 St.
Mary
Magdelene "The Penitent" Tradition informs us that Mary of Magdala was
young and pretty, and led
a sinful life. It says in
the Gospels that the Lord expelled seven
devils from Mary (Luke. 8:2) followed the Lord, with Apostles through
cities and villages of Judea Galilee preaching the Kingdom of
God; together with pious women Joanna, wife of Choza (steward of
Herod), Susanna and others, she served Him from her own possessions
(Luke
8:1-3); According to Tradition,
she took Emperor
Tiberias a red egg as a symbol of the Resurrection, a symbol of new
life with the words: "Christ is Risen!"Apud Massíliam, in
Gállia, natális sanctæ Maríæ
Magdalénæ, de qua Dóminus ejécit septem
dæmónia, et quæ ipsum Salvatórem a
mórtuis resurgéntem prima vidére méruit.
At
Marseilles in France, the birthday of St. Mary
Magdalene, out of whom our Lord expelled seven demons, and who deserved
to be the first to see the Saviour after he had risen from the dead.
She is called "the
Penitent". St. Mary was given the name 'Magdalen'
because, though a Jewish girl, she lived in a Gentile town called
Magdale, in northern Galilee, and her culture and manners were those of
a Gentile. St. Luke records that she was a notorious sinner, and had
seven devils removed from her. She was present at Our Lords'
Crucifixion, and with Joanna and Mary, the mother of James and Salome,
at Jesus' empty tomb. Fourteen years after Our Lord's death, St. Mary
was put in a boat by the Jews without sails or oars - along with Sts.
Lazarus and Martha, St. Maximin (who baptized her), St. Sidonius ("the
man born blind"), her maid Sera, and the body of St. Anne, the mother
of the Blessed Virgin. They were sent drifting out to sea and landed on
the shores of Southern France, where St. Mary spent the rest of her
life as a contemplative in a cave known as Sainte-Baume. She was given
the Holy Eucharist daily by angels as her only food, and died when she
was 72. St. Mary was transported miraculously, just before she died, to
the chapel of St. Maximin, where she received the last sacraments.
More about this saint: St.
Mary Magdalen (Feast day - July 22) Mary
Magdalen was well known as a sinner when she first saw Our Lord. She
was very beautiful and very proud, but after she met Jesus, she felt
great sorrow for her evil life. When Jesus went to supper at the home
of a rich man named Simon, Mary came to weep at His feet. Then with her
long beautiful hair, she wiped His feet dry and anointed them with
expensive perfume. Some people were surprised that Jesus let such a
sinner touch Him, but Our Lord could see into Mary's heart, and He
said: "Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved very much."
Then to Mary He said kindly, "Your faith has made you safe; go in
peace." From then on, with the other holy women, Mary humbly served
Jesus and His Apostles. When Our Lord was crucified, she was there at
the foot of His cross, unafraid for herself, and thinking only of His
sufferings. No wonder Jesus said of her: "She has loved much." After
Jesus' body had been placed in the tomb, Mary went to anoint it with
spices early Easter Sunday morning. Not finding the Sacred Body, she
began to weep, and seeing someone whom she thought was the gardener,
she asked him if he knew where the Body of her beloved Master had been
taken. But then the person spoke in a voice she knew so well: "Mary!"
It was Jesus, risen from the dead! He had chosen to show Himself first
to Mary Magdalen, the repentent sinner.
Mary Magdalene The Holy Myrrh-Bearer Equal of the Apostles
On the banks
of Lake Genesareth (Galilee), between the cities of Capharnum and
Tiberias, was the small city of Magdala, the remains of which have
survived to our day. Now only the small village of Mejhdel stands on
the site.
Mary Magdalene (RM) 1st
century; feast of her translation, especially
in the Eastern Church, is May 4. Saint Mary Magdalene, the "Apostle to
the Apostles," was the first to encounter the Risen Jesus. Just when it
seems the real Mary Magdalene is revealed in Scripture, there are
questions. She is further obscured by the legends that surround her
following the Resurrection. There is a considerable difference of
opinion, particularly between the exegetes of the East and the West as
to the identity of Mary Magdalene. Largely due to the influence
of Saint Gregory the Great's writings, the Western liturgies have
identified her with the unnamed sinner (Luke 7:36ff; cf. Luke
8:2) and Mary of Bethany, the sister of SS. Lazarus and Martha
(see John 11).
There is also a third Mary, who came from Magdala on the western shore
of the Sea of Galilee near Tiberias in Judea. This is the woman from
whom Jesus "had cast out seven devils" (Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2).
She was one of the women present at Calvary and was the first to
witness the Resurrection, which Jesus told her to announce to the
disciples.
In the opinion of the Eastern liturgists (and the venerable
opinion of
Saint Ambrose), there are three different people, and it certainly
seems doubtful that Mary of Bethany and Mary the Sinner were the same
person. Or does it? Modern scholars do not believe they are the
same woman because there is the question of the two different origins
(Bethany and Magdala). But it has been suggested that if they are
identical, it would be easier to explain why three adults siblings were
living together without their spouses.
If Mary of Bethany is the sinful
woman (assumed to be a prostitute or whore) and her brother and sister
took her in after she repented, they would be considered tainted.
Nevertheless, Eastern
tradition of the repentant woman, Mary of
Bethany, and Mary Magdalene being three different women has been
adopted in the revised Roman calendar of 1969. However, it
is very probable that after the repentance of Mary the
Sinner, she should have followed Jesus to the last and have been
present at the Crucifixion. Such, at any rate, is the belief of the
many faithful who have venerated her as the classic example of the
repentant woman who was forgiven by Jesus and who thereafter followed
and served him.
Mary Magdalene, the woman exorcised of seven devils, ministered to the
Lord in Galilee (Luke
8:2) and was among the women at the Crucifixion (Matt. 27:56; Mark
15:40; John 19:25). With Joanna and Mary, the mother of James,
and Salome, she discovered the empty tomb and heard the angelic
announcement of the resurrection of Christ (Matt. 28:1ff; Mark
16:1-8; Luke 24:1-10). She was the first person to see Christ
later that same day (Matt. 28:9; Mark 16:9),
to which Saint John
(20:1-18) adds the moving account that the Master gave her a
message to deliver to the brethren.
 According to an
ancient Eastern tradition, Mary Magdalene accompanied John and the
Blessed Virgin to Ephesus, where she died and was buried. One of the
tales of the Middle Ages was that she was betrothed to Saint John the
Evangelist when Jesus called him, and that in anger "gave herself to
all delight." Jesus, not wishing to damn her when the cause of her
behavior was his calling of Saint John, converted her to penance.
A later pious legend in the West tells of her travelling to
Provence,
France, with Martha, Lazarus, and others to evangelize Gaul. These
sources hold that she spent the last 30 years of her life in a cavern
of La Sainte-Baume in the Maritime Alps, and was miraculously
transported just before her death to the Chapel of Saint-Maximin, from
whom she received the last sacraments and by whom she was buried at Aix.
Her relics have been claimed by various places at various
times, but
none of the stories can be authenticated. Saint Willibald is said to
have seen her tomb in Ephesus in the 8th century. Vézelay
(France) has claimed her relics since the 11th century (Attwater,
Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, White).
In art, Mary Magdalene's emblem is a jar of ointment and she
always has
long hair. Among the scenes that may be portrayed, she is shown (1)
wiping Christ's feet at the house of Simon; (2) anointing Him at
Bethany; (3) with Martha [Caravaggio's painting]; (4) with Martha at
the raising of Lazarus from the dead; (5) clinging to the foot of the
Cross; (6) kissing or anointing Christ's feet at the Lamentation; (7)
with the other two Marys at the tomb; (8) at His feet at Noli me
Tangere (do not touch me) [view Fra Angelico's, Correggio's or Alonso
Cani's versions]; (9) casting aside her jewels in the presence of
Christ; (10) wringing her hands and spurning jewels; (11) weeping; (12)
penitent in the desert with long hair and an ointment jar; (13) with
Saint Mary of Egypt; (14) old and haggard, clad only in her long hair;
(15) uplifted by angels at the canonical hours; or (16) in various
scenes of shipwreck with Martha and Lazarus on their way to Marseilles
(Roeder).
Because Mary Magdalene is described as weeping at Jesus'
tomb on Easter
Sunday, she is often portrayed in art as weeping, or with eyes red from
having wept. This is the source of the English word "maudlin," meaning
"effusively or tearfully sentimental." There is a Magdalene College at
Oxford and a Magdalene College at Cambridge (different spelling), both
pronounced "Maudlin." Saint Mary Magdalene is especially
venerated in Marseilles, Saint Maximin le Sainte-Baume, and
Vézelay, France (Roeder). She is the patron of repentant sinners
and of the contemplative life (Farmer).
Noli Me Tangere by
Correggio Image
courtesy of Pauly Fongemie
A woman whose name has entered forever into the Gospel
account was born
and grew up in Magdala. The Gospel tells us nothing of Mary's younger
years, but Tradition informs us that Mary of Magdala was young and
pretty, and led a sinful life. It says in the Gospels that the Lord
expelled seven devils from Mary (Luke. 8:2).
From the moment of her
healing Mary led a new life, and became a true disciple of the Savior.
The Gospel relates that Mary followed after the Lord, when
He went with
the Apostles through the cities and villages of Judea and Galilee
preaching about the Kingdom of God. Together with the pious women
Joanna, wife of Choza (steward of Herod), Susanna and others, she
served Him from her own possessions (Luke 8:1-3) and undoubtedly shared
with the Apostles the evangelic tasks in common with the other women.
The Evangelist Luke, evidently, has her in view together with the other
women, stating that at the moment of the Procession of Christ onto
Golgotha, when after the Scourging He took on Himself the heavy Cross,
collapsing under its weight, the women followed after Him weeping and
wailing, but He consoled them. The Gospel relates that Mary Magdalene
was present on Golgotha at the moment of the Lord's Crucifixion. While
all the disciples of the Savior ran away, she remained fearlessly at
the Cross together with the Mother of God and the Apostle John.
The Evangelists also list among those standing at the Cross
the mother
of the Apostle James, and Salome, and other women followers of the Lord
from Galilee, but all mention Mary Magdalene first. St John, in
addition to the Mother of God, names only her and Mary Cleopas. This
indicates how much she stood out from all the women who gathered around
the Lord.
She was faithful to Him not only in the days of His Glory,
but also at
the moment of His extreme humiliation and insult. As the Evangelist
Matthew relates, she was present at the Burial of the Lord. Before her
eyes Joseph and Nicodemus went out to the tomb with His lifeless Body.
She watched as they covered over the entrance to the cave with a large
stone, entombing the Source of Life.
Faithful to the Law in which she was raised, Mary together
with the
other women spent following day at rest, because it was the great day
of the Sabbath, coinciding with the Feast of Passover. But all the rest
of the peaceful day the women gathered spices to go to the Grave of the
Lord at dawn on Sunday and anoint His Body according to the custom of
the Jews.
It is necessary to mention that, having agreed to go on the
first day
of the week to the Tomb early in the morning, the holy women had no
possibility of meeting with one another on Saturday. They went
separately on Friday evening to their own homes. They went out only at
dawn the following day to go to the Sepulchre, not all together, but
each from her own house.
The Evangelist Matthew writes that the women came to the
grave at dawn,
or as the Evangelist Mark expresses, extremely early before the rising
of the sun. The Evangelist John, elaborating upon these, says that Mary
came to the grave so early that it was still dark. Obviously, she
waited impatiently for the end of night, but it was not yet daybreak.
She ran to the place where the Lord's Body lay. Mary went to the
tomb alone. Seeing the stone pushed away from the
cave, she ran away in fear to tell the close Apostles of Christ, Peter
and John. Hearing the strange message that the Lord was gone from the
tomb, both Apostles ran to the tomb and, seeing the shroud and winding
cloths, they were amazed. The Apostles went and said nothing to anyone,
but Mary stood about the entrance to the tomb and wept. Here in this
dark tomb so recently lay her lifeless Lord.
Wanting proof that the tomb really was empty, she went down
to it and
saw a strange sight. She saw two angels in white garments, one sitting
at the head, the other at the foot, where the Body of Jesus had been
placed. They asked her, "Woman, why weepest thou?" She answered them
with the words which she had said to the Apostles, "They have taken my
Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." At that moment, she
turned around and saw the Risen Jesus standing near the grave, but she
did not recognize Him.
He asked Mary, "Woman, why weepest thou? Whom dost thou
seek?" She
answered thinking that she was seeing the gardener, "Sir, if thou hast
taken him, tell where thou hast put Him, and I will take Him away."
Then she recognized the Lord's voice. This was the voice she
heard in
those days and years, when she followed the Lord through all the cities
and places where He preached. He spoke her name, and she gave a joyful
shout, "Rabbi" (Teacher).
Respect and love, fondness and deep veneration, a feeling of
thankfulness and recognition at His Splendor as great Teacher, all came
together in this single outcry. She was able to say nothing more and
she threw herself down at the feet of her Teacher to wash them with
tears of joy. But the Lord said to her: "Touch me not; for I am not yet
ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and tell them: "I ascend
to My Father, and your Father; to My God and to your God."
She came to herself and again ran to the Apostles, to do the
will of
Him sending her to preach. Again she ran into the house, where the
Apostles still remained in dismay, and proclaimed to them the joyous
message, "I have seen the Lord!" This was the first preaching in the
world about the Resurrection.
The Apostles proclaimed the Glad Tidings to the world, but
she
proclaimed it to the Apostles themselves.
Holy Scripture does not tell us about the life of Mary
Magdalene after
the Resurrection of Christ, but it is impossible to doubt, that if in
the terrifying minutes of Christ's Crucifixion she was the foot of His
Cross with His All-Pure Mother and St John, she must have stayed with
them during the happier time after the Resurrection and Ascension of
Christ. Thus in the Acts of the Apostles St Luke writes that all the
Apostles with one mind stayed in prayer and supplication, with certain
women and Mary the Mother of Jesus and His brethren.
Holy Tradition testifies that when the Apostles departed
from Jerusalem
to preach to all the ends of the earth, then Mary Magdalene also went
with them. A daring woman, whose heart was full of reminiscence of the
Resurrection, she went beyond her native borders and went to preach in
pagan Rome. Everywhere she proclaimed to people about Christ and His
teaching. When many did not believe that Christ is risen, she repeated
to them what she had said to the Apostles on the radiant morning of the
Resurrection: "I have seen the Lord!" With this message she went all
over Italy.
Tradition relates that in Italy Mary Magdalene visited
Emperor Tiberias
(14-37 A.D.) and proclaimed to him Christ's Resurrection. According to
Tradition, she took him a red egg as a symbol of the Resurrection, a
symbol of new life with the words: "Christ is Risen!" Then she told the
emperor that in his Province of Judea the unjustly condemned Jesus the
Galilean, a holy man, a miracleworker, powerful before God and all
mankind, had been executed at the instigation of the Jewish High
Priests, and the sentence confirmed by the procurator appointed by
Tiberias, Pontius Pilate.
Mary repeated the words of the Apostles, that we are
redeemed from the
vanity of life is not with perishable silver or gold, but rather by the
precious Blood of Christ. Thanks to Mary Magdalene the custom to
give each other paschal eggs on
the day of the Radiant Resurrection of Christ spread among Christians
over all the world. On one ancient Greek manuscript, written on
parchment, kept in the monastery library of St Athanasius near
Thessalonica, is a prayer read on the day of Holy Pascha for the
blessing of eggs and cheese. In it is indicated that the igumen in
passing out the blessed eggs says to the brethren: "Thus have we
received from the holy Fathers, who preserved this custom from the very
time of the holy Apostles, therefore the holy Equal of the Apostles
Mary Magdalene first showed believers the example of this joyful
offering."
Mary Magdalene continued her preaching in Italy and in the
city of Rome
itself. Evidently, the Apostle Paul has her in mind in his Epistle to
the Romans (16: 6),
where together with other ascetics of evangelic
preaching he mentions Mary (Mariam), who as he expresses "has bestowed
much labor on us." Evidently, she extensively served the Church in its
means of subsistence and its difficulties, being exposed to dangers,
and sharing with the Apostles the labors of preaching.
According to Church Tradition, she remained in Rome until
the arrival
of the Apostle Paul, and for two more years following his departure
from Rome after the first court judgment upon him. From Rome, St Mary
Magdalene, already bent with age, moved to Ephesus where the holy
Apostle John unceasingly labored. There the saint finished her earthly
life and was buried.
Her holy relics were transferred in the ninth century to
Constantinople, and placed in the monastery Church of St Lazarus. In
the era of the Crusader campaigns they were transferred to Italy and
placed at Rome under the altar of the Lateran Cathedral. Part of the
relics of Mary Magdalene are said to be in Provage, France near
Marseilles, where over them at the foot of a steep mountain a splendid
church is built in her honor.
The Orthodox Church honors the holy memory of St Mary
Magdalene, the
woman called by the Lord Himself from darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan to God.
Formerly immersed in sin and having received healing, she
sincerely and
irrevocably began a new life and never wavered from that path. Mary
loved the Lord Who called her to a new life. She was faithful to Him
not only when He was surrounded by enthusiastic crowds and winning
recognition as a miracle-worker, but also when all the disciples
deserted Him in fear and He, humiliated and crucified, hung in torment
upon the Cross. This is why the Lord, knowing her faithfulness,
appeared to her first, and esteemed her worthy to be first to proclaim
His Resurrection.
St Mary Magdalen The story of St Mary Magdalen, as
generally
received in the West following St
Gregory the Great, is one of the most moving and encouraging in
the Holy Scriptures. Mention is made in the gospels of a woman
who was a sinner (Luke
VII 37-50, etc.), of Mary Magdalen, a follower of our Lord (John xx 10-18, etc.),
and of Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus (Luke X 38-42, etc.),
and the liturgy of the Roman church by identifying these three as one
single individual has set its approval on the ancient tradition and
popular belief of Western Catholics.
Mary Magdalen, whom our English ancestors
called
"Mawdleyn ", probably received her name from Magdala, a place on the
western shore of the sea of Galilee, near to Tiberias, and our Lord
first met her when on His Galilean
ministry. St Luke records that she
was a sinner, and evidently a notorious sinner (though he says nothing
to suggest that she was a public harlot, as is commonly supposed), and
goes on to describe how, Christ having accepted an invitation to dine
with a Pharisee, she came into the house while they were at table, fell
weeping before Jesus, and, having wiped His feet with her own hair,
anointed them with ointment from an alabaster box.
The Pharisee murmured at what seemed to him the unbecoming acquiescence
of a prophet in the presence of a great sinner, and Jesus, knowing his
thoughts, rebuked him; first by asking which of two released debtors, a
great and a small, had the more cause to be grateful to their creditor,
and then directly:
"Dost thou see this woman?
I entered into thy house-thou gayest me no water for my feet. But
she with tears hath washed my feet, and with her hairs hath wiped them.
Thou gavest me no kiss. But she, since she came in, hath not
ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not
anoint-but she with ointment hath anointed my feet.
Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she
hath loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less."
And to the penitent woman
he said, "Thy sins are forgiven
thee. Thy faith hath
made thee safe. Go in peace."
In his
very next chapter St Luke, in speaking of the
missionary travels of our Lord in Galilee, tells us that He and His
apostles were accompanied and ministered to by certain women, among
them (by name) Mary Magdalen, "out of whom seven devils had gone forth
". Later, He entered into a certain town and was received by
Martha and her sister Mary, who supposedly had come to live with their
brother. Lazarus at Bethany in order to be nearer the Master who, at
their instance, had restored him to life. Martha, busy
about the house, appealed to Him to urge Mary to help her, rather than
to sit continually at His feet listening to His words, and received
that answer which has puzzled and consoled all succeeding ages:
"Martha, Martha, thou art careful and art troubled about
many
things. But one thing is necessary. Mary hath chosen the
best part, which shalt not be taken away from her."
Mary the sinner had become Mary the contemplative.
On the day before the triumphal entry into
Jerusalem which
was the prelude to His passion, Jesus supped with the family of Lazarus
at Bethany (Jesus loved them, St John tells us), and on this occasion
Mary again anointed His head and feet and wiped them with her hair, so
that " the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment
". And again there was a critic present, this time Judas
Iscariot the apostle, scandalized not because he was self-righteous but
because he was dishonest and avaricious ; and even the other
disciples were distressed at what seemed a waste. And again
Jesus vindicated Magdalen:
"Let her alone Why do you
molest her? She hath wrought a good work upon
me. For the poor you have always with you, and
whensoever you will you may do them good; but me you have not
always. She hath done what she could: she
is come beforehand to anoint my body for the burial. Amen,
I say to you-wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole
world, that also which she hath done shall be told for a memorial of
her." "And behold !" says St John Chrysostom, "what He said
has come to pass. Wherever you go
you will hear her praises sung...The dwellers in Persia, in
India..in the British isles celebrate this deed."
And yet Mary Magdalen is remembered at least as
well for
other things. In the darkest hour of our Lord's life she
stood at some distance, watching Him on the cross; and with "the other
Mary" she saw the great stone rolled before the door of the tomb
wherein lay the body of the Lord. But the crowning mercy of
the life of Mary Magdalen was yet to come, for it was she who, bearing
sweet spices and weeping by the sepulchre early on the first day of the
week, was the first to see, to be greeted by, and to recognize, the
risen Christ; she, the contemplative, was the first witness to that
resurrection without which our faith and our preaching are alike vain ;
it was to the abused flesh of the penitent that the radiant and
glorified body of the Son of God was first na'de manifest.
Jesus saith to her, "Mary" She,
turning, saith to
Him, "Master!" Jesus saith to her: "Do not touch me, for I am
not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren
and say to them: I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God
and to your God."
According to Eastern tradition, Mary Magdalen
after
Pentecost accompanied our Lady and St John to Ephesus where she died md
was buried; the English pilgrim St Willibald was shown her shrine there
in the middle of the eighth century. But according to the tradition of
France, in the Roman Martyrology and by the granting of various local
feasts, she, with Lazarus, Martha. and others, evangelized
Provence. The last thirty years of her life, it is
claimed, she spent in a cavern of a rock, La Sainte Baume, high up
among the Maritime Alps, to be transported miraculously, just before
she died, to the chapel of St Maximin; she received the last
sacraments from and was buried by that saint.
The earliest
known reference to the coming of the Palestinians to France is of the
eleventh century, in connection with the relics of St Mary Magdalen
claimed by the abbey of Vézelay in Burgundy; the elaborations of
the story seem to have spread in Provence only during the
thirteenth. From 1279 the relics of the Magdalen are said
to be in the keeping of the monks of Vézelay and of the
Dominican friars of Saint-Maximin, to the shrine in which church and
the cave at La Sainte Baume pilgrimage is still
popular.
But research, especially by Mgr
Duchesne, has demonstrated more and more clearly that neither the
relics nor the story of the voyage of the friends of our Lord to
Marseilles can be relied on as authentic; in spite of the defence of
those piously concerned on behalf of the local belief, it cannot be
doubted that the whole story is a fabrication.
Among the other curious and baseless tales current
about the
saint in the middle ages is that she was affianced to St John the
Evangelist when Christ called him. "She had thereof indignation that
her husband was taken from her, and went and gave herself to all
delight; but because it was not fitting that the calling of St John
should be the occasion of her damnation, therefore our Lord mercifully
converted her to penance, and because He had taken from her sovereign
delight of the flesh, He replenished her with sovereign spiritual
delight before all other, that is, the love of God" (The Golden Legend).
Much has been written on the
subject of St Mary
Magdalen's
coming to Provence, but it is impossible to allow any sort of
probability to the view which venerates the Sainte Baume as
the home of her last years. The destructive criticism which
began with J. de Launoy in the seventeenth century has been supported
and developed by Catholic scholars of the highest
name. The modern Bollandists have many times
recurred to the subject (see for example the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xii, 296
; xvi, 515 ; xvii, 361, etc.). where in reviewing different
phases of the controversy they have expressed themselves in
the most unequivocal terms. Particular attention may be directed
to the essay of Mgr Duchesne, now reprinted in his Fastes Episcopaux,
vol. i, pp. 325-359; to the paper of G. de Manteyer in Mélanges d'archéologie et
d'histoire, vol. xvii (1897), pp. 467-489; to G. Morin in the Révue Bénédictine, vol. xxvi
(1909), pp. 24-33; to an article of E. Vacandard in the Revue des questions historiques for
1924, pp. 237-305 and another by Fr H. Thurston in Studies, vol. xxiii (1934), pp.
110-123 (it may be noticed that on the last page of this article,
"Saint-Marcellin" has by an oversight been misprinted for
Saint-Maximin); and H. Hansel, Die
Maria Magdalena-Legende (1937).
There is an excellent summary in Baudot and Chaussin, Vies des Saints..., t. vii (1949),
pp. 526-543. The case of the believers in these traditions
is presented very fully in books by J. Veran (1868), and by J. Sagette
in 1880. A fuller bibliography may be found in Leclercq, DAC.,
vol. viii, cc. 2038-2086, s.v.
"Lazare", an article which supplies an admirably documented discussion
of the whole subject. There is a
well-known Life of St Mary Magdalen by Lacordaire (Eng. trans.), but
however excellent it may be from a literary and devotional point of
view it is historically quite uncritical. A discussion of the
problem of the Manes in Provence by C. M. Girdlestone appeared in Black friars, vol. xxxii (1951),
pp. 407-414, 478-488.
|
1st v. Saint
Syntyche of Philippi was a fellow-worker of Saint Paul in spreading the
Gospel. She is
mentioned by Saint Paul (Philippians 4:2-3) as being a female member of
the Church at Philippi and one of those "whose names are in the book of
life" (RM) (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
Philíppis,
in Macedónia, sanctæ Syntyches, cujus méminit
beátus Paulus Apóstolus.
At
Philippi in Macedonia, St. Syntyche, mentioned by the blessed apostle
Paul.
|
300 Saint Cyril
of
Antioch succeeded Timaeus as patriarch of Antioch in 280. Although
he was persecuted by Diocletion, he appears to have died in peace
(Benedictines). B (RM)
Antiochíæ
sancti Cyrílli Epíscopi, doctrína et
sanctitáte conspícui.
At
Antioch, the holy bishop Cyril, who was distinguished for learning and
holiness.
|
306 St. Plato Martyr and brother of St.
Antiochus. A much revered saint in the
Eastern Church, he was put to death at Ancyra
during the persecution of the
early
fourth century.
Ancyræ, in Galátia, natális sancti Platónis
Mártyris, qui, sub Agrippíno Vicário,
verbéribus cæsus, uncis laniátus férreis,
aliísque immaníssimis tormentórum genéribus
cruciátus, demum, abscísso cápite, invíctam
ánimam Deo réddidit. Ipsíus vero
mirácula in subveniéndis captívis, Acta
secúndæ Synodi Nicǽnæ testántur.
At Ancyra in Galatia, the birthday of the martyr St.
Plato. Under the lieutenant-governor Agrippinus, he was scourged,
lacerated with iron hooks, and subjected to the most atrocious
torments, and finally being beheaded, he rendered his invincible soul
to God. The Acts of the Second Council of Nicaea bear witness to
his miracles in helping captives.
Plato of Ancyra M (RM). Saint Plato,
brother of
Saint Antiochus, was a rich young man, who was martyred at Ancyra
(Ankara) in Galatia. He is held in high veneration in the East
(Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
|
356 St Joseph of
Palestine, mentioned in RM,
appears nowhere venerated liturgically in the world, not even
country where he was so conspicuous a figure; he privately exorcised an
indwelling demon in the name of our Lord, and the energumen was
delivered; making the sign of the cross upon a vessel of water, poured
it on the kilns, and the fire instantly burst forth and burned;
Constantine the Great gave Joseph the rank of comes with authority to build
churches over Galilee, particularly in Jewish towns; Scythopolis
(Bethsan), lodged St Eusebius of Vercelli; harboured other servants of
God, like St Epiphanius; at Tiberias produced Massoretic doctors,
who are famous for the invention of the vowel points to preserve the
pronunciation of written Hebrew
Scythópoli, in
Palæstína, sancti Joséphi Cómitis.
At
Scythopolis in Palestine, St. Joseph, a count.
356 St Joseph of
Palestine
The Jews after the
destruction
of Jerusalem those one among their chief
teachers to whom they gave the title of patriarch or "prince of the
captivity ". The most celebrated person who ever bore this honour
was the Rabbi Hillel (who must not be confounded with the more famous
Hillel of whom the Talmud speaks); he was very learned and a leading
founder and ornament of their biblical school at Tiberias. This
Hillel a few days before his death sent for a Christian bishop in the
character of a physician, who ordered a bath to be prepared in his
room, as if it had been for his health, and baptized him in
it. Hillel received the divine Mysteries, and died.
Joseph, one of his assistants, was witness to this secret transaction,
and having always been a confidant of Hillel had the care of his son
given to him (this youth was "named Judas, I think, but it is some time
since I was told and so I'm not sure", says St Epiphanius, Joseph's biographer),
together with the rabbi's books. These included a number of
Christian works, which Joseph read, and much impressed by them. He was
by no means converted yet, though feeling from time to time a strong
attraction towards Christianity. He was encouraged by
the firm stand of a Christian girl against the amorous overtures of his
ward Judas, who failed to seduce her even with the help of magic. One
night he seemed in a dream to see Christ, and to hear from His
mouth the words, "I am Jesus whom thy fathers crucified; believe in
me". He received another sign when he privately exorcised an
indwelling demon in the name of our Lord, and the energumen was
delivered. Still, though practically convinced, he did nothing
and allowed himself to be appointed ruler of the synagogue at
Tarsus. In this position he was exceedingly unhappy and
excited the suspicions of the Jews, who, already
dissatisfied with his conduct, found him one day reading the
Gospels. They beat him and threw him into the river
Cydnus. At the touch of persecution his heart was
opened to grace and he was baptized.
Constantine
the
Great gave Joseph the rank of comes (he
is sometimes referred to
as "Count Joseph"), with authority to build churches over Galilee,
wherever he should judge proper, but particularly in the Jewish
towns. It is said that, the Jews having employed many
artifices to hinder the work and stopped his lime-kilns from burning,
he, making the sign of the cross upon a vessel of water, poured it on
the kiln, and the fire instantly burst forth and burned. But
Joseph eventually had to leave Tiberias, and went to live at
Scythopolis (Bethsan), where in 355 he lodged St Eusebius of Vercelli,
banished by the Asians. He
harboured other servants of God, among the rest St Epiphanius, who had from his own
mouth the particulars here related. Joseph was then
seventy years of age, and died soon after, about the year
356. It is matter for remark that, though he is mentioned
in the Roman Martyrology, his name having been added by Baronius, St
Joseph appears to have been venerated liturgically nowhere in the
world, not even in the country of which he was so conspicuous a figure.
See the
Acta Sanctorum, July, vol. v, where a
Latin translation is provided of the textof St Epiphanius.
356 St. Joseph of Palestine A convert from Judaism and patron of St.
Eusebius of Vercelli and St. Epiphanus. One tradition states that
Joseph was so moved by the deathbed Baptism of the great Jewish rabbi,
Hillel, that he became a Christian. His Jewish congregation beat him
and threw him in a river, but he still refused to abjure the faith. He
was made a comes by Emperor Constantine and built Christian churches in
Galilee. Joseph protected St. Eusebius of Vercelli and St. Epiphanus.
St. Epiphanius wrote Joseph’s biography.
Joseph of Palestine (RM). Saint Joseph was a Jew, who
belonged to the
Biblical school of Tiberias, one of several established by the Jews
following the destruction of the Temple. The one at Tiberias produced
Massoretic doctors, who are famous for the invention of the vowel
points to preserve the pronunciation of written Hebrew. After prolonged
interior resistance, he became a Christian and was much favored by
Emperor Constantine, who bestowed on him the title of comes (count). He
devoted himself to building churches and spreading the Gospel in the
Holy Land. He hosted Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, Saint Epiphanius, and
others (Benedictines).
|
356 St.
Pancharius Bishop of Besancon in Gaul during the height of the Arian
controversy
in the Church. He endured considerable hardships at the hands of the
heretical Arians who had the support of the Arian Emperor Constantius.
Pancharius of Besançon
was much persecuted by the officials of the Arian Emperor Constantius M
(AC)
Bishop Pancharius of Besançon was much persecuted by the
officials of the Arian Emperor Constantius (Benedictines).
|
403 or 404
Phokas The
Transfer of the Relics of the Priest-Martyr from Sinope to
Constantinople occurred on 22 July in either the year . The account
about him is located under 22 September.
|
St. Movean Abbot and companion of St. Patrick, also
called Biteus.
Movean was abbot of Inis-Coosery, County Down, Ireland. He served as a
missionary in Perthshire and died as a hermit.
Dabius (Davius) of
Scotland (AC). The Irish priest Dabius preached
effectively in his homeland before migrating to Albany, Scotland. He is
the titular patron of several churches, including the parish of Domnach
Cluana in the County Down, and of Kippau in the Highlands. May be
identical with Saint Movean (Biteus), a disciple of Saint Patrick
(Benedictines, Husenbeth).
Movean (Biteus) of
Inis-Coosery Abbot (AC). Movean was a disciple
of Saint Patrick and abbot of Inis-Coosery in County Down.
He seems to have also
worked in
Perthshire, where he is thought to have died as a hermit (Benedictines).
|
St.
Dabius Irish missionary to Scotland, called Davius in some
lists. He was part of the great monastic missionary effort in the
British Isles, and then in Europe. Several churches there bear his
name.
|
668 St.
Wandrille Benedictine
abbot a noble family and related to Blessed Pepin of Landen, he
was
sent to the court of the Frankish king Dagobert I
In monastério Fontanéllæ, in Gállia, sancti
Wandregísili Abbátis, miráculis clari; cujus
corpus ad Blandínum monastérium, in Flándria,
póstea delátum fuit.
In the monastery of Fontanelle in France, Abbot St.
Wandrille, famous for his miracles. His body was afterwards
translated to the monastery of Blandin, in Flanders.
Also
called Wandregisilus and Vandrille. Born near Verdun, France, to a noble family and
related to Blessed Pepin of
Landen, he was sent to the court of the Frankish king Dagobert I
(r. 629-639) of Austrasia (parts of modern Germany and France). There
he wed in accordance with the wishes of his family. In 628, after a
pilgrimage to Rome, he and his wife separated by mutual agreement so
that each could enter the religious life. After living for a time as a
hermit, he entered the Benedictine monastery of Montfaucon, in
Champagne, France, where he lived for ten years. Wandrille then left
the abbey to become a hermit at St. Ursanne, Jura. He then went to
Roumain-Moutier, where he was ordained. He founded the monastery of
Fontenelle, in Normandy a school as well as what was to become a
leading missionary center and one of the respected monastic
institutions of France.
Wandrille (Wandregisilus)
was born at the end of the sixth century, or
the beginning of the seventh, in the neighbourhood of Verdun, a
relative of Bd Pepin of Landen,
the ancestor of the Carolingian dynasty; he was brought up in a sober
and Christian home, where he was taught the rudiments of secular
learning. For the Frankish nobility all advancement and
successful careers began at the royal court, and when he was old enough
to the Austrasian court Wandrille went. In accordance
with the wishes of his parents he married. He did not want
to, for his heart was, set on the monastic life, but he found that his
bride shared his wishes they therefore lived together as brother and
sister (though it is also said that they were first the parents of St
Landrada), until such time as Wandrille could arrange his secular
affairs, when each went into a monastery. This happened about the
year 628, and not without objection from King Dagobert, who did not
want to lose so reliable and efficient a servant. Wandrille first
of all put himself under the direction of St Baudry at Montfaucon, near
Verdun, and a few months here showed him that he needed a life of
complete solitude for a time. So he retired to the wooded
banks of the river Doubs, at Saint-Ursanne in the Jura, and there built
himself a log hut, in which he lived for five or six years. His
way of life and the nature of the austerities he practised (eating only
twice a week, sleeping only an hour or two, saying his office with bare
limbs on the frozen ground) are very reminiscent of the monks of
Ireland, it has been said that probably the memory of St Columban haunted his mind; the
district in which he was now living had been sanctified by the life and
death of St Ursicinus, one of
Columban's disciples, and Wandrille even projected a visit to
Ireland. He left this place and the disciples who had gradually
gathered round him there, and went for a time to St Columban`s abbey at Bobbio, and
from thence to the abbey of Romain-Moñtier, on the I'sere.
Here he remained for ten years, perfecting himself in the rules and
exercises of the cenobitical life and receiving holy orders from the
hands of St Ouen, Archbishop of Rouen, in whose diocese he worked for a
time.
Then, the instrument of
God's purpose being at last formed,
Wandrille learned that the time had come for him to undertake his own
particular great work. This was the foundation of the abbey of
Fontenelle, near Caudebec-en-Caux. In a short time he was the head of a
large community; the abbey church, dedicated in honour of St Peter, was
consecrated by St Ouen in 657. Fontenelle was a
characteristic monastery of the early middle ages: in
the first place, a home of ascetics then, a missionary centre; then, a
school of the fine and useful arts and of letters. St Wandrille
was particularly careful for well-being of the people of the
surrounding country; not content with ministering to the large number
of dependents of the monastery he extended his labours to the whole
country of Caux, where there were still many heathen. Wandrille's
kindliness sweetened and transformed bitter hearts; his
humilityencouraged the proud wanderer to return; his teaching and
preaching gained many souls for God.
In July 668 St Wandrille
took to his bed with a slight illness,
and during it was caught up in an ecstasy. When he came to
himself he knew that he was about to die, and gathered his community
round
him. "Rest assured", he told them, "that if you are
faithful to my
teaching, if you remember what I have told you, strengthening
yourselves in unity and love and humbleness in such a way that there is
no division among you, the house will prosper. The Lord will always be
amongst you; He will be your comfort and your
help in every need."
There
are
two lives of this saint, printed in the Acta Sanctorum (July, vol. v) and
elsewhere; but only the first, composed in very barbarous Latin by a
monk of Fontenelle about the year 700, is of any historical
value. This has been critically edited by B. Krusch in the fifth
volume of MGH., Scriptores Merov.,
pp. 1-24. The other life, which dates only from the
middle of the ninth century, is quite worthless. From a
misapprehension of the character of this second text a good deal that
has been written popularly about St Wandregisilus is unreliable
this remark applies notably to the life published by Dom Besse in the
series "Les Saints".
See also Gesta sanct.
patrum Fontaneliensis coenobii, ed. Lohier-Laporte (1936), pp.
114.
Wandregisilus (Wandrille, Vandrille), OSB Abbot (RM) Born
near Verdun
about 600, France. Saint Wandrille was born into a noble family related
to Blessed Pepin of Landen and
raised at the Austrasian court. He was a courtier of King Dagobert of
Austrasia, where he had among his fellows seven or eight future saints.
In spite of his desire for the monastic life, Wandrille was appointed
count of the palace and married out of deference to his parents. About
628, by mutual agreement, he separated from his wife. She became a nun
and he became a monk at the Benedictine abbey of Montfauçon in
Champagne under Saint Balderic (Baudry). A few months later he
left to become a hermit at Saint-Ursanne in the Jura Mountains, where
lived in a log hut for about five years. Then Wandrille went to Bobbio.
After a pilgrimage to Rome, in 637, he entered Romain-Moûtier
Abbey on the Isere, where he spent the next decade and where he was
ordained by Saint Ouen of Rouen. He left Romain-Moûtier to
found the famous abbey of Fontenelle in Normandy, which he developed
into a missionary and spiritual center, including a school of arts and
crafts. He became involved in helping and preaching to the inhabitants
of the surrounding area. The abbey- church, which came to be called
Saint-Wandrille, was consecrated in 657. Soon Fontenelle had a
community of over 300 monks, which adopted the Rule of Saint Benedict
after his death.
Wandrille's relics were
moved
during the Viking invasion to Étaples, Chartres, Boulogne, and
Mont-Blandin (Ghent).
His feast spread from Ghent and was celebrated in southern
England
before the Norman Conquest. His abbey had at least three cells in
England-- the most important at Ecclesfield in South Yorkshire and
Upavon (Wiltshire). From these cells, his cultus spread to other
English monasteries, including York and Hereford. A fine, 11th- century
illustrated Life of Wandrille survives at Saint-Omer. At least some of
his relics were recovered by his abbey, where his feast is still
celebrated (Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer).
|
720
St. Meneleus Abbot and restorer of Menat Monastery, near Clermont,
France. Also
listed as Mauvier or Menele, he was born in Anjou and started his
career as a monk of Carmery, Auvergne.
Menáti,
in território Arvernénsi, sancti Meneléi
Abbátis.
At
Menat, in the territory of Auvergne, St. Meneleus, abbot.
Meneleus of Ménat, OSB Abbot (RM) (also known as
Menele,
Mauvier) Born at Anjou, France. Saint Meneleus, whose family was
closely allied to Emperor Charlemagne, always wanted to serve Christ
whole- heartedly. When he reached his majority, his parents forced him
to accept a ring sent to him by a great lord, named Baronte, as a token
of his betrothal to the lord's daughter. Wanting only to serve God, he
fled to Auvergne where he became a monk of Corméry-en-Velay
Abbey near Puy, probably at the hands of Saint Chaffre. Here Menelaus
lived for seven years under Abbot Saint Eudo. Thereafter, he became
abbot-restorer of the monastery of Ménat near Clermont. Menelaus
is highly venerated in Auvergne and Anjou (Benedictines, Husenbeth).
|
789 St.
Theophilus Admiral
and
martyr;
officer in charge of the Byzantine
fleet stationed at Cyprus,
he was captured in battle against an Arab fleet, despite the pleas of
his officers to retreat when the cause was hopeless. He spent one year
in a Muslim prison and was then martyred after he refused to abjure the
Christian faith.
In Cypro sancti Theóphili Prætóris, qui ab
Arábibus tentus, et, cum nec donis nec minis flecti posset ut
Christum negáret, gládio cæsus est.
In Cyprus, St. Theophilus, a praetor, who was
apprehended by the Arabs, and as he could not be induced either by
gifts or by threats to deny Christ, was put to the sword.
Theophilus of Cyprus M (RM). Theophilus, an officer of the
imperial
forces, was captured by invading Saracens at Cyprus when he was
stationed there. As admiral of the Christian fleet, he refused to flee
when the battle went against him. After a year's imprisonment, he was
martyred for refusing to deny his faith (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
|
1088 Bd Benno,
Bishop Of Osnabruck; noteworthy work as an architect "official
architect" to the Emperor Henry III; sent more than once as imperial
envoy to pope St Gregory; founded Iburg monastery
This Benno was born at
Lohningen in Swabia and was educated from an
early age under Bd Herman the Cripple
at Reichenau. He soon attracted attention by his
knowledge of the art of building and was made "official architect " to
the Emperor Henry III. His most spectacular performance in this
capacity was the saving of the cathedral of Speyer, which had been
begun only in 1030, from being underscoured by the wash of the Rhine.
In 1047 he was put in charge of the cathedral school at
Hildesheim. He was taken away to
accompany his bishop when he followed the emperor in his campaign
against the Hungarians, and on his return was made provost of the
cathedral and archpriest of Goslar. In 1068 he was
appointed to the see of Osnabruck, and eight years later the struggle
began between the Emperor Henry IV and Pope St Gregory VII in which the
German bishops were inevitably involved. Benno
was among those who at first sided with the emperor, and at the Synod
of Worms signed the attempted "deposition" of the pope. St
Gregory at once retorted by excommunicating all who had taken part in
this infamous proceeding, and Benno with other bishops went into Italy
to make their peace. Gregory received them at the castle of
Canossa, and, upon hearing their explanations and expressions of
penitence, absolved them. After Henry had
been again excommunicated in 1080 Benno hid himself to avoid
having again to take sides against the pope, to whom he was sent more
than once as imperial envoy.
These, and other political activities of Bishop Benno
are less
edifing than the justice, goodness and honesty which were attested by
the affection which his flock had for him; he is said
once to have dispersed a plague of grasshoppers by his prayers, and for
that reason his intercession against them was sought in after ages. He
had the unhappiness of seeing his cathedral, a timber building, burnt
to the ground, but his own building days were over, and it was the work
of his successor to replace it. The last years of his life were
spent in peace at Iburg, where he had founded a monastery, and here he
died. An account of his life was written by Norbert, the third
abbot of Iburg, who was elected while the bishop was living there, and
it was principally at Iburg and Osnabrilck that Bd Benno was venerated.
There is no account given of
Benno in the Acta Sanctorum,
though he is
mentioned among the praetermissi under
July 22; the Bollandists remarked that they had no life of him or
evidence of cultus.
Later, however, a biography by Norbert was found in a
seventeenth-century manuscript, alleged to be a copy of an ancient text
destroyed by fire. This was reproduced in MGH., vol.
xii. Of recent years a codex of the genuine text of Norbert has
been discovered, which shows that the former version was a copy which
had been extensively interpolated and falsified, apparently by Maur
Rost, abbot of Iburg in 1666. The correct text, first discovered
and edited by H. Bresslau, has now been reprinted in the folio
continuation of the MGH., 1926, vol. xxx, Pt. 2. Benno's
work as an architect seems to have been noteworthy.
|
1493 Blessed
Augustine Fangi; Miracles during life; raised dead, removed devils,
mended broken jar and refilled it; and Miracles around the tomb
of Augustine of Biella led to his
beatification in 1878, after forgotten by everyone,
except residents of the little town at the foot of the Alps where
he lived; His life noted for piety and
regularity, but quite unremarkable for unusual events or venturesome
projects, OP (AC)
Born at Biella, Italy, 1430; died in Venice, 1493; beatified in 1872.
Miracles around the tomb of Augustine of Biella led to his
beatification in 1878, after he had long been forgotten by everyone,
except the residents of the little town at the foot of the Alps where
he lived. His is another example of a life noted for piety and
regularity, but quite unremarkable for unusual events or venturesome
projects. Augustine's father was a member of the Fangi family,
who were wealthy and noble, and, because of this, he had planned a
secular career for his son. But when the Dominicans came to Biella, his
plans were changed, for Augustine was completely charmed by their way
of life and begged to be admitted. He entered, while quite young, the
new convent that the Dominicans had built at Biella.
Augustine's had a reputation for penance, even at a time when people
were not as squeamish as they are today. Not only did he inflict harsh
penances upon himself, he also bore with patience whatever pain and
annoyance life granted him gratuitously. At one time he was required to
undergo a surgical operation without, of course, any anaesthetic. He
did so without making the slightest outcry. In fact, he said afterwards
that his mind was so intensely focused on something else that he hardly
noticed what was being done to him.
His mind was on that
"something
else" most of the time, for he prayed continually.
In 1464, Augustine was made prior at Soncino.
Several of his best known
miracles were performed there. At one time, a deformed child, who had
died without baptism, was restored to life, by Augustine's prayer, long
enough to be baptized. At another time, when he was passing down the
street, he met a little boy who was crying bitterly, because he had
broken a jug of wine. Augustine gathered up the shards and put them
back together again. Then, with a prayer, he refilled the jug and
handed it back to the startled child.
Still another time, through
his
intercession, a woman was delivered from possession of five devils.
Augustine spent his last ten years in the
convent in Venice, and he
died there on the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene. He was buried in a
damp place. Forty years later, on the occasion of some repairs to the
church, his coffin, found floating on water, was opened. His body and
habit were still intact. This did much to promote interest in his
cause. Nevertheless, it was more than three centuries before he was
finally beatified (Benedictines, Dorcy).
|
 1619
Lawrence
of
Brindisi,
Doctor of the Church by Pope John XXIII both a brilliant military
tactician as well as a peacemaker; became a Capuchin Franciscan in
Verona at 16 and took the name Lawrence excelled at Bible studies; main
contributions are in the nine volumes of his sermons (RM)
OFM
Cap. (also known as Laurence, Lorenzo)
Ulyssipóne, in
Lusitánia, sancti Lauréntii a Brundísio,
Sacerdótis et Confessóris; qui Ordinis Minórum
sancti Francísci Capuccinórum Miníster
éxstitit Generális, atque, divíni verbi
prædicatióne et árduis pro Dei glória gestis
præclárus, a Leóne Décimo tértio,
Summo Pontífice, Sanctórum fastis adscríptus est.
At Lisbon in Portugal, St. Lawrence of Brindisi, priest and confessor,
superior general of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin of St.
Francis. Illustrious for his preaching and his arduous labour for
the glory of God, he was canonized by Pope Leo XIII.
Born in Brindisi, Naples, Italy,
July 22, 1559; died in
Lisbon,
Portugal, July 22, 1619; beatified in 1783; canonized in 1881; declare
a Doctor of the Church by Pope John XXIII in 1959; feast day formerly
on July 23. Cesare de Rossi was born to a Venetian family in the
kingdom of Naples. He was educated by the local Conventual Franciscans
and then by his uncle in the College of Saint Mark in Venice. He was
both a brilliant military tactician as well as a peacemaker.
At age 16, he became a Capuchin Franciscan in Verona and
took the name
Lawrence. He pursued higher studies in theology, philosophy, and
Scripture at the University of Padua. There he demonstrated an
incredible gift for languages--Greek, Hebrew, German, Bohemian, French,
and Spanish--and excelled at Bible studies. He gave a Lenten course of
sermons while still a deacon, and after being ordained, he preached
successfully in Padua, Verona, Vicenza, and elsewhere in northern Italy.
In 1596, he became a definitor general of the order in Rome,
a position
he was to hold five times. Pope Clement VIII commissioned him to
evangelize the Jews; his facility with Hebrew contributed to his
success at this task. He accompanied Blessed Benedict of Urbino to
Germany to establish the Capuchins as a means of counteracting the
spread of Lutheranism. They nursed plague victims and established
monasteries at Prague, Vienna, and Gorizia, which were to develop into
the provinces of Bohemia, Austria, and Styria. Lawrence then was
elected minister general of the Capuchins.
During this time, the Turks were threatening to conquer
Hungary.
Emperor Rudolf II begged Lawrence to unite the German
princes against
them. As a result of his efforts, an army was mustered, and he was
appointed chaplain general. Before the battle of Szekes-Fehervar in
1601, the generals consulted him on strategy. He advised an attack,
rallied the troops, and rode before the army with a crucifix. The
victory of Szekes-Fehervar was attributed to him. In
1602, he was elected vicar general of the Capuchins but
refused
re-election in 1605.
The emperor later commissioned Lawrence to persuade Philip
III of Spain
to join the Catholic League, and in the course of this task, he founded
a house of Capuchins in Madrid. He was then sent to Munich as nuncio of
the Holy See at the court of Maximilian of Bavaria, head of the League,
from which location, in addition to his other duties, he administered
two provinces of his order. After serving as a
diplomat for two more royal tangles,
returned to the
monastery of Caserta in 1618, desiring a more solitary life. Representatives
from Naples came to him, however, and asked
him to
intercede for them with King Philip about the Spanish viceroy, the duke
of Osuna, whose dictatorial methods they feared would cause a
rebellion. Although he was ill and tired and predicted that he
would not return alive, he agreed. He was forced to travel to Lisbon in
the heat of summer. There he convinced the king of the seriousness of
the case, and the duke was recalled. After accomplishing his aim, he
returned to his lodging and died on his sixtieth birthday. Lawrence was
buried in the cemetery of Poor Clares at Villafranca.
His written works included some controversial pieces against
the
Lutherans and a commentary on Genesis, but his main contributions are
in the nine volumes of his sermons (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley,
Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Walsh, White).
Cessare De Rossi, was born
at Brindisi in the kingdom of Naples in
1559, of a Venetian family of good standing. He
was educated first by the Conventual Franciscans in his birthplace and
then by his uncle in the college of St Mark at
Venice. He made rapid progress, both in studies and
in the spiritual life, and when he was sixteen received the Capuchin
Franciscan habit at Verona, taking the name of Laurence.
He made his philosophical and theological
studies at the
University of Padua, displaying a marvellous gift for languages: he
learned Greek, Hebrew, German, Bohemian, French and Spanish, and had an
extraordinary knowledge of the text of the Bible. White still a deacon
he preached a Lenten course of sermons, and after his ordination
preached with great fruit in Padua, Verona, Vicenza and other towns of
northern Italy. In 1596 he went to fill the office of
definitor general of his order in Rome, and was charged by Pope Clement
VIII to work for the conversion of the Jews. In this
he had considerable success, his knowledge of Hebrew being a valuable
adjunct to his learning and holy life. He was sent with Bd Benedict of Urbino into Germany
to establish the Capuchins there as a bulwark against Lutheranism; they
began this work by nursing those sick of the plague, and before they
left they had founded friaries at Prague, Vienna and Gorizia, which
developed into the provinces of Bohemia, Austria and Styria. At
the chapter of 1602 he was elected minister general of the Capuchins,
and administered his charge with both vigour and charity, setting out
at once on a visitation of the provinces. But when his term of tffice
was up, in 1605 he refused to accept re-election; nor was there other
work lacking for him to do.
While still vicar general Laurence had
been sent by
the emperor, Rudolf II, to enlist the help of the German princes
against the Turks who were threatening the whole of
Hungary. He was successful in his mission, an army
was got together, and Laurence was appointed chaplain general of the
forces. He even fulfilled in some respects the duties
of chief-of-staff as well : before the battle of Szekes-Fehervar in
1601 the friar was consulted by the generals; he advised assault, gave
a rousing address to the troops, and himself rode before the army-armed
with a crucifix.
The crushing defeat of the Turks was
attributed on all hands to St Laurence. There is a
story that on his way back from this campaign he stayed with his
brethren at Gorizia, where our Lord appeared to them in choir and gave
all holy communion with His own hand. Having spent some
time preaching and recoaciling heretics in Germany he was commissioned
by the emperor to induce Philip III of Spain to join the Catholic
League, and took the opportunity to found a house of Capuchins in
Madrid. Then he was sent to Munich as nuncio of the Holy
See at the court of Maximilian of Bavaria, head of the League; from
here he administered two provinces of his order and continued his work
of pacification and conversion. After settling two more
royal quarrels he retired in 1618 to the friary at Caserta, hoping
there to be free from exterior distractions, though he had
had the will and the grace never to allow his activities in
secular
affairs to get in the way of the principal business of
self-sanctification. He frequently fell into ecstasy while saying
Mass, and his personal devotion was the starting-point of all his
achievements.
But princes and governors, however
irreligious
themselves, often value the service of truly religious men. The
chief men of Naples came to Laurence and complained of the tyranny of
the Spanish viceroy, the Duke of Osuna; they feared a rising of
the people; would he go to the court of King Philip and put their case
before him? The saint was still not very old, but he
was worn out and he was ill ; moreover, he predicted that if he went he
would never return. He set out. When at
last he arrived in Madrid the king was not there: he had gone to
Lisbon. So Laurence followed him across Spain and Portugal in the
heat of summer. He used all his eloquence and power of persuasion
on behalf of the Neapolitans, and gained his point; the Duke of Osuna
should be recalled.
Then Laurence returned to his lodging, and
there, on
his birthday, July 22, in the year 1619, he died. He was
buried in the cemetery of the Poor Clares at Villafranca, and was
beatified in 1783; when in the course of the process his writings were
examined, it was recorded of them that " Indeed, he is fit to be
included among the holy doctors of the Church". These writings
consist for the most part of sermons, but include also a commentary on
the book of Genesis and some works against Luther; until recently but
little of them had been printed. St Laurence of Brindisi was canonized
in 1881.
An
English Life
of St Laurence of Brindisi was published in 1911 Father Anthony
Brennan; it is founded, as the author tells us in his preface, mainly
upon the biography of Father Bonaventure of Coccaleo, who had before
him the documents of the beatification process. Nine volumes of St
Laurence's Opera omnia have
now been published (1928-45) by the Capuchins of the Venetian province.
This great work provides authentic materials for a fuller study of the
saint's career, and a critical biography will in due course be
added. For his Mariology, see Fr Jerome, La doctrine mariale de St Laurent de
Brindes (1933), and Fr Serafino, S. Lorenzo da Brindisi discorsi mariani
(1950). A collection of testimonies concerning the saint's life and
work, ed. Fr Jerome of Fellette, was published at Venice in
1937.
July 21, 2008 St. Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619)
At first glance perhaps the most remarkable quality of Lawrence of
Brindisi is his outstanding gift of languages. In addition to a
thorough knowledge of his native Italian, he had complete reading and
speaking ability in Latin, Hebrew, Greek, German, Bohemian, Spanish and
French.
He was born on July 22, 1559, and died exactly 60 years later on his
birthday in 1619. His parents William and Elizabeth Russo gave him the
name of Julius Caesar, Caesare in Italian. After the early death of his
parents, he was educated by his uncle at the College of St. Mark in
Venice.
When he was just 16 he entered the Capuchin Franciscan Order in Venice
and received the name of Lawrence. He completed his studies of
philosophy and theology at the University of Padua and was ordained a
priest at 23.
With his facility for languages he was able to study the Bible in its
original texts. At the request of Pope Clement VIII, he spent much time
preaching to the Jews in Italy.
So excellent was his
knowledge of Hebrew, the rabbis felt sure he was a Jew who had become a
Christian.
In 1956 the Capuchins completed a 15-volume edition of his
writings. Eleven of these 15 contain his sermons, each of which relies
chiefly on scriptural quotations to illustrate his teaching.
Lawrence’s sensitivity to the needs of people—a character trait perhaps
unexpected in such a talented scholar—began to surface. He was elected
major superior of the Capuchin Franciscan province of Tuscany at the
age of 31. He had the combination of brilliance, human compassion and
administrative skill needed to carry out his duties. In rapid
succession he was promoted by his fellow Capuchins and was elected
minister general of the Capuchins in 1602. In this position he was
responsible for great growth and geographical expansion of the Order.
Lawrence was appointed papal emissary and peacemaker, a job which took
him to a number of foreign countries. An effort to achieve peace in his
native kingdom of Naples took him on a journey to Lisbon to visit the
king of Spain. Serious illness in Lisbon took his life in 1619.
Comment:
His constant
devotion to Scripture, coupled with great
sensitivity to the needs of people, present a lifestyle which appeals
to Christians today. Lawrence had a balance in his life that blended
self-discipline with a keen appreciation for the needs of those whom he
was called to serve.
Quote: “God is love, and all his operations
proceed from love.
Once he wills to manifest that goodness by sharing his love outside
himself, then the Incarnation becomes the supreme manifestation of his
goodness and love and glory. So, Christ was intended before all other
creatures and for his own sake. For him all things were created and to
him all things must be subject, and God loves all creatures in and
because of Christ. Christ is the first-born of every creature, and the
whole of humanity as well as the created world finds its foundation and
meaning in him. Moreover, this would have been the case even if Adam
had not sinned” (St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor of the Universal
Church, Capuchin Educational Conference, Washington, D.C.).
|
1622
Blessed Kiprian,
fool-for-Christ's-sake, gatekeeper of the church in Voskresensk, near
the city of Kovrov in Vladimir Diocese. Saint Kiprian pursued his
calling in silence on an island near the mouth of the rivers Kliazma
and Uvod
At his death on 22 July 1622 the body of the saint of God was buried
near the church in the village of Voskresensk. In the year 1751
diligent admirers of the saint added a chapel to the church near his
grave, in honour of the "Pokrov/Protection" of the Mother of God. On
the iconographic original of the saint it says: "22 July the death of
the holy righteous Kiprian, fool-for-Christ's-sake in the village
Voskresensk and wonderworker of Suzdal'; in appearance dark-featured,
hair hung behind the ears, a beard like (Saint John) the Theologian
forked, in clothes of green, legs barefooted, hands in prayer".
|
1679 Bds.
Philip
Evans priest S.J. and John Lloyd a secular priest, missionary to
minister in his own country; Martyred " as priests who had come
unlawfully into the realm"
Philip Evans was born at Monmouth in 1645, was educated at
Saint-Omer,
and joined the Society of Jesus at the age of twenty. in 1675 he
was ordained at Liege and sent to South Wales. He was soon
well known for his zeal, but no active notice was taken by the
authorities until the scare of "Oates's plot ", when in the
November of 1678 John Arnold, of Llanvihangel Court near Abergavenny, a
justice of the peace and hunter of priests, offered a reward of
£200 for his arrest. Father Evans refused to leave
his flock, and early in December was caught at the house of Christopher
Turberville at Sker in Glamorgan. He refused the oath and was confined
alone in an underground dungeon in Cardiff Castle. Two or three
weeks afterwards he was joined by Mr John Lloyd, a secular priest, who
had been taken at Penlline in Glamorgan. He was a
Breconshire man, who had taken the missionary oath at Valladolid in
1649 and been sent to minister in his own country.
After five months the two prisoners were brought up
for trial at
the shire-hall in Cardiff, charged not with complicity in the "plot"
but as priests who had come unlawfully into the realm. It
had been difficult to collect witnesses against them, and they were
condemned and sentenced by Mr Justice Owen, Wynne principally on the
evidence of two poor women who were suborned to say that they had seen
Father Evans celebrating Mass. On their return to prison they
were better treated and allowed a good deal of liberty, so that when
the under-sheriff came on July 21 to announce that their execution was
fixed for the morrow, Father Evans was playing a game of tennis and
would not return to his cell till he had finished it. Part of his
few remaining hours of life he spent playing on the harp and talking to
the numerous people who came to say farewell to himself and Mr Lloyd
when the news got around. The execution took
place on Gallows Field (at the northeastern end of what is now Richmond
Road, Cardiff).
Bd
Philip died first, after
having addressed
the people in Welsh and English, and saying, "Adieu, Mr Lloyd, though
for a little time, for we shall shortly meet again", to Bd John, who
made only a very brief speech because, as he said, "I never was a good
speaker in my life". See Challoner, MMP., pp. 544-547. Challoner
cites the Florus
Anglo-Bavaricus, and there
was also a broadsheet printed the same year (1679), of which there is a
copy at the British Museum, describing the martyr's death. See
also T. P. Ellis, Catholic Martyrs
of Wales (1933), pp. 119-125 and Catholic Record Society Publications, vol. xlvii (1953),
pp. 296-299
1679 Sts. Philip Evans
& John Lloyd
Philip Evans was born at Monmouth in 1645, was educated at
Saint-Omer,
and joined the Society of Jesus at the age of twenty. In 1675 he was
ordained at Liege and sent to South Wales. He was soon well known for
his zeal, but no active notice was taken by the authorities until the
scare of Oates plot, when in the November of 1678 John Arnold, of
Llanvihangel Court near Abergavenny, a justice of the peace and hunter
of priests, offered a reward of £200 for his arrest. Father Evans
refused to leave his flock, and early in December was caught at the
house of Christopher Turberville at Sker in Glamorgan. He refused the
oath and was confined alone in an underground dungeon in Cardiff
Castle. Two or three weeks afterwards he was joined by Mr John Lloyd, a
secular priest, who had been taken at Penlline in Glamorgan. He was a
Breconshire man, who had taken the missionary oath at Valladolid in
1649 and been sent to minister in his own country. After five months
the two prisoners were brought up for trial at the shire-hall in
Cardiff, charged not with complicity in the plot but as priests who had
come unlawfully into the realm. It had been difficult to collect
witnesses against them, and they were condemned and sentenced by Mr
Justice Owen Wynne principally on the evidence of two poor women who
were suborned to say that they had seen Father Evans celebrating Mass.
On their return to prison they were better treated and allowed a good
deal of liberty, so that when the under-sheriff came on July 21 to
announce that their execution was fixed for the morrow, Father Evans
was playing a game of tennis and would not return to his cell till he
had finished it. Part of his few remaining hours of life he spent
playing on the harp and talking to the numerous people who came to say
farewell to himself and Mr Lloyd when the news got around. The
execution took place on Gallows Field (at the north-eastern end of what
is now Richmond Road, Cardiff). St Philip died first, after having
addressed the people in Welsh and English, and saying ‘Adieu, Mr Lloyd,
though for a little time, for we shall shortly meet again , to St John,
who made only a very brief speech because, as he said, ‘I never was a
good speaker in my life .
Philip Evans, SJ, and John
Lloyd, Priests MM (RM) Died at Cardiff,
Wales, on July 22, 1679; beatified in 1929; canonized by Pope Paul VI
in 1970 as two of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Philip Evans was born in Monmouthshire, Wales, in 1645, and
educated at
Saint-Omer. He joined the Society of Jesus when he was 20 and was
ordained at Liège, Belgium, in 1675. Father Philip was sent back
to Wales to minister to the Catholics in the southern part of the
country. For several years he zealously ministered to his flock
unmolested, but the civil authorities turned a blind eye until November
1678. Although John Arnold, a justice of the peace and hunter of
priests, offered a 200 pound bounty for his arrest, Father Evans
refused to leave his flock untended.
Meanwhile, John Lloyd, a native of Breconshire
(Brecknockshire), Wales,
was educated at Ghent, Belgium, and Valladolid, Spain, where he was
ordained in 1653. The following year he returned to Wales and
ministered to his fellow countrymen for 24 years.
In December 1678, Father Evans was arrested at the home of
Christopher
Turberville at Sker, Glamorgan. When he refused to take the Oath of
Supremacy, he was imprisoned alone in Cardiff Castle, until he was
joined several weeks later by John Lloyd, who was arrested at Penllyn,
Glamorgan. They had both been arrested in the hysteria of the Titus
Oates plot to kill King Charles II.
After five months, the two priests were brought to trial,
but when no
evidence of their complicity could be produced, they were charged with
being priests, which was illegal in the realm. Few were willing to
serve as witnesses against them. Finally, they were convicted on the
evidence of two poor women who were suborned to say that they had seen
Father Evans celebrating Mass.
Following the trial they were returned to prison, where they
were
allowed a great deal of liberty- -so much liberty that when an official
came to tell them they were be executed the following day, Father Evans
was playing tennis and would not return to his cell until he had
finished it. Father Evans spent his remaining hours playing the harp
and talking to his well-wishers who came to visit them. It almost seems
as though the local people were reluctant to have treated them in such
an uncharitable manner.
They were executed on Gallows Field (at the northeastern end
of what is
now Richmond Road). Father Evans addressed the onlookers in Welsh and
English and, turning to his fellow martyr, said: "Adieu, Mr. Lloyd,
though for a little time, for we shall shortly meet again." After Evans
death, Father Lloyd made only a brief speech because, as he said, "I
never was a good speaker in my life" (Benedictines, Delaney, Walsh)
|
1693 Saint
Cornelius of
Pereyaslavl the sacristan in church, he served in the trapeza, and also
toiled in the garden relics were found incorrupt
In the world Konon, was the son of a Ryazan merchant. In his youth he
left his parental home and lived for five years as a novice of the
Elder Paul in the Lukianov wilderness near Pereyaslavl. Afterwards the
young ascetic transferred to the Pereyaslavl monastery of Sts Boris and
Gleb on the Sands [Peskakh]. Konon eagerly went to church and
unquestioningly did everything that they commanded him.
The holy novice did not sit down to eat in the trapeza with the
brethren, but contented himself with whatever remained, accepting food
only three times a week. After five years, he received monastic tonsure
with the name Cornelius. From that time no one saw the monk sleeping on
a bed. Several of the brethren scoffed at St Cornelius as foolish, but
he quietly endured the insults and intensified his efforts. Having
asked permission of the igumen to live as a hermit, he secluded himself
into his own separately constructed cell and constantly practiced
asceticism in fasting and prayer.
Once the brethren found him barely alive, and the cell was locked from
within. Three months St Cornelius lay ill, and he could take only water
and juice. The monk, having recovered and being persuaded by the
igumen, stayed to live with the brethren. St Cornelius was the
sacristan in church, he served in the trapeza, and also toiled in the
garden. As if to bless the saint's labors, excellent apples grew in the
monastery garden, which he lovingly distributed to visitors.
The body of St Cornelius was withered up from strict fasting, but he
did not cease to toil. With his own hands he built a well for the
brethren. For thirty years St Cornelius lived in complete silence,
being considered by the brethren as deaf and dumb. Before his death on
July 22, 1693, St Cornelius made his confession to the monastery priest
Father Barlaam, received the Holy Mysteries and took the schema.
He was buried in the chapel. Nine years later, during the construction
of a new church, his relics were found incorrupt. In the year 1705, St
Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov (October 28), saw the relics of St
Cornelius, and they were in the new church in a secluded place. The
holy bishop composed a Troparion and Kontakion to the saint. |
Mary Mother of GOD 
Saints of this Day July 22 Undécimo Kaléndas
Augusti 
Quote: Pope
Paul
VI’s 1969 Instruction
on the Contemplative Life includes this passage:
Benedict_XVI_Patriarch_Bartholomew 
Meeting of the
Saints walis (saints of Allah)
Colombia was among the
countries Mother
Angelica visited. 
Monsignor
Reardon Protonotarius
Apostolicus Pastor 42 years BASILICA OF SAINT MARY Minneapolis
MN
As
we watch the
spectacle of the world
seeming to self-destruct before our eyes, we can’t help but be saddened
and even frightened by so much evil run rampant. Iraq, Lebanon,
Afghanistan, Somalia, North Korea—It is all a disaster of epic
proportions displayed in living color on our television screens. These are not ordinary times and this is
not business as usual. We are at a crossroads in human history and the
time for Catholics and all Christians to act is now. All evil can
ultimately be traced to its origin, which is moral evil. All of the
political action, peace talks, international peacekeeping forces, etc.
will avail nothing if the underlying sickness is not addressed. This is
sin. One person at a time hearts and minds must be moved from evil to
good, from lies to truth, from violence to peace.
