112 Publius of Malta
prefect host to Saint Paul BM (RM)
Athénis
natális sancti Públii Epíscopi, qui Atheniénsium
Ecclésiam, post sanctum Dionysium Areopagítam, nobíliter
rexit; et, præclárus virtútibus ac doctrínæ
laude præfúlgens, ob Christi martyrium glorióse coronátur.
At Athens, the birthday of St. Publius,
bishop, who, as successor of St. Denis the Areopagite, nobly governed the
Church of Athens. No less celebrated for the lustre of his virtues than
for the brilliancy of his learning, he was gloriously crowned for having borne
testimony to Christ.
Tradition identifies Saint Publius as the prefect or "chief
man of the island of Malta." He was host to Saint Paul when the apostle was
on his way to Rome as a prisoner; Paul cured his father of fever and dysentery
(Acts 28:7-10). According to tradition, Publius later became the first bishop
of Malta, though another tradition has him bishop of Athens and suffering
martyrdom there during the reign of Emperor Trajan (Benedictines, Delaney). |
Zacchaeus
the tax-collector
The paschal season of the Church is preceded by the season of Great Lent,
which is also preceded by its own liturgical preparation. The first sign
of the approach of Great Lent comes five Sundays before its beginning. On
this Sunday the Gospel reading is about Zacchaeus the tax-collector. It tells
how Christ brought salvation to the sinful man, and how his life was changed
simply because he "sought to see who Jesus was" (Luke 19:3). The desire and
effort to see Jesus begins the entire movement through Lent towards Pascha.
It is the first movement of salvation.
Our lenten journey begins with a recognition of our own sinfulness, just
as Zacchaeus recognized his. He promised to make restitution by giving half
of his wealth to the poor, and by paying to those he had falsely accused
four times as much as they had lost. In this, he went beyond the requirements
of the Law (Ex. 22:3-12).
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258 The
holy Virgin Martyr Agnes Many miracles occurred at the grave relics rest
in the church built
in her honor, along the Via Nomentana born at Rome during the third century. Romæ
pássio sanctæ Agnétis, Vírginis et Mártyris;
quæ, sub Præfécto Urbis Symphrónio, ígnibus
injécta, sed iis per oratiónem ejus exstínctis, gládio
percússa est. De ea beátus Hierónymus hæc
scribit: « Omnium géntium lítteris atque linguis, præcípue
in Ecclésiis, Agnétis vita laudáta est; quæ et
ætátem vicit et tyránnum, et títulum castitátis
martyrio consecrávit ».
At Rome, the passion of St. Agnes, virgin,
who under Symphronius, governor of the city, was thrown into the fire, but
after it was extinguished by her prayers, she was slain with the sword.
Of her, St. Jerome writes: "Agnes is praised in the writings and by the
tongues of all nations, especially in the churches. She overcame the
weakness of her age, conquered the cruelty of the tyrant, and consecrated
her chastity by martyrdom."
304 ST AGNES, VIRGIN AND MARTYR
ST AGNES has always been looked upon in the Church as a special patroness
of bodily purity. She is one of the most popular of Christian saints, and
her name is commemorated every day in the canon of the Mass. Rome was the
scene of her triumph, and Prudentius says that her tomb was shown within
sight of that city. She suffered perhaps not long after the beginning of
the persecution of Diocletian, whose cruel edicts were published in March
in the year 303. We learn from St Ambrose and St Augustine that she was only
thirteen years of age at the time of her glorious death. Her riches and beauty
excited the young noblemen of the first families in Rome to contend as rivals
for her hand. Agnes answered them all that she had consecrated her virginity
to a heavenly husband, who could not be beheld by mortal eyes. Her suitors,
finding her resolution unshakable, accused her to the governor as a Christian,
not doubting that threats and torments would prove more effective with one
of her tender years on whom allurements could make
no impression. The judge at first employed the mildest expressions and most
seductive promises, to which Agnes paid no regard, repeating always that
she could have no other spouse but Jesus Christ. He then made use of threats,
but found her endowed with a masculine courage, and even eager to suffer
torment and death. At last terrible fires were made., and iron hooks, racks
and other instruments of torture displayed before her, with threats of immediate
execution. The heroic child surveyed them undismayed, and made good cheer
in the presence of the fierce and cruel executioners. She was so far from
betraying the least symptom of terror that she even expressed her joy at the
sight, and offered herself to the rack. She was then dragged before the idols
and commanded to offer incense, but could, St Ambrose tells us, by no means
be compelled to move her hand, except to make the sign of the cross.
The governor, seeing his measures
ineffectual, said he would send her to a house of prostitution, where what
she prized so highly should be exposed to the insults of the brutal and
licentious youth of Rome.* {* On such vile methods of breaking
down the constancy of Christian maidenhood Tertullian in his Apologia comments as follows “By condemning the Christian
maid rather to the lewd youth than to the lion, you have acknowledged that
a stain of purity is more dreaded by us than any torments or death. Yet
your cruel cunning avails you not, but rather serves to gain men over to
our holy religion.”} Agnes answered that Jesus Christ was too jealous of
the purity of His chosen ones to suffer it to be violated in such a manner,
for He was their defender and protector. “You may”, said she, “stain your
sword with my blood, but you will never be able to profane my body, consecrated
to Christ.”
The governor was so incensed
at this that he ordered her to be immediately led to the place of shame
with liberty to all to abuse her person at pleasure. Many young profligates
ran thither, full of wicked desires, but were seized with such awe at the
sight of the saint that they durst not approach her; one only excepted,
who, attempting to be rude to her, was that very instant, by a flash, as
it were of lightning from Heaven, struck blind, and fell trembling to the
ground. His companions, terrified, took him up and carried him to Agnes,
who was singing hymns of praise to Christ, her protector. The virgin by
prayer restored his sight and his health.
The chief accuser of the saint,
who had at first sought to gratify his lust and avarice, now, in a spirit
of vindictiveness, incited the judge against her, his passionate fondness
being changed into fury. The governor needed no encouragement, for he was
highly exasperated to see himself set at defiance by one of her tender age
and sex. Being resolved therefore upon her death, he condemned her to be
beheaded. Agnes, filled with joy on hearing this sentence, “went to the place
of execution more cheerfully”, says St Ambrose, “than others go to their
wedding”. The executioner had instructions to use all means to induce her
to give way, but Agnes remained constant; and having made a short prayer,
bowed down her neck to receive the death stroke. The spectators shed tears
to see this beautiful child loaded with fetters, and offering herself fearlessly
to the sword of the executioner, who with trembling hand cut off her head
at one stroke. Her body was buried at a short distance from Rome, beside the
Nomentan road.
It is necessary to add to
the account (based mainly on Prudentius), which is given above by Alban Butler,
that modern authorities incline to the view that little reliance can be
placed on the details of the story. They point out that the “acts of St
Agnes, attributed unwarrantably to St Ambrose, can hardly be older than
A.D. 415, and that these seem
to represent an attempt to harmonize and embroider the discordant data found
in the then surviving traditions. St Ambrose, as just quoted, in his quite
genuine sermon De virginibus (A.D. 377), says of St
Agnes’s martyrdom cervicem inflexit, “she bent her
neck”, from which it is commonly inferred that she was decapitated. *{* A. S. Walpole, Early Latin Hymns (1922), p. 6g. urges that
inflexit “may mean bent aside in order to admit the
point of the sword”, and quotes parallel passages from the classics in support
of this view. This is also the view of Father Jubaru. There can be no question
that stabbing in the throat was a common way of despatching the condemned,
and was regarded as the most merciful form of coup de grace.
St Ambrose calls the executioner “percussor”.
This view is supported by Prudentius’s explicit statement
that her head was struck off at one blow. On the other hand, the epitaph
written by Pope St Damasus speaks of “flames”, and beyond this says nothing
as to the manner of her death; while from the beautiful hymn, Agnes beatae virginis (which Walpole, Dreves and others now
recognize as a genuine work of St Ambrose), it clearly follows that she was
not beheaded, otherwise she could not after the blow was struck (percussa) have drawn her cloak modestly around her and
have covered her face with her hand. It seems plain that in the writer’s
view she was stabbed in the throat or breast. From these apparent contradictions
many critics conclude that already in the second half of the fourth century
all memory of the exact circumstances of the martyrdom had been forgotten,
and that only a vague tradition survived.
In any case, however, there
can be no possible doubt of the fact that St Agnes was martyred, and that
she was buried beside the Via Nomentana in the cemetery afterwards called
by her name. Here a basilica was erected in her honour before 354 by Constantina,
daughter of Constantine and wife of Gallus; and the terms of the acrostic
inscription set up in the apse are still preserved, but it tells us nothing
about St Agnes except that she was “a virgin” and “victorious”. Again, the name of St Agnes is entered in the Depositio martyrum of A.D. 354, under
the date January 21, together with the place of her burial. There is also
abundant subsidiary evidence of early cultus in the
frequent occurrence of representations of the child martyr in “gold glasses”, etc., and in the prominence given to her
name in all kinds of Christian literature. “Agnes, Thecla and Mary were with
me”, said St Martin to Sulpicius Severus, where
he seems to assign precedence to Agnes even above our Blessed Lady. St Agnes
is, as remarked above, one of the saints named in the canon of the Mass.
It is quite
possible that Father Jubaru is right in his attempt to reconcile the data
supplied by Pope Damasus and St Ambrose, but it would not follow as a necessary
consequence that he is also right in his theory that in the Greek “acts”
we have an amalgamation of the story of two different St Agneses. With regard
to the great St Agnes, he contends that she was a child in Rome, that she
consecrated to God her virginity, that she turned away from all suitors,
and when persecution came that she deliberately left her parents’ house
and offered herself to martyrdom, that she was threatened with death by
fire in an attempt to shake her constancy, but that, as she gave no sign
of yielding, she was in fact stabbed in the throat. Father Jubaru in his
elaborate monograph further claims to have discovered the reliquary, containing
the greater portion of the skull of the youthful martyr, in the treasury
of the Sancta sanctorum at the Lateran. This treasury was
opened in 1903 after it had been hidden from view for many hundred years, permission to do so having been obtained from Pope Leo XIII.
The relic is considered by Father Grisar, s.j., and by many other archaeologists
to be in all probability authentic, since a regular custom had grown up
in the ninth century of separating the head from the rest of the bones when
entire bodies of saints were enshrined in the churches. It also seems certain
that the body of St Agnes was at that date preserved under the altar of her
basilica, and further that on opening the case in 1605 it was found without
a head. From a medical examination of the fragments of the skull in the Sancta
sanctorum, Dr Lapponi pronounced that the teeth showed
conclusively that the head was that of a child about thirteen years of age.
The more extravagant miracles which occur in the so-called “acts” are now
admitted by all to be a fiction of the biographer. The case of St Agnes
is, therefore, typical, and affords conclusive proof that the preposterous
legends so often invented by later writers who wish to glorify the memory
of a favourite saint cannot in themselves be accepted as proof that the
martyrdom is fabulous and that the saint never existed.
In art St Agnes is commonly
represented with a lamb and a palm, the lamb, no doubt, being originally
suggested by the resemblance of the word agnus (a lamb) to
the name Agnes. In Rome on the feast of St Agnes each year, while the choir
in her church on the Via Nomentana are singing the antiphon Stans
a dextris ejus agnus nive candidior (On her right hand a lamb whiter
than snow), two white lambs are offered at the sanctuary rails. They are
blessed and then cared for until the time comes for shearing them. Out of
their wool are woven the pallia which, on the vigil of SS. Peter and Paul,
are laid upon the altar in the Confessio at St Peter’s immediately
over the body of the Apostle. These pallia are sent to archbishops throughout
the Western church, “from the body of Blessed Peter”, in token of the jurisdiction
which they derive ultimately from the Holy See, the centre of religious authority.
Until the feast of St Peter
Nolasco, displaced by that of St John Bosco, was fixed for January 28, there
was in the general Western calendar on that day a “second feast” of St Agnes
(she still has a commemoration in the Mass and Office of the 28th). This
observance can be traced back to the Gelasian and Gregorian Sacramentaries,
and is not altogether easy to explain. The addition of the words de nativitate or in genuinum, which meets
us in certain liturgical texts of the seventh or eighth centuries, would seem
to suggest that January 28 was the day on which St Agnes actually died, while
the feast of January 21—de passione, as it is sometimes described—marks
the day when the martyr was brought to trial and threatened with torture.
In view, however, of the prominence which the “octave” has in later times
acquired in our Christian liturgy, it is curious that the one feast should
occur exactly a week after the other. We have evidence that the Circumcision
was called “Octavas Domini” already in the sixth century, and it must be
remembered that our present Missal, following usages still more ancient,
which were in fact pre Christian in their origin, provides a special
commemoration for the departed in die septimo, trigesimo et anniversario—in
other words, the week day, the month day and the year day. It does
not, therefore, seem by any means impossible that we have here a vestige
of some primitive form of octave. Dom Baumer has called attention to
the fact that the primitive octave implied no more than a commemoration of
the feast at the week-end without any reference to it upon the intermediate
days.
The “acts”
of St Agnes are printed in the Acta Sanctorum, January 21. The Greek “acts” were first edited by P. Franchi
de Cavalieri, S. Agnese nella tradizione
e nella legenda (1899), together with a valuable discussion of the whole
question. See also the monograph of F. Jubaru, Sainte Agnes
d’apres de nouvelles recherches (1907) and further Sainte
Agnes, vierge et martyre (1909) ; DAC., vol. i, cc. 905—965 ; Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xix (1900), pp. 227—228 ;
P. Franchi in Studi e Testi, vol. xix, pp. 141—164; Bessarione, vol. viii (1911), pp. 218—245 ; the Liber Pontificalis (ed. Duchesne), vol. i, p. 196; CMII.,
pp. 52—53, 66; S. Baumer, Geschichte des Breviers (1895),
p. 325; and, for the relics, Grisar, Die Römische Kapelle
Sancta Sanctorum und ihr Schatz (1909), p. 103. And cf. St Ambrose, De virginibus in Migne, PL.,
vol. xvi, cc. 200—202; and Prudentius, Peristephanon,
14.
Her parents were Christians and they raised her in the Christian
Faith. From her youth she devoted herself to God, and dedicated herself
to a life of virginity, refusing all other suitors.
When she refused to enter into marriage with the son of the
city official Symphronius, one of his associates revealed to him that Agnes
was a Christian. The wicked Eparch decided to subject the holy virgin to shame
and he ordered that she be stripped and and sent to a brothel for disdaining
the pagan gods. But the Lord would not permit the saint to suffer shame.
As soon as she was disrobed, long thick hair grew from her head covering
her body. An angel was also appointed to guard her.
The son of the Eparch also came to defile the virgin, but fell
down dead before he could touch her. Through the fervent prayer of St Agnes,
he was restored to life. Before his father and many other people he proclaimed,
"There is one God in the heavens and on earth: the Christian God, and the
other gods are but dust and ashes!" After seeing this miracle, 160 men believed
in God and were baptized, and then suffered martyrdom.
St Agnes, at the demand of the pagan priests, was given over
to torture. They tried to burn her as a witch, but the saint remained unharmed
in the fire, praying to God. After this they killed her by stabbing her
in the throat. Through her death at the age of thirteen, St Agnes escaped
everlasting death and inherited eternal life. The holy virgin martyr was
buried by her parents in a field they owned outside of Rome.
Many miracles occurred at the grave of St Agnes. Her holy and
grace-filled relics rest in the church built in her honor, along the Via
Nomentana.
Almost nothing is known of this
saint except that she was very young—12 or 13—when she was martyred in the
last half of the third century. Various modes of death have been suggested—beheading,
burning, strangling.
Legend has it she was a beautiful girl whom many young men
wanted to marry. Among those she refused, one reported her to the authorities
as being a Christian. She was arrested and confined to a house of prostitution.
The legend continues that a man who looked upon her lustfully lost his sight
and had it restored by her prayer. She was condemned, executed and buried
near Rome in a catacomb that eventually was named after her. The daughter
of Constantine built a basilica in her honor.
Comment: Like that of modern Maria Goretti,
the martyrdom of a virginal young girl made a deep impression on a society
enslaved to a materialistic outlook. Like Agatha, who died in similar circumstances,
Agnes is a symbol that holiness does not depend on length of years, experience
or human effort. It is a gift God offers to all.
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Holy_Martyr_Eugene
& others 284-311
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Hazrat
Nizamuddin Aulia 1236-1325
Sultan-Ul-Mashaikh Hazrat Khwaja Syed Nizamuddin Aulia, affectionately
known as Mehboob-i Elahi or "Beloved of God". The khanqah, or centre, established
there since the thirteenth century has been a centre of spiritual inspiration
and pilgrimage for countless visitors. It is also a welfare centre, distributing
food and clothing to the needy and existing without government support but
soley on the gifts of futuh or donations. Hazrat Nizamuddin was famous in
his lifetime for welcoming people of all faiths and from all walks of life,
without distinction and extending the hand of bayat or discipleship to persons
regardless of their professed faith or background.
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Qutbuddin Bakhtiar
Kaki renowned Muslim
Sufi saint scholar miracles in the Chishti Order from Delhi, India.
He was the disciple and spiritual successor (khalifa) Moinuddin Chishti
as head of the Chishti Order. His most famous disciple and spiritual successor
was Fariduddin Ganjshakar.
Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki r.a. was born
in 569 A.H. [1173 C.E.] in a town called "Aush" or Awash in Mawar-un-Nahar
(Transoxania). Khwaja Qutbuddin's r.a. original name was "Bakhtiyar"
but his title was "Qutbuddin". The name "Kaki" to his
name was attributed to him by virtue of a miracle that emanated from him
at a later stage of his life in Delhi. He also belonged to the direct lineage
of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.s., descending from Hazrat Imam Hussain
r.a.. Hazrat Khwaja Bakhtiyar Khaki r.a. was one and half years old
when his father passed away. His mother arranged for him very good education
and training.
When Hazrat Khwaja Mu'inuddin Chishti r.a. went to Isfahan,
40 days before his demise, he took oath of allegiance at his hands and received
the Khilafat and Khirqah (Sufi cloak) from him. Thus, he was
the first spiritual successor of Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz, Khwaja Mu'inuddin
Chishti r.a. Thereafter, his spiritual master asked him to go to
India and stay there.
When Khwaja Qutbuddin r.a. intended to kiss the feet of his
Pir-o-Murshid and seek his permission to depart, Hazrat Khwaja
Sahib understood it and asked him to be nearer, and when Khwaja Bakhtiyar
r.a. stepped up and fell at his Pir’s feet, Khwaja Mu’inuddin r.a. raised
him up and embraced him affectionately. A Fateha was then recited
and Khwaja Mu’inuddin r.a. advised his Murid: “Never turn your face
from the right path of Sufism and Truth. Prove yourself to be a brave man
in this Divine Mission.” When he again fell at the feet of Khwaja
Mu'inuddin r.a. overwhelmed with love and grief at this tragic hour of parting,
he was again raised and embraced affectionately by his Pir-o-Murshid.
Following this order, he went to Delhi and stayed there. It was the period
of Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish.
More Here
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Baba
Sheikh Farid Ji was a great Sufi saint On the banks of the river Sutlej at a place called
Pak Pattan, tamerlane horses suddenly stopped. The horsement whipped their
animals. The stallions started bleeding but refused to move further voice
came from somewhere and called, "Baba Farid, the King of Kings" More Here
Farid was to Punjabi what Chaucer was to English.
He made Punjabi poetry and poetry Punjabi. Later when Adi Granth (Sikh
scripture) was compiled by the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Arjun Dev Ji,
Farid’s ‘slokas’ (sacred couplets) were given the place of honour along with
those of Kabir, Ramdev and Guru Ravidas. "Farid return thou good for evil;
In thy heart bear no revenge. Thus thy body will be free of maladies, And
thy life have all blessings." Baba Sheikh Farid Ji was a great Sufi saint,
very sweet of tongue and who lived an austere life. He asked for only one
blessing from God....a life of prayer and meditation. His following insight
forms the subject of the painting above- "Sweet are candy, sugar, honey, and
buffalo's milk. Yea, sweet are these but sweeter by far is God."
The year was 1398. Timur was returning home after ransacking Delhi -light
of mind but laden with gold, trampling corn, killing men and cattle alike.
It was a typical Punjab winter and the air in the fields mingled with the
blood of the innocents. On the banks of the river Sutlej at a place called
Pak Pattan, his horses suddenly stopped. The horsement whipped their animals.
The stallions started bleeding but refused to move further. There was panic
among the soldiers, hysteria among the officers, total confusion in the
army. There was consternation and alarm writ large on every face.
Not used to such unscheduled halts, the Turk chief leapt forward, roared
like a lion and demanded answers.
Nobody replied. He shouted again. Everyone remained totally speechless.
At last an old man came forward and said, "Your honour, this place is sanctified".
"By one saint whose ancestors had migrated from Iran to escape death at
the hands of your ancestors", the old man replied. Everyone looked at everyone
else. The general’s hands reached for his sword but before they could go
any further, a miracle happened. As goes the legend, a voice came from somewhere
and called, "Baba Farid, the King of Kings". Every tongue felt that it had
an ear on it. A vision came to the advancing marauder. He felt elated. The
armies were ordered to spare the town. Timur bowed low in the ‘Khanqah’,
heard the Sufi hymns, spent the night in the ‘dargah’. He ate the same austere
food, which the Devotees ate, slept on the same mat and pledged not to kill
any more innocents, only to break the pledge later.
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259 Fructuosus
B bishop Augurius & Eulogius deacons the heavens open and the
saints carried up with crowns on their heads MM (RM)
Tarracóne, in Hispánia, sanctórum Mártyrum Fructuósi Epíscopi, Augúrii et Eulógii Diaconórum. Hi, témpore
Galliéni, primo in cárcerem trusi, deínde
flammis injécti, et, exústis vínculis, mánibus
in modum crucis expánsis orántes, martyrium complevérunt;
in quorum die natáli sanctus Augustínus sermónem ad pópulum hábuit.
At Terragona in Spain, during the reign of Gallienus, the holy martyrs Fructuosus,
a bishop, Augurius and Eulogius, deacons. They were taken from prison,
cast into the fire, where, their bonds being burnt, they extended their
arms in the form of a cross, and thus in prayer they died. On their
anniversary, St. Augustine preached a sermon to his people.
Fructuosus was the bishop of Tarragoña, Spain, who was
martyred with his deacons SS Augurius and Eulogius, during the persecutions
of Valerian and Gallienus {253-260}--that
is all that is really known about him.
259 St Fructuosus, Bishop Of Tarragona, Martyr
St Fructuosus was the zealous and truly apostolic bishop of Tarragona,
then the capital city of Spain. When the persecution of Valerian and Gallienus
was raging in the year 259, he was arrested by order of Emilian the governor,
along with two deacons, Augurius and Eulogius, on Sunday, January i6. He
was then lying down in his bed, and only asked time to put on his shoes;
after which he cheerfully followed the guards, who committed him and his
two companions to prison. Fructuosus gave his blessing to the faithful who
visited him, and on Monday he baptized in gaol a catechumen named Rogatian.
On Wednesday he kept the usual fast of the stations till three o’clock in
the afternoon. *{*Wednesdays and Fridays were fast-days at that time; but
only till none, that is, three in the afternoon. This was called the fast
of the stations.}
On Friday, the sixth day after their commitment, the governor ordered
them to be brought before him, and asked Fructuosus if he knew the contents
of the edict of the emperors. The saint answered that he did not, but that
whatever they were he was a Christian. “The emperors”, said Emilian, “command
all to sacrifice to the gods.” Fructuosus answered, “I worship one God, who
made heaven and earth and all things therein.” Emilian said, “Do you not
know that there are other gods?” “No”, replied the saint. The proconsul said,
“I will make you know it shortly. What is left to any man to fear or worship
on earth if he despises the worship of the immortal gods and of the emperors?”
Then, turning to Augurius, he bade him pay no regard to what Fructuosus had
said, but the deacon assured him that he worshipped the same Almighty God.
Emilian addressed himself to the other deacon, Eulogius, asking him if he
too worshipped Fructuosus. The holy man answered, “I do not worship Fructuosus,
but the same God whom he worships”. Emilian asked Fructuosus if he were a
bishop, and added upon his confessing it, “Say, rather, you have been one”,
meaning that he was about to lose that dignity along with his life ; and
immediately he condemned them to be burnt alive.
The pagans themselves could not refrain from tears on seeing them led
to the amphitheatre, for they loved Fructuosus on account of his rare virtues.
The Christians accompanied them, overwhelmed by a sorrow mixed with joy.
The martyrs exulted to be hold themselves on the verge of a glorious eternity.
The faithful offered St Fructuosus a cup of wine, but he would not taste
it, saying it was not yet the hour for breaking the fast, which was observed
on Fridays till three o’clock and it was then only ten in the morning. The
holy man hoped to end the station or fast of that day with the patriarchs
and prophets in Heaven. When they were come into the amphitheatre, Augustalis,
the bishop’s lector, came to him weeping, and begged he would permit him
to pull off his shoes. The martyr said he could easily put them off himself,
which he did. Felix, a Christian, stepped forward and desired he would remember
him in his prayers. Fructuosus said aloud, “I am bound to pray for the whole
Catholic Church spread over the world from the
east to the west,” as if he had said, observes St Augustine, who much applauds
this utterance, “ If you wish that I should pray for you, do not leave her
for whom I pray”. Martial, one of his flock, desired him to speak some words
of comfort to his desolate church. The bishop, turning to the Christians,
said, “My brethren, the Lord will not leave you as a flock without a shepherd.
He is faithful to His promises. The hour of our suffering is short.” The
martyrs were fastened to stakes to be burnt, but the flames seemed at first
to respect their bodies, consuming only the bands with which their hands were
tied and giving them liberty to stretch out their arms in prayer. It was
thus, on their knees, that they gave up their souls to God before the fire
had touched them. Babylas and Mygdonius, two Christian servants of the governor,
saw the heavens open and the saints carried up with crowns on their heads;
but Emilian himself, summoned to see too, was not accounted worthy to behold
them. The faithful came in the night, extinguished the fire with wine, and
took out the half-burnt bodies. Everyone carried some part of their remains
home with him, but being admonished from Heaven, brought them back and laid
them in the same sepulchre. St Augustine has left us a panegyric on St Fructuosus,
pronounced on the anniversary day of his martyrdom.
This account
of the passion of St Fructuosus belongs to that comparatively small class
of the acts of the martyrs which all critics agree in regarding as authentic.
Even Harnack says (Chronologie bis Eusebius, vol. ii, p. 473) that
the document “awakens no suspicion”. It is printed in the Acta Sanctorum,
January 21, in Ruinart and elsewhere. See Delehaye, Les passions des
martyrs...(1921), p. 544, and also his Origines du culte des martyrs
(1933), pp. 66—67. What more especially establishes authenticity of the
Acts of St Fructuosus is the fact that both St Augustine and Prudentius were
evidently acquainted with them.
Their authentic 'acts' relate that they were arrested on Sunday,
January 16, just as they were going to bed. The bishop asked for permission
to put on his shoes, after which he cheerfully followed the arresting guards.
In prison they spent their time in fervent prayer, full of joy at the prospect
of the crown prepared for them. Fructuosus blessed those who visited him
and on Monday baptized a catechumen named Rogatianus. On Wednesday they kept
the usual fast of the stations until 3:00 p.m.
A few days later, on Friday, January 21, the three were brought
before the governor. Their examination was short and to the point: the prisoners
affirmed their worship of one God, and were sentenced to be burned to death.
Officers were posted to prevent any demonstration because even
the pagans loved Fructuosus due to his rare virtues. The Christians accompanied
them with sorrow tempered with joy. The faithful offered Saint Fructuosus
a cup of wine, which he refused because, being it was only 10:00 a.m., it
was too early to break the fast.
Even with the guards at the gate of the amphitheater some of
the Christians were able to get close. The bishop's lector, Augustalis, weepingly
asked permission to remove his bishop's shoes. Felix, a Christian soldier
stepped in and asked the bishop for his prayers. Fructuosus replied so that
all could hear, "I am bound to bear in mind the whole universal church from
East to West. Remain always in the bosom of the Catholic Church, and you
will have a share in my prayers" and added words of comfort to his flock.
As the flames enveloped them and burned through their bonds, say the 'acts,'
"they stretched forth their arms in token of the Lord's victory, praying
to him till they gave up their souls." The account of their examination is
still extant and thoroughly authentic.
Tradition adds that Babylas and Mygdone, two Christian servants
of the governor, saw the heavens open and the saints carried up with crowns
on their heads. By night the faithful came and each took some part of the
martyrs' bodies to their own home, but heaven admonished them and they each
returned the relics to a single grave. (Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia,
Husenbeth).
In art this trio is portrayed as a bishop and two deacons singing
on their funeral pyre. They are venerated at Tarragona and in Africa (Husenbeth,
Roeder).
Saint Fructuosis lived during the persecution of Valerian and
Gallienus in the third century, during the consulship of Amelianus and Bassus.
On Sunday, January 21, 259 Bishop
Fructuosis of Tarragona, Spain was arrested with his deacons Augurius and
Eulogius. He had already retired to his chamber when soldiers of the VII
Gemina Legion came for him. Hearing them approach, he went to meet them.
"Come with us," they told him, "the proconsul summons you and
your deacons."
When they arrived, they were thrown into a prison where other
Christians were also being held. They comforted the bishop and asked him
to remember them. The next day, Bishop Fructuosis baptized Rogatianus in
the prison.
On Friday, January 21, Bishop Fructuosis and his deacons were
brought out for their hearing. When the proconsul Aemelianus asked to have
the bishop and his deacons brought before him, he was told that they were
present. The proconsul asked St Fructuosis whether he was aware of the emperors'
orders.
"I do not know their orders," he replied, "I am a Christian."
Aemelianus said, "They have ordered that you worship the gods."
Bishop Fructuosis answered, "I worship the one God Who made
heaven and earth, and all that is in them" (Acts 4:24).
Then the proconsul asked, "Do you know that the gods exist?"
"No," said the bishop, "I do not."
"You will know later."
Bishop Fructuosis raised his eyes to heaven and began to pray.
The proconsul said, "The gods are to be obeyed, feared, and adored. If the
gods are not worshiped, then the images of the emperors are not adored."
Aemilianus the proconsul said to Augurius, "Do not listen to
the words of Fructuosis."
Deacon Augurius replied, "I worship almighty God."
Turning to Deacon Eulogius, the proconsul Aemilianus asked,
"Don't you also worship Fructuosis?
"No," said the deacon, "I do not worship Fructuosis, but I
do worship Him Whom he worships."
Aemilianus inquired of St Fructuosis, "Are you a bishop?"
The holy bishop replied, "Yes, I am."
"You were," said Aemilianus, then he ordered them to be burned
alive.
As St Fructuosis and his deacons
were being taken to the amphitheatre, many people felt sympathy for them,
for the bishop was loved by both Christians and pagans. The Christians were
not sad, but happy, because they knew that through martyrdom the saints
would inherit everlasting life.
When offered a cup of drugged wine, St Fructuosis refused saying,
"It is not yet time to break the fast." In those days, Christians did not
eat or drink anything on Wednesdays and Fridays until after sundown (Didache
8:1).
As they entered the amphitheatre, the Reader Augustalis asked
the bishop to permit him to remove his sandals. St Fructuosis replied, "No,
my son. I shall remove my own sandals."
A Christian by the name of Felix took the bishop's hand and
asked him to remember him. The martyr said that he would remember the entire
catholic Church throughout the world from East to West.
Now the time was at hand for the martyrs to receive their crowns
of unfading glory. The officers who arrested them were standing nearby as
Bishop Fructuosis addressed the crowd in a loud voice. He told them that
they would not remain long without a shepherd, and that the Lord's promises
would not fail them in this life or in the next. He added that what they
were about to witness represented the weakness of a single hour.
The three martyrs were tied to posts and a fire was lit. When
the flames burned through their bonds, they knelt down and extended their
arms in the form of a cross. They continued to pray in the midst of the fire
until their souls were separated from their bodies.
Several people saw the heavens opened and beheld the three
martyrs wearing crowns and ascending to heaven. They told Aemilianus to
see how the martyrs had been glorified, but he was not worthy to behold them.
That night Christians went to the amphitheatre to put out the
fire and gather the relics of the martyrs. Each one took a portion for himself.
St Fructuosis later appeared to these Christians and admonished them for
dividing their relics, saying that they had not done well. He ordered them
to bring all of the relics together without delay. The holy relics were
brought to the church with reverence, and were buried beneath the altar.
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279 Patroclus
of Troyes invoked against demons and fever M (RM)
Trecis, in Gállia, sancti
Pátrocli Mártyris, qui martyrii corónam sub Aureliáno
Imperatóre proméruit.
At Troyes in France, St. Patroclus, martyr, who won the crown of martyrdom
under Emperor Aurelian.
259 St Patroclus, Martyr
Concerning the martyr St Patroclus, St Gregory of Tours comments that
the popular devotion to him was greatly increased by the discovery of a
copy of ‘his passio. He was buried at or near Troyes, where he suffered,
and over his tomb was a little oratory, but the only cleric who served it
was a lector (one of the minor orders), and we may fairly infer from Gregory’s
language that no great interest was taken in the shrine. One fine day, however,
this lector went to the bishop and showed him a hastily written manuscript
which professed to be a copy of the Acts of St Patroclus. The account he
gave of it was that a stranger had asked for hospitality, who had in his
possession a manuscript containing the Passion of St Patroclus. The lector
said he had borrowed it, and by sitting up all night had copied the document,
but had, of course, returned the original to the owner who went away next
morning. It is an extremely significant fact, well worthy of the attention
of every student of Merovingian hagiography, that the Bishop of Troyes only
scolded and cuffed him well, declaring that the lector had invented the
whole story and that there had been no traveller and no manuscript. Obviously
the rulers of the Church at that period were well aware that the fabrication
of fictitious acts was going on freely.
St Gregory, however, declares that in this case,
when a military expedition invaded Italy a short time afterwards, some of
the members brought back with them a Passion of St Patroclus identical with
that which the lector had copied. The result was an immense revival of devotion
to the saint. He was a prominent Christian of exceptional charity and holiness.
He was arrested either when a certain governor called Aurelian (259) or when the
Emperor Aurelian himself came to Troyes (275). Answering fearlessly and
defiantly, he was sentenced to death. In an attempt to drown him in the
Seine he escaped from the executioners, but was recaptured and then beheaded.
His relics were eventually carried to Soest in Westphalia, where they still
repose.
See Acta
Sanctorum for January 21 Allard, Histoire des persecutions,
vol. iii, pp. 101 seq. Giefers, Acta S. Patrocli (1857).
Died at Troyes, France, c. 275 or 279. Saint Patroclus was a very wealthy,
good, and exceedingly charitable Christian of Troyes, who was martyred by
beheading in that city during the reign of Aurelian (269). He was highly
venerated after the discovery of his acta. In 960, his relics were translated
to Soerst in Westphalia (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Roeder). In art
Saint Patroclus is a warrior pointing to a fish with a pearl in its mouth
(Roeder). He is invoked against demons and fever (Roeder).
Confessor, also listed as Patroccus. He was a wealthy Christian who lived
in Troyes, Gauland was arrested during the persecution of the Church launched
by Emperor Aurelian. When Roman officials tried to drown him in the Seine
River, he escaped their clutches for a brief time. Recaptured, he was beheaded.
284-305 The
Holy Martyr Neophytus red-hot oven holy martyr remained unharmed 3 days
and 3 nights in it
a native of the city of Nicea in Bithynia, was raised by his parents in
strict Christian piety. For his virtue, temperance and unceasing prayer, it
pleased God to glorify St Neophytus with the gift of wonderworking, while
the saint was still just a child!
Like Moses, the holy youth brought forth water from a stone of the city
wall and gave this water to those who were thirsty. In answer to the prayer
of St Neophytus' mother, asking that God's will concerning her son might be
revealed to her, a white dove miraculously appeared and told of the path
he would follow. The saint was led forth from his parental home by this
dove and brought to a cave on Mt. Olympus, which served as a lion's den.
It is said that he chased the lion from the cave so that he could live there
himself. The saint remained there from the age of nine until he was fifteen,
leaving it only once to bury his parents and distribute their substance
to the poor.
During the persecution by Diocletian (284-305), he went to Nicea and boldly
began to denounce the impiety of the pagan faith. The enraged persecutors
suspended the saint from a tree, they whipped him with ox thongs, and scraped
his body with iron claws. Then they threw him into a red-hot oven, but the
holy martyr remained unharmed, spending three days and three nights in it.
The torturers, not knowing what else to do with him, decided to kill him.
One of the pagans ran him through with a sword (some say it was a spear),
and the saint departed to the Lord at the age of sixteen.
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284
311 The Holy Martyrs Eugene, Candidus, Valerian and Aquila suffered for their
faith in Christ red-hot oven emerged from it unharmed
during the reign of Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (305-311), under
the regimental commander Lycius.
Valerian, Candidus and Aquila had hidden themselves in the hills near
Trebizond, preferring life among the wild beasts to living with the pagans.
They were soon found, however, and brought to Trebizond.
For their bold and steadfast confession of faith in Christ the holy martyrs
were whipped with ox thongs, scraped with iron claws, then were burned with
fire. Several days later St Eugene was also arrested, and subjected to the
same tortures. Later, they poured vinegar laced with salt into his wounds.
After these torments, they threw the four martyrs into a red-hot oven.
When they emerged from it unharmed, they were beheaded, receiving their
incorruptible crowns from God.
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6th v. Vimin Scottish
bishop his many miracles
(Vivian, Wynnin, Gwynnin) of Holywood B (AC)
Saint Vimin, a Scottish bishop whose history is very confused, is said
to have been the founder of the monastery of Holywood at Nithsdale. It is
related that Vimin was an abbot in Fifeshire when he was consecrated bishop.
He actively evangelized the region. In order to avoid the temptations to pride
that accompanied his many miracles, he moved to a deserted place and founded
Holywood (Sacrumboscum), which later became famous for producing many holy
and learned men, particularly the 13th- century John of Sacrobosco. The family
of Wemse in Fifeshire is said to be of the same lineage as Vimin (Attwater2,
Benedictines, Husenbeth).
|
Lawdog
6th century (AC)
He is the titular patron of four churches in the diocese of Saint David's
in Wales and, perhaps, identical with Saint Lleuddad (Laudatus), abbot of
Bardsey (Benedictines).
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662 Saint Maximus
the Confessor 3 candles burned miraculously over the grave proving his fight
against the Monothelite heresy
born in Constantinople around 580 and raised in a pious Christian
family. He received an excellent education, studying philosophy, grammar,
and rhetoric. He was well-read in the authors of antiquity and he also mastered
philosophy and theology. When St Maximus entered into government service,
he became first secretary (asekretis) and chief counselor to the emperor
Heraclius (611-641), who was impressed by his knowledge and virtuous life.
St Maximus soon realized that the emperor and many others had
been corrupted by the Monothelite heresy, which was spreading rapidly through
the East. He resigned from his duties at court, and went to the Chrysopolis
monastery (at Skutari on the opposite shore of the Bosphorus), where he
received monastic tonsure.
Because of his humility and wisdom, he soon won the love of
the brethren and was chosen igumen of the monastery after a few years. Even
in this position, he remained a simple monk.
In 638, the emperor Heraclius and Patriarch Sergius tried to
minimize the importance of differences in belief, and they issued an edict,
the "Ekthesis" ("Ekthesis tes pisteos" or "Exposition of Faith), which decreed
that everyone must accept the teaching of one will in the two natures of the
Savior. In defending Orthodoxy against the "Ekthesis," St Maximus spoke to
people in various occupations and positions, and these conversations were
successful. Not only the clergy and the bishops, but also the people and the
secular officials felt some sort of invisible attraction to him, as we read
in his Life.
When St Maximus saw what turmoil
this heresy caused in Constantinople and in the East, he decided to leave
his monstery and seek refuge in the West, where Monothelitism had been completely
rejected. On the way, he visited the bishops of Africa, strengthening them
in Orthodoxy, and encouraging them not to be deceived by the cunning arguments
of the heretics.
The Fourth Ecumenical Council had condemned the Monophysite
heresy, which falsely taught that in the Lord Jesus Christ there was only
one nature (the divine). Influenced by this erroneous opinion, the Monothelite
heretics said that in Christ there was only one divine will ("thelema") and
only one divine energy ("energia").
Adherents of Monothelitism sought to return by another path
to the repudiated Monophysite heresy. Monothelitism found numerous adherents
in Armenia, Syria, Egypt. The heresy, fanned also by nationalistic animosities,
became a serious threat to Church unity in the East. The struggle of Orthodoxy
with heresy was particularly difficult because in the year 630, three of
the patriarchal thrones in the Orthodox East were occupied by Monothelites:
Constantinople by Sergius, Antioch by Athanasius, and Alexandria by Cyrus.
St Maximus traveled from Alexandria to Crete, where he began
his preaching activity. He clashed there with a bishop, who adhered to the
heretical opinions of Severus and Nestorius. The saint spent six years in
Alexandria and the surrounding area.
Patriarch Sergius died at the end of 638, and the emperor Heraclius
also died in 641. The imperial throne was eventually occupied by his grandson
Constans II (642-668), an open adherent of the Monothelite heresy. The assaults
of the heretics against Orthodoxy intensified. St Maximus went to Carthage
and he preached there for about five years. When the Monothelite Pyrrhus,
the successor of Patriarch Sergius, arrived there after fleeing from Constantinople
because of court intrigues, he and St Maximus spent many hours in debate.
As a result, Pyrrhus publicly acknowledged his error, and was permitted
to retain the title of "Patriarch." He even wrote a book confessing the
Orthodox Faith.
St Maximus and Pyrrhus traveled to Rome to visit Pope Theodore,
who received Pyrrhus as the Patriarch of Constantinople.
In the year 647 St Maximus
returned to Africa. There, at a council of bishops Monotheletism was condemned
as a heresy. In 648, a new edict was issued, commissioned by Constans and
compiled by Patriarch Paul of Constantinople: the "Typos" ("Typos tes pisteos"
or "Pattern of the Faith"), which forbade any further disputes about one
will or two wills in the Lord Jesus Christ. St Maximus then asked St Martin
the Confessor (April 14), the successor of Pope Theodore, to examine the
question of Monothelitism at a Church Council. The Lateran Council was convened
in October of 649. One hundred and fifty Western bishops and thirty-seven
representatives from the Orthodox East were present, among them St Maximus
the Confessor. The Council condemned Monothelitism, and the Typos. The false
teachings of Patriarchs Sergius, Paul and Pyrrhus of Constantinople, were
also anathematized.
When Constans II received the decisions of the Council, he
gave orders to arrest both Pope Martin and St Maximus. The emperor's order
was fulfilled only in the year 654.
St Maximus was accused of treason, locked up in prison and
656 he was sent to Thrace, and was later brought back to a Constantinople
prison.
The saint and two of his disciples
were subjected to the cruelest torments. Each one's tongue was cut out,
and his right hand was cut off. Then they were exiled to Skemarum in Scythia,
enduring many sufferings and difficulties on the journey.
After three years, the Lord revaled to St Maximus the time
of his death (August 13, 662). Three candles appeared over the grave of
St Maximus and burned miraculously. This was a sign that St Maximus was
a beacon of Orthodoxy during his lifetime, and continues to shine forth
as an example of virtue for all. Many healings occurred at his tomb.
In the Greek Prologue, August 13 commemorates the Transfer
of the Relics of St Maximus to Constantinople, but it could also be the
date of the saint's death. It may be that his memory is celebrated on January
21 because August 13 is the Leavetaking of the Feast of the Transfiguration
of the Lord.
St Maximus has left to the Church a great theological legacy.
His exegetical works contain explanations of difficult passages of Holy
Scripture, and include a Commentary on the Lord's Prayer and on Psalm 59,
various "scholia" or "marginalia" (commentaries written in the margin of
manuscripts), on treatises of the Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite (October
3) and St Gregory the Theologian (January 25). Among the exegetical works
of St Maximus are his explanation of divine services, entitled "Mystagogia"
("Introduction Concerning the Mystery").
The dogmatic works of St Maximus include the Exposition of
his dispute with Pyrrhus, and several tracts and letters to various people.
In them are contained explanations of the Orthodox teaching on the Divine
Essence and the Persons of the Holy Trinity, on the Incarnation of the Word
of God, and on "theosis" ("deification") of human nature.
"Nothing in theosis is the product of human nature," St Maximus
writes in a letter to his friend Thalassius, "for nature cannot comprehend
God. It is only the mercy of God that has the capacity to endow theosis unto
the existing... In theosis man (the image of God) becomes likened to God,
he rejoices in all the plenitude that does not belong to him by nature, because
the grace of the Spirit triumphs within him, and because God acts in him"
(Letter 22).
St Maximus also wrote anthropological works (i.e. concerning
man). He deliberates on the nature of the soul and its conscious existence
after death. Among his moral compositions, especially important is his "Chapters
on Love." St Maximus the Confessor also wrote three hymns in the finest
traditions of church hymnography, following the example of St Gregory the
Theologian.
The theology of St Maximus the Confessor, based on the spiritual
experience of the knowledge of the great Desert Fathers, and utilizing the
skilled art of dialectics worked out by pre-Christian philosophy, was continued
and developed in the works of St Simeon the New Theologian (March 12), and
St Gregory Palamas (November 14).
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662 The Holy Martyr
Anastasius disciple of St Maximus the Confessor
Suffered and with him persecution under the Monothelites. St Maximus and
two of his disciples were subjected to the cruelest torments. Each one's
tongue was cut out, and his right hand was cut off. Then they were exiled
to Skemarum in Scythia, enduring many sufferings and difficulties on the
journey.
St Anastasius wrote the Life
of his teacher, and died in the year 662.
|
861 St.
Meinrad martyr hermit founder of the Benedictine abbey of Einsiedeln
In monastério Einsidlénsi, apud Helvétios,
sancti Meinrádi, Presbyteri et Mónachi; qui eodem in loco,
ubi póstea monastérium ipsum excrévit, eremíticæ
inténtus vitæ, a latrónibus interféctus est.
Ipsíus vero beáti viri corpus, olim in Augiénsi Germániæ
monastério sepúltum, ad Einsidlénse monastérium
deínde relátum fuit.
In the monastery of Einsiedeln in Switzerland,
St. Meinrad, priest and monk, who was slain by robbers after having lived
as a hermit in this place where the monastery was later built. The
body of this holy man was first buried in the monastery of Reichenau in Germany,
and from there it was transferred to the monastery of Einsiedeln.
861 ST MEINRAD, MARTYR
As the patron and in some sense the founder of the famous abbey of Einsiedeln
in Switzerland, one of the few which have preserved unbroken continuity
since Carolingian times, St Meinrad (Meginrat) cannot here be passed over.
By birth he is supposed to have been connected with the family of the Hohenzollerns.
He became a priest, entered the Benedictine abbey at Reichenau, and later
on was given some teaching work beside the upper Lake of Zurich. His soul,
however, pined for solitude, and for the opportunity of devoting himself
entirely to contemplation. He consequently sought out a spot in a forest,
and there, with the permission of his superiors, he settled about the year
829. The fame of his sanctity, however, brought him many visitors, and seven
years later he found it necessary to move still farther south and farther
from the abodes of men. The place where he finally took up his abode is now
called Einsiedeln (i.e. Hermitage). There he lived for twenty-five years,
carrying on a constant warfare with the Devil and the flesh, but favoured
by God with many consolations.
On January 21, 861, he was visited by two ruffians who had conceived the
idea that he had treasure somewhere stored away. Though he knew their purpose,
he courteously offered them food and hospitality. In the evening they smashed
in his skull with clubs, but finding nothing,
took to flight. The legend says that two ravens pursued them with hoarse
croakings all the way to Zurich. By this means the crime was eventually
discovered, and the two murderers burnt at the stake. The body of the saint
was conveyed to Reichenau and there preserved with great veneration. Some
forty years later Bd Benno, a priest of noble Swabian family, went to take
up his abode in St Meinrad’s hermitage at Einsiedeln. Though forced, much
against his inclination, in 927 to accept the archbishopric of Metz, he returned
to Einsiedeln later on, gathering round him a body of followers who eventually
became the founders of the present Benedictine abbey.
See the Acta Sanctorum for January 21, also the Life
of St Meinrad in MGH., Scriptores, vol. xv, pp. 445 seq. There are many modern accounts of St Meinrad; see e.g. 0. Ringholz, Wallfahrtsgeschichte von U. L.
Frau von Einsiedeln, pp. 1—6. The two ravens appear in the arms of Einsiedeln
and are also used as the emblems of the saint.
St. Meinrad, martyr is venerated as the patron and in some
sense the founder of the Benedictine abbey of Einsiedeln in Switzerland
which has kept an unbroken continuity since Carolingian times. He settled
as a hermit at Einsiedeln, where he was murdered by two ruffians to whom
he had given hospitality in 861.
Meinrad of Einsiedeln, OSB Hermit M (RM) (also known as Maynard, Meginrat)
Born at Solgen (Sulichgau near Wurtemberg), Swabia; died at Einsiedeln,
Switzerland, c. 861-63. The abbey of Saint Meinrad at Einsiedeln near Lake
Zurich takes its name from this saint. It's interesting that several sources
(who may have copied from each other or another single source) say that Saint
Meinrad was born of the noble Hohenzollern family. Farmer reports that his
parents were free peasants. In either case, he was educated, professed, and
ordained at the abbey of Reichenau, Switzerland. He had some teaching assignment
near the upper lake of Zurich.
Meinrad's soul, however, longed for solitude, and to devote itself to
contemplation. He looked for and found the perfect place in a forest. With
the permission of his superiors, about 829, Meinrad went to live as a hermit
at the place. Like many hermits before him, Meinrad practiced austerity.
Word of his holiness spread and attracted many visitors. So many that he
found it necessary to move to a remoter spot, where the abbey was built
40 years after his death.
On January 21, 861, courteously received two visitors, whom he fed and
provided shelter although he knew them to be ruffians. They were robbers who
murdered Meinrad with clubs upon finding he had no tangible treasure. Because
Meinrad was a holy man, he was regarded as a martyr. The thieves were found,
judged, and executed. Meinrad's body was enshrined at Reichenau, where it
was venerated.
Beginning about 900 with Blessed Benno, a succession of solitaries occupied
his hermitage (which is what the name 'Einseideln' means), and eventually,
in the 10th century, a regular Benedictine monastery was established there.
It became a great monastery and pilgrimage center that has an unbroken history
of over 1,000 years. The statue of the Blessed Virgin in the huge church
is said to have belonged to Meinrad himself. He is the patron of Einsiedeln
(Switzerland) and Swabia (Germany) (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson,
Encyclopedia, Farmer, Walsh).
In art Saint Meinrad is generally grouped with Saint Benedict, holding
a club and ciborium. Sometimes he may be pictured (1) beaten to death with
clubs by two men; (2) as a monk with a tau staff going into the wilderness;
(3) with two ravens near him, or pursuing his murderers; or (4) eating fish
with a widow (Roeder).
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Blessed
Inez practiced severe austerities prophesies
Inez was born near Valencia, Spain,
of poor parents. She joined the Augustinian hermitesses at Beniganim taking
the name Sister Josepha Maria of St. Agnes. She practiced severe austerities,
was known for her prophesies, and was consulted by people from all walks
of life for her spiritual insights.
She died on January 21, and was beatified in 1888.
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304 AgnesVM (RM)
Romæ pássio
sanctæ Agnétis, Vírginis et Mártyris; quæ,
sub Præfécto Urbis Symphrónio, ígnibus injécta,
sed iis per oratiónem ejus exstínctis, gládio percússa
est. De ea beátus Hierónymus hæc scribit: «
Omnium géntium lítteris atque linguis, præcípue
in Ecclésiis, Agnétis vita laudáta est; quæ et
ætátem vicit et tyránnum, et títulum castitátis
martyrio consecrávit ».
At Rome, the passion of St. Agnes, virgin,
who under Symphronius, governor of the city, was thrown into the fire, but
after it was extinguished by her prayers, she was slain with the sword.
Of her, St. Jerome writes: "Agnes is praised in the writings and by the
tongues of all nations, especially in the churches. She overcame the
weakness of her age, conquered the cruelty of the tyrant, and consecrated
her chastity by martyrdom."
I think its a happy coincidence that St. Agnes (purity) is
one of seven women in the canon of the Mass with Cecilia (married but continent),
Felicity (happiness) (married), Perpetua (steadfastness) (married), Agatha
(goodness) (widowed), Lucy (light) (virgin), and Anastasia (resurrection)
(probably married). The canon thereby represents various vocations and three
important centers of Western Christianity: Carthage, Sicily and Rome.
No saint was more revered in the early Church than this young
girl who suffered persecution under the Emperor Diocletian and who, according
to her 5th-century acta, was only 13-years-old when she died. The name Agnes
in Greek means 'chaste' and in Latin signifies a 'lamb' (Saint Augustine,
Sermon 274). Thus, she represents all that is pure and virtuous in womanhood.
The feast of Saint Agnes was formerly a special holiday
for women, as evidenced in the Council of Worcester in 1240. On the Eve
of Saint Agnes, it was supposed that a maiden might divine knowledge of
her future by plucking pins, repeating an Our Father, and then dreaming of
her destiny. (Or, in the German-American tradition, if I remember my grandmother
correctly, there was a tradition of placing a bit of wrapped fruitcake under
a maiden's pillow on the eve of Saint Agnes in order to dream of her future
husband.)
On the feast day, 21 January, the Trappist fathers of the Monastery
of Tre Fontane (near Saint Paul's Basilica) provide two lambs from their
sheepfold to the Benedictine nuns of Saint Cecilia. They arrive at Saint Agnes'
Basilica wearing crowns, lying in "baskets decorated with red and white flowers
and red and white ribbons--red for martyrdom, white for purity."
For the festal Mass, the church, titular cardinal, and concelebrants
are decorated with red, white and gold. During the Mass, there is a procession
of little girls veiled and dressed in white lace with pale blue ribbons,
followed by four resplendent carabinieri carrying the baby lambs. The lambs
are blessed and incensed before being taken to the Vatican for the Pope's
blessing. Then they are delivered to the Convent of Saint Cecilia to become
the pets of the sisters until Holy Thursday (when the are shorn) before being
sacrificed on Good Friday.
The wool from these lambs is woven into 12 archbishops' palliums.
The pallium is an older symbol of the papacy than the famed tiara. The elect
becomes "Shepherd of Christ's Flock" when the pallium touches his shoulder
and symbolizes that the new bishop is being 'yoked' with the bishop of Rome,
who is visible head of the Church. About 204, Saint Felician of Foligno
is the first recorded recipient of a pallium from a pope (Saint Victor I).
(So, the concept of papal primacy was very old indeed.)
Agnes was martyred at the beginning of the Diocletian persecutions
undertaken between 303 and 305 to wipe out the scourge of Christian impiety.
From a Roman viewpoint, Christians were not killed for their faith but for
treason, since they would not sacrifice to the gods who protected the empire.
Afterall, the Romans were able to incorporate the gods of all other people
they conquered--why were Christians so obstinate? There were Jews who were
considered good Romans, but they kept to themselves for the most part (see
R. L. Wilken, The Christians as the Romans saw them, New Haven, Conn.: Yale
University Press, 1984, which incorporates the writings of Pliny, Celsus,
Galen, Porphyry, and Julian the Apostate).
Unlike the Jews, Christianity
gained converts from among the nobility, even after earlier persecutions.
They became a threat to the world order. According to Markus, the Roman
Empire was based on racial distinctions, patriarchal authority, and slavery--each
of these patterns were threatened by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christian
military recruits could not be trusted to defend Rome (cf. Maximilian in
Numidia and Marcellus in Tangier).
The Christian rejection of the Roman view of marriage was also
a threat. It was a civic obligation for each woman to have as many children
as possible because Romans believed they lived through their progeny. The
Christians, believing in eternal life, did not see marriage and family as
absolutely necessary for everyone. And, in fact, the Encratites, who highly
prized perpetual virginity of both male and female, strongly influenced
Christianity during this period. With this background in mind, we come to
the story of Saint Agnes.
Agnes was born of a noble Roman family--probably the Clodia
Crescentiana. About age 10, Agnes consecrated herself to Christ, probably
with her parent's permission, otherwise she would have been forced to marry
the man of her father's choosing. It is likely that her father was also a
Christian. About age 12 or 13, she rejected the advances of the son of a high
official (the Prefect Maximum Herculeus?) with the words, "The one to whom
I am betrothed is Christ whom the angels serve. He was the first to choose
me. I shall be His alone." Thereupon she was denounced as a Christian.
Gill reports another version that says the prefect's son was
attracted by her beauty and wealth, sought her hand in marriage, and was
rebuffed because she had given her life to Christ 'to whom I keep my troth.'
When he pressed her and she still refused his suit, he complained to her father,
who, greatly disturbed when he discovered she was a Christian, considered
her mad and treated her as such. She was urged by her family to submit, and
when she still refused, they planned to make her a vestal virgin in a Roman
temple. But young though she was, she showed great maturity and a determined
will, "Do you think that I shall dedicate myself to gods of senseless stone!"
"You are only a child," they replied. "I may be a child," she answered, "but
faith dwells not in years, but in the heart" (Gill).
In Gill's version, when it was realized that they could not
prevail, they removed her clothes and thrust her into the open street, where,
in shame, she loosened her hair to cover her nakedness.
Everyone thought that the sight of the tools of torture would
cause Agnes to waver; when these elicited joy rather than terror in her,
the governor became enraged and threatened to send her to a house of prostitution.
"You may," said Agnes, "stain your sword with my blood; but you will never
be able to profane my body, consecrated to Christ."
In all versions she was thrown
into a brothel, but untouched because of her meekness and purity. She is
said to have had blonde hair that was long enough to cover her nakedness
(or spontaneously grew to do so) or that an angel brought her a robe, white
as snow, to cover her body. Because of her declaration that God would not
allow her body to be profaned, men were afraid to touch her. One man who
was rude to her was suddenly blinded, but she restored his sight by prayer.
The brothel was included in the inscription of the scholarly
Pope Damasus I, so it is probably true, says Keyes (others would dispute
his version of history). The brothel was that under the arch in the Stadium
Domitian, in what is now the Piazza Navona. It forms the Crypt in the Church
of Saint Agnes in Agone. Because the church is near the palace of Pope Innocent
X (formerly Prince Battista Pamphili), he transformed it into an important
church. On February 7, 1653, he bestowed on it the patronage of his family
and made it independent of all other jurisdiction, except for that of the
Cardinal Protector.
Finally, she was sentenced to death. But first she was mocked
and insulted, and they cried after her in the streets. When the executioner
hesitated, Agnes told him, "Do not delay. This body draws from some a kind
of admiration that I hate. Let it perish."
Martyrdom may have been by fire, sword, decapitation, or strangulation
during the Diocletian persecutions in the early 4th century. She could not
be shackled because her wrists were too small. Some stories use all three
successively:
A fire was kindled, and when she was placed on the pyre she
prayed, "Thy Name I bless and glorify, world without end. I confess Thee
with my lips, and with my heart I altogether desire Thee." When she had finished
praying, it was found that the fire had extinguished itself. Then they bound
her with fetters, but the fetters fell from her. She was killed in the end
by a sword, and after her death crowds followed her to her grave.
Because of the influence of her family, her body was not thrown
into the river (the usual), but was buried in the family cemetery, which
formed part of the catacombs that now bear her name and that adjoin the church,
also dedicated to her, on the Via Nomentana. Her fame quickly spread.
When the Emperor Constantine wished to have his daughter baptized,
he did so near the spot where Agnes was buried. And, in 324 (or 350?), just
a few years after her death the church of Sant'Agnese Fuori le Mura (which
still stands today) was erected by Constantine over her grave. In 382, Pope
Damasus I, who first called Rome the Apostolic See, restored the Church
of Saint Agnes Outside-the-Walls. So, soon after her martyrdom her cultus
was recognized. During the reign of Pope Paul V the relics of Saint Agnes
and those of Saint Emerentiana, Agnes's martyred foster sister, where found
within the church.
Although her feast is January
21, the octave of her feast (January 28) was her actual birthday. "On that
day her parents went to pray at her tomb. There they were granted a vision
in which they saw her surrounded by a bevy of virgins, resplendent with
light; and on her right hand was seen a lamb whiter than snow. The second
feast day is still celebrated some places according to Keyes.
"Every people, whatever their
tongue, praise the name of Saint Agnes," Saint Girolamus declared in a letter
written near the end of the 4th century.
Saint Ambrose wrote: "At such a tender age a young girl has
scarcely enough courage to bear the angry looks of her father and a tiny
puncture from a needle makes her cry as if it were a wound. And still this
little girl had enough courage to face the sword. She was fearless in the
bloody hands of the executioner. She prayed, she bowed her head. Behold in
one victim the twofold martyrdom of chastity and faith."
The Hymn of Prudentius says: "With a single stroke she was
beheaded, death was faster than pain and her resplendent soul, made free,
flew to heaven where the angels met her as she proceeded along the white
path that leads to Paradise."
Though much of her story is unreliable (it wasn't recorded
until about 415), there is no doubt that Agnes suffered martyrdom and was
buried on the Via Nomentana. Her name and the date of her feast was included
in the calendar of martyrs (Depositio Martyrum) drawn up in 354. Saint Martin
of Tours was singularly devoted to Agnes. Thomas a Kempis honored her as his
special patroness, as his works declare in many places. He relates many miracles
wrought and graces received through her intercession. There are no less than
five ancient church dedications to her honor in England (Attwater, Balsdon,
Benedictines, Bentley, Butler, Cenci, Cioran, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer,
Gill, Husenbeth, Keyes, Markus, Martindale, White).
St. Agnes
Saint Agnes image courtesy of
Saint Charles Borromeo Church In art, Agnes
is pictured as a young maiden with long hair and a lamb (agnus), because
of the resemblance of her name with that of the animal, since the 6th century
mosaics at San Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna (Farmer). Sometimes she may be
shown: (1) with a sword in her throat; (2) naked, covered by an angel or
by her long hair; (3) crowned and holding a scroll; (4) with a lamb (symbol
of her purity and sacrifice) and a palm; (5) with a dove having a ring in
its beak (Roeder, White).
Many portrayals of Saint Agnes survive from throughout the
centuries. There are Renaissance paintings by Duccio and Tintoretto; medieval
stained glass windows; and a cycle of painting of her on a gold and enamel
cup which previously belonged to the Duke of Berry and passed through the
Duke of Bedford to King Henry VI of England and on to the British Museum
(Farmer).
Agnes is patroness of virginal innocence, betrothed couples,
gardeners, and maidens. She is invoked for chastity (Roeder, White).
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6th
v St. Brigid also known as Briga 6th century
Known as St. Brigid of Kilbride, venerated in the diocese of Lismore. St. Brigid of Kildare,
one of the patrons of Ireland, visited Kilbride.This Brigid is also known
as Briga. It is recorded that her famous namesake of Kildare visited
her more than once at Kilbride.
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497 Epiphanius
of Pavia reputation for sanctity, charity to the poor. B (RM)
Papíæ sancti
Epiphánii, Epíscopi et Confessóris.
At Pavia, St. Epiphanius, bishop and confessor.
496 St Epiphanius, Bishop Of Pavia
The reputation of Epiphanius for holiness and miracles gave him the highest
credit with the weak Roman emperors of his time, and with the Kings Odoacer
and Theodoric, though all of opposite interests. By his eloquence and charity
he tamed savage barbarians, won life and liberty for whole armies of captives,
and secured the abolition of many oppressive laws, with the mitigation of
heavy public imposts and taxes. By his profuse charities he preserved many
of the famine-stricken from perishing, and by his zeal he stemmed the torrent
of iniquity in times of universal disorder. Epiphanius undertook an embassy
to the Emperor Anthemius, and another to King Euric at Toulouse: both in
the hope of averting war. He rebuilt Pavia, which had been destroyed by Odoacer,
and mitigated the fury of Theodoric in the heat of his victories. He set
out on a journey into Burgundy to redeem the captives detained by Gondebald
and Godegisilus, but on his return died of cold and fever at Pavia, in the
fifty-eighth year of his age. His death was really that of a martyr of charity,
and during his lifetime he seems to have been honoured by his flock with
profusion of endearing and complimentary names. They called him the “peacemaker”,
the “glory of Italy”, the “light of bishops”, and also Papa —i.e. the Father.
His body was translated to Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, in 963; Brower thinks
it lies in a silver coffin near the high altar.
See his panegyric
in verse by Ennodius, his successor, reputed to be the masterpiece of that
author, edited in the Acta Sanctorum,
as also in MGH., Auctores antiquissimi,
vol. vii, pp. 84—110. Cf. Analecta Bollandiana,
vol. xvii (1898), pp. 124—127.
Born in Pavia, Italy, 439; died in Burgundy, France, in 497.
Saint Epiphanius, popularly called the "glory of Italy" and "light of bishops,"
was elected bishop of Pavia in 467. He had a reputation for sanctity, charity
to the poor, and working miracles, which put him in good standing with the
Roman emperors as well as Kings Odoacer and Theodoric. His eloquence sometimes
moved seemingly immovable forces to act justly.
Epiphanius served as ambassador to Emperor Anthemius and King Euric at
Toulouse. During his episcopate, Odoacer destroyed Pavia and the bishop rebuilt
it. In order to ransom some of his flock who were held captive by Kings Gondebald
and Godegisile, he travelled to Burgundy and there contracted a fever that
caused is death at age 58. His relics were translated to Hildesheim in Lower
Saxony in 963, where they may lie in a silver coffin near the high altar.
His successor at Pavia, Saint Ennodius, wrote a panegyric about Epiphanius
in verse (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
Although the image does not seem to match the story, in art, Epiphanius
is supposed to be portrayed as a bishop going to his martyrdom with three
maidens: Luminosa, Speciosa, and Liberata (Roeder).
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978
Maccallin of Waulsort hermit OSB, Abbot (AC)
(also known as Malcallan, Maolcalain)
Died 978. Maccallin was an Irishman who
made a pilgrimage to Saint Fursey's shrine at Péronne during the Viking
terror. He entered the Benedictine abbey of Gorze. Later he became a hermit
and was given a grant of land on which he founded Saint Michael's monastery
at Thiérache and governed it as abbot. Soon after he made a second
foundation at Waulsort (Valciodorum) Abbey, near Dinant, Belgium, on the
River Meuse, over which he placed Saint Cadroe. In 946, Emperor Otto I issued
a charter that stipulated that Waulsort should be governed by an Irish abbot
so long as one was available within the community (Benedictines, D'Arcy,
Fitzpatrick, Montague, O'Hanlon).
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1556 Saint
Maximus the Greek translate patristic and liturgical books into Slavonic
translated St John Chrysostom's Commentaries on the Gospels of Matthew and
John
Son of a rich Greek dignitary in the city of Arta (Epiros),
and he received a splendid education.
In his youth he travelled widely and he studied languages and
sciences (i.e. intellectual disciplines) in Europe, spending time in Paris,
Florence, and Venice. Upon returning to his native land, he went to
Athos and became a monk at the Vatopedi monastery. And with enthusiasm he
studied ancient manuscripts left on Athos by the Byzantine Emperors Andronicus
Paleologos and John Kantakuzenos (who became monks).
During this period the Moscow Great Prince Basil III (1505-1533)
wanted to make an inventory of the Greek manuscripts and books of his mother,
Sophia Paleologina, and he asked the Protos of the Holy Mountain, Igumen
Simeon, to send him a translator. St Maximus was chosen to go to Moscow,
for he had been brought up on secular and ecclesiastical books from his youth.
Upon his arrival, he was asked to translate patristic and liturgical books
into Slavonic, starting with the Annotated Psalter.
St Maximus tried to fulfill his task, but since Slavonic was
not his native language, there were certain imprecisions in the translations.
Metropolitan Barlaam of Moscow highly valued the work of St Maximus, but
when the See of Moscow was occupied by Metropolitan Daniel, the situation
changed.
The new Metropolitan ordered St Maximus to translate the Church
History of Theodoritus of Cyrrhus into Slavonic. St Maximus absolutely refused
this commission, pointing out that "in this history are included letters
of the heretic Arius, and this might present danger for the semi-literate."
This refusal caused a rift between Maximus and the Metropolitan.
Despite their differences, St Maximus continued to labor for
the spiritual enlightenment of Rus. He wrote letters against Moslems, Roman
Catholics, and pagans. He translated St John Chrysostom's Commentaries on
the Gospels of Matthew and John, and he also wrote several works of his own.
When the Great Prince wished to divorce his wife Solomonia
because of her infertility, the dauntless confessor Maximus sent the Prince
his "Instructive Chapters on Initiating Right Belief," in which he persuasively
demonstrated that the Prince was obliged not to yield to bestial passions.
The Prine never forgave Maximus for his audacity, and locked St Maximus
in prison. From that moment a new period began in the life of the monk,
filled with much suffering.
Mistakes in his translations
were regarded as deliberate and intentional corruptions of the text by St
Maximus. It was difficult for him in prison, but in his sufferings the saint
also gained the great mercy of God.
An angel appeared to him and said, "Endure, Abba! Through this
temporary pain you will be delivered from eternal torments."
In prison the Elder wrote a Canon to the Holy Spirit in charcoal
upon a wall, which even at present is read in the Church: "Just as Israel
was nourished with manna in the wilderness of old, so Master, fill my soul
with the All-Holy Spirit, that through Him I may serve Thee always...."
After six years, St Maximus
was set free from prison and sent to Tver. There he lived
under the supervision of the good-natured Bishop Acacius, who dealt kindly
with guiltless sufferer. The saint then wrote in his autobiography: "While
I was locked in prison and grieving, I consoled and strengthened myself with
patience." Here are some more words from this vivid text: "Neither grieve,
nor be sad, beloved soul, that you have suffered unjustly, for it behooves
you to accept all for your benefit."
Only after twenty years at Tver did they decide to let Maximus
live freely, and remove the church excommunication. St Maximus, now about
seventy years of age, spent the final years of his life at the Trinity-Sergiev
Lavra. Oppression and work took their toil on his health, but his spirit
remained vigorous, and he continued with his work.
Together with his cell-attendant and disciple Nilus, the saint
translated the Psalter from Greek into Slavonic.
St Maximus reposed on January 21, 1556. He was buried at the
northwest wall of the Holy Spirit church of the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. Many
manifestations of grace took place at the grave of St Maximus, and a Troparion
and Kontakion were composed in his honor. St Maximus is depicted on the icon
of the Synaxis of the Saints of Radonezh (July 6).
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1586 Blessed Edward
Stransham priest five years M (AC)
Born at Oxford, England; died 1586; beatified in 1929. Edward was educated
at Saint John's College in Oxford, studied for the priesthood at Douai and
Reims, and was ordained in 1580. He set off for the English mission the
following year to work in London and Oxford for the next five years until
his condemnation. Edward was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn for
his priesthood (Attwater2, Benedictines).
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1642
St. Alban Bartholomew Roe Missionary martyr 1/40 of England and Wales
Alban is believed to have been born in Bury St. Edmund's, England, about
1580. He converted to Catholicism and went to the English College at Douai,
where he was dismissed for an infraction of discipline. In 1612 he became
an ordained Benedictine at Dieulouard, France. From there he was sent to
England. In 1615 he was arrested and banished. In 1618 he returned to England
and was imprisoned again. This imprisonment lasted until 1623, when the Spanish
ambassador obtained his release. In 1625, once again having returned to
England to care for Catholics, Alban was arrested for the last time. For
seventeen years he remained in prison and was then tried and condemned.
Alban was sentenced with Thomas Reynolds, another English martyr. They were
hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on January 21, 1642.
orn in Bury Saint Edmunds, Suffolk, England, c. 1583; died at Tyburn,
England, 1642; canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs
of England and Wales.
Bartholomew Roe was a student at Cambridge when he met an imprisoned Catholic
and was so impressed by his faith that he was converted to Catholicism.
He studied at Douai in France, but was dismissed for an infraction of discipline.
Then he became a Benedictine monk at Dieulouard (Dieuleward, now Ampleforth),
France, in 1612, taking the name Alban, was ordained, and sent on the English
mission.
Father Alban was arrested in 1615, imprisoned, and then banished; but
he was back in England four months later and again arrested in 1618 and
imprisoned in the New Prison until 1623, when he was released through the
intercession of the Spanish ambassador.
Father Alban was exiled a second time. After a short stay at Douai, he
returned to England and worked until his arrest in 1625 during the reign of
King Charles I. He spent the next 17 years in prison until he was finally
tried, convicted on January 19 of being of Catholic priest, and two days later
hanged, drawn, and quartered together with Blessed Thomas Reynolds. Apparently,
Alban Roe had a lively disposition; he laughed and joked on the scaffold
at Tyburn (Attwater2, Benedictines, Delaney).
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1642 Blessed Thomas
Reynolds priest for nearly 50 years M (AC)
(also known as Thomas Green)
Born at Oxford; died 1642; beatified 1929. Thomas's true name was Green,
but like many Catholics of his time used an alias. After being educated
for the priesthood at Rheims, Valladolid, and Seville, he was ordained in
1592 and returned to the English mission, where he worked for nearly 50
years (for once the alias worked!). He must have been about 80 years old
when he was hanged, drawn, and quartered for his priesthood at Tyburn together
with Saint Bartholomew Roe (Attwater2, Benedictines).
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1696 Blessed Inés
de Beniganim barefoot Augustinian hermits OSA Disc., V
(AC)
(also known as Agnes of Beniganim)
Born near Valencia, Spain, 1625; died at Beniganim, Spain, in 1696; beatified
in 1888. Blessed Inés entered the convent of barefoot Augustinian
hermits at Beniganim and took the name Josepha Maria. In Spain she is usually
called by her baptismal name (Attwater2, Benedictines).
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St. Maccalin Benedictine
abbot of St. Michael's at Thierache
on the French portion of the Meuse and Waulsort. An Irishman also called Macallan. he made
a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Fursey in Peronne. France. He became a
Benedictine at Gorze. and later became an abbot of that monastery.
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Mary's Divine Motherhood
Saints of this Day January 21 Duodécimo Kaléndas Februárii.
The Vatopedi "Comfort"
or "Consolation" Icon of the Mother of God 
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.