which he served with untiring zeal (Benedictines). |
1404 Saint
Euthymius of Suzdal tonsure Nizhegorod Caves under St Dionysius: founded
Savior-Euthymius monastery strict ascetic great man of prayer incorrupt relics
100 yrs
Born in the year 1316 at Nizhni-Novgorod. From early childhood
he was taught his letters and received a spiritual upbringing. He received
monastic tonsure at the Nizhegorod Caves monastery under its founder, St
Dionysius (later the Archbishop of Suzdal, commemorated June 26 and October
15).
The ascetic struggles of St Euthymius were so great that St
Dionysius advised him to lessen them. In 1352 Prince Boris of Suzdal sought
to establish a men's monastery in his city, and he requested the Nizhegorod
Caves monastery to send a monk to establish the monastery. The choice of the
saintly igumen fell upon St Euthymius. After the arrival of St Euthymius
in the northern part of the city beyond the Kamenka River, St John of Suzdal
(October 15) set up a cross on the site of the future monastery cathedral
before a tremendous crowd of people. The prince himself began to dig the
ground for the foundation, and St Euthymius made three grave stones for
himself, vowing to remain in the new monastery until the very end of his
life.
So, the the Savior-Euthymius monastery was founded, where soon
more than three hundred monks gathered under the guidance of the saint.
The monastery adopted the cenobitic rule. The saint insisted that each of
the monks be prepared to fulfill whatever obedience they were given. St
Euthymius went often to the Trinity-Sergiev monastery to St Sergius of Radonezh
(September 25 and July 5). St Euthymius was a strict ascetic and a great
man of prayer. He toiled incessantly for the benefit of all the brethren.
St Euthymius died on April 1, 1404.
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1574 Catherine Tomás
strange phenomena mystical experiences both consoling /alarming, including
gift of prophecy last years of life continually in ecstasy OSA V (RM)
(also known as Catherine Thomas or Catherine of Palma)
1574 ST CATHERINE OF PALMA, VIRGIN profound trances She also possessed
the gift of prophecy.
THE whole life of Catherine Tomàs—from the moment of her birth
in the little village of Valdemuzza until her death at Palma—was spent in
the Balearic island of Majorca. Her parents died when Catherine, their seventh
child, was seven years old, leaving her unprovided for. Sad tales are told
of the indignities to which she was subjected in the house of her paternal
uncle, to whose custody she was transferred. Young as she was, she became
a regular little drudge whom the very servants were encouraged to overwork
and to slight. Nevertheless she bore her sufferings with unfailing sweetness
and patience. When she was about fifteen years old, visions of St Antony
and of her patroness St Catherine awoke aspirations after the religious life
which she confided to a holy hermit priest, Thinking that time was required
as a test of her vocation, he replied that she would receive a reply in due
course if she would continue to commend her case to God, as he himself would
do. She meekly agreed, but she had to wait for a long time—a delay which
was the more trying because the unkindness of her relations was increased
by their fear of losing her services. Father Antony, however, had not forgotten
her, although he found it difficult to find a convent which could afford
to take a dowerless girl. As a preliminary step, he arranged for Catherine
to enter the service of a family in Palma where no hindrances would be placed
in the way of her spiritual life. The daughter of the house taught her to
read and write, but soon became her disciple in religious matters, for Catherine
had already advanced very far on the road to perfection.
Eventually several convents offered to open their doors to Catherine almost
at the same moment, and she elected to join the canonesses of St Augustine
in their convent of St Mary Magdalen at Palma. She was then in her twentieth
year. From the moment of her admission she won the veneration of all by
her sanctity and their love by her humility and eagerness to serve others.
At first there was nothing about the convent life of Catherine Tomàs
to distinguish her from any other holy nun, but she soon began to be subject
to a number of strange phenomena which are carefully described in the records
of her life. Annually, for thirteen or fifteen days before the feast of
St Catherine of Alexandria, she was observed to lie in a profound trance
and always, after making her communion, she would remain in an ecstasy which
usually lasted for the greater part of the day and occasionally extended to
several days or even to a fortnight. Sometimes she seemed to be in a cataleptic
state, giving no signs of life, but at other times she would move about with
her feet together and her eyes shut—sometimes holding converse as with celestial
spirits and oblivious of all around, at other times answering quite intelligently
questions that were put to her. She also possessed the gift of prophecy.
- Alternating with these occurrences were severe trials and assaults from
the powers of darkness. Not only did she suffer from evil suggestions and
alarming hallucinations or phantoms, but she was subjected to physical violence
of the most distressing nature. On such occasions fearful shrieks and sounds
were heard by the other nuns who, however, could never see the attackers
although they witnessed the results and tried to alleviate St Catherine’s
sufferings. But she tried never to allow her experiences to interfere with
the punctual discharge of her duties. The death of St Catherine Tomàs,
which she had foretold, took place when she was forty-one. She was beatified
in 1792 and canonized in 1930.Father Antony Castagneda.
The bull of
canonization, which is printed in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis,
vol. xxii (1930), pp. 371—380, gives a summary of her life and
details of the miracles approved in the last stages of the process. Early
biographies were written by Canon Salvador Abrines, who had been her confessor,
and by Father Pedro Caldes. Both are freely quoted in the documents of the
official process, the earliest portions of which appear to have been printed
in 1669. There was a Ristretto della Vita della Beata Caterina Tomàs published in Rome
at the time of the beatification.
Born in Valdemuzza, Majorca, Spain, in 1533; died there in
1574; canonized in 1930; feast day formerly on April 5.
Saint Catherine was an unhappy little girl who was subjected to indignities
in the house of her paternal uncle. Eventually she passed into the service
of the canonesses of Saint Augustine in their convent of Saint Mary Magdalen
in Palma, where she spent the balance of her life. Her sanctity did not
remain hidden for long. She was subjected to a great number of strange phenomena
and mystical experiences that were both consoling and alarming, including
the gift of prophecy. Although she tried never to allow these experiences
to interfere with the discharge of her duties, during the last years of
her life she was continually in ecstasy (Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
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1849 BD LUDOVIC PAVONI,
FOUNDER OF THE SONS OF MARY IMMACULATE OF BRESCIA
THIS forerunner of St John Bosco in the education and care of boys, especially
the orphaned and neglected, was born at Brescia in Lombardy in 1784. His
parents were Alexander Pavoni and Lelia Pontecarali, and the family was of
noble descent, with a sufficiency of property to maintain its position. Ludovic
while still young showed a serious disposition; his sister Paolina said
of him that “Ludovic was always a good religious youngster, while I was
always a scamp”; and as a youth he already outlined his vocation when, during
summer holidays at Alfianello, he played with the peasants’ children and
taught them the catechism. On another occasion he threw his shirt out of
the window to a beggar shivering in the street below. He had a taste and
some capacity for the fine arts and might have become a painter or an architect,
but probably nobody was surprised when he decided to study for the priesthood.
This he did under the Dominicans (all the Lombard seminaries were closed
in consequence of the revolution), and he was ordained priest in 1807.
Don Pavoni received no benefice, but ministered as required in the various
parishes of Brescia and especially he helped in the several “oratories”
(a combination of boys’ club, Sunday-school and church) which had been started
by the Oratorian father Manelli and others, work for which he showed a marked
ability.
In 1818, when he was only thirty-four years old, he was nominated to a
canonry in Brescia cathedral and was made rector of the parish of St Barnabas.
Adjoining the church was a former Augustinian monastery, of which a corner
served as rectory and the remainder was used as a military store; and the
new rector conceived the project of turning this building into a “permanent
oratory” or institute, that is, a full-time home wherein boys who were destitute,
abandoned or otherwise in need of care could be looked after, taught a trade
and prepared for the world in a decent family atmosphere. Such a scheme
bristled with difficulties, and Canon Pavoni laid it at the foot of the
Crucifix—and the Figure seemed to say to him, “ Go on!”
Mgr Nava, the bishop, promised his support,* [* At a meeting of the Brescia
Academy held at the Jesuit college there in 1858, Mr Ronchi acclaimed the
holy partnership of Bishop Nays and Canon Pavoni in a hundred hexameters.]
and Pavoni began his institute in a small part of the monastery that he
called “the rat-hole”, choosing printing as the trade that his boys should
learn. The next twenty years is a tale, on the one hand, of encouraging
progress, and, on the other, of maddening negotiations with the civil authorities
with the object, firstly, of getting the printing-press licensed, and secondly,
of obtaining the use of the whole of the monastery buildings for the growing
orphanage.
In those days Lombardy was still under Austrian rule, the French Revolution
and Napoleon were more than living memories, and Joseph II of Austria (“Our
brother the sacristan”), though dead, still spoke. Among a people agitating
for independence the authorities viewed an Italian printing-press with grave
suspicion, if not alarm; as for the buildings, the Austrian governor, though
an admirer of Canon Pavoni, was a good Josephinist and would not easily
release to the Church a property of which the state had deprived her. And
then there were the ordinary bureaucratic conditions—in quintuplicate. {
The institute had to put up with all sorts of vexations. At the carnival
of 1828, a circus was allowed to camp itself in the courtyard of the monastery.
Fancy trying to keep boys in order with that going on under their windows.}
The press was licensed in 1823 (it had already been working, whether or
no), but it was not till 1841 that the city council of Brescia granted the
rest of the building required. This gave room for a school of the “three R’s
“ a school of design, and a school of music, which, with previous building
and other work, Canon Pavoni was able to set up through the generosity of
benefactors, of whom his own sister, Paolina Trivellini, and Bishop Nava
were among the foremost, though the institute was not always free from money
troubles.
In 1832 the work of the printing-press attracted favourable notice at
the Brescia Exhibition, and in the following year Pope Gregory XVI commended
the institute as Cosa buona, “A good thing”; but in 1836 a great strain was
put on its resources when there was a cholera epidemic in Brescia and hundreds
of children lost their homes. Among those who distinguished themselves as
nurses at this time was Paola di Rosa, foundress of the Handmaids’ of Charity
(December 15), and it was she who inspired Mgr Pinzoni to organize a school
for deaf-and-dumb boys. Canon Pavoni was asked to take over the responsibility
for this undertaking, which he did. He also took over the Mercy Orphanage
at the request of the civil governor, and it was this generous action that
at last shamed the city council into conveying the St Barnabas building
to him, freehold and as a gift.
Ludovic Pavoni was a man of middle-height, well and strongly built, with
rather silky hair; his features strongly marked and expressive, with a mouth
that had a smile playing about it. By nature he was hot and impulsive, and
his words came easily and decisively; but he had schooled himself to patience
and calmness, and so gave an impression of restrained energy. He was what
would be called today a man of good general culture, versatile but well-balanced,
neither superficial nor deeply learned. His ideal of education was a broad
one, to dispose a person in his wholeness to be really good; and it is significant
that, fifty years before “Rerum Novarum”, he grasped the religious significance
of social justice and set an example by his own dealings with his employees.
Some of his boys were literally the scourings of the streets, and these
had to be made good men, good workmen, good citizens, good Christians. Like
St John Bosco after him, Canon Pavoni’s methods were encouraging and preventive
rather than repressive; he preferred gentleness to severity. “Rigorism “
he said, “keeps Heaven empty.” For all that, his means of discipline and
vigilance might seem excessive to some; but who will dare say they were unnecessary
with such tough material as some of it was? He aimed at a family and not
an institution (those were the days of Oliver Twist in England), and one
has only to read of some of his actual dealings with his pupils to detect
a holy man at work and to see him “loving the children with all his heart,
and being loved by them”. He was relentless in expelling really vicious
characters, lest their fellows be corrupted—but they were not left to sink
or swim: he continued to watch over them outside the institute.
If one feels that Rodriguez’s Treatise on Perfection is a rather unhappy
choice of spiritual reading for youths, comfort may be found elsewhere in
the fact that the cook and kitchen staff were considered of such importance
that they were under the immediate control of the director, and that good
food, punctuality and good manners to the boys were their first duties;
nor was a “discreet measure of wine” regarded as superfluous. Not only that,
but Canon Pavoai encouraged play-acting among his charges’ recreations. This
was looking for trouble from the Menpensants of mid_nineteenth-century Italy,
and it required the presence of the bishop, the seminarists and the pupils
of the Jesuit college at the first performance to confound—but not to silence—the
critics.
It had been for a long time in Ludovic Pavoni’s mind that he ought to
establish a religious society of some kind to carry on the work which he
had begun, and he gradually elaborated a rule and constitutions for a congregation
of priests and of laybrothers who should work at theft own trades. After
long prayer and deep consideration he opened his mind to Mgr Nava and to
Cardinal Angelo Mai; both of them encouraged the project, and he decided
to go ahead in the face of the adverse criticism of other, less wise, people,
some of whom thought that, while it was all right for religious to teach
boys the sciences and letters, it was not all right for religious to teach
boys the fine and useful arts. Was it not St Teresa who asked to be protected
from pious fools:
Premises for a novitiate were acquired at Saiano, a few miles from Brescia.
Canon Pavoni restored the old buildings, established a farm colony, and
transferred his deaf-mutes to Saiano, and in 1844 the Holy See gave permission
for novices to be received. But such things could not be done in Austrian
dominions without a further permission—that of the civil power; and so it
was not till another three
years had passed that the Congregation of Sons of Mary Immaculate was
formally founded. On December 8, 1847, Ludovic Pavoni, already named superior
general, made his religious profession. On the previous day he had resigned
his canonry, and conveyed the title to his house in Brescia and all his
other private property, together with the buildings at St Barnabas’s and
Saiano, to the new congregation as a body; and with his canonical cross he
no doubt put off also the decoration of a knight of the Iron Crown, which
his Imperial Majesty Ferdinand I had conferred on him in 1844. On which occasion
Don Pavoni had remarked privately, “Why didn’t the emperor send me a sack
of flour to make polenta for my boys instead of this?”
These happy events were not long over when Lombardy was convulsed by a
revolt against Austrian domination. For a year the situation became daily
more threatening; in January 1849 the government imposed a heavy fine on the
city of Brescia; feeling ran so high on both sides that Bd Ludovic thought
it prudent to close his beloved printing works: and on March 26 the storm
broke. The people rose, and the “Ten Days of Brescia” began. On the following
day Bd Ludovic gathered all his charges together, and in a storm of wind and
rain they set out for Saiano. At Torricelle, where Paolina Trivellini lived,
she wanted to get a carriage for her ageing brother he refused it, “No, I
can go on, on foot like my youngsters”. At length, wet through and worn out,
the sad procession reached its destination, and Father Pavoni went up the
hill to look out over burning Brescia, in the midst of which was the institute
that had been his life’s work for thirty years. At that moment he felt the
first spasm of that weakening of his heart that in a few days was to end
his course.
The rector of St Mary’s, Father Amus, sent him to bed, and Bd Ludovic
obediently went (it was the first time he had enjoyed the refinement of
linen sheets since he was a young man). Daily he weakened, and a week later,
surrounded by his weeping brethren and boys, Bd Ludovic Pavoni died, in
his sixty-sixth year. It was April 1, 1849, Palm Sunday; on the previous
day and night the dying man had heard the roar of guns bombarding Brescia
echoing in the hills around.
The body was buried at Saiano, but afterwards translated to Brescia, where
it now rests in the Immacolata church, and his cause was introduced at Rome
in 1919. Twenty-eight years later, in 1947, Ludovic Pavoni was solemnly
beatified.
There seems
to be nothing about Bd Ludovic Pavoni except in Italian. A full “life” Un Apostolo della Gioventu Derelitta, by Canon Luigi Traverso,
was published at Monza in 1928 this is summarized in a booklet by Giovanni
della Cioppa, Lodovico Pavoni (1946), and a few misstatements
of fact are corrected. A selection of the beato’s letters
(Lettere del Servo di Dio P. Lodovico Pavoni (1945)
should be read by all attracted by this sympathetic character, of whom little
is known outside his own country.
|
1913 Saint Barsanuphius
of Optina (Paul I. Plikhanov) a colonel, to be a general, but became a priest
gifts of clairvoyance healing read souls
Born in the city of Samara on July 5,1845, the son of John
and Natalia Plikhanov. His mother died in childbirth, and his father later
remarried so that his son would have a mother. Although his stepmother was
very strict, she was a real mother to him, and he loved her very much.
As a descendant of the Orenburg Cossacks, Paul was enrolled
in the Polotsk Cadet Corps. He completed his studies at the Orenburg Military
School and received an officer's commission. He later graduated from the
Petersburg Cossack Staff Officers' School, and also served at the headquarters
of the Kazan military district and eventually rose to the rank of colonel.
Once, as he was sick with pneumonia, Paul sensed that he was
about to die. He asked his orderly to read the Gospel to him, and passed out.
Then he had a vision in which the heavens seemed to open, and he was afraid
because of the great light. His whole sinful life passed before him, and
he was overcome with repentance. A voice told him he should go to Optina Monastery,
but the doctors did not think he would recover. His health did improve, however,
and the colonel visited Optina. In August 1889 the Elder of the Monastery
was St Ambrose (October 10), who told Paul to set his worldly affairs in
order. Two years later, St Ambrose blessed him to cut all ties to the world
and told him to enter Optina within three months.
It was not easy for the colonel to resign his commission within
the specified three month period, because obstacles were placed in his way.
In fact, he was offered a promotion to the rank of general, and was asked
to delay his retirement. Some people even tried to arrange a marriage for
him, laughing at his intention to go to the monastery. Only his stepmother
was happy that he wished to become a monk. On the very last day of the three
months he concluded his affairs and arrived at Optina. However, St Ambrose
was already laid out in his coffin in the church.
St Anatole I (January 25) succeeded Fr Ambrose as Elder, and
he assigned Paul to Hieromonk Nectarius (April 29) as his cell attendant.
He was accepted as a novice in 1892, and tonsured as a rassophore in 1893.
Over the next ten years he advanced through the various stages of monastic
life, including ordination as deacon (1902), and as priest (1903). The monk
Paul was secretly tonsured into the mantiya in December of 1900 because of
a serious illness. When they asked him what name he wished to receive, he
said it did not matter. They named him in honor of St Barsanuphius of Tver
and Kazan (April 11). Although he recovered, they did not give him the mantiya
until December of 1902 after the Liturgy when it was revealed that he had
been tonsured on his sickbed.
On September 1, 1903 Fr Barsanuphius
was appointed to assist Elder Joseph, the skete Superior, in the spiritual
direction of the skete brethren and the sisters of the Shamordino convent.
At the beginning of the Russo-Japanese war in 1904, Fr Barsanuphius was
sent to the Far East as a military chaplain, where he ministered to wounded
soldiers. The war ended in August 1905, and St Barsanuphius returned to
Optina on November 1, 1905.
Since Elder Joseph had become too old and frail to administer
the skete's affairs, Fr Barsanuphius was appointed as Superior of the skete
in his place. Fr Barsanuphius soon reestablished order and discipline, paid
off debts, repaired buildings, etc. As Superior, he combined strictness
with paternal concern and tenderness for those under him.
St Barsanuphius, like the other Elders of Optina, possessed
the gifts of clairvoyance and of healing people afflicted with physical and
spiritual ailments. One of his spiritual sons, Fr Innocent Pavlov, recalled
his first Confession with the Elder. He became fearful because Fr Barsanuphius
seemed to know his innermost thoughts, reminding him of people and events
which he had forgotten. The saint spoke gently and told him that it was God
who had revealed to him these things about Fr Innocent.
"During my lifetime, do not tell anyone about what you
are experiencing now," he said, "but you may speak of it after my death."
St Barsanuphius loved spiritual
books, especially the Lives of the Saints. He often told people that those
who read these Lives with faith benefit greatly from doing so. The answers
to many of life's questions can be found by reading the Lives of the Saints,
he said. They teach us how to overcome obstacles and difficulties, how to
stand firm in our faith, and how to struggle against evil and emerge victorious.
Although the Lives of the Saints were widely available, it saddened the
Elder that more people did not read them.
St Barsanuphius commemorated many saints each day during his
Rule of prayer, and this was not accidental. Each saint, he once explained,
had some particular importance in his life. If, for example, some significant
event took place, he would look to see which saints were commemorated on
that day, then he would begin to commemorate them each day. Later he noticed
that on their Feast Day, they would often deliver him from some danger or
trouble. On December 17, 1891, the commemoration of the Prophet Daniel and
the three holy youths, he left Kazan and never returned. That was the day
he decided to leave the world, and St Barsanuphius felt that God had delivered
him from a furnace of passions. Just as the three youths were delivered from
the fiery furnace because they would not bow down before idols, the Elder
always believed that he left the world unharmed because he refused to bow
down before the idols of lust, pride, gluttony, etc.
By 1908, St Barsanuphius seemed to fall ill more frequently,
and began to speak of his approaching death. In April of that year, someone
sent him a package containing the Great Schema. Fr Barsanuphius had long
desired to be tonsured into the Great Schema before his death, but he had
told no one of this except for the archimandrite. Therefore, he regarded this
as a sign that he would soon die.
One night in July 1910, the Elder became so ill that he had
to leave church during Vigil and return to his cell. The next morning, July
11, he was so weak that he could not sit up by himself. That evening he
was tonsured into the Great Schema.
Fr Barsanuphius began to recover,
but there were new problems in the monastery. New monks came in from spiritually
lax environments. They did not understand the ascetical nature of monasticism
or the whole notion of eldership, and so they began to clamor for reform
and change. They wanted to assume positions of authority, and to close the
skete. Because of their complaints, Fr Barsanuphius was removed from Optina
and assigned as igumen of the Golutvinsky Monastery. When he arrived to
take up his duties, Fr Barsanuphius found the monastery in a state of physical
and spiritual decline. Nevertheless, he did not lose heart, and soon the
monastery began to revive. More people began to visit, once they heard that
an Optina Elder had come to Goluvinsky, and the monastery's financial position
also began to improve. However, the rebellious brethren caused him great
sorrow, and he had to expell some of them
At the beginning of 1913, St Barsanuphius became ill again
and asked Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow for permission to retire to Optina,
but that was not to be. He fell asleep in the Lord on April 1, and his body
remained in the church of Golotvino until April 6 (which was also Lazarus
Saturday). After the funeral, his body was placed on a train and sent to
Optina for burial. The train arrived at Kozelsk Station on April 8, and the
coffin was carried to Optina by clergy.
The Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the
Optina Elders on June 13,1996. The work of uncovering the relics of Sts
Leonid, Macarius, Hilarion, Ambrose, Anatole I, Barsanuphius and Anatole
II began on June 24/July 7, 1998 and was concluded the next day. However,
because of the church Feasts (Nativity of St John the Baptist, etc.) associated
with the actual dates of the uncovering of the relics, Patriarch Alexey
II designated June 27/July 10 as the date for commemorating this event.
The relics of the holy Elders now rest in the new church of the Vladimir
Icon of the Mother of God.
The Optina Elders were glorified
by the Moscow Patriarchate for universal veneration on August 7, 2000.
|
Saint of the Day April 01 Kaléndis
Aprílis. 
550 B.C. The Departure
of the Great Prophet Daniel. Daniel"s_tomb_Susa_Iran
> 
"After finishing my
bread, I lived on herbs and the things one finds in the desert. The clothes
I had when I crossed over the Jordan became torn and fell apart. I suffered both from the summer heat, when the
blazing heat fell upon me, and from the winter cold, when I shivered from
the frost. Many times
I fell down upon the earth, as though dead. I struggled with various afflictions
and temptations. But from that time until the present day, the
power of God has guarded my sinful soul and humble body. 
St Mary
of Egypt St
Zosimas monk at a certain Palestinian monastery on the outskirts of Caesarea
1404 Saint
Euthymius of Suzdal tonsure Nizhegorod Caves under St Dionysius:
founded Savior-Euthymius monastery strict ascetic great man of prayer incorrupt
relics 100 yrs
Quote: Pope
Paul VI’s 1969 
Benedict
XVI met with
Aram I Catholicos
of Cilicia, the highest
authority of the Orthodox
Church.
The
Pope remembered the martyrs
of the Armenian Church
and the Armenian genocide,
without explicitly
mentioning it, and denounced
the persecution of
Christians in modern
times. Benedict
XVI
Among the most important
titles we have in the Catholic
Church for the Blessed Virgin Mary
are Our Lady of Victory and Our Lady
of the Rosary. These titles can be traced
back to one of the most decisive times in the history
of the world and Christendom. The Battle of
Lepanto took place on October 7 (date of feast of
Our Lady of Rosary), 1571. This proved to be the
most crucial battle for the Christian
forces against the radical Muslim navy of
Turkey. Pope Pius V led a procession around St.
Peter’s Square in Vatican City praying the Rosary.
He showed true pastoral leadership in recognizing
the danger posed to Christendom by the radical
Muslim forces, and in using the means necessary
to defeat it. Spiritual battles require spiritual
weapons, and this more than anything was a battle
that had its origins in the spiritual order—a true
battle between good and evil.