The seventh day of
the Afterfeast of Theophany
Many of the Church's hymns during
this period rejoice in the manifestation of God (Theophany) at Christ's baptism
in the Jordan. The voice of the Father is heard, the Son enters the water,
and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove.
|
160+ Martyr Potitus at Naples In Sardinia, St. Potitus, martyr, by the
power of God he worked wondrous miracles; who, having suffered much under
Emperor Antoninus and the governor Gelasius, was at last put to death by
the sword.
In Sardínia
sancti Potíti Mártyris, qui, sub Antoníno Imperatóre
et Gelásio Præside, multa passus, demum gládio martyrium
consecútus est.
The Holy Martyr Potitus suffered
under the emperor Antoninus Pius (reigned 138-161). Having become familiar
with the Christian teaching, the young Potitus believed in the true God and
accepted holy Baptism at thirteen years of age. When he learned of this,
his pagan father was extremely upset and tried, first by endearments, and
then by threats to dissuade his son from his faith in Christ the Savior,
but his efforts were in vain. Impressed by the boy's firmness of faith, the
father also came to believe in the Son of God and became a Christian himself.
St Potitus traveled through many lands preaching about Christ,
and by the power of God he worked wondrous miracles.
In the region of Epiros, lived the illustrious woman Kyriake,
the wife of a senator; she was afflicted with leprosy. Hearing of St Potitus,
she summoned him and asked him to heal her. The saint declared that if she
believed in Christ, she would be healed. The woman accepted holy Baptism
and was immediately made well. Seeing such a miracle, her husband and all
their household believed in Christ and were baptized as well.
After this, the saint settled on Mount Garganus and lived in solitude,
among the animals. He was found there by servants of the emperor Antoninus,
whose daughter was possessed by a demon. Through the lips of the maiden,
the devil said that he would come out of her only if Potitus should come.
They brought the holy youth to the emperor, and through the prayers of St
Potitus the demon released the girl. But instead of being grateful, the emperor
treated the saint with inhuman cruelty. For his firm confession of faith
in Christ the Savior, and for his refusal to offer sacrifice to the pagan
gods, to whom the emperor imputed the healing of his daughter, he ordered
that the saint's tongue be torn out, and that he be blinded. After lengthy
torture, St Potitus was finally beheaded.
|
235 St. Andrew
of Trier bishop possible martyr
Andrew is listed as the twelfth bishop of Trier, Germany. In some accounts
he suffered martyrdom. |
253-268?
Romæ, via Lavicána, corónæ sanctórum mílitum
quadragínta, quas ipsi, sub Galliéno Imperatóre, pro
veræ fídei confessióne percípere meruérunt.
At Rome, on the Via Lavicana, the crowning
of forty holy soldiers, a reward they merited by confessing the true faith
under Emperor Gallienus.
|
315
St. Hermylus Martyr with Stratonicus drowned in the Danube Belgrade Serbia
Singidóni, in Mysia superióre, sanctórum Mártyrum
Hérmyli et Stratoníci, qui, post sæva torménta,
sub Licínio Imperatóre, in Istrum flumen demérsi sunt.
At Belgrade in Serbia, the holy martyrs Hermylus
and Stratonicus, who were severely tormented under Emperor Licinius, and
then drowned in the river Danube.
Stratonicus was the servant of Hermylus,
who was a deacon. |
324 St. Glaphyra
persecuted slave owned by Empress Constantia
Amaséæ, in Ponto,
sanctæ Gláphyræ Vírginis.
At Amasea in Pontus, St. Glaphyra, virgin.
Constantia wife of co-Emperor Licinius Licinianus.
Glaphyra fled the royal court to protect her chastity by going to St. Basil,
the bishop of Amasea, in Pontus. Captured and condemned to death, she died
on the way to her execution. |
337 St. Leontius
of Cuesaren Bishop of Caesarea participant in Council of Nicaea in 325 ‘Angel
of Peace”
Cæsaréæ, in Cappadócia, sancti Leóntii
Epíscopi, qui, sub Licínio, advérsus Gentíles,
et, sub Constantíno, advérsus Ariános plúrimum
decertávit.
At Caesarea in Cappadocia, St. Leontius,
bishop, who fought strongly against the heathens in the reign of Licinius,
and against the Arians in the reign of Constantine.
He was known to the Greeks by the spiritual
title ‘Angel of Peace” and was much praised by St. Athanasius. |
368 St. Hilary (315?-368)
a gentle courteous man devoted to writing some of the greatest theology on
the Trinity
Pictávis, in Gállia, natális sancti Hilárii,
Epíscopi et Confessóris; qui, ob cathólicam fidem, quam
strénue propugnávit, quadriénnio apud Phrygiam relegátus,
ibi, inter ália mirácula, mórtuum suscitávit.
Eum Pius Nonus, Póntifex Máximus, universális Ecclésiæ
Doctórem declarávit et confirmávit. Ipsíus
autem festum sequénti die celebrátur.
At Poitiers in France, the birthday of St.
Hilary, bishop and confessor of the Catholic faith which he courageously
defended, and for which he was banished for four years to Phrygia, where,
among other miracles, he raised a man from the dead. Pius IX declared
him a doctor of the Church. His festival is celebrated tomorrow.
This staunch defender of the divinity of Christ
was a gentle and courteous man, devoted to writing some of the greatest theology
on the Trinity, and was like his Master in being labeled a “disturber of
the peace.” In a very troubled period in the Church, his holiness was lived
out in both scholarship and controversy.
Raised a pagan, he was converted to Christianity when he met his
God of nature in the Scriptures. His wife was still living when he was chosen,
against his will, to be the bishop of Poitiers in France. He was soon taken
up with battling what became the scourge of the fourth century, Arianism,
which denied the divinity of Christ.
The heresy spread rapidly. St. Jerome said “The world groaned
and marveled to find that it was Arian.” When Emperor Constantius ordered
all the bishops of the West to sign a condemnation of Athanasius, the great
defender of the faith in the East, Hilary refused and was banished from France
to far off Phrygia. Eventually he was called the “Athanasius of the West.”
While writing in exile, he was invited by some semi-Arians (hoping for reconciliation)
to a council the emperor called to counteract the Council of Nicea. But Hilary
predictably defended the Church, and when he sought public debate with the
heretical bishop who had exiled him, the Arians, dreading the meeting and
its outcome, pleaded with the emperor to send this troublemaker back home.
Hilary was welcomed by his people.
Comment: Christ said his
coming would bring not peace but a sword (see Matthew 10:34). The Gospels
offer no support for us if we fantasize about a sunlit holiness that knows
no problems. Christ did not escape at the last moment, though he did live
happily ever after—after a life of controversy, problems, pain and frustration.
Hilary, like all saints, simply had more of the same.
368 St. Hilary
of Poitiers fixed names of His nature: Father Son Holy Spirit His hymns are
the first in the West with a known writer
Patron against snake bites
"They didn't know who they were." This is how Hilary summed up
the problem with the Arian heretics of the fourth century.
Hilary, on the other hand, knew very well who he was -- a child
of a loving God who had inherited eternal life through belief in the Son
of God. He hadn't been raised as a Christian but he had felt a wonder at the
gift of life and a desire to find out the meaning of that gift. He first
discarded the approach of many people who around him, who believed the purpose
of life was only to satisfy desires. He knew he wasn't a beast grazing in
a pasture. The philosophers agreed with him.
Human beings should rise above desires and live a life of virtue,
they said. But Hilary could see in his own heart that humans were meant for
even more than living a good life.
If he didn't lead a virtuous life, he would suffer from guilt
and be unhappy. His soul seemed to cry out that wasn't enough to justify
the enormous gift of life. So Hilary went looking for the giftgiver. He was
told many things about the divine -- many that we still hear today: that
there were many Gods, that God didn't exist but all creation was the result
of random acts of nature, that God existed but didn't really care for his
creation, that God was in creatures or images. One look in his own soul told
him these images of the divine were wrong. God had to be one because no creation
could be as great as God. God had to be concerned with God's creation --
otherwise why create it?
At that point, Hilary tells us, he "chanced upon" the Hebrew and
Christian Scriptures. When he read the verse where God tells Moses "I AM
WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14), Hilary said, "I was frankly amazed at such a clear
definition of God, which expressed the incomprehensible knowledge of the
divine nature in words most suited to human intelligence." In the Psalms
and the Prophets he found descriptions of God's power, concern, and beauty.
For example in Psalm 139, "Where shall I go from your spirit?", he found
confirmation that God was everywhere and omnipotent.
But still he was troubled. He knew the giftgiver now, but what
was he, the recipient of the gift? Was he just created for the moment to disappear
at death? It only made sense to him that God's purpose in creation should
be "that what did not exist began to exist, not that what had begun to exist
would cease to exist."
Then he found the Gospels and read John's words including "In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God..." (John 1:1-2).
From John he learned of the Son of God and how Jesus had been
sent to bring eternal life to those who believed. Finally his soul was at
rest. "No longer did it look upon the life of this body as troublesome or
wearisome, but believed it to be what the alphabet is to children... namely,
as the patient endurance of the present trials of life in order to gain a
blissful eternity." He had found who he was in discovering God and God's
Son Jesus Christ.
After becoming a Christian, he was elected bishop of Poitiers
in what is now France by the laity and clergy. He was already married with
one daughter named Apra.
Not everyone at that time had
the same idea of who they were. The Arians did not believe in the divinity
of Christ and the Arians had a lot of power including the support of the
emperor Constantius. This resulted in many persecutions. When Hilary refused
to support their condemnation of Saint Athanasius he was exiled from Poitiers
to the East in 356. The Arians couldn't have had a worse plan -- for themselves.
Hilary really had known very little of the whole Arian controversy
before he was banished. Perhaps he supported Athanasius simply because he
didn't like their methods. But being exiled from his home and his duties
gave him plenty of time to study and write. He learned everything he could
about what the Arians said and what the orthodox Christians answered and
then he began to write. "Although in exile we shall speak through these books,
and the word of God, which cannot be bound, shall move about in freedom."
The writings of his that still exist include On the Trinity, a
commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, and a commentary on the Psalms. He tells
us about the Trinity,
"For one to attempt to speak of God in terms more precise than
he himself has used: -- to undertake such a thing is to embark upon the boundless,
to dare the incomprehensible.
He fixed the names of His nature: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Whatever is sought over and above this is beyond the meaning of words, beyond
the limits of perception, beyond the embrace of understanding."
After three years the emperor kicked him back to Poitiers, because,
we are told by Sulpicius Severus, the emperor was tired of having to deal
with the troublemaker, "a sower of discord an a disturber of the Orient."
But no one told Hilary he had to go straight back to his home and so he took
a leisurely route through Greece and Italy, preaching against the Arians
as he went.
In the East he had also heard the hymns used by Arians and orthodox
Christians as propaganda. These hymns were not based on Scripture as Western
hymns but full of beliefs about God. Back at home, Hilary started writing
hymns of propaganda himself to spread the faith.
His hymns are the first in the West with a known writer.
Some of use may wonder at all the trouble over what may seem only
words to us now. But Hilary wasn't not fighting a war of words, but a battle
for the eternal life of the souls who might hear the Arians and stop believing
in the Son of God, their hope of salvation.
The death of Constantius in 361 ended the persecution of the orthodox
Christians.
Hilary died in 367 or 368 and was proclaimed a doctor of the Church
in 1851.
In His Footsteps: In
Exodus, the Prophets, and the Gospel of John, Hilary found his favorite descriptions
of God and God's relationship to us. What verses of Scripture describe God
best for you? If you aren't familiar with Scripture, look up the verses that
Hilary found. What do they mean to you?
Prayer: Saint Hilary of Poitiers, instead of being
discouraged by your exile, you used your time to study and write. Help us
to bring good out of suffering and isolation in our own lives and see adversity
as an opportunity to learn about or share our faith. Amen
|
335 St.
Agrecius Bishop missionary trusted associate of St. Helena
empress According to the life of the
saint, a document which is certainly not older than the eleventh century,
and which modern scholars pronounce to be entirely fabulous
Tréviris sancti Agrítii
Epíscopi. At Treves, St. Agritius,
bishop.
Little is documented about Agrecius (also called Agricius) in
his early years. He is believed to have been patriarch of Antioch when he
was named the bishop of Treves (modern Trier), Germany. Pope Sylvester I (r. 314-335) named Agrecius
to this see of Treves (modern Trier), Germany at the
request of St. Helena. Agrecius was also present at the Council of Arles
in 314. St. Athanasius came to Treves
in around 335 and found Agrecius building many new parish churches. The Relics
of Trier, a collection associated with St. Helena's visit to the Holy Land
and entrusted to Agrecius, are believed to date to his episcopacy. Agrecius
also attracted saints and scholars to Treves or Trier. Sts. Maximus and Paulinus taught in the
schools there. Agrecius served as bishop for twenty years.
329? ST AGRECIUS, BISHOP OP TRIER
THE story of St Agrecius (Agritius) has of late
years acquired a certain adventitious interest owing to the discussions regarding
the authenticity of the “Holy Coat of Trier”. According to the life of the
saint, a document which is certainly not older than the eleventh century,
and which modern scholars pronounce to be entirely fabulous, Agrecius was
first of all patriarch of Antioch, and was then, at the instance of the Empress
St Helen, the mother of Constantine, appointed bishop of Trier by Pope St
Silvester. He found that that part of Germany, though evangelized more than
two centuries before, had almost fallen back into paganism, and he set to
work to build churches and to establish closer relations with the centre
of Christendom. In this task he was encouraged by his patroness St Helen,
who in particular obtained for him a share of the precious relics which she
had been instrumental in recovering from the Holy Land. Those sent to Trier
included one of the nails of the cross, the knife used at the Last Supper,
the bodies of SS. Lazarus and Martha, etc., and also apparently our Lord’s
seamless robe. The historically worthless character of the life discredits
this story, and the ivory plaque of Byzantine origin which is appealed to
as a representation of SS. Silvester and Agrecius in a chariot bringing the
casket of relics to Trier is more probably to be explained as referring to
another quite different translation of relics to Constantinople under the
Emperor Leo I (457—474). St Silvester is also stated to have conceded to
Trier in the person of Agrecius a primacy over all the bishops of Gaul and
Germany. Setting aside these fictions, the only facts known to us regarding
St Agrecius are that he assisted as bishop of Trier at the Council of Aries
in 314, and that he was succeeded in the same see
by St Maximinus.
See
Acta Sanctorum, January 13 V. Sauerland, Trierer Geschichtsquellen des xi Jahrhunderts (1889), pp. 55—212
S. Beissel, Geschichte der Trierer Kirchen (1887) vol. i,
pp. 71 seq. E. Winheller, Die Lebensheschreibungen
der vorkarol. Bischöfe von Trier (1935), pp. 121—145 and DHG., vol.
i, C. 1014. For the plaque, see Kraus, Geschichte der Christlichen
Kunst, vol. i, p. 520, and the references there given in note 4. Kraus
claims G. B. de Rossi as supporting his interpretation of the plaque. By
Kraus this ivory carving is said to be a work of the fifth century A. Maskell,
Ivories, p. 419, dates it seventh to ninth Century.
Both are agreed that the work is Byzantine.
|
400 St. Viventius
Samaritan hermit ordination departed Palestine to Europe
He was later closely associated with St. Hilary of Poitiers in his attacks
on the Arian heretics.
|
5th v. St. Elian
ap Erbin known only through local Welsh liturgical calendars
He was revered in Wales immediately following his death.
|
5th v. St. Erbin 5th century Saint of the Comish and Devonshire regions
England
He is also listed as Ervan, Ernie, Erbyn, or Hermes. Churches in Cornwall
are dedicated to Erbin. |
530
St. Remigius or Remi, Bishop of Rheims extraordinary gift of
miracles
Sancti Remígii,
Epíscopi Rheménsis et Confessóris, qui Idibus Januárii
obdormívit in Dómino, sed hac die, ob Translatiónem
córporis ejus, potíssimum cólitur.
St. Remigius, bishop of Rheims and confessor, who fell asleep in the Lord
on the 13th of January, but is commemorated on this day because of the translation
of his body.
530 ST REMIGHIS, OR REMI, BISHOP OF RHEIMS
REMIGIUS, the great apostle of the Franks, was
illustrious for his learning, sanctity and miracles, which in his episcopacy
of seventy and more years rendered his name famous in the Church. His father
and his mother were both descended from Gaulish families, and lived at Laon.
The boy made great progress in learning, and in the opinion of St Sidonius
Apollinaris, who was acquainted with him in the earlier part of his life,
he became the most eloquent person in that age. When only twenty-two, too
young to be a priest, much less a bishop, he was chosen in 459 to fill the
vacant see of Rheims. But he was ordained and consecrated in spite of his
youth, and amply made up for lack of experience by his fervour and energy.
Sidonius, who had considerable practice in the use of words of commendation,
was at no loss to find terms to express his admiration of the charity and
purity with which this bishop offered at the altar a fragrant incense to
God, and of the zeal with which he subdued the wildest hearts and brought
them under the yoke of virtue. Sidonius had a manuscript of his sermons from
a man at Clermont (“ I do not know how he got hold of it. Like a good citizen
he gave it to me, instead of selling it “), and wrote to tell Remigius how
much he admired them: the delicacy and beauty of thought and expression were
so smooth that it might be compared to ice or crystal upon which a nail runs
without meeting the least unevenness. With this equipment of eloquence (of
which unfortunately there is no specimen extant for us to judge its quality
for ourselves) allied to the yet more valuable quality of personal holiness,
St Remigius set out to spread Christianity among the Franks.
Clots,
king of all northern Gaul, was himself yet a pagan, though not unfriendly
to the Church. He had married St Clotildis, daughter of the Christian king
of the Burgundians, Chilperic, and she made repeated attempts to convert
her husband. He agreed to the baptism of their first-born, but when
the child shortly after died he harshly reproached Clotildis, and said, If
he had been consecrated in the name of my gods, he had not died; but having
been baptized in the name of yours, he could not live “. The queen afterwards
had another son, whom she had baptized, and he also fell sick. The king said
in great anger, “It could not be otherwise. He will die as his brother did
through having been baptized in the name of your Christ.” This child recovered,
but it required a more striking manifestation of the might of the Christian
God to convert the rough Clovis. It came apparently in 496, when the Alemanni
crossed the Rhine and the Franks marched out to drive them back. One account
says that St Clotildis had said to him in taking leave, My lord, to be victorious
invoke the God of the Christians. If you call on Him with confidence, nothing
can resist you”; and that the wary Clovis had promised that he would be a
Christian if he were victorious. The
battle
was going badly against him when the king, either reminded of these wprds
or moved by desperation, shouted to the heavens, “0 Christ, whom Clotildis
invokes as son of the living God, I implore thy help! I have called upon
my gods, and they have no power. I therefore call on thee. I believe in thee
! Deliver me from my enemies and I will be baptized in thy name “ The Franks
rallied and turned the tide of battle; the Alemanni were overcome.
It is
said that Clovis, during his return from this expedition, passed by Toul,
and there took with him St Vedast, that he might be instructed by him in
the faith during his journey. But Queen St Clotildis was not trusting to
any enthusiasm of victory, and sent for St Remigius, telling him to touch
the heart of the king while he was well disposed. When Clovis saw her he
cried out, “ Clovis has vanquished the Alemanni and you have triumphed over
Clovis. What you have so much at heart is done.” The queen answered, “To
the God of hosts is the glory of both these triumphs due”. Clovis suggested
that perhaps the people would not be willing to forsake their gods, but said
he would speak to them according to the bishop’s instructions. He assembled
the chiefs and warriors, but they prevented his speaking, and cried out,
“We abjure mona) gods, and are ready to follow the immortal God whom Remigius
preaches”. St Remigius and St Vedast therefore instructed and prepared them
for baptism. To strike the senses of barbarous people and impress their minds,
Queen Clotildis took care that the streets from the palace to the church
should be adorned with hangings, and that the church and baptistery should
be lighted with a great number of candles and scented with incense. Catechumens
marched in procession, carrying crosses, and singing the litany; St Remigius
conducted the king by the hand, followed by the queen and the people. At
the font the bishop is said to have addressed Clovis in words that are memorable,
if not actually pronounced: “Humble yourself, Sicambrian! Worship what you
have burned, and burn what you have worshipped!” Words which may be emphatically
addressed to every penitent, to express the change of heart and conduct that
is required of him.
St Remigius
afterwards baptized the king’s two sisters and three thousand men of his
army, as well as women and children, with the help of the other bishops and
priests present. Hincmar of Rheims, who wrote a Life of St Remigius in the
ninth century, is the first to mention a legend that at the baptism of Clovis
the chrism for the anointing was found to be missing, whereupon St Remigius
prayed and a dove appeared from the heavens, bearing in its beak an ampulla of chrism. A phial of oil, fabled to be the same, was
preserved at the abbey of Saint-Remi and used in the consecration of the
kings of France until Charles X in 1825. It was broken up at the Revolution,
but a piece of La Sainte Ampoule and its contents were saved
and are kept in Rheims Cathedral. St Remigius is also supposed to have conferred
on Clovis the power of touching for the “king’s evil” (scrofula),
which was exercised by the kings of France at their coronation, again up
to Charles X. This power was confirmed by the relics of St Marculf, who died
about 538.
Under
the protection of Clovis, St Remigius spread the gospel of Christ among the
Franks, in which work God endowed him with an extraordinary gift of miracles,
if we may trust his biographers on this point. The bishops who were assembled
in a conference that was held at Lyons against the Arians in his time declared
they were stirred to exert their zeal in defence of the Catholic faith by
the example of Remigius, “who “, say they, “has everywhere destroyed the
altars of the idols by a multitude of miracles and signs”. He did his
best to promote orthodoxy in
Arian
Burgundy, and at a synod in 517 converted an Arian bishop who came to it
to argue with him. But the actions of St Remigius did not always meet with
the approval of his brother bishops. Sometime after the death of Clovis the
bishops of Paris, Sens and Auxerre wrote to him concerning a priest called
Claudius, whom he had ordained at the request of the king. They blamed Remigius
for ordaining a man whom they thought to be fit only for degradation, hinted
that he had been bribed to do it, and accused him of condoning the financial
malpractices of Claudius. St Remigius thought these bishops were full of
spite and told them so, but his reply was a model of patience and charity.
To their sneer at his great age he answered, “ Rather should you’ rejoice
lovingly with me, who am neither accused before you nor suing for mercy at
your hands “. Very different was his tone towards a bishop who had exercised
jurisdiction outside his diocese. “ If your Holiness was ignorant of the
canons it was ill done of you to transgress the diocesan limits without learning
them...Be careful lest in meddling with the rights of others you lose your
own.”
St Remigius,
whom St Gregory of Tours refers to as “a man of great learning, fond of rhetorical
studies,
and equal in his holiness to St Silvester”, died about the year 530.
Although the enthusiastic
letter in which Sidonius Apollinaris (who has, not unfairly,
been described as an “inveterate panegyrist ”) commends the discourses of St Remigius is authentic, most
of the sources from which we derive our knowledge of the saint are, to say
the least, unsatisfactory. The short biography attributed to Venantius Fortunatus
is not his, but of later date, and the Vita Remigii, writtea
by Hincmar of Rheims three centuries after his death, is full of marvels
and open to grave suspicion. We have therefore to depend for our facts upon
the scanty references in St Gregory of Tours (who declares that he had before
him a Life of St Remigius) and to supplement these by a phrase or two in
letters of St Avitus of Vienne, St Nicetius of Trier, etc., together with
three or four letters written by Remigius himself. The question in particular
of the date, place and occasion of the baptism of Clovis has given rise to
protracted discussion in which such scholars as B. Krusch, W. Levison, L.
Levillain, A. Hauck, G. Kurth, and A. Poncelet have all taken part. A detailed
summary of the controversy, with bibliographical references will be found,
under “Clovis” in DAC., vol. iii, cc. 2038—2052. It can safely be affirmed that
no conclusive evidence has yet upset the traditional account given above,
so far, at least, as regards the substantial fact that Clovis in 496, or
soon after, after a victory over the Alemanni, was baptized at Rheims by
St Remigius. As for more general matters, the principal texts, including the
Liber Historiae, have been edited by B. Krusch; see BHL., nn. 7150—7173. Consult
also 0. Kurth, Clovis (1901), especially vol. ii, pp. 262—265 and cf. A.
Hauck, Kirchengesehichte Deutschlands,
vol. i (1904), pp. 119, 548, 217, 595—599. There are popular but uncritical
lives by Haudecceur, Avenay, Carlier and others. For “touching” see Les rois thaumaturges (1924), by M. Bloch; and
for the ampulla, F. Oppenheimer, The Legend
of the Sainte Ampoule (1953).
The
great apostle of the Franks,
and was illustrious for his learning, sanctity
and miracles, which in his episcopacy of seventy and more years, rendered
his name famous in the church. As a boy he made great progress in learning,
and in the opinion of St. Sidonius Apollinaris, who was acquainted with him
in the earlier part of his life, he became the most eloquent person in that
age. When only twenty-two, too young to be a priest, much less a bishop,
he was chosen in 459 to fill the vacant See of Rheims. But he was ordained
and consecrated in spite of his youth, and amply made up for lack of experience
by his fervor and energy.
Under the protection of King
Clovis, who was baptized by Remigius, St. Remigius spread the gospel of Christ
among the Franks, in which work God endowed him with an extraordinary gift
of miracles. The bishops who were assembled in a conference that was held
at Lyons against the Arians in his time, declared they were stirred to exert
their zeal in defense of the Catholic Faith by the example of Remigius, "who",
say they, "has everywhere destroyed the altars of the idols by a multitude
of miracles and signs." St. Remigius, whom St. Gregory of Tours refers to
as "a man of great learning, fond of rhetorical studies, and equal in his
holiness to St. Silvester", died about the year 530.
Remigius (Rémy, Remi) of Reims B (RM) + Born at Cerny
near Laon, France, c. 437; died at Rheims on January 13, 530.
The name St. Rémy is intimately connected with that of
King Clovis of the Franks, the bloodthirsty general and collector of vases.
Rémy was the son of Count Emilius of Laon and Saint Celina, daughter
of Principius, bishop of Soissons. Even as a child Rémy was devoted
to books and God. These two loves developed the future saint into a famous
preacher. Saint Sidonius Apollinaris, who knew him, testified to his virtue
and eloquence as a preacher.
So great was his renown that, in 459, when he was only 22 and
still a layman, he was elected bishop of Rheims. Hincmar, testifying that
Rémy "was forced into being bishop rather than elected," adds to our
impression of a virtuous man the added quality of modesty. Other sources
note that the saint was refined, tall (over seven feet(!) in height), with
an austere forehead, an aquiline nose, fair hair, a solemn walk, and stately
bearing.
After his ordination and consecration, he reigned for 74 years--all
the time devoting himself to the evangelization of the Franks. It was said
that "by his signs and miracles, Rémy brought low the heathen altars
everywhere." Foregoing the alternative episcopal path, Rémy chose
the way of self-sacrifice. He became a model for his clergy and was indefatigable
in his good works.
At some point between 481 and
486, Rémy wrote to the pagan King Clovis: "May the voice of justice
be heard from your mouth...Respect your bishops and seek their advice...Be
the protector of your subjects, the support of the afflicted, the comfort
of widows, the father of orphans and the master of all, that they might learn
to love you and fear you...Let your court fe open to all and let no one leave
with the grief of not being heard...Divert yourself with young people, but
if you wish truly to reign transact important matters with those who are
older..."
Clovis must have respected Rémy's advice even if he did
not follow it: During his march on Chalons and Troyes, Clovis bypassed Rheims,
Rémy's see. It is possible, though, that only his wife's civilizing
influence prevented him from burning Rheims. Clovis married the radiant
and beautiful Christian, Saint Clotildis, by proxy at Chalons-sur- Saone,
while she was still living in Lyons under the tutelage of Saint Blandine.
It was not a peaceful union. Clovis, an ambitious autocrat, allowed his rage
to lead to ill-planned actions. The young, pious Clotildis showed him how
much wiser it was to struggle with this wild beast than to give way to his
emotions. At first Clovis resisted being tamed by his wife.
In 496, Clovis, supposedly in
response to a suggestion from his wife, invoked the Christian God when the
invading Alemanni were on the verge of defeating his forces, whereupon the
tide of battle turned and Clovis was victorious at Tolbiac. St. Rémy,
aided by Saint Vedast, instructed him and his chieftains in Christianity.
At the Easter Vigil (or Christmas Day) in 496, Rémy baptized Clovis,
his two sisters, and 3,000 of his subjects. (Most seem to agree on the year,
but not the day or place.)
Though he never took part in any of the councils held during
his life, Rémy was a zealous proponent of orthodoxy, opposed Arianism,
and converted an Arian bishop at a synod of Arian bishops in 517. He was censured
by a group of bishops for ordaining one Claudius, whom they felt was unworthy
of the priesthood, but St. Rémy was generally held in great veneration
for his holiness, learning, and miracles. He is said to have healed a blind
man. Another time, like Jesus, he was confronted with a host who ran out
of wine at a dinner party. Rémy went down to the cellar, prayed, and
at once wine began to spread over the floor!
Rémy's last act was to draw up a will in which he distributed
all his lands and wealth and ordered that "generous alms be given the poor,
that liberty be given to the serfs on his domain," and concluded by asking
God to bless the family of the first Christian king. Because
he was the most influential prelate of Gaul and is considered the apostle
of the Franks, Rémy has been the subject of many tales. Rémy's
notoriety sometimes difficult to distinguish the reliable from the untrustworthy
in his biographies (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
In art, St. Remigius is generally portrayed as a bishop carrying
holy oils, though he may have other representations. At times he may be shown
(1) as a dove brings him the chrism to anoint Clovis; (2) with Clovis kneeling
before him; (3) preaching before Clovis and his queen; (4) welcoming another
saint led by an angel from prison; (5) exorcising; or (6) contemplating the
veil of Saint Veronica (Roeder). |
6th v. St.
Elian Perhaps a Breton missionary
he was related to Ismael and labored in the missions of Cornwall England.
|
603
St. Kentigern Mungo {"dear one"} First bishop of Strathclyde Britons
By tradition, he was the son of a British princess. His nickname, Mungo,
means "dear one" or "darling." He was raised by St. Serf and be. came a hermit
near Glasgow, Scotland. Driven into exile after being consecrated a bishop
circa 540, Kentigern went to St. David in Wales. There he possibly founded
St. Asaph Monastery at Llanelwy. In 553, he returned to Scotland to continue
his labors. With St. Theneva, he is patron of Glasgow. He is also venerated
as the Apostle of Northwestern England and Southwestern Scotland. |
631
St. Enogatus Bishop of Aleth Brittany France
He was the fifth successor of St. Malo.
|
852 St. Gumesindus
priest Spanish martyr with Servus Dei a monk
Córdubæ, in Hispánia, sanctórum Mártyrum
Gumesíndi Presbyteri, et Servidéi Mónachi.
At Cordova, the holy martyrs Gumesind, priest,
and Servideus, monk.
Gumesindus was a priest, and Servus
Dei a monk. They suffered under Abd al Rahman at Cordoba, Spain.
|
927 Berno of Cluny
first abbot of the renowned monastery of Cluny OSB, Abbot (AC)
927 ST BERNO, ABBOT OF CLUNY
CONSIDERING the immense influence exercised by
Cluny in the development of the monasticism, and indeed of the whole religious
life, of western Europe from the tenth to the twelfth centuries, we know
strangely little of the personality of its first abbot. Berno seems to have
been a man of good family and some wealth. He was himself the founder of
the abbey of Gigny, in which he became abbot, having already been the reforming
superior of Baume-les-Messieurs, and finally he was pitched upon by Duke
William of Aquitaine to rule the monastery which he planned. The site chosen
by St Berno was at Cluny, not far from Mâcon in the centre of France.
The abbey of Cluny was immediately subject to the Holy See, and in the foundations
subsequently made the principle of centralization became dominant; but in
Berno’s day there was no machinery for the central control of the houses
with whose reform he was entrusted. Berno ruled from
910 to 927, and perhaps the highest tribute to his personal worth was the
devotion always paid to him by St Odo, who had joined him as a novice at
Baume and who, after Berno’s death in 927, was to succeed him at Cluny as
abbot, perhaps the most famous and energetic of all its rulers.
See Acta Sanctorum, January 13 B. Sackur, Die Cluniacenser,
vol. i, pp. 36 seq; Berlière in Revue Benedictine, vol. ix, p. 498 and P. Schmitz, Histoire de l’ordre de St Benoît, vol. i (1942), pp.
130-132.
Saint Berno of Cluny or Berno of Baume (c. 850 – 13 January 927)
was first abbot of Cluny from its foundation in 910 until he resigned in 925.
He was subject only to the pope and began the tradition of the Cluniac reforms
which his successors brought to fruition across Europe.
Berno was first a monk at St. Martin's Abbey, Autun, and was sent to Baume
Abbey in about 886 to reform it. In 890, he founded the monastery of Gigny
on his own estates, and others at Bourg-Dieu and Massay. In 910, William
I of Aquitaine, founder of Cluny, nominated him abbot of the new foundation.
Berno placed the monastery under the Benedictine rule (founded by Benedict
of Nursia and reformed by Benedict of Aniane).
He resigned as abbot in 925,
his abbeys being divided between his relative Vido and his disciple Odo of
Cluny.
Born in Burgundy, France; the first abbot of the renowned monastery
of Cluny, and, thus, had enormous influence throughout western Christendom.
Unfortunately, little is known of him. Some stories lead us to believe he
was a man of noble birth and of financial means and that he was assisted
by Duke William of Aquitaine in building Cluny, which he planned.
He ruled the abbey from 910 until he resigned in favor of Saint
Odo in 926.
He began his monastic life as
a monk of Saint Martin's in Autun, then was the abbot who restored Baume-les-Messieurs,
where he gave the habit to Saint Odo in 909. Next, Berno founder and became
the abbot of Gigny, Bourg-Dieu, Massay, and finally Cluny in 910.
Neither sacred nor secular history
has done justice in recording the great work that Saint Berno did for the
Church and civilization prior to his death in 927 (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
|
|
1127 BD
GODFREY OF KAPPENBERG belongs to
the category of those youthful saints who spent the few years of their life
on earth in making preparation for Heaven.
GODFREY,
who died at the age of thirty, belongs to the category of those youthful
saints who spent the few years of their life on earth in making preparation
for Heaven. He was count of Kappenberg and lord of a great Westphalian estate
in the diocese of Munster. He was married to a young wife of a family as
distinguished as his own. Coming, however, under the influence of St
Norbert, the founder of the Premonstratensian canons, he determined to surrender
his castle of Kappenberg to be converted into a monastery of that order;
and he followed this up by persuading his wife and brother to renounce the
world like himself and to become religious under St Norbert’s direction.
His purpose encountered the most violent opposition from his father-in-law,
who even threatened to take his life. Godfrey, however, persisted in making
over all his possessions to the Premonstratensians. He built a convent near
Kappenberg, where his wife and two of his own sisters took the veil; he also
founded hospitals and other charitable institutions, and himself became a
canonical novice, performing the most menial duties and washing the feet
of the patients and the pilgrims to whom his hospital gave shelter. Though
he had received minor orders, he did not live long enough to reach the priesthood.
On January 13, 1127 he died in great
joy of spirit, declaring that not for all the world would he wish his life to be prolonged. His feast is kept in the Premonstratensian
Order on January 16.
See the Acta Sanctorum for January 13,
where two
Latin lives are printed; also Kirkfleet’ History of St Norbert
(1916), pp. 140—151; Spilbeeck,
Le B. Godefroid (1892); BHL.’ n. 533.
|
|
1228
BD JUTTA OF HUY, Widow an extraordinary power of reading the thoughts
of others, and apparently a knowledge of distant events; she also displayed
the greatest charity in directing and helping the many souls who came to
consult her in her anchorage.
JUTTA (Juetta)
was one of the mystics who seem to have been influenced by that remarkable
ascetic revival in the Low Countries which preceded by a few years the preaching
of St Dominic and St Francis in southern Europe. She was born of a well-to-do
family at Huy, near Liége, in 1228. While still only a child she was
forced by her father, very much against her inclination, to marry. After
five years of wedded life, and after bearing her husband three children,
she was left a widow at the age of eighteen. Then, after an interval, during
which her good looks, to her great distress, attracted a number of suitors
who pestered her with their attentions, she devoted herself for ten years
to nursing in the lazar-house; but even this life did not seem to her sufficiently
austere, and she wished to exchange the role of Martha for that of Mary.
She accordingly had herself walled up in a room close beside her lepers,
and lived there as an anchoress from 1182 until her death, January 13, 1228.
Her mystical experiences, which are set down in some detail in a contemporary
Latin biography, are of great interest. By her prayers she converted her
father and one of her two surviving sons, who had taken to evil courses;
the other had joined the Cistercians and became abbot of Orval. She had,
as we find in the case of so many saintly mystics, an extraordinary power
of reading the thoughts of others, and apparently a knowledge of distant
events; she also displayed the greatest charity in directing and helping
the many souls who came to consult her in her anchorage.
See
the life by Hugh of Floreffe, a Premonstratensian, printed in the Acta Sanctorum for January 13.
|
1228
Bl. Yvette not canonized, but considered a saint extraordinary charisms
Blessed Yvette (Jutta of Huy), Widow. Endowed
with extraordinary charisms, Yvette was a product of the development of mysticism
in the Low Countries in the thirteenth century. In this she joined a select
number of young women Christians such as Juliana of Cornillion, Eve of St.
Martin, Isabel of Huy, Mary of Oingnies, Ida of Leau, Ida of Nivelles, Ida
of Loviano, Christiana of St.-Trend, Lutgard of Tongres, and Margaret of
Ypres.
She was born of a wealthy family of Huy
near Liege in 1158 and when very young was married off by her parents. Five
years and three children later, she was a widow at the youthful age of eighteen.
There was no dearth of suitors, drawn by her uncommom beauty, but Yvette would
have none of them. She dedicated herself for eleven years to caring for lepers
out of surpassing love for God.
For the last thirty-six years of her life, the holy woman lived
as an anchoress and had many mystical experiences. Her prayers and miracles
made her famous. She succeeded in bringing her father and one of her two
remaining children back to the Faith and solicitously aided the countless
people who flocked to consult her in her hermitage. She died on January 13,
1228.
|
1497 Blessed Veronica of Binasco (b. 1445) known as a great contemplative who
also gave
loving care to sick sisters in her community and ministered to the people
of Milan. She had the gifts of prophecy, discernment and miracles.
Medioláni, in cœnóbio sanctæ Marthæ, Beátæ
Verónicæ de Binásco Vírginis, ex Ordine sancti
Augustíni.
At Milan, in the monastery of St. Martha,
blessed Veronica of Binasco, virgin, of the Order of St. Augustine.
Although she never learned to read and write, she was known and
respected by the secular and ecclesiastical leaders of her day. Several times
Christ gave to St. Martha, blessed
Veronica of Binasco, virgin, of the Order of St. Augustine.in
prayer important messages which she carried to influential persons such as
the Duke of Milan and Pope Alexander VI.
Born Giovanna Negroni in Binasco, Milan, Italy in 1445, she was
raised in a peasant family. When she was 22 years old, she joined the monastery
of Saint Martha in Milan. She took the religious name Veronica, reflecting
her devotion to the Passion of Christ.
1497 BD VERONICA OF BINASCO, VIRGIN
ALL states of life furnish abundant means for attaining holiness, and it
is only owing to our sloth and tepidity that we neglect to make use of them.
Bd Veronica could boast of no worldly advantages either of birth or fortune.
Her parents maintained their family by hard work in a village near Milan,
and her father never sold a horse, or anything else that he dealt in, without
being more careful to acquaint the purchaser with all that was faulty in
it than to recommend its good qualities. His consequent poverty prevented
his giving his daughter any schooling, so that she never even learned to
read; but his own and his wife’s example and simple instructions filled her
heart with love of God, and the holy mysteries of religion engrossed her
entirely. She was, notwithstanding, a good worker, and so obedient, humble
and submissive that she seemed to have no will of her own. When she was weeding,
reaping or at any other labour in the fields she strove to work at a distance
from her companions, to entertain herself the more freely with her heavenly
thoughts. The rest admired her love of solitude, and oncoming to her, often
found her countenance bathed in tears, which they sometimes perceived to
flow in great abundance, though they did not know the source to be devotion,
so carefully did Veronica conceal what passed between her and God.
Veronica conceived a great
desire to become a nun in the poor and austere convent of St Martha, of the
Order of St Augustine, in Milan. To qualify herself for this she sat up at
night to learn to read and write. One day, being in great trouble about her
little progress, the Mother of God bade her banish that anxiety, for it was
enough if she knew three letters The first, purity of the affections, by
setting her whole heart on God; the second, never to murmur or grow impatient
at the sins or misbehaviour of others, but to bear them with patience, and
humbly to pray for them; the third, to set apart some time every day to meditate
on the passion of Christ. After three years preparation, Veronica was admitted
to the religious habit in St Martha’s, where her life was no other than a
living copy of her rule, which consisted in the practice of evangelical perfection
reduced to certain holy exercises. Every moment of her life she studied to
accomplish it in the minutest detail, and was no less exact in obeying any
indication of the will of a superior.
She for three years suffered
from a lingering illness, but she would never be exempted from any part of
her work, or make use of the least
indulgence. Though she had leave, her answer always was, “I must work whilst
I can, whilst I have time”. It was her delight to help and serve everyone
and her silence was a sign of her recollection and continual prayer, of which
her extraordinary gift of tears was the outward manifestation. Her biographer
declares that after she had been praying long in any place the floor looked
as if a jug of water had been upset there. When she was in ecstasy they sometimes
held a dish beneath her face and the tears that flowed into it, so it is
stated, amounted to nearly a quart (!!).
She always spoke of her own
sinful life, as she called it, though, indeed, it was most innocent, with
feelings of intense compunction. Veronica was favoured by God with many extraordinary
visions and consolations. A detailed account is preserved of the principal
incidents of our Lord’s life as they were revealed to her in her ecstasies.
By her moving exhortations she softened and converted several obdurate sinners.
She died at the hour which she had foretold, in the year 1497, at the age of fifty-two, and her sanctity was confirmed by
miracles. Pope Leo X in 1517 permitted her to be honoured in her monastery
in the same manner as if she had been beatified according to the usual forms,
and the name of Bd Veronica of Binasco is inserted on this day in the Roman
Martyrology, an unusual distinction in the case of a servant of God who has
not been formally canonized.
See the life
by Father Isidore de Isolanis, printed in the Acta Sanctorum,
for January 13. This contains a relatively full account of Bd Veronica’s
revelations, revelations which, as Father Bollandus warns his readers, must
be read with caution, as they include many extravagant statements. Leo X’s
bull may be read in the same place. Cf. also P. Moiraghi,
La B. Veronica da Binasco (1897).
Her spiritual life was intense. She was particularly devoted to
the Eucharist and to the Suffering and Death of Jesus. She experienced physical
mistreatment from the devil, but found strength in prayer, remaining at peace
and overcoming difficulties through the power of Christ. She cheerfully helped
others when help was needed. In spite of her growing reputation for holiness
and wisdom, Veronica remained humble.
Veronica died January 13, 1497. So numerous were her admirers
who came to pay their respects, her burial was delayed for nearly a week.
It is said that many sick persons who touched her body were restored to health.
Her remains are preserved at the parish church in Binasco.
Veronica is remembered in the Augustinian Order for her obedience and desire
for work. Butler records a remark she made to her sister nuns: "I must work
while I can, while I have time." Miracles were attributed to her, and in
a 1517 bulla, Pope Leo X permitted her veneration in her monastery as though
she had been beatified according to the usual form. Veneration was extended
to the entire Church by Pope Clement X in 1672, and in 1749 her name was
inserted into the Roman Martyrology for 13 January by Pope Benedict XIV,
although her name appears in Augustinian records of the same year for 28
January.
|
Mary Mother of GOD 15
Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary 
Saints of this Day January 13 Tértio Idus Januárii.
Octáva Epiphaníæ Domini. 
Pope Sylvester I (r. 314-335) 
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.