The Vilnius (Vilna) Icon
of the Mother of God was painted by the holy Evangelist Luke.
For a long
time it was in the family of the Greek emperors at Constantinople.
In 1472 Sophia Paleologina, wife of the Moscow Great Prince
Ivan III (1462-1505), transferred the icon to Moscow.
In 1495 the Great Prince blessed his daughter Elena with this
icon before giving her in marriage to the Lithuanian king Alexander.
The Church celebrates the transfer of this icon to Vilnius
on February 15.
Later, the holy icon was placed in the church of St John the
Forerunner, in which Princess Elena was buried.
Afterwards, they transferred the icon to Vilnius's HolyTrinity
monastery.
The Vilnius icon is also commemorated on February 15.
April 14 - Our Lady of Guam (1825)
The Myrrh-Streaming Icon (III)
Returning to his home in Montreal, Canada,
Jose placed the Iveron Mother of God in his icon corner. At about
4 o'clock AM on 24 November 1982, he was woken up by the smell of an
intense perfume, the fragrance of roses or, more exactly of holy chrism
used for the sacrament of chrismation. This chrism or myrrhon is actually
an extraordinary synthesis of different perfumes.
Jose Munoz, during that night of November 1982, saw that the
perfume was coming from the icon; a type of oil or myrrhon was actually
exuding from the hands of the Christ Child. Then the icon was solemnly
taken to the small cathedral of Montreal. Since that time, it never ceases
to exude this mysterious oil, which is collected on cotton balls and divided
among the faithful. Just a tiny cotton ball has enough fragrance to fill
an entire room, and even sometimes a soul. Jose Munoz, the timid
guardian of the "Portaitissa" has taken the icon over seas on occasion,
to parishes and monasteries of his own jurisdiction. The myrrh-streaming
icon, however, belongs to no one. Adapted from an article published
in France Catholique Magazine, 30 May 1986 by Olivier Clément
|
69 St. Domnina Martyr with virgin companions.
Interámnæ sanctæ Domnínæ, Vírginis
et Mártyris, cum Sóciis Virgínibus coronátæ.
At Teramo, St. Domnina, virgin and martyr,
who received the crown with her virgin companions.
They died in Termi, Umbria, Italy. Reported that
St. Valentine was martyred at the same time.
Domnina and Another VV MM (RM) Date unknown. Domnina and another
unnamed maiden were martyred at Terni, Umbria, Italy, at the same time
as bishop Saint Valentine (Benedictines). |
1st v. Aristarchos,
Pudens und Trophimus Aristarchos, Zenas und Johannes Markus.
Orthodoxe Kirche: 14. April (15. April) - Aristarchos, Pudens
und Trophimus Orthodoxe Kirche: 27. September - Aristarchos, Zenas und
Markus genannt Johannes
Aristarchos wird mehrmals (Apg. 19: 29; 20, 4; 27, 2; Kol.
4, 10, Philemon 1, 24 ) erwähnt. Er war Mitgefangener des Paulus
(Kol. 4, 10) und später Bischof von Apameia (Syrien)
Dorotheus nennt noch einen zweiten Aristarchos,
allerdings ohne weitere Angaben.
Pudens wird von Paulus in 2. Tim. 4, 21 genannt. Er war ein
Mitglied des römischen Senates und stellte sein Haus den römischen
Christen als Kirche zur Verfügung. Auch Petrus soll in seinem Haus,
das Pastorum genannt wurde, Gottesdienste gehalten haben.
Trophimus wird Apg. 20, 4 und 2. Tim 4, 20 erwähnt.
Er begleitete Paulus auf mehreren Reisen.
Aristarchos, Pudens und Trophimus wurden nach der Überlieferung
mit Paulus unter Nero gefangengenommen und geköpft.
Zenas oder Zenon wird in Tit. 3, 13 als Rechtsgelehrter
genannt. Er soll später Bischof von Diospolis oder Lydda in Palästina
gewesen sein.
Johannes genannt Markus wird mehrmals genannt (Apg. 12, 25;
15, 37 ff.; Kol. 4, 10; Philemon 1, 23). In der Liste wird der Name Markus
dreimal genannt, es ist aber unklar, ob es sich tatsächlich um
drei Personen handelt. Dorotheus sagt, Johannes Markus war Bischof von
Byblos. Weitere Informationen unter Evangelist Markus.
|
2nd v Fronto of Nitria
desert father Hermit (RM).
Alexandríæ sancti Frontónis Abbátis,
cujus vita sanctitáte et miráculis cláruit.
At Alexandria, St. Fronto, an abbot whose
life was graced by sanctity and his miracles.
(also known as Frontom) 2nd century.
A desert father of Nitria, Egypt (Benedictines, Encyclopedia). In
art, Saint Fronto is a pilgrim with a large hat, birch, and crucifix
(Roeder).
|
Sancti Justíni, Philósophi et Mártyris,
cujus memória prídie hujus diéi recensétur.
The feast
of St. Justin,
philosopher and martyr, who was yesterday mentioned.
men and one woman. The exact date of their execution is not
recorded, but St Justin is commemorated in the Roman martyrology on
April 14, the day following the feast of St Carpus, whose name immediately
precedes his in the Chronicle of Eusebius.
Of the writings of Justin
Martyr, the only treatises which have survived intact are two Apologies
and the Dialogue with Trypho. His great Apology, to which the second
seems to have been an appendix, is addressed to the Emperor Antoninus,
to his two sons, and to the Roman senate and people. In it he protests
against the condemnation of Christians simply on the score of their religion
or of unsubstantiated charges. After vindicating them from accusations of
atheism and immorality he goes on to insist that, far from being a danger
to the state, they are peaceable subjects whose loyalty to the emperor
is based on the teaching of our Lord. Towards the end he describes the rite
of baptism and of the Sunday services, including the Eucharistic Sacrifice
and the distribution of alms.
His third book is a vindication of Christianity as opposed to Judaism,
in the form of a dialogue with a Jew called Trypho.
A treatise which he wrote against heresy seems
to have been utilized by Irenaeus.
The acts of St Justin’s trial
and martyrdom are among the most valuable and authentic which have come
down to us. When he and his companions were brought before the Roman
prefect, Rusticus, he was urged to submit to the gods and obey the emperors,
to which he replied that nobody can incur blame by following the law of
Christ.
Rusticus: What branch of learning do you study?
Justin: I have studied all in turn. But I
finished by deciding on the Christian teaching, however disagreeable
it may be to those who are deceived by error.
Rusticus: And that is the learning that you
love, you foolish man?
Justin: Yes, I follow the Christians because
they have the truth.
RUSTICUS: What is this teaching
Justin then explained that Christians believe in the one creator
God, and confess His Son, Jesus Christ, of whom the prophets spoke,
the bringer of salvation and judge of mankind. Rusticus asked where
the Christian assemblies took place.
JUSTIN: Wherever they can. Do you suppose
we all meet in the same place?
Not a bit of it. The God of the Christians is not found in
any particular place: He is invisible, He is everywhere in Heaven
and earth, and His faithful ones praise and worship Him everywhere and
anywhere.
Rusticus: All right then: tell me where you
foregather with your followers.
Justin: I have always stayed at the house
of a man called Martin, just by Timothy’s baths. This is the second time
I have been in Rome, and I have never stayed anywhere else. Anybody who
wants to can find me and hear the true doctrine there.
Rusticus: You, then, are a Christian
JUSTIN: Yes, I am a Christian.
After ascertaining from the others that they also were Christians,
Rusticus turned again to Justin and said: “Listen, you who are said
to be eloquent and who believes that he has the truth—if I have you beaten
and beheaded, do you believe that you will then go up to Heaven?”
Justin: If I suffer as you say, I hope to,
receive the reward of those who keep Christ’s commandments. I know
that all who do that will remain in God’s grace even to the consummation
of all things.
Rusticus: So you think that you will go up
to Heaven, there to receive a reward
Justin: I don’t think it, I know it. I have
no doubt about it whatever.
Rusticus: Very well. Come here and sacrifice
to the gods.
JUSTIN: Nobody in his senses gives up truth
for falsehood.
Rusticus: If you don’t do as I tell you,
you will be tortured without mercy.
Justin: We ask nothing better than to suffer
for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ and so to be saved. If we do
this we can stand confidently and quietly before the fearful judgement-seat
of that same God and Saviour, when in accordance with divine ordering
all this world will pass away.
The others agreed with what Justin had said. And so they were
sentenced to be scourged and then beheaded, which was carried out at
the common place of execution, fulfilling their, final witness to Christ.
Some of the faithful took up their bodies secretly and buried them in a
fitting place, upheld by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belongs
glory for ever and ever. Amen.
As might be expected, a very considerable literature has gathered
round a martyred apologist whose life and writings present so many problems
as do those of St Justin. The bibliography which is appended to the
article “Justin” by G. Bardy in DTC., vol. viii (1924), cc. 2228—2277,
may be recommended as very thorough. Apart from the martyrdom we know
hardly anything about St Justin beyond what he tells us himself in the Dialogue
with Trypho. St Irenaeus, Eusebius, St Jerome and others mention him, but
supply little in the way of fresh information. The text of the acts of his
martyrdom is printed in the Acta Sanctorum
(June, vol. i), but other copies have since been collated by P. Franchi
de’ Cavalieri (in Studi e Testi, vol. viii) and by
Prof. Burkitt (in the Journal of Theological
Studies, 1910, vol.
xi, pp. 61—66). There are excellent studies of Justin’s life and writings
by Fr Lagrange (in the series “Les Saints”) ; J. Rivière, St Justin et let Apologistes du IIeme siècle
(1907); A. Béry, St Justin, La vie et La doctrine
(1911); and others. The Acts of St Justin are edited or translated
In most of the modem collections of acts of the martyrs, e.g. those of Kruger-Kopf, Owen, Monceaux. See also
especially Delehaye, Les Passions des Martyrs et les
Genres Littéraires, pp. 119—121. It is curious that
no cult of St Justin Martyr seems to have left any traces in Rome itself:
he is not mentioned in the Philocalian calendar nor in the “Hieronymianum”.
|
190 St. Tiburtius Martyr
with Valerian and Maximus.
Romæ, via Appia, natális sanctórum Mártyrum
Tibúrtii, Valeriáni et Máximi, sub Alexándro
Imperatóre et Almáchio Præfécto. Horum
duo primi, beátæ Cæcíliæ exhortatióne
ad Christum convérsi et a sancto Urbáno Papa baptizáti,
póstmodum, ob fidei confessiónem, fústibus cæsi,
gládio percússi sunt; Máximus vero, Præfécti
cubiculárius, cum et ipse, eórum permótus constántia
et angélica visióne firmátus, in Christum credidísset,
támdiu plumbátis verberátus est, donec spíritum
exhaláret.
At Rome, on the Appian Way, the birthday
of the holy martyrs Tiburtius, Valerian, and Maximus, who suffered in
the time of Emperor Alexander and the prefect Almachius. The first
two were converted to Christ by the exhortations of blessed Cecilia,
and baptized by Pope St. Urban. They were beaten with clubs, then
beheaded for the sake of the true faith. Maximus, who had been the
prefect's chamberlain, was touched by their constancy, and confirmed
by the vision of an angel, believed in Christ, and was scourged with
leaded whips until he died.
From Lives of Saintes by Alban Butler
APRIL XIV.
SS. TIBTURTIUS, VALERIAN, AND MAXIMUS, MM.
See the acts of St. Cecily, and the remarks of Henschenius, and 14 Aprilis
t. 2, pp. 203, 220
A.D. 229
THESE holy martyrs have always been held in singular veneration in the church,
as appears from the ancient calendar of Fronto, the sacramentary of St. Gregory,
St. Jerome’s Martyrology, that of Thomasius, &. Valerian was espoused
to St. Cecily, and converted by her to the faith; and with her he became
the instrument of the conversion of his brother Tiberius. Maximus, the officer
appointed to attend their execution, was brought to the faith by the example
of their piety, and received with them the crown of martyrdom, in the year
229. The theatre of their triumph seems to have been Rome, though some have
imagined they suffered in Sicily. They were interred in the burying-place
of Praetextatus, which, from them, took the name of Tiburtius. It was contiguous
to that of Calixtus. In that place pope Gregory III, repaired their
monument in 740; and Adrian I built a church under their patronage.
But pope Paschal translated the remains of these martyrs, of St. Cecily,
and the popes SS. Urban and Lucius, into the city, where the celebrated church
of St. Cecily stands. These relics were found in it in 1599, and visited
by the order of Clement VIII., and approved genuine by the cardinals Baronius
and Sfondrate. The Greeks vie with the Latins in their devotion to
these martyrs.
Most agreeable to the holy angels was this pious family, converted
to God by the zeal and example of St. Cecily, who frequently assembled to
sing together, with heavenly purity and fervor, the divine praises. We shall
also draw upon ourselves the protection, constant favor, and tender attention
of the heavenly spirits, if we faithfully imitate the same angelical exercise.
Mortification, temperance, humility, meekness, purity of mind and body, continual
sighs toward heaven, prayer, accompanied with tears and vehement heavenly
desires, disengagement of the heart from the world, a pure and assiduous
attention to God and to his holy will, and a perfect union by the most sincere
fraternal charity, are virtues and exercises infinitely pleasing to them.
The angels of peace are infinitely delighted to see the same perfect intelligence
and union, which makes an essential part of their bliss in heaven, reign
among us on earth, and that we have all but one heart and one soul. Happy
are those holy souls which have renounced the world, in order more perfectly
to form in their hearts the spirit of these virtues, in which they cease
not, day and night, to attend to the divine praises, and consecrate themselves
to Jesus Christ, by employing their whole life in this divine exercise. Their
profession is a prelude to, or rather a kind of anticipation of, the bliss
of heaven. The state of the blessed indeed surpasses it in certain
high privileges and advantages. First, they praise God with far greater
love and esteem, because they see and know him much more clearly, and as
he is in himself. Secondly, they praise him with more joy, because
they possess him fully. Thirdly, their praises have neither end
nor interruption. Yet our present state has also its advantages.
First, if our praises are mingled with tears, compunction, watchfulness,
and conflicts, they merit a continual immense increase of grace, love, and
bliss for eternity. Secondly, our praises cost labor, difficultly,
and pain they are a purgatory of love; those of the blessed the
reward and the sovereign bliss. Thirdly we praise God in a place
where he is little loved and little known: we celebrate his glory in all
enemy's country, amidst the contradiction of sinners. This obliges
us to acquit ourselves of this duty with the utmost fidelity and fervor.
A second motive to excite us to assiduity in this exercise is that it associates
us already to the angels and saints, and makes the earth a paradise: it is
also, next to the sacraments, the most powerful means of our sanctification
and salvation. With what delight do the holy angels attend and join
us in it. With what awe and fervor, with what purity of heart, ardent-love,
and profound sentiments of humility, adoration, and all virtues, ought we
in such holy invisible company to perform this most sacred action!
We should go to it penetrated with fear and respect, as if we were admitted
into the sanctuary of heaven itself, and mingled in its glorious choirs.
We ought to behave at it as if we were in paradise, with the utmost modesty,
in silence, annihilating ourselves in profound adoration with the seraphim,
and pronouncing every word with interior sentiment arid relish. From prayer
we must come as if we were just descended from heaven, with an earnest desire
of speedily returning thither, bearing God in our souls, all animated and
inflamed by him, and preserving that spirit of devotion with which his presence
filled us at prayer.
SS. TIBURTIUS, VALERIUS AND MAXIMUS,
MARTYRS
THE holy martyrs Tiburtius, Valerius and Maximus have been
honoured by the Church from an early date, and the Catacomb of St Callixtus
in which their bodies were found at Rome was known at one time as the
Cemetery of Tiburtius. In several of the old martyrologies, Valerius (or
Valerianus) is described as the brother of Tiburtius and the bridegroom
of St Cecilia, but nothing certain is known about them, their very dates
being doubtful.
Their story, as it is generally told, forms part of the legend
of St Cecilia, which first became current in the fourth century, to which
period her acta belong: this document can by no means be regarded as trustworthy
or even founded on authentic materials. It is instructive to contrast
the sober and convincing account of the trial and death of St Justin, most
of which is printed above [today], with the very different sort of tale,
with its improbable details, that enshrines the names of Tiburtius, Valerius
and Maximus.
Known by their inclusion in the Acts of St. Cecilia . It is
generally accepted that the Acts are fiction, but the three perhaps
were genuine martyrs, especially as their tombs in the cemetery of Praetextatus
were exceedingly popular during the Middle Ages. According to the Acts,
Valerian was Cecilia’s husband, Tiburtius her brother, and Maximus a
Roman soldier or official who died with them.
Ardalion the Actor M (RM). While the mountebank
Saint Ardalion was parodying Christian feasts on the stage, he discovered
that it was not a comedy, but the truth. And he shouted this revelation
to his audience in the middle of his performance. The audience immediately
demanded his death. He was roasted alive in the public square (under
Maximian). It appears
likely that this is a legend based on a true story, but found with several
names (Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopedia, Gill).
Tiburtius, Valerius & Maximus MM (RM) There
is a Saint Tiburtius buried in the cemetery of Praetextatus on the
Via Appia, together with Saint Valerian and Saint Maximus. Nothing else
is known about them, but all three were given parts in the legend of
Saint Cecilia and honored at Rome from an early date.
According to the legend, Valerian was a young pagan
when Cecilia was betrothed to him, not by her own wish, but by the
decision of her parents. Cecilia had determined not to marry, so as
to devote herself entirely to God. On their wedding day, she told Valerian
of this vow. So persuasively did Cecilia speak of her faith that she converted
her new husband to Christianity. He went to the home of his parents and
succeeded in converting his brother, Tiburtius.
The two brothers now set about displaying the virtues
of Christian charity. One of these was especially dangerous: gathering
the broken bodies of Christian martyrs and giving them burial. Tiburtius
and Valerian were caught at this work. The prefect Almachius demanded
that they sacrifice to pagan gods. Both refused, so they were taken outside
Rome to Pagus Triopius, where they were beaten, and then beheaded.
Maximus was a Roman official, who was so impressed
by their witness to Christ that he became a Christian and was martyred
with them. Cecilia buried the three and in turn was arrested and killed.
The Roman Martyrology says that Tiburtius
and the others suffered under Emperor Alexander, who ruled 222-235 (Attwater,
Attwater2, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Farmer).
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300 St. Ardalion martyr
who professed Christ while performing on stage. The
whole story is probably a fiction.
Eódem die
sancti Ardaliónis mimi, qui dum Sacris Christianórum
in theatro illúderet, derepénte mutátus est, et ea
non solum verbis, sed étiam testimónio sui sánguinis
comprobávit.
Also St. Ardalion, an actor. One day
in the theatre, while scoffing at the holy rites of the Christian religion,
he was suddenly converted and bore testimony to it, not only by his
words, but also with his blood.
300 ST ARDALION, MARTYR
AMONGST the early martyrs we meet with
several instances of actors who were converted to Christianity while they
were turning into ridicule upon the stage the sufferings of the confessors
and the truths of the Catholic faith. One of these was a man named Ardalion,
who lived in the days of the Emperor Maximinian. One day he had been personating
with great spirit a Christian who had refused to renounce his faith and was
about to be executed. The excellence of his acting aroused the enthusiasm
of his audience but, as he stood to receive the applause, he was suddenly
convinced of the truth of Christianity. Addressing the people he cried out
in a loud voice that he was himself a Christian. Brought before the judge,
he adhered to his confession, and was burnt alive in some eastern city, the
name of which has not been handed down to us. The whole story is probably
a fiction.
See the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. ii. The eulogium
accorded to St Ardalion in the Roman Martyrology was borrowed by Baronius’
from Greek sources.
The Holy Martyr Ardalion suffered for Christ under the emperor
Maximian Galerius (305-311). St Ardalion was a talented actor.
Once, he played the role of a Christian. In the play, the actor at first
refused to offer sacrifice to idols, but then consented to renounce
Christ. Suddenly the saint ordered everyone to be quiet and declared
that he actually was a Christian. St Ardalion continued to confess
his faith in Christ. Then the governor ordered the martyr to be thrown
onto a red-hot iron grill. So St Ardalion attained a martyr's crown.
Tradition states that Ardalion was ridiculing
a condemned Christian in a stage act. During his mockery, he was filled
with grace and converted. Before his astonished audience he announced
he was a Christian. Ardalion was arrested, condemned, and burned alive.
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319 Proculus of Terni
martyrdom under Maxentius BM (RM).
Interámnæ sancti Próculi, Epíscopi
et Mártyris.
At Teramo, St. Proculus, bishop and martyr.
Bishop Proculus of Terni, Italy, suffered martyrdom
under Maxentius (Benedictines).
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364
Saint Azades (Azat) suffered martyrdom with 1000 other Christians
A wealthy man who served in the household of King Shapur II of Persia,
and enjoyed his confidence
A wealthy man who served in the household of King Shapur II
of Persia, and enjoyed his confidence.
He was arrested for professing Christianity, and then suffered
martyrdom with 1000 other Christians.
After this, the king repented
and ordered an end to the persecution of Christians.
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476 St. Thomais Egyptian she is an ardent Christian martyr.
Alexandríæ sanctæ Thomáidis Mártyris,
quæ a sócero, cujus impudícis nolúerat consentíre
votis, gládio percússa est atque in duas partes per médium
discíssa.
At Alexandria, St. Thomais, martyr.
Because she would not consent to the impure wishes of her father-in-law,
she was struck with a sword dividing her body from head to foot.
The wife of a fisherman in Alexandria, Egypt,
she was an ardent Christian who was murdered by her father-in-law for
refusing his unwanted and illicit attentions.
Thomais of Alexandria M (RM) The wife of an Alexandrian fisherman,
Saint Thomais was tempted to an act of impurity by her father-in-law,
who murdered her when she refused to comply (Benedictines, Gill).
|
495 St. Tassach Bishop
first disciples of St. Patrick creating for croziers patens chalices
credences shrines crosses.
also known as Asicus. One of the first disciples of St. Patrick,
he was a gifted artisan, creating for St. Patrick croziers, patens,
and chalices. He was later appointed the first bishop of Rahoip, Ireland,
and gave Patrick the last rites.
Tassach of Raholp B (AC) (also known as Asicus) Tassach was
a disciple of Saint Patrick, who appointed him as the first bishop of
Raholp, County Down, Ireland. He was a skilled artisan who made croziers,
patens, chalices, credences, shrines, and crosses for the many churches
Patrick founded. He gave the last rites to the dying Patrick.
He is often confused with Saint Asicus of Elphin, who had the
same skills and is said to have died the same year (Attwater2, Benedictines,
D'Arcy, Delaney, Healy, Montague, O'Hanlon).
|
564 St. Abundius Confessor
sacrist St. Peter's in Rome humble many graces spiritual gifts.
Romæ sancti Abúndii, Mansionárii Ecclésiæ
sancti Petri.
At Rome, St. Abundius, sacristan of the
church of St. Peter.
Abundius served in St. Peter's in Rome. Pope
St. Gregory I the Great wrote of his life, which was filled with
many graces and spiritual gifts.
Abundius the Sacristan (RM) (also known as Abonde) Saint Abundius
was sacristan (mansionarius) of the Church of Saint Peter in Rome.
His humble, but divinely favored life, is described by Saint
Gregory the Great. His feast is kept as a major feast at Saint Peter's
(Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
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655
Saint Martin the Confessor, Pope of Rome native of the Tuscany convened
the Lateran Council at Rome to condemn the Monothelite heresy last martyred
Pope
He received a fine education and entered into the clergy of
the Roman Church. After the death of Pope Theodore I (642-649),
Martin was chosen to succeed him.
At this time the peace of the Church was disturbed by the Monothelite
heresy (the false doctrine that in Christ there is only one will. He
has a divine, and a human will).
The endless disputes of the Monothelites with
the Orthodox took place in all levels of the population.
Even the emperor Constans (641-668) and Patriarch
Paul of Constantinople (641-654) were adherents of the Monothelite heresy.
The emperor Constans II published
the heretical "Pattern of Faith" (Typos), obligatory for all the population.
In it all further disputes were forbidden.
The heretical "Pattern of Faith" was received at
Rome in the year 649. St Martin, a firm supporter of Orthodoxy, convened
the Lateran Council at Rome to condemn the Monothelite heresy. At the
same time St Martin sent a letter to Patriarch Paul, persuading him to
return to the Orthodox confession of faith. The enraged emperor ordered
the military commander Olympius to bring St Martin to trial. But Olympius
feared the clergy and the people of Rome who had descended upon the Council,
and he sent a soldier to murder the holy hierarch.
When the assassin approached St
Martin, he was blinded. The terrified Olympius fled to Sicily and was soon
killed in battle.
In 654 the emperor sent another military commander,
Theodore, to Rome. He accused St Martin of being in secret correspondence
with the enemies of the Empire, the Saracens, and of blaspheming the
Most Holy Theotokos, and of uncanonically assuming the papal throne.
Despite the proofs offered by the Roman clergy and laity of
St Martin's innocence, the military commander Theodore with a detachment
of soldiers seized St Martin by night and took him to Naxos, one of
the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. St Martin spent an entire year
on this almost unpopulated island, suffering deprivation and abuse from
the guards. Then they sent the exhausted confessor to Constantinople for
trial.
They carried the sick man on a stretcher, but the judges callously
ordered him to stand up and answer their questions. The soldiers propped
up the saint, who was weakened by illness. False witnesses came forward
slandering the saint and accusing him of treasonous relations with the
Saracens. The biased judges did not even bother to hear the saint's defense.
In sorrow he said, "The Lord knows what a great kindness you would show
me if you would deliver me quickly over to death."
After such a trial they brought the saint out in tattered clothes
to a jeering crowd. They shouted, "Anathema to Pope Martin!" But those
who knew the holy Pope was suffering unjustly, withdrew in tears. Finally
the sentence was announced: St Martin was to be deposed from his rank and
executed. They bound the half-naked saint with chains and dragged him
to prison, where they locked him up with thieves. These were more merciful
to the saint than the heretics.
In the midst of all this the emperor went to the dying Patriarch
Paul and told him of the trial of St Martin. He turned away from the
emperor and said, "Woe is me! This is another reason for my judgment."
He asked that St Martin's torments be stopped. The emperor again sent
a notary and other persons to the saint in prison to interrogate him.
The saint answered, "Even if they cripple me, I will not have relations
with the Church of Constantinople while it remains in its evil doctrines."
The torturers were astonished at the confessor's boldness, and they commuted
his death sentence to exile at Cherson in the Crimea.
There the saint died, exhausted by sickness, hunger and deprivations
on September 16, 655. He was buried outside the city in the Blachernae
church of the Most Holy Theotokos, and later the relics of the holy
confessor Martin were transferred to Rome.
The Monothelite heresy was condemned
at the Sixth Ecumenical Council in 680.
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688 St. Lambert of
Lyon Benedictine monk founder archbishop.
Lugdúni, in Gállia, sancti Lambérti, Epíscopi
et Confessóris.
At Lyons, in France, St. Lambert, bishop
and confessor.
688 ST LAMBERT, ARCHBISHOP OF Lyons
ST LAMBERT was sent by his parents
at an early age to the French court, where he won the favour of King
Clotaire III. After a few years, however, he abandoned the world to enter
the abbey of Fontenelle, then under the rule of St Wandregisilus whom
he succeeded as abbot. Amongst many holy men who were his disciples may
be mentioned St Erembert and the English St Condedus, the former of whom
resigned the bishopric of Toulouse to come and serve under him. Upon the
death of St Genesius; about the year 679, Lambert was nominated archbishop
of Lyons. The records of his episcopacy have perished, so that we have no
certain details about his later years, but he appears to have been in the
habit of retiring from time to time for spiritual refreshment to the abbey
of Donzère, which he had founded as a branch of Fontenelle.
There is a fragment of a life of
St Lambert, or Landebertus, which has been printed by Mabillon and in the
Acta Sanctorum, April, vol.
ii. See also Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux,
, ii, pp. 170—171.
Raised in the court of the Frankish king Clotaire
III. He became a monk at Fontenelles, France, under St. Wandrille and succeeded him as abbot
in 666. After founding the abbey of Donzere, Lambert was named archbishop
of Lyons.
Lambert of Lyons, OSB B (RM) (also known as Landebert)Born
in northern France; died in Lyons, 688. Saint Lambert was raised at
the court of Clotaire III before becoming a monk at Fontenelle under Saint
Wandregisilis (Wandrille), whom he succeeded as abbot in 666. Then, in
678, he became successor of Saint Genesius as archbishop of Lyons (Attwater2,
Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopedia)
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8th v. The Holy Martyr
Christophoros Savvaites was murdered by Saracens in the VIII Century in Palestine.
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1117 Saint Bernard
of Thiron Benedictine Rule prior 20 yrs hermit OSB Abbot (AC).
(also known as Bernard of Abbeville)Born near Abbeville, France,
in 1046; died in Thiron, 1117; cultus confirmed in 1861.
1117 ST BERNARD OF TIRON, ABBOT
BERNARD of Tiron, also known
as Bernard of Abbeville, had a troubled and chequered career. In early
life he had been a monk of St Cyprian’s, near Poitiers, and then prior
of St Sabinus, the lax discipline of which he strove to correct. The desire
for the eremitic life caused him to leave the monastery and to enter a
kind of Thebaid in the forest of Craon. He was, however, persuaded to return
to St Cyprian’s, of which he was made abbot. Claims of Cluny to which he
could not agree induced him to resign and he returned to Craon, from whence
he went on preaching missions with Bd Robert of Arbrissel and others.
On land given him in the forest of Tiron he in 1109
built a monastery in which the Rule of St Benedict was strictly kept.
The new community flourished and spread outside of France, including
a cell on Caldey Island, whose church returned to Catholic hands in 1913
and the feast of this St Bernard was revived there.
We have an unsatisfactory
Latin life of this St Bernard compiled from earlier materials by G.
Grossus, which has been printed in the Acta Sanctorum,,
April, vol. ii. See also Corblet, Hagiographie d’Amiens,
vol. i, pp. 271—307, and vol. iv, pp. 699—700; as well as J. von Walter,
Die Ersten Wanderprediger Frankreichs (1906).
Cf. D. Knowles, The MonasticOrder in England
(1949), pp. 200—202, 227.
Saint Bernard professed the Benedictine Rule at
Saint Cyprian's, Poitiers, and later was appointed prior of Saint
Sabinus. After some 20 years in this office, Bernard became a hermit
at Craon. He was recalled to a more public life as abbot of Saint Cyprian's.
Shortly thereafter he resigned following a quarrel with Cluny. This time
he retired to the forest of Thiron in Picardy, where he built a Benedictine
monastery and founded a Congregation (Benedictine Tironian) which featured
hard manual labor. The Congregation spread rapidly throughout France,
England, and Scotland (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson).
Saint Bernard is depicted in art as an abbot with
a turner's lathe and tools. Sometimes a wolf is shown bringing him
a stray calf (Roeder). He is the patron of captives and turners (Roeder).
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1120 BD LANVINUS Carthusian monk, came to Rome and obtained from Pope Paschal a
bull to protect the houses of the Carthusians from molestation
IN 1893 Pope
Leo XIII confirmed the cultus of a Carthusian monk, Bd
Lanvinus, {20 February, 1878;
20 July, 1903; Pope
Leo XIII } who though little known to the world at
large has always been held high in honour in his own order. He was a
Norman by birth who seems to have made his way south to the Grande Chartreuse
about the year 1090, and thence accompanied St Bruno to Calabria. When
the holy founder died there in 1101, Lanvinus was elected to succeed him
in the government of the two charterhouses which the order at that time
possessed in the south of Italy. Some little difference of opinion had
preceded this election, and we possess more than one letter addressed
to the new superior by Pope Paschal II,
{Pope Paschal II Succeeded
Urban II, and reigned from 13 Aug., 1099, till he died at Rome, 21
Jan., 1118. }congratulating the brethren on this peaceful
solution and admonishing them not to presume too much upon the austerity
of their rule, but ever to seek perfect concord and union with God.
In 1102 Lanvinus was summoned to Rome to attend a synod. Other
letters of the same pontiff were despatched to him in 1104 commending
his zeal in carrying out the pope’s injunctions, and entrusting to his
care a difficult negotiation which concerned one of the bishops of
that province. In 1105 he was further appointed visitor of all monastic
houses in Calabria and charged with the duty of restoring strict discipline;
while eight years later he again came to Rome and obtained from Pope
Paschal a bull to protect the houses of the Carthusians from molestation.
He died greatly revered on April 11, 1120, but his feast is kept in the
order on this day.
A good deal
of space is devoted to Bd Lanvinus in the Annales Ordinis
Cartusiensis by Dom Le Couteulx (vol. i) as well as in other
chronicles of the order.
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1124 Caradoc of Llandaff Abbot
monk musician reputation for holiness miracles quieted wildest beasts healer
incorrupt (AC) (also known as Caradog) Born at Brycheiniog, Wales;
feast day formerly April 13.
1124 ST CARADOC
As a young man St Caradoc lived
at the court of Rhys ap Tewdwr, prince of South Wales, where he occupied
the honourable post of harper. One day he fell into disgrace with his
master who blamed him for the loss of two favourite greyhounds and threatened
to kill him. Thus brought to realize the folly of trusting in the favour
of earthly princes, Caradoc resolved from henceforth to give his services
only to the King of kings. He accordingly abandoned the court and repaired
to Llandaff, where he received the tonsure from the bishop who sent him
to serve in the church of St Teilo. Afterwards he spent some years as a hermit
near the abandoned church of St Cenydd in Gower and then retired with some
companions to the still more remote solitude of an island off the coast
of Pembroke. Here they suffered from Norse raiders, and St Caradoc eventually
settled in St Ismael’s cell at Haroldston, of which he was given charge.
Like so many other solitaries Caradoc had unusual power over the lower animals,
illustrated on one occasion by his mastering a pack of hounds “by a gentle
movement of his hand”, when they were quite out of the owner’s control.
St Caradoc was buried with great honour in the cathedral
church of St David, where the remains of his shrine may be seen.
A still extant letter of Pope Innocent III
directs certain abbots to make inquiry into the life and miracles of
this Welsh hermit.
A brief account
of St Caradoc by Capgrave (Nova Legenda Angliae) has
been reprinted in the Acta Sanctorum,
April, vol. ii. He is mentioned in a twelfth-century calendar of Welsh
saints and by Giraldus Cambrensis (Itinerary through Wales,
bk i, cap. ix), who seems also to have written a life
of him, not now extant. See LBS., vol. ii, pp. 75—78.
Caradoc, the son of moderately
wealthy parents, had been employed as a musician (chiefly playing the
harp) at the court of Prince Rhys ap Tewdr (Tudor) of southern Wales.
He also looked after the prince's greyhounds. One day these escaped, through
no fault of Caradoc's. The ill-tempered prince was so angry that he threatened
to mutilate Caradoc. The saint replied, "If you so lightly regard my long
and laborious service, I shall from now on serve a prince who rewards
a small service bountifully and who does not prefer greyhounds to men."
He broke of the head of his lance and used the shaft as a walking stick
to travel to the bishop of Llandaff, who received him as a monk.
After some time in a monastery at Saint Teilo, Caradoc
built himself a little hut close to abandoned church of Saint Kyned (Llangenydd) in Gower on Barry
Island. There he could spend more time in solitude and prayer. His reputation
for holiness caused him to be called to holy orders by the archbishop
of Menevia, and he was ordained to the priesthood before retiring to
Ary island off the Pembrokeshire coast with companions.
He still loved animals, and could quieten the wildest
beasts. But he also suffered much from his fellow human beings: during
the English invasion under Henry I and once being carried off by Norwegian
pirates. They, fearing the wrath of God, set them back on land the following
day. The archbishop of Menevia moved him again, this time to the cell
of Saint Ismael (St. Isell's in Haroldston), Pembrokeshire. At another
time a ruthless marauder named Richard Thanehard stole his cattle. Thereafter
Thanehard became dangerously ill, sought Caradoc's healing touch, and
was restored to health. Through all these dangers and trials, Caradoc
never despaired, and died peacefully.
He was buried with honor in the cathedral of Saint
David's, where part of his shrine survives. His body was claimed to be
incorrupt. William of Malmesbury tried unsuccessfully to take a finger
as a relic. Gerald of Wales attempted to have Caradoc canonized; Innocent
III opened an inquiry into his life and miracle. Although Caradog was never
formally canonized, he has been venerated since the early 13th century.
The church of Lawrenny is dedicated to him (Benedictines, Bentley, Encyclopedia,
Farmer, Gill, Husenbeth).
In art, Saint Caradoc is portrayed
dressed in chain mail with a church in one hand and a lance in the other.
He may sometimes be shown with a harp (Roeder) venerated at Llandaff
(Roeder).
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1184
Benedict the Bridge-Builder shepherd; Eighteen miracles took place,
body found incorrupt 500 yrs (AC).
(also known as Bénezet, Benet, Benoît) Born at
Hermillon, Savoy (or in the Ardenne), France, c. 1163;
From Lives of Saintes by Alban Butler
ST. BENEZET, OR LITTLE BENNET, PATRON OF AVIGNON.
HE kept his mother's sheep in the country, being devoted to the practices
of piety beyond his age; when, moved by charity to save the lives of many
poor persons, who were frequently drowned in passing the Rhone, and being
inspired by God, he undertook to build a bridge over that rapid river at
Avignon. He obtained the approbation of the bishop, proved his
mission by miracles, and began the work in 1177, which he directed during
seven years. He died when the difficulty of the undertaking was
over, in 1184.
This is attested by public monuments drawn up at that time, and stilt preserved
at Avignon, where the story is in everybody's mouth. His body was buried
upon the bridge itself, which was not completely finished till four years
after his decease, the structure whereof was attended with miracles, from
the first laying the foundations till it was completed in 1188. Other miracles,
wrought after this at his tomb, induced the city to build a chapel upon the
bridge, in which his body lay near five hundred years: but, in 1669, a great
part of the bridge falling down, through the impetuosity of the waters, the
coffin was taken up, and being opened, in 1670, in presence of the grand
vicar, during the vacancy of the archiepiscopal see, it was found entire,
without the least sign of corruption; even the bowels were perfectly sound,
and the color of the eyes lively and sprightly, though, through the dampness
of the situation, the iron bars about it were much damaged with rust.
The body was found in the same condition by the archbishop of Avignon, in
1674, when, accompanied by the bishop of Orange, and a great concourse of
nobility, he performed the translation of it, with great pomp, into the church
of the Celestines, (a house of royal foundation,) who had obtained of Louis
XIV the honor to be entrusted with the custody of his relics, till such time
as the bridge and chapel should be rebuilt. See the description of
this pompous translation in the Bollandists. April, t. 2 pp. 958, 959, and
Pembroke’s remarks on his life, p, 255.
1184 ST BENEZET
THE boyhood of Bénezet,
or Little Benedict the Bridge Builder, was spent in minding his mother’s
sheep either in Savoy or in the Ardenne. He was a pious lad, thoughtful
beyond his years, and seems to have reflected much on the perils encountered
by people who sought to cross the Rhône. One day, during an eclipse
of the sun, he heard a voice which addressed him three times out of the
darkness, bidding him go to Avignon and build a bridge over the river which
was extremely rapid there. The construction and the repair of bridges was
regarded in the middle ages as a work of mercy, for which rich men were
often urged to make provision in their wills; but Bénezet was only
an ignorant, undersized youth, without experience, influence or money. Nevertheless
he did not hesitate to obey the call. As may be imagined, the Bishop of
Avignon, to whom he addressed himself upon his arrival in the city, was
not disposed at first to take him seriously, but the lad was able by miracles
to prove his mission to the good bishop’s satisfaction; and with his approval
the work of building a stone bridge over the Rhône was begun in A.D.
1177. For seven years little Benedict directed the operations, and when
he died in 1184 the main difficulties of the enterprise had been overcome.
His body was buried upon the bridge itself, which was not completed until
four years after his death.
The wonders which attended the construction from the moment
of the laying of the foundations and the miracles wrought at Bénezet’s
tomb induced the city fathers to build upon the bridge a chapel, in
which his body lay for nearly 500 years. In 1669, when part of the bridge
was washed away, the coffin was rescued and when it was opened the following
year the body was found to be incorrupt. It was afterwards translated
to the church of the Celestine monks. The Order of Bridge Brothers, the
constitutions of which were approved in 1189, regarded St Bénezet
as their founder, and he is reckoned one of the patrons of Avignon.
The brief document
which supplies these and other details is of early, almost contemporary
date, and is preserved in the municipal archives of Avignon. It is printed
in the Acta Sanctorum, April,
vol. ii, and also by some other mote modern editors. We have further a
summary of the evidence of witnesses given in an episcopal inquiry of
the year 1230 in view of Bénezet’s beatification, as well as the
testimony of chronicles such as that of Robert of Auxerre under the years
1177 and 1184. See A. B. de Saint-Venant, St .Bénezet,
Patron des Ingénieurs (1889);
Lanthéric, Le Rhône, histoire d’un fleuve
(1892), pp. 556—562; and an article on “St Bénezet
and his Biographer” in the Catholic World for
December 1907. For the further curious adventures of the relics, see
Baudot and Chaussin, Vies des Saints… vol. iv (1946), p.
341.
The children's song "Sur le pont d'Avignon" concerns the bridge
built by Bénezet, a local shepherd boy, a bridge rebuilt in the
14th and 17th centuries. The legend still dances on the arches that collapsed
so suddenly. From the broken fragment of the original bridge over the
raging waters, people still throw a shower of flowers into the river
during the Rhône festivals. For Avignon retains a tender love for
its broken bridge and Bénezet. Bénezet, shepherd over the
waves, as Fréderic Mistral says, built this magnificent bridge
by the order of God in a vision; after 700 years, his memory still stands
guard over the arches which live on, albeit half-dead.
According to a legend, the bridge was built without difficulties,
at least not of a financial character. In fact, while still a child,
Bénezet once saw a poor Jewish woman who was being tormented by
a flea which the hump on her back prevented her from reaching and some
street urchins who were laughing at her contortions. Bénezet ran
to her assistance. After scattering the boys, he found and crushed the offending
flea.
In her gratitude the rheumy-eyed, hunch-backed old woman blessed
Bénezet and predicted that he would do great things later in
life. In order to help him realize them, she told him where the cache
containing the treasure of the Jews lay. Time passed. Bénezet,
the little shepherd, hardly thought about the treasure, nor did he indulge
in any ambitious dreams. He was simply a 15-year-old shepherd concerned
about his flock.
One day, the sun suddenly went into hiding: a solar eclipse
always frightens the flocks and their guardians. A voice as sweet as
honey spoke to him amid the darkness: "In the name of Christ, Bénezet,
go as far as the Rhône to Avignon and build a bridge there," the
voice bade him.
Now, it may sound strange that God would ask for a bridge to
be built or that it would be a reason for canonization. In the Middle
Ages, however, the construction and repair of bridges was regarded as
a work of mercy. Perhaps the child simply had pity for the many who
drowned in the rushing waters. I think it is more likely that he was
indeed called by God.
Responding to the voice, the child objected that he could not
leave his flocks unattended.
"I will watch over them," said
the voice, "I'll send you an angel for a guide."
Leaving his sheep, Bénezet set out for the
spot that had been designated to him--just as other shepherds, one night,
had trustingly set out for Bethlehem. Soon he met the angel whom only
he could see, and also arrived at the river Rhône. He had to cross
it. The Jewish ferryman picked Bénezet's pocket clean. The lad
only had three pennies to his name, but after cursing him, the ferryman
finally took him on board and the boat left. But where to? Bénezet
asked himself, while remaining utterly calm.
Finally, he arrived at the bishop's palace, where he sought
the prelate's blessing and help. Build a bridge? The bishop swelled
with indignation and sent little Bénezet to the magistrate promising
him that he would be flayed and his hands and feet chopped off as was done
to impostors in those days. But the angel, inside the young man's heart,
said: "Go!"
The magistrate took a dim view of the matter: "You, the lowliest
of the low, you who don't own an acre in the sun, you want to build
a bridge there where Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and Charlemagne himself
have been helpers? So be it! Do you see this stone embedded in the palace
courtyard? Well pull it out and carry it there and I'll believe you!
Call the people to watch this spectacle. But if you fail. . . ."
The invisible angel in Bénezet's heart smiled. As calm
and self-assured as ever, about 1177, the little shepherd boy extracted
this block of stone that weighed a hundred quintals and upon laying
it in the bed of the river, he said,
"This will be the first stone
of the foundations!"
Delirium seized the crowd of onlookers. There were
shouts of "Miracle! Miracle!" Immediately, in keeping with the rule,
the blind again saw the light of day, the deaf again heard hosannahs,
the crippled suddenly walked straight and the hunch-backed heard their
vertebrae crack, stretch, and straighten out! Eighteen miracles took
place, according to the legend. The magistrate, sobbing in remorse,
gave 300 sous for the building of the bridge, the crowd volunteered 5,000
more. The treasure of the Jews must have done the rest, because the bridge
soon rose, proudly, between the waters and the sky.
Alas! Bénezet did not live to see the bridge finished.
He died in 1184--because his mission had been accomplished. The last
stone was laid two years after his death. The bridge was adorned with a
chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas,
the patron of mariners,
in which Saint Benedict's
relics were enshrined until 1669 when a flood washed away part of the
bridge. His coffin was recovered and his body found to be incorrupt--500
years after his death--even the bowels were perfectly sound, and the
color of the eyes lively and sprightly, though, through the dampness
of the situation, the iron bars about it were much damaged with rust.
It was translated to Avignon cathedral and moved again to the Celestine
church of Saint Didier.
Even now when coming down the major water-way of the Rhône
you will see the man at the prow and the crew in the boats passing
by the broken bridge where Saint Bénezet wrought his miracle,
salute the shepherd boy who became a saint and Nicholas, the saint of
long-standing. After all, two saints are not too much for the taming
of these waters among the treacherous, and even for taming the sky overhead,
where the mistral blows, churning up powerful, angry waves.
Contemporary sources record the principal episodes of Saint
Benedict's life an episcopal inquiry was conducted shortly after his
death (1230) (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopedia, Farmer,
Gill, Husenbeth, Walsh).
In art, Saint Benedict is portrayed
as a boy carrying a large stone on his shoulder (Roeder). He is venerated
as the patron of Avignon (Coulson, Roeder).
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1200 Saint Hedweg Premonstratensian
nun abbess.
(also known as Havoie) Hedweg was a Premonstratensian nun who
succeeded her mother as abbess (Encyclopedia).
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1120 Blessed Lanuinus of
Torre prior O.Cart. (AC)
(also known as Lanvinus) cultus confirmed in 1893. Lanuinus,
a disciple of Saint Bruno,
accompanied his master to Calabria, Italy, where he succeeded him as
prior of the charterhouse that he founded at Torre in Squillace. He was
also appointed visitor apostolic of all the monastic houses in Calabria
(Attwater2, Benedictines).
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1235 Blessed Conrad of Hildesheim earliest disciple of Saint Francis
OFM (AC)
Born c. 1190; Conrad was one of the earliest disciples of Saint
Francis, by whom he was sent to establish the order in northern Germany.
He did so at Hildesheim, where his cultus survived until the Reformation
(Benedictines).
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1241 Blessed Ralph of Sisteron
monk abbot OSB Cist. B (AC)
Ralph was a monk of Thoronet Abbey, who became abbot in 1209
and bishop of Sisteron France 1216 (Benedictines).
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1246
St. Peter Gonzalez Dominican; evangelized, protector of captive Muslims
and cared for sailors; miracles at his grave
1246 BD PETER GONZALEZ
SPANISH and Portuguese sailors
have a great veneration for Bd Peter Gonzalez, whom they invoke as St
Elmo or St Telmo—a pseudonym which he shares with another patron of
mariners, St Erasmus. Peter came of a noble Castilian family and was
educated by his maternal uncle, the Bishop of Astorga, who was more concerned
with his material than with his spiritual advancement. Appointed canon
of the cathedral whilst still under age, the young man came proudly riding
into Astorga on Christmas day in splendid array to assume his new dignity.
Great, however, was his mortification when his horse stumbled and threw
him into the mire amid the jeers of the populace. “If the world mocks at
me, I will mock at the world”, he is reported to have exclaimed in words
which were prophetic for the incident opened his eyes to his own vanity
and led to a complete change of heart. Resigning his office, he entered the
order of St Dominic, and in due time he was professed and sent forth to preach.
From the outset his ministrations were abundantly blessed.
King St Ferdinand III was so impressed by him that
he appointed him his chaplain. The friar immediately set about the difficult
task of reforming the morals of the courtiers and of the soldiers—in
the face of great opposition from the younger nobles. He also preached
the crusade against the Moors and contributed much to the success of Ferdinand’s
campaigns by his prudent advice, by his prayers, and by the good spirit
he instilled. He was with the army during the siege of Cordova, and at
the surrender of the city exerted all his influence to restrain the victorious
soldiers from excesses, whilst the clemency of the terms granted to the
vanquished must be attributed in large measure to him. As soon as he
could obtain leave, Bd Peter quitted the court to devote the rest of
his life to evangelizing the country districts, especially Galicia and
the coast. Often the churches could not contain the people who flocked
to hear him, and he had to preach in the open air. Very specially did
he love sailors, whom he visited on board their vessels. His last weeks
on earth were spent at Tuy, where he died on Easter Sunday, 1246. His
cultus was confirmed in 1741.
Florez, España Sagrada, vol. xxiii, pp. 245—285, has printed
an early Latin biography of Bd Peter together with a collection of miracles
wrought at the shrine which seems to have been compiled in 1258. See
also Mortier, Maîtres Généraux O.P., vol. i, pp. 401403 Taurisano, Catalogus Hagiographicus
OP., and Procter, Lives of Dominican Saints,
pp. 94—96. It seems certain from what Father Papebroch has
written in the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol.
ii, that it was only in the sixteenth century that Bd Peter Gonzalez
began to be spoken of as St Elmo: cf. St Erasmus,
on June 2.
Born in Astorga, Spain, he entered the Dominicans and became
the chaplain and confessor of King St. Ferdinand of Castile. He preached
a campaign against the Moors, and then cared for the captured Muslims.
He also cared for sailors, who dubbed him Thelmo, after St. Elmo.
St. Peter Gonzales Peter Gonzales, also known as St. Elmo or
St. Telmo, was born to a Castilian family of nobility. He was educated
by his uncle, the Bishop of Astorga, named canon of the local cathedral,
famous for his penances and mortifications, joined the Dominican Order,
preached and made chaplain of the court of King St. Ferdinand III. He
converted and influenced the soldiers of his country, evangelized, and
died on Easter Sunday. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XIV in
1741. Peter evangelized throughout his country and all along the coast.
He had a special fondness for sailors. He used to visit them aboard their
ships, preaching the Gospel and praying for their needs.
Peter Gonzalez, OP (AC) (also known as Elmo-Erasmus, Telmo)
Born at Astorga, Leon, Spain, c. 1190; died April 14, 1246; beatified
by Pope Innocent IV in 1254; cultus approved by Benedict XIV in 1741 for
the veneration of the whole Order of Preachers. The patron saint of sailors,
especially in Portugal and Spain, is popularly invoked as Saint Elmo
or Telmo.
The parents of Peter Gonzales were wealthy and apparently expected
their son to become a priest so that he might in time obtain some rank.
It was a period in history when this sort of thing was a trial to the
Church, and Peter's worldly youth was only one of many examples. He was
educated by his uncle, the bishop of Astorga, who invested him with a
canonry at Palencia and deanery when he was still quite young.
Full of pride, for a special Bull had been procured so that
he might obtain the deanery while he was under age, he resolved to be
installed with great pomp, and for his state entry into Astorga chose
Christmas Day when the streets were likely to be crowded. He wanted to
impress his flock with his fine clothes and vivid personality. He
paraded through the town on horseback, magnificently equipped, but in the
noise and excitement the animal reared and threw him upon a dungheap.
The Spanish people, who have a fine sense of comedy, responded with loud
gusts of laughter. Picking himself up in shame, he cried: "If the world
mocks me, henceforth, I will mock the world." Covered with filth and confusion,
Peter withdrew to clean up and ponder his sins.
Surprisingly enough, when his wounded feelings had healed,
Peter reformed his pointless life and immediately entered the Dominican
monastery at Palencia. He was never to forget to weep for his sins,
and his life was spent in prayer and penance to offset the wasted years
of his youth.
Peter's friends did not allow this to happen without protest.
They had been amused by his accident, but not converted by it as he was,
and they did their best to talk him into leaving religious life and returning
to the luxurious world he had left behind.
It was probably a serious temptation to the young man, for
it is not easy to reform overnight. But he did not turn back. Instead,
he said to his friends, "If you love me, follow me! If you cannot follow
me, forget me!" He became, by close application to the rule, one of the
shining exemplars of this difficult way of life.
After his studies were completed, Peter entered into his apostolate.
It was to take him into places where his worldly background would be
a help rather than a hindrance, for he could well understand the temptations
and troubles of worldly people. He was first of all a military chaplain
with the royal army. He also began to preach in the region. He did not
talk about trivia, his sermons drew large crowds. The recitation of the
Psalms was his most constant prayer.
The fame of his piety and zeal spread throughout Spain and
reached the ears of King Saint Ferdinand of Castile, who sent for him
and attached him to his court as chaplain and as his confessor. Appalled
by its licentiousness, Gonzales immediately set about reforming it,
which so displeased the younger courtiers that they tried to corrupt
him; but he was proof against all temptations and won the confidence
of the saintly king.
Peter did much to foster the crusade against the Moors. When
Ferdinand finally acted, Peter accompanied him on his expedition against
the Moors.
Upon the capture of Cordova and
Seville, Peter used his influence and authority on the side of the
vanquished and was instrumental in reducing rape and bloodshed.
He also took over the Moorish mosques and converted
them into Christian churches.
He was showered with favors by the king, who had the utmost
confidence in him. Fearing honors, however, Peter quit the king's service
upon his return to Spain. Instead, moved by compassion, he lived among
the poor peasants and sought to evangelize them. Although he was met everywhere
with ignorance and brutality, his work proved efficacious. He penetrated
the wildest and most inaccessible areas, seeking out the peasants in villages
and the shepherds in the mountains of the Asturias. His preaching brought
about reconciliation between neighbors and between men and God. He gave
reassurance to the dismayed and the perplexed.
Most of the anecdotes of his
life come from this period, and they have to do with miracles that he worked
for these people.
At his prayer, storms ceased, droughts were ended,
bottles were refilled with wine, bread was found in the wilderness.
The bridge that he built across the swift river Minho made his name famous
throughout Spain, and it existed up until recent times. During the time
he was directing work on this bridge, he used to call the fish to come
and be caught; it was a way of helping to feed the workers.
He visited also the seaports of Galicia--boarding ships and
preaching on their open decks. He had a great liking for sailors, and
is often portrayed in the habit of his Order, holding a blue candle which
symbolized Saint Elmo's fire, the blue electrical discharge which sometimes
appears in thunder storms at the mast- heads of ships, and which was
supposed to be a sign that the vessel was under the saint's protection.
(The name of Saint Elmo is of earlier origin. Peter Gonzales, in the popular
devotion of the sailors of the Mediterranean, has replaced the name and
memory of the older saints associated with the sea, particularly the
4th century Saint Erasmus.)
He retired finally to Tuy in a state of extreme exhaustion.
During Lent he preached each day in the cathedral, on Palm Sunday he
foretold his death, and on the Sunday after Easter, he died at Santiago
de Compostella. Bishop Luke of Tuy, his great admirer and friend, attended
him to his last breath and buried him honorably in his cathedral. In his
last will, the bishop gave directions for his own body to be laid near
Peter's remains, which were placed in a silver shrine and honored with
many miracles (Benedictines, Delaney, Dorcy, Encyclopedia, Gill, Husenbeth).
In art, Saint Peter is a Dominican
lying on his cloak on hot coals. He may also be portrayed holding fire
in his hand or catching fish with his bare hands (Roeder).
|
1342
Antony (Kukley) Eustace (Nizilon) and John (Milhey) martyred for their
faith relics were found to be incorrupt MM (AC)
From Lives of Saintes by Alban Butler
SS. ANTONY, JOHN, AND EUSTACHIUS, MM.
They were three noblemen of Lithuania, and the two first brothers, commonly
called in that country, Kukley, Mihley, and Nizilo. They were all three
chamberlains to Olgerd, the great duke of Lithuania, who governed that country
from the year 1329 to 1381, 1 and was father of the famous Jagello.
They also attended on the great duchess, and were worshippers of fire.
Sea the history of
his reign, by Albertus Wijuk Kojalovicz Hist, Lithuan. I. 8.
fire, according to the idolatrous superstition of that country, till they
had the happiness to be converted to the Christian faith, and baptized by
a priest called Nestorius. For refusing to eat forbidden meats
on fast days, they were cast into prison, and, after many trials, put to
death by order of Olgerd, the great duke; John, the eldest of them, on the
24th of April, his brother Antony on the 14th of June, Eustachius, who was
then young, on the 13th of December This last had suffered many other
torments before his execution, having been beaten with clubs, had his legs
broken, and the hair and skin of his head violently torn off, because he
would not suffer his hair to be shaved, according to the custom of the heathens.
They suffered at Vilna, about the year 1342, and were buried in the church
of the Holy Trinity, of the Russian-Greek rite, united in communion to the
Roman Catholic Church. Their bodies still remain in that church, which is
served by Basilian monks; but their heads were translated to the cathedral.
The great oak tree on which they were hanged had long been the usual place
of execution of malefactors; but, after their martyrdom, the Christians obtained
a grant of it from the prince, and built a church upon the spot.
These martyrs were ordered to be honored among the saints by Alexius, patriarch
of Kiow, of the Catholic communion. Their feast is kept at Vilna on
the 14th of April, and they are regarded as the particular patrons of that
city. See Kulcinius, in Specim. p.12, arid Albertus Wijuk Kojalowicz,
in his Miscellanea rerum ad statum .Eccles. in magno Lithuanire Ducatu pertrnentium.
Henschenius, t. 2, Apr. p 265. Jos. Assemani, in Kalend. Univ. t. 6, p. 254,
ad 14 Apr.
1342 SS. JOHN, ANTONY AND EUSTACE, MARTYRS
THE young men, John, Antony and
Eustace, were officials in the household of Duke Olgierd, who eventually ruled
Lithuania and was the father of the famous Jagiello. Like most of their fellow-countrymen
they had been heathen, but they were converted to Christianity and baptized.
Because of their fidelity to their new faith, and especially because they
refused to partake of forbidden food on days of fasting, they were cast into
prison. After enduring many trials they were condemned to death. John was
hanged on April 14, his brother Antony on June 14, whilst Eustace, who was
still young, was cruelly tortured before his execution on December 13. The
martyrs suffered at Vilna, about the year 1342, and were buried in the famous
church of the Holy Trinity in that city. They are honoured not only by the
Lithuanians but also by the Russians.
See the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. ii; and cf. Maltsev,
Menologium der Orthodox-Katholischen Kirche des
Morgenlandes, as well as Martynov, Annus Ecclesiasticus
Graeco-Slavicus.
The Holy Martyrs Anthony, John,
and Eustathius were brothers who suffered for Christ under the Lithuanian
Great Prince Olgerd (1345-1377). The prince was married to the Orthodox
princess Maria Yaroslavna (+ 1346). He was baptized and during his wife's
lifetime he allowed the preaching of Christianity. Two brothers, Nezhilo
and Kumets, received holy Baptism from the priest Nestor, and they received
the names Anthony and John. And at the request of Maria Yaroslavna an
Orthodox church was built at Vilnius (Vilna). After the death of
his spouse, Prince Olgerd began to support the pagan priests of the fire-worshippers,
who started a persecution against Christians. Sts John and Anthony endeavored
not to flaunt their Christianity, but they did not observe pagan customs.
They did not cut their hair as the pagans did, and on fastdays they did
not eat forbidden foods.
The prince soon became suspicious of the brothers,
so he interrogated them and they confessed themselves Christians. Then
he demanded that they eat meat (it was a fast day). The holy brothers
refused, and the prince locked them up in prison. The brothers spent an
entire year behind bars. John took fright at the impending tortures and
declared that he would obey all the demands of the Great Prince. The delighted
Olgerd released the brothers and brought them to himself.
But Anthony did not betray Christ. When he refused
to eat meat on a fast day, the prince again locked him up in prison and
subjected him to brutal tortures. The other brother remained free, but
both Christians and pagans regarded him as a traitor and would not associate
with him. Repenting of his sin, John went to the priest Nestor and entreated
him to ask his brother to forgive him. "When he openly confesses Christ,
we will be reconciled," Anthony replied. Once, while serving the prince
at the bath, St John spoke privately with him about his reconciliation
with the Church. Olgerd did not display any anger and said that he could
believe in Christ, but must conduct himself like all the pagans. Then St
John confessed himself a Christian in the presence of numerous courtiers.
They beat him fiercely with rods and sent him to his brother in prison.
The martyrs met with joy, and received the Holy Mysteries that same day.
Many people went to the prison
to see the new confessor. The brothers converted many to Christ by their
preaching. The prison was transformed into a Christian school. The frightened
pagan priests demanded the execution of the brothers, but they did not
fear death.
On the morning of April 14, 1347 the Martyr Anthony
was hanged on a tree after receiving the Holy Mysteries. This oak,
which the pagans considered sacred, became truly sacred for Orthodox
Christians. The pagan priests who hoped that Christian preaching would
stop with the death of St Anthony, were disappointed. A multitude of the
people gathered before the walls of the prison where St John was being
held. On April 24, 1347 they strangled him and hanged his dead body upon
the same oak. The venerable bodies of both martyrs were buried by Christians
in the church of St Nicholas the Wonderworker.
A third sufferer for Christ was their relative Kruglets.
At Baptism the priest Nestor
named him Eustathius. Kruglets stood out because of his comeliness,
valor and bravery, but even more because of his mind and virtue of soul.
A favorite of Olgerd, he could count on a very promising future. However,
he also refused to eat meat at the festal table. St Eustathius openly
declared that he was a Christian and would not eat meat because of the Nativity
Fast. They began to beat him with iron rods, but the youth did not
make a sound. The prince tried refining the torture. Olgerd gave orders
to strip the martyr naked, take him out on the street and to pour icy water
in his mouth. But this did not break his spirit. Then they broke his ankle
bones, and ripped the hair and skin from his head, and cut off his ears
and nose. St Eustathius endured the torments with such gladness and courage,
that the very torturers themselves were astounded by the divine power which
strengthened him.
The martyr Eustathius was sentenced to death
and hanged on the same oak where Sts John and Anthony received a martyr's
death (December 13, 1347).
For three days no one was permitted
to take down the body of the martyr, and a column of cloud protected
it from birds and beasts of prey. A church was later built on the hill
where the holy martyrs suffered. The trinity of venerable passion bearers
glorified the true God worshipped in the Holy Trinity, Father and Son
and Holy Spirit. The church was dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity. The
altar table was built on the stump of the sacred oak on which the martyrs
died.
Soon their relics were found
to be incorrupt. In 1364 Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople (1354-1355,
1364-1376) sent a cross with the relics of the holy martyrs to St Sergius
of Radonezh (September 25). The Church established the celebration of
all three martyrs on April 14. The holy martyrs were of immense
significance for all the Western frontier. Vilnius's monastery of the
Holy Trinity, where the holy relics are kept, became a stronghold of Orthodoxy
on this frontier. In 1915 during the invasion of the Germans, these relics
were taken to Moscow.
The relics of the holy passion-bearers were returned
to the Vilnius Holy Spirit monastery in 1946. The commemoration of their
return (July 13) is solemnly observed at the monastery each year.
Died at Vilna, Lithuania This trio was comprised
of young Lithuanian noblemen who were chamberlains at the court of the
grand Duke Olgierd, the father of Jagello.
John and Antony were brothers, heathen worshippers
of fire, whom a travelling missionary priest, named Nestorius, converted
to the Christian faith. They refused to eat meat on an day of abstinence.
Since their new ways conflicted with the customs
of the court, they were hung from an oak tree in Vilna. John, the eldest,
was martyred on April 24 and his brother Antony on June 14. Upon witnessing
their heroic fortitude, Eustace converted and martyred for the faith on
December 13.
These patrons of Vilna were buried in Holy Trinity
Russian- Greek Church, which is now united with the Roman Catholic Church
and served by Basilian monks. Their heads were translated to the cathedral
of Vilna. The tree on which they were executed had long been used for
that purpose; however, the Christians obtained a grant of it from the
prince and built a church on the spot. Their feast on April 14 was established
by Patriarch Alexius of Kiow (Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
|
1433 St. Lydwine heroically
accepted plight as will of God offered her sufferings for humanity's
sins Jesus Christ confided in her She experienced mystical gifts, including
supernatural visions of heaven, hell, purgatory, apparitions of Christ,
and the stigmata. Patron of sickness & skaters
1433 BD LYDWINA OF SCHIEDAM, VIRGIN
THE cultus of Bd Lydwina has spread far beyond the limits
of her native land, for she has come to be regarded as the special
patroness of that company of chosen souls who live a more or less hidden
life of intense suffering in expiation of the sins of others. She herself
is described in the special office for her feast as “a prodigy of human
misery and of heroic patience”.
The only girl in a family of nine children, she was born at
Schiedam in Holland on Palm Sunday 1380. Her father was a labourer who
eked out his scanty means by acting as night-watchman, but he was an exemplary
Christian, and so high-minded that in after years he always refused to
touch the offerings brought to his daughter, maintaining that she ought
to be free to distribute them in alms to those who were in still greater
poverty.
Up to the age of fifteen there seems to have been nothing to
distinguish Lydwina from any other good, lively and pretty girl beyond
the fact that she had already taken a vow of virginity. During the exceptionally
severe winter of 1395—1396 she suffered from a serious illness from which,
however, she had entirely recovered, when some of her friends came to
invite her to join them in a skating party on the frozen canal. They
had started off gaily and were resting on their skates when a late comer,
hurrying to overtake them, collided with Lydwina, causing her to fall
and to break one of the ribs of her right side. She was carried home and
tenderly nursed, but in spite of all the care she received complications
set in and she grew steadily worse. An internal abscess formed and then burst,
inducing violent vomiting which left the patient completely exhausted.
This was succeeded by agonizing headaches, toothache and pains in every part
of the body accompanied by fever and unendurable thirst. There was no position
in which she could obtain the slightest relief. Poor as her parents were,
they called in doctors who tried to diagnose and alleviate her diseases,
but they were obliged to confess that they were baffled. One of them indeed,
Andrew of Delft, declared that in his opinion all human treatment was useless
and only served to increase the financial burdens of a poor family.
Lydwina herself at first was far from realizing her great vocation,
and felt all the desire for health and the repugnance to suffering natural
to a girl of her age, besides shrinking from the trouble and expense
she was entailing upon her parents. Light came to her gradually, through
the ministrations of a good priest, Father John Pot, who seems to have
been the curate of the parish. From the outset of her illness he visited
her regularly, and in simple language urged her to fix her mind on the
sufferings of our Lord and to unite her sufferings with His. Obediently
she set about acquiring the habit of constant meditation upon the Passion,
and after about three years it was borne in upon her that God was calling
her to be a victim for the sins of others. As soon as she grasped this
tremendous truth, she accepted her vocation with enthusiasm: her sufferings
from henceforth became her greatest joy and, as she admitted, if a single
Hail Mary could have gained her recovery, she would not have uttered it.
To her involuntary mortifications she added others of her own choice,
such as lying on bare planks instead of on the feather bed provided for
her.
After she had become completely bedridden, Father John would
bring holy communion to her at first twice a year and then every two
months, as well as on the great festivals. In the words of her biographer
Brugman, “meditation on the Passion and reception of the Eucharist
became, as it were, the two arms with which Lydwina embraced her Beloved”.
She was to need all the spiritual support she received, for when she
was nineteen her maladies assumed even more strange and alarming proportions.
Spasms of pain which convulsed and contorted her body, besides constant
vomiting at times, brought on a syncope of the heart which left her utterly
prostrate. Nothing remained of her former beauty, for she was disfigured
by a fissure which extended from the top of the forehead to the middle
of her nose, and the lower lip became partly severed from the chin. One
eye was completely blind, whilst the other was so sensitive that she
could not bear even the reflection from the fire. She could no longer
raise herself in bed or move any limb except the left arm, and on the right
shoulder another abscess formed which mortified and caused almost unbearable
neuritis. Symptoms of gravel and of tertian fever also supervened.
It was as though the dissolution of the grave had begun and
this condition was to continue for the rest of her life. Even then, as
in later ages, her case aroused the interest of the medical world, and
specialists examined her and prescribed for her; for it was not long before
the fame of her extraordinary sufferings and invincible patience spread
far beyond her native town, attracting the attention of William VI,
Count of Holland, and his wife Margaret of Burgundy, who sent their own
doctor, Godfrey de la Haye—a clever and kind physician nicknamed Godfrey
Zonderdank or “Don’t Mention It”, from the reply he used to make to the
thanks of poor people from whom he would take no fees.* [* We are reminded
of the legend of the early martyrs, SS. Cosmas and Damian, “the moneyless
physicians”, who took no fees.]
He and a friend succeeded, by poultices, in healing gangrenous
sores which had appeared on the patient’s body, but this only caused
the body to swell and brought on dropsy. One trial was spared to her:
she was never misunderstood or neglected by her family. Their simple piety
could not fail to recognize her sanctity and received its reward even
in this world. It seems nothing less than a miracle that Lydwina’s revolting
symptoms, the full description of which we spare the reader, evoked no
disgust in those who ministered to her. On the contrary, they maintained
that her poor putrefying body emitted a fragrant perfume and that, although
natural light had to be rigidly excluded, Lydwina’s sickroom was often
irradiated by a celestial brilliancy so vivid that, on more than one
occasion, neighbours raised the cry of fire. Other abnormal and supernatural
elements began to enter into the invalid’s life. In the early stages
of her illness she could eat a little solid food, but soon she was reduced
to liquids— wine at first and then only Meuse water.
Finally and for the last nineteen years of her life—according
to the sworn deposition of witnesses—she practically depended for nourishment
upon holy communion She now developed powers of healing, of television
and of prophecy.
About the year 1407 she began to have ecstasies and mystical visions.
While her body lay in prolonged cataleptic trances, her spirit communed
with our Lord, with the saints, and with her guardian angel, or it would
visit the holy places of Rome and Palestine or else churches near at
hand. Now she would help our Lord to carry His cross on Calvary, now she
would witness the pains of purgatory and would be given a foretaste of
the joys of Heaven.
Two points are emphasized by her biographers: never, in all
her raptures, did she lose sight of her vocation, and always those spiritual
privileges were followed by increase of suffering. Acclaimed as she
was even then as a saint, she was not destined to escape detraction, which
came in a very painful form. A new parish priest was appointed to Schiedam,
one Master Andrew, a Premonstratensian from Marienwerder. He was a worldly,
sensual man, totally unable to understand Lydwina, against whom he at
once conceived a violent prejudice. He chose to regard her as a hypocrite,
deprived her for a time of holy communion, and went so far as to ask his
congregation to pray for her as the victim of diabolical hallucinations.
The people of Schiedam, however, who loved and honoured her, would have
driven him from the city if the magistrates had not interfered to protect
him. As the result of an inquiry held by the ecclesiastical authorities,
Lydwina’s good faith was fully vindicated, and she was permitted from that
time onwards to receive her communion fortnightly. Another great trial to
her affectionate heart was the death of all her near relations one after
another. Her mother, though a good woman, had died in anxiety about her
future state, and Lydwina on her behalf added to her other mortifications
a tight horsehair girdle which she continued to wear for the rest of her life.
She seems to have sorrowed most of all for her young niece Petronilla,
whose death resulted from injuries which she had sustained in protecting
her aunt against the attacks and insults of two soldiers, who had forced
their way into the sickroom. At length the time drew near for Lydwina’s release:
for seven years she had been virtually sleepless, so acute were her sufferings.
During the course of Easter Tuesday 1433 she became rapidly worse, and
shortly before three in the afternoon, Petronilla’s little brother ran
to fetch a priest. He came almost immediately, but realized at once that
all was over: she had died, as she had hoped to die—alone.
The cultus of Bd Lydwina, which may be said to have begun during
her life, was promoted after her death by the biographies written by
her cousin John Gerlac, by Thomas a Kempis, and by Brugman, as well
as by the untiring efforts of a physician, the son of that Godfrey Zonderdank
whose patient she had formerly been. It was he who, in fulfilment of
a wish very dear to her heart, built a hospital on the site of her humble
home.
The biography
of Bd Lydwina compiled by John Brugman has been printed, both in its
first and latest form, by the Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum,
April, vol. ii; and they have also given extracts from the
memoir by Thomas a Kempis. John Gerlac’s narrative is in Dutch and was
first printed at Delft in 1487. Full bibliographical details are provided
in the excellent little volume Sainte Lydwine contributed
by Hubert Meuffels to the series “Les Saints” (1925). This is by far
the best popular life, and it corrects in many details the extravagances
and inaccuracies of Huysmans’ Saints Lydwine de Schiedam
which has gone through so many editions. There are several other
lives of less value. That by Thomas a Kempis has been translated into
English by Dom Vincent Scully (1912), with a useful introduction. In this
introduction may be found a translation of the striking official document
drawn up in 1421 by the municipality of Schiedam attesting among other things
that “within the seven years last passed she (Lydwina) has used no food
or drink at all nor does use any at present”. Although she is quite commonly
called Saint Lydwina, she has never been officially
canonized, but her cultus was formally confirmed by Pope
Leo XIII in 1890.
St. Lydwine is the patroness of sickness Lydwine
of Schiedam was born at Schiedam, Holland, one of nine children of a
working man. After an injury in her youth, she became bedridden and suffered
the rest of her life from various illnesses and diseases. She experienced
mystical gifts, including supernatural visions of heaven, hell, purgatory,
apparitions of Christ, and the stigmata. Thomas a Kempis wrote a biography
of her. She was canonized Pope Leo XIII in 1890. Lydwine suffered a fall
while ice skating in 1396, when a friend collided with her and caused
her to break a rib on the right side. From this injury, she never recovered.
An abscess formed inside her body which later burst and caused Lydwine
extreme suffering. Eventually, she was to suffer a series of mysterious
illnesses which in retrospect seemed to be from the hands of God. Lydwine
heroically accepted her plight as the will of God and offered up her sufferings
for the sins of humanity. Some of the illnesses which affected Lydwine
were headaches, vomiting, fever, thirst, bedsores, toothaches, spasms of
the muscles, blindness, neuritis and the stigmata.
Blessed Lidwina of Schiedam V (AC) (also known as Lydwina,
Lydwid, Lidwyna) Born in Schiedam, the Netherlands, in 1380; cultus
approved in 1890. Lidwina, one of nine children of a laborer, developed
a devotion to the Blessed Virgin in her childhood. When her mother would
send her on any errand, Lidwina would visit the church to greet her Lady
with a Hail Mary. At the age of 12, she pledged her virginity to Christ.
She was injured in 1396 while ice skating and became a life-long
invalid. She was cruelly wed to agonizing bodily pains, ulcers, the
Black Plague and other maladies, without counting the familial and spiritual
complications. Lidwina bore the pain patiently as reparation for the
sins of others.
For 30 years she received no explanation of incredible sufferings
except through Jesus Christ who confided in her and promised the consolation
of a heavenly life. Upon the advice of her confessor, Jan Pot, Lidwina
meditated night and day on our Lord's passion, which she divided into
seven parts, to correspond to the seven canonical hours of prayer. Through
this practice Lidwina soon found all her bitterness and affliction converted
into sweetness and consolation, and her soul so much changed, that she
prayed to God to increase her pains and patience. Beginning in 1407, Lidwina
began to experience supernatural gifts--ecstasies and visions in which she
participated in the Passion of Christ, saw purgatory and heaven and visited
with saints.
Though her family was poor, Lidwina gave away the major portion
of the alms given to her by others. Upon the death of her parents, she
bequeathed to the poor all the goods that they left to her.
The last 19 years of her life she partook of no food except
the Holy Eucharist, slept little if at all during the last seven years
of her life, and became almost completely blind and was unable to move
any part of her body except her head and left arm.
Her extraordinary sufferings attracted widespread attention.
When a new parish priest accused her of hypocrisy, the people of the
town threatened to drive him away. An ecclesiastical commission appointed
to investigate declared her experiences to be valid.
She died on Easter Tuesday in 1433. Thomas a Kempis, author
of Imitation of Christ and an eyewitness of some of her miracles, wrote
her biography. The chapel in which her body lay in a marble tomb was
renamed for her the following year, and her father's house was converted
into a monastery of Gray Sisters of the third order of St. Francis.
The Calvinists demolished the chapel and changed the monastery
into a hospital for orphans.
Her relics were translated to Brussels, and enshrined in the
collegiate church of St. Gudula. Isabella obtained a portion of her
relics and enshrined them in the church of the Carmelite convent which
she founded.
Lidwina was never formally beatified; however, a Mass was sung
in her chapel at Schiedham on her festival, with a panegyric on the
holy virgin. Her vita was compiled by John Gerlac, her cousin, and John
Walter, her confessor: and by John Brugman, provincial of the Franciscans,
who were all personally acquainted with her (Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia,
Husenbeth).
Lidwina is portrayed in art as a cripple holding a crucifix
and receiving a branch of roses from an angel. Sometimes she may be
shown (1) receiving a lily from the angel; (2) with a cross and rosary;
(3) as a girl falling on ice while skating; or (4) working on embroidery
(Roeder). She is the patron of skaters.
|
2021
Christian
council
held
at
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.