The Three Wise Men
1st century; feast day formerly January 6. It is related, in
Matthew 2:1-2, that wise men came from the East to worship the Infant Jesus.
They were queried by Herod as to the child's whereabouts, found the child,
"did him homage," and "offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh."
Warned in a dream, they returned to their own country by a different
route so that they did not have to report to Herod where Jesus could be
found. Ancient tradition calls them "magi" and says there were three of them--probably
because of the three gifts-- named Balthasar, Caspar (Gaspar), and Melchoir.
The Old Testament foretells that 'The kings of Tarshish and
the islands shall bring tribute, the kings of Arabia and Seba offer gifts.
May all the kings bow before him, all nations serve him. For he rescues the
poor when they cry out, the oppressed who have no one to help..." (Psalm
72:10-12). By connecting this prophecy with the wisemen, Christians have
decided that they must have been kings.
Modern scholars, however, believe
they were astrologers from Babylonia or Arabia.
These three are the first non-Jews to have worshipped Jesus.
Very early in the Christian era they became a favorite subject of Christian
art, painted on the walls of a catacomb in the early second century. Early
in the next century they were given their names. Artists began to paint one
as a young king, another in mid- life, and the third as an old man. Later
the artists reasoned that if they came from the east, at least one of them
must have been a black man.
A magnificent Medieval shrine
in Cologne, Germany, contains their reputed bones.
Soon Christians began to speculate on the significance of the
three gifts. Gold obviously symbolized Jesus as a king himself. Frankincense
for the devotion of the wise men to Jesus. But myrrh was used to embalm
bodies:
This gift foreshadowed Jesus's
death on the Cross, the means of our salvation (Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney).
That the three Wise Men or Magi
were three in number, though this is not directly stated in the gospel, appears
to be a tradition of great antiquity, founded, no doubt, upon the fact that
three kinds of gifts are specified. They are represented as three in
some of the oldest catacomb paintings (though there are a few exceptions,
in which we find two, four, and even six-apparently from a motive of artistic
symmetry), and several of the fathers-e.g.
Origen (Hom. in Genesim, XIV 3), St Maximus of Turin, and St Leo-seem to take the number three for
granted.
The fact that the adoration of the Magi is often balanced
against the Old Testament scene of the three youths in the fiery furnace
may also have helped to stereotype the convention.
In the catacomb frescoes and sarcophagus sculptures of
early date the Magi are always depicted as wearing Phrygian caps.
The idea of their royal character developed later, being probably suggested
by the wording of Psalm lxxi 10: "The kings of Tharsis and the islands shall
offer presents; the kings of the Arabians and of Saba shall bring gifts."
It seems to occur first in a sermon attributed to St Caesarius of Arles (Migne, PL., vol.
xxxix, c. 2018), who died in 543. From the eighth century onwards we find
them in Christian art commonly represented with crowns.
Still later the Magi acquire definite names. A Paris
manuscript of the eighth century calls then "Bithisarea, Melchior and Gathaspa";
in a miniature of the Codex Egberti (c. 990) we find written against two
of them "Pudizar" and "Melchias".
Despite these prirna-facie divergences, there can be no doubt that these
represent some common form from which have come the Balthasar, Melchior and
Caspar now popularly received. In the later middle ages one often notices
that in pictures of the Magi one is represented as a youth, another as an
old man, and the third as middle-aged. Lastly, the practice of painting one
of them as a Negro only developed in the fifteenth century.
The bones of these three holy "kings" are now believed
by some to rest in Cologne cathedral, in a shrine which is one of the finest
examples of the craft of the medieval metal-worker. There is no reason to
doubt that these relics are identical with those which were brought to Cologne
in 1164 from the basilica of St Eustorgius at Milan, having been given to
the archbishop of Cologne by Frederick Barbarossa. But the earlier
history is much less satisfactorily attested, although the identification
of the relics at Milan with those of the three kings may probably be traced
back to the ninth century. The bones are said to have come to Milan
from Constantinople, possibly in the time of the Emperor Zeno (474-491), but
we know nothing of how they were identified with the kings nor of how they
got to Constantinople. No one can dispute that the three
kings were enthusiastically venerated, especially in Germany during the middle
ages, the devotion being probably fostered by the many pilgrimages made to
their shrine at Cologne and by the mystery plays in which the corning of
the Magi to Bethlehem was a favourite
theme. They were naturally often venerated as the
special patrons of travellers.
See Hugo Kehrer, Die
heiligen Drei Konige in Literatur
und Kunst... (2 vols., 1909); Kraus, Geschichte der christ!. Kunst, vol. i,
p. 151, and many other passages; H. Detzel, Christliche Ikonographie (1896), vol.
ii, pp. 473-475 ; and G. Messina, I Magi
a Betlemme (1933). The traditional English form of the name Caspar
is Jasper.
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75
St. Apollinaris first bishop of Ravenna, Italy martyr
Ravénnæ
natális sancti Apollináris Epíscopi, qui, ab Apóstolo
Petro Romæ ordinátus et Ravénnam missus, pro fide Christi
divérsas et multíplices pœnas perpéssus est; póstea,
Evangélium in Æmília prædicans, plúrimos
ab idolórum cultu revocávit; tandem, Ravénnam revérsus,
gloriósum martyrium, sub Vespasiáno Cæsare, complévit.
At Ravenna, the birthday of the holy bishop Apollinaris,
who was consecrated at Rome by the Apostle Peter, and sent to Ravenna, where
he endured many different tribulations for the faith of Christ. He afterwards
preached the Gospel in Emilia, where he converted many from the worship of
idols. Finally, returning to Ravenna, he completed his confession of
Christ by a glorious martyrdom under Vespasian Caesar.
St. Apollinaris was the first bishop of Ravenna, and its only known
martyr. His acts say that he was born at Antioch, a disciple of St Peter,
and made by him bishop of Ravenna, but this is an invention of the seventh
century, when the pretensions of that see were in need of support. He
was famous among the earlier martyrs, and the high veneration which the Church
paid early to his memory is a sufficient testimony to his sanctity and apostolic
spirit; but no reliance can be put in his legend.
According to it he miraculously healed the wife of an official and converted
her and her husband, cured one Boniface who was dumb, and made many converts,
for which he was flogged and chased from the city; he preached the
gospel in Bologna and converted the household of the patrician Rufinus, and
was banished from thence and wrecked on the Dalmatian coast, where his preaching
caused him to be ill-treated. Three times he returned to his see, and
each time was captured, tortured, and driven out again; the fourth time the
Emperor Vespasian issued a decree of banishment against Christians, and for
a time Apollinaris lay in hiding with the connivance of a Christian centurion;
but he was recognized and set upon by the mob at Classis, a suburb of the
city, knocked about, and left for dead. St Peter Chrysologus, the most
illustrious among his successors, has left a sermon in his honour, in which
he styles him martyr; but adds that God preserved him a long time to His Church,
and did not suffer the persecutors to take away his life. So he may
have been a martyr only by the torments he endured for Christ. The
name of St Apollinaris occurs in the canon of the Milanese Mass.
St Peter Chrysologus
in his sermons (no. 128) refers to St Apollinaris as first bishop of Ravenna
and as a martyr. Beyond this we know very little. The life, printed
in the Acta Sanctorum, July, vol. 5, is not of older date than the seventh
century, and there is no reason to suppose it to be based on any genuine
tradition. The subject has been fully discussed by Mgr Lanzoni in his essay
Le fonti della leggenda di Sant'
Apollinare di Ravenna (1915), and again in his book Le diocesi d'Italia...(1923), pp. 455
seq., and see E. Will, S. Apollinaire de Ravenne (1936). Cf. also Delehaye, "L'Hagiographie ancienne
de Ravenne" in Analecta Bollandiana,
vol. xlvii (1929), pp. 5-30; Zattoni, La
data della Passio S. Apollinaris
(1904), with other later papers ; M. G. Loreta, Le chiese di S. Apollinare (1924); and
CMH., pp. 390-392.
Bishop, martyr, and
possible disciple of St. Peter. Apollinaris
was born in Antioch, Turkey, and became
the first bishop of Ravenna, in Italy. He suffered exile because of his preaching
and converts. When Emperor Vespasian {69-79} banished Christians,
Apollinaris was beaten by a mob and reputedly died soon after from his wounds.
His shrine in the Benedictine Abbey of Classe in Ravenna was once a popular
pilgrimage destination. Apollinaris was credited with many miracles. He also
appeared to St. Romuald, the founder of the Camaldolese. He is patron of
Ravenna, Burthscheid, Aachen, Remagen, and Düsseldorf, and he is invoked against gout, epilepsy, and diseases
of the sexual organs. Apollinaris is depicted as a bishop in liturgical
art. His cult was confined to local calendars in 1969.
Apollinaris of Ravenna BM (RM) Apollinaris was the first bishop of
Ravenna, Italy. According to his late and unreliable acta, he was a disciple
of Saint Peter and a native of Antioch, who at one time survived a shipwreck
in Dalmatia, was driven from his see three times, went into hiding the fourth
time when Emperor Vespasian banished all Christians, and was discovered and
beaten by a mob. But nothing is known with certainty about him--even the date
of his death is debatable. Saint Bede's martyrology reports that he governed
Ravenna for 20 years and was killed during Vespasian's reign.
Some say he was repeatedly tortured for the faith and to have died in the
process. But he may be a martyr only because he suffered for Christ; he may
not have died of it. The best literary witness to his existence is Saint Peter
Chrysologus (died c. 450), who left a sermon in honor of Apollinaris. In
it Chrysologus styles his subject as a martyr, but adds that although he
spilled his blood many times for Christ and desired to lay down his life,
God preserved him.
His shrine is at the Benedictine Abbey of Classe in Ravenna, which became
famous throughout Christendom. Saint Fortunatus exhorted his friends to make
pilgrimages to his tomb, and Saint Gregory the Great ordered parties in doubtful
lawsuits to be sworn before it. Apollinaris's best memorials are the superb
churches of Ravenna dedicated to name; however, Pope Honorius built one in
Rome dedicated to him about 630. There is a fine mosaic representing him as
a shepherd of his flock in Ravenna. The feast of Apollinaris occurs in all
martyrologies, and the high veneration which the church paid early to his
memory is a sufficient testimony of his eminent sanctity and apostolic spirit
(Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth, White).
In art, Saint Apollinaris is an early Christian bishop with a club. He
may also be shown (1) beaten with a club by the devil; (2) standing or seated
on hot coals; (3) bearded, in a chasuble and pallium, with sheep around him
(in a mosaic); or (4) preaching to sheep. The sheep in early Christian mosaics
signify that he was a pastor (Roeder).
Apollinarius,
Bishop of Ravenna: Hieromartyr During the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius
(41-54), the holy Apostle Peter came to Rome from Antioch, and he ordained
Apollinarius, who had come with him, to be Bishop of Ravenna. Arriving in
Ravenna as a stranger, St Apollinarius asked shelter of a local inhabitant,
the soldier Irenaeus, and in conversation with him revealed for what purpose
he had come.
Irenaeus had a blind son, whom St Apollinarius healed, having turned to
the Lord with prayer. The soldier Irenaeus and his family were the first
in Ravenna to believe in Christ. The saint stayed at the house of Irenaeus
and preached about Christ to everyone wanting to hear what he said. One of
the miracles performed by St Apollinarius was the healing of Thekla, the
incurably sick wife of the Ravenna tribune. She arose from her bed completely
healthy, through the prayers of the saint. Not only did she believe in Christ,
but so did the tribune. At the house of the tribune St Apollinarius constructed
a small church, where he celebrated Divine Liturgy. St Apollinarius ordained
two presbyters, Aderetus and Calocyrus, and also two deacons for the newly-baptized
people of Ravenna.
St Apollinarius preached the
Gospel at Ravenna for twelve years, and the number of Christians steadily
increased. Pagan priests complained about the bishop to the governor Saturninus.
St Apollinarius was brought to trial and subjected to grievous tortures. Thinking
that he had died, the torturers took him out of the city to the seacoast
and threw him into the water. The saint, however, was alive. A certain pious
Christian widow helped him and gave him shelter in her home. St Apollinarius
stayed at her home for six months, and continued secretly to preach about
Christ. The saint's whereabouts became known when he restored the power of
speech to an illustrious resident of the city named Boniface, whose wife requested
the saint to help her husband.
After this miracle many pagans were converted to Christ, and
they again brought St Apollinarius to trial and tortured him, setting his
bare feet on red-hot coals. They removed him from the city a second time,
but the Lord again kept him alive. The saint did not cease preaching until
they expelled him from the city. For a certain time St Apollinarius found
himself elsewhere in Italy, where he continued to preach the Gospel as before.
Returning to Ravenna to his flock, St Apollinarius again went on trial and
was sentenced to banishment.
In heavy fetters, he was put on a ship sailing to Illyrica to
the River Danube. Two soldiers were responsible for conveying him to his place
of exile. Three of the clergy voluntarily followed their bishop into exile.
Along the way the vessel was wrecked and everyone drowned, except for St
Apollinarius, his clergy and the two soldiers. The soldiers, listening to
St Apollinarius, believed in the Lord and accepted Baptism. Not finding any
shelter, the travellers came to Mycea, where St Apollinarius healed a certain
illustrious inhabitant from leprosy, and for which both he and his companions
received shelter at his home. In this land St Apollinarius preached tirelessly
about Christ and he converted many of the pagans to Christianity, for which
he was subjected to persecution on the part of unbelievers. They beat up
the saint mercilessly, and placing him on a ship sailing for Italy, they
sent him back.
After a three year absence, St Apollinarius returned to Ravenna
and was joyfully received by his flock. The pagans, however, having fallen
upon the church where the saint served the Divine Liturgy, scattered those
at prayer, and dragged the saint to the idolatrous priests in the pagan
temple of Apollo, where the idol fell just as they brought the saint in,
and it shattered. The pagan priests brought St Apollinarius for trial to
Taurus, the new governor of the district. Apollinarius performed a new miracle,
healing the son of the governor, who had been blind from birth. In gratitude
for the healing of his son, Taurus tried to protect St Apollinarius from
the angry crowd. He sent him to his own estate outside the city. Although
the son and wife of Taurus were baptized, he feared the anger of the emperor,
and did not accept Baptism. However, he conducted himself with gratitude and
love towards his benefactor.
St Apollinarius lived for five years at the estate of Taurus
and preached without hindrance about salvation. During this time pagan priests
sent letters of denunciation to the emperor Vespasian with a request for a
sentence of death or exile of the Christian "sorcerer" Apollinarius. But the
emperor told the pagan priests that the gods were sufficiently powerful to
take revenge for themselves, if they felt themselves insulted. All the wrath
of the pagans fell upon St Apollinarius: they caught hold of him when the
saint left the city for a nearby settlement, and they beat him fiercely. Christians
found him barely alive and took him to the settlement, where he lived for
seven days. During his final illness the saint did not cease to teach his
flock. He predicted that after the persecutions ended, Christians would enter
upon better times when they could openly and freely confess their faith.
Having given those present his archpastoral blessing, the hieromartyr Apollinarius
fell asleep in the Lord. St Apollinarius was Bishop of Ravenna for twenty-eight
years and he died in the year 75.
75 Apollinaris of Ravenna BM (RM)
Apollinaris was the first bishop of Ravenna, Italy. According to his late
and unreliable acta, he was a disciple of Saint Peter and a native of Antioch,
who at one time survived a shipwreck in Dalmatia, was driven from his see
three times, went into hiding the fourth time when Emperor Vespasian banished
all Christians, and was discovered and beaten by a mob. But nothing is known
with certainty about him--even the date of his death is debatable. Saint Bede's
martyrology reports that he governed Ravenna for 20 years and was killed
during Vespasian's reign.
Some say he was repeatedly tortured for the faith
and to have died in the process. But he may be a martyr only because he suffered
for Christ; he may not have died of it. The best literary witness to his
existence is Saint Peter Chrysologus (died c. 450), who left a sermon in
honor of Apollinaris. In it Chrysologus styles his subject as a martyr, but
adds that although he spilled his blood many times for Christ and desired
to lay down his life, God preserved him.
His shrine is at the Benedictine Abbey of Classe
in Ravenna, which became famous throughout Christendom. Saint Fortunatus exhorted
his friends to make pilgrimages to his tomb, and Saint Gregory the Great
ordered parties in doubtful lawsuits to be sworn before it. Apollinaris's
best memorials are the superb churches of Ravenna dedicated to name; however,
Pope Honorius built one in Rome dedicated to him about 630. There is a fine
mosaic representing him as a shepherd of his flock in Ravenna. The feast of
Apollinaris occurs in all martyrologies, and the high veneration which the
church paid early to his memory is a sufficient testimony of his eminent sanctity
and apostolic spirit (Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth, White).
In art, Saint Apollinaris is an early Christian bishop with
a club. He may also be shown (1) beaten with a club by the devil; (2) standing
or seated on hot coals; (3) bearded, in a chasuble and pallium, with sheep
around him (in a mosaic); or (4) preaching to sheep. The sheep in early
Christian mosaics signify that he was a pastor (Roeder).
Apollonius and Eugene MM (RM).
Apollonius was pierced with arrows at the stake and Eugene was beheaded (Benedictines).
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Saint
Primitiva of Rome was a very early martyr, probably of Rome. She may
be the same Primitiva celebrated on February 24 (Benedictines). VM (RM)
Item
Romæ pássio sanctæ Primitívæ, Vírginis
et Mártyris.
In the same
city, the martyrdom of St. Primitiva, virgin and martyr.
(also known as Primitia, Privata)
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Rasyphus of Rome
Rasyphus another very early martyr relics are enshrined in the Pantheon
Little is known. He may be identical
to Saint Rasius, relics are enshrined in the Pantheon (Benedictines). M (RM)
Ibídem sancti Rásyphi Mártyris.
Also, St.
Rasyphus, martyr.
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302
Sts. Trophimus & Theophilus Two Roman martyrs slain under Emperor Diocletian.
Eódem die natális sanctórum Mártyrum Tróphimi
et Theóphili, qui, sub Diocletiáno Imperatóre, cæsi
lapídibus et igne incénsi, demum, gládio percússi,
martyrio coronántur.
The same day, the birthday of the holy martyrs Trophimus
and Theophilus, who received their crown of martyrdom by being beaten with
stones, scorched with fire, and finally struck with the sword, in the time
of Emperor Diocletian.
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303 St. Phocas the
Gardener lived at Sinope, in Paphiagonia, on the Black Sea gave welcome to
the Roman soldiers sent to find and execute him using the rest of the night
to prepare his soul. In the morning he led them to his prepared grave and
informed them of his identity he encouraged them to complete their task and
behead him
Martyred Christian gardener
who lived at Sinope, in Paphiagonia, on the Black Sea and was put to death during the
persecutions launched by Emperor Diocletian. Phocas is sometimes confused
with Phocas of Antioch, although there is no doubt about the historical act
of his martyrdom. According to tradition, he gave welcome to the Roman soldiers
sent to find and execute him and, as they did not know who he was, he agreed
to take them to the Phocas whom they sought. After fixing them food and allowing
them to sleep in his house, he went out and dug his grave, using the rest
of the night to prepare his soul. In the morning he led them to his prepared
grave and informed them of his identity. When they were aghast and hesitated
to slay him, he encouraged them to complete their task and behead him.
He is especially venerated in
the East and was long considered a patron saint for sailors.
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3rd
v. Trophimus, Theophilus, and thirteen martyrs The Holy Martyrs with them,
suffered during the persecution against Christians refused to offer sacrifice
to idols After fierce tortures and fire, Strengthened by the Lord, they came
out of the fire completely unharmed, and they glorified Christ all the more
Item
sanctórum Mártyrum Apollónii et Eugénii.
Also the
holy martyrs Apollonius and Eugene.
Under the emperor Diocletian (284-305). Brought to trial, they
bravely confessed themselves Christians and refused to offer sacrifice to
idols. After fierce tortures, they broke the legs of the holy martyrs and
threw them into a fire. Strengthened by the Lord, they came out of the fire
completely unharmed, and they glorified Christ all the more. Unable to break
the will of the holy confessors, the torturers beheaded them.
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390 St.
Liborius
second or third bishop of Le Mans Patron saint of Paderborn, Germany, and
the bishop of Le Mans, France
Cenómanis, in Gállia, sancti Libórii,
Epíscopi et Confessóris.
At Le Mans
in France, St. Liborius, bishop and confessor.
St Liborius, Bishop of Le Mans
Nothing at all is known about St Liborius except that he was bishop of
Le Mans, apparently for nearly fifty years, during the fourth century. St Martin of Tours was present at his funeral,
and in 836 his relics were translated to Paderborn. St Liborius is
invoked against gravel and allied complaints, and this, curiously enough,
accounts for his commemoration in the liturgy of the Western church on July
23: the observance was instituted by Pope
Clement XI (d. 1721), who suffered from that painful disease.
See the Acta Sanctotorum, July, vol. v, but the
lives there printed are of little service; ef. A. Ledru, La premiers temps de l'église du Mans
(1913). A long account of the translation of the relics to Paderborn is edited
in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol.
xxii (1903), pp. 146-172, and a collection of historical and archaeological
essays was published in 1936, Sankt Liborius,
sein Dam und sein Bistum. And cf.
Analecta Bollandiana, vol.
lxxi (1953), p. 480.
His cult is now confined to local calendars. Liborius
of Le Mans B (RM) Liborius, the second or third bishop of Le Mans (348 to
390), is the patron of Paderborn, to which his relics were translated in 836
(Benedictines, Encyclopedia). In art, Saint Liborius is depicted as a bishop
with a peacock. He may be carrying small stones on a book (Roeder). Liborius
is invoked against colic, fever, and gallstones (Roeder).
Liborius of Le Mans B (RM) the second or third bishop of Le Mans (348 to
390), is the patron of Paderborn, to which his relics were translated in 836
(Benedictines, Encyclopedia). In art, Saint Liborius is depicted as a bishop
with a peacock. He may be carrying small stones on a book (Roeder). Liborius
is invoked against colic, fever, and gallstones (Roeder).
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5th
v. St. Rasyphus and Ravennus Martyrs. They came from Britain, fleeing the
islands upon the invasions by the Anglo Saxons
Settling in Gaul, they became hermits and were martyred, perhaps by Arian
Goths who were advancing through the West. Their relics are enshrined in the
cathedral of Bayeux.
Rasyphus and Ravennus MM (AC) 5th century. These British natives fled to
northern France to escape invaders. There they became hermits and were finally
martyred for the faith at Macé in the diocese of Séez. Their
relics are enshrined in the cathedral at Bayeux (Benedictines).
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433 St. John Cassian Eastern monk and theological writer. He went to
Palestine in 380 with a companion, Germanus, and became a monk in Egypt. In
400 he entered into the discipleship of St. John Chrysostom, going to Rome
to defend the much-oppressed saint before Pope Innocent I. Ordained in Rome,
John started monasteries in southern France, near Marseilles, thus helping
to pioneer monasticism in Europe
This patriarch of monachism, commonly known simply as Cassian,
was born about 360, probably in the Dobruja (Rumania), and may have fought
against Goths at the battle of Adrianople. Somewhere about the year 380
he set out with a friend, Germanus, to visit the holy places of Palestine.
In Bethlehem they became monks. In those days the heart of the contemplative
life was in Egypt, and before long they went into that country, and visited
in turn the famous holy men who from their solitudes "had a great mission
to the world, not only a mission of prayer for the needs of the world, but
a great mission to edify and instruct the ages after them" (Ullathorne).
For a time they lived as hermits under Archebius, and then Cassian penetrated
into the desert of Skete, there to
hunt out the anchorites concealed among its burning rocks and live with the
monks in their cenobia. For some reason unknown, about the year 400 he crossed
over to Constantinople. He became a disciple of St John Chrysostom, by whom he was ordained
deacon, and when that great saint was uncanonically condemned and deposed
Cassian was among those sent to Rome to defend the archbishop's cause to
Pope St Innocent I. It
is possible that he was ordained priest while in Rome, but nothing more is
known of his life until several years later, when he was in Marseilles.
Here Cassian founded two monasteries,
one, whose church was built over the tomb of St Victor the martyr, for monks, the other
for nuns; and there radiated from him and his foundations the spirit and ideal
of Egyptian asceticism which had great effect on the Church of southern Gaul.
For the instruction and guidance of religious he drew up his Institutes of
the Monastic Life and Conferences*...{*Collationes, a word which has crept
into our common speech. For "collation", in the sense of a meal, derives
from the monastic custom of reading collationes (not necessarily Cassian's)
while food is taken.}...on the Egyptian Monks, and these were destined to
have an influence far beyond anything within the intention of the author;
for, with the Vitae patrum and the
Rule of St Basil, they were recommended
by St Benedict as the most suitable reading for his
monks after the Bible, and had the greatest influence on his rule,
both in the planning of its life and the adumbration of its spirituality.
Through St Benedict, Cassian has left his mark
on all Christendom. In the first four books of the Institutes he describes
a way of living as a pattern for the monastic state; the rest of the work
is devoted to the virtues which the monk must strive for and the deadly sins
that lie in wait for him in common with all Christians.
He prefaces the book with
the declaration that, "I shall make no attempt to relate anecdotes of
miracles and prodigies. For although I have heard of many unbelievable marvels
from my elders and have seen some with my own eyes, I have wholly omitted
them because they contribute nothing but astonishment to the instruction of
the reader in the perfect life."
That sobriety is characteristic
of Cassian.
It is surprising that
Cassian is not named in the Roman Martyrology; but doubtless he was not included
by Baronius because he came to be regarded as the originator and leading exponent
of that teaching which is now known as Semi-Pelagianism. His views were expressed
in the course of a controversy about St Augustine's On Rebuke and Grace, and may more fairly
be called "anti- Augustinian". All St John Cassian's later life was passed
at Marseilles, where he died about 433; there his feast is kept today and
by the Byzantines on February 29.
There is no ancient life of Cassian, but a good deal of information
may be found collected in the Acta Sanctorum,
July, vol. v; see also the introduction to Petschenig's edition of his works
in the Vienna Corpus script. eccl.
Lat. English trans. of works by E.C.S. Gibson (1894). Most writers who are
concerned with early monasticism make frequent reference to him, e.g. Herwegen, Albers and C.Butler.
Cassian has received a good deal of attention lately, e.g. L. Cristiani's Cassien (2 vols.,
1946); but an even better book on the strictly biographical side is O. Chadwick's
John Cassian (1950), full
bibliography. Cf. also
DHG., vol. xi.
His two main writings, Institutes of the
Monastic Life and Conferences on the
Egyptian Monks, were much praised by St. Benedict and were long influential; the
former had a direct impact upon Benedict during the time that he was composing
his famed Rule. John also authored the work De Incarnatione
Doniini, in seven
books, at the. behest of Pope Leo I the Great
so as to inform the Western Church of the details of the teachings
of the heresiarch Nestorius. While never canonized officially in the West,
John has long been considered a saint among the Eastern Churches.
John Cassian, Abbot (AC) Born c. 360; died at Marseilles, France,
July 23, c. 433. The world is full of collectors, but Saint John Cassian was
a different sort of collector. What interested him was living saintliness,
the Gospel in action. He knew that a good example was worth more than a good
sermon, and so he made an enormous collection of concrete examples. He gathered
them over the course of several years as he travelled from one monastery
to another in Egypt. Cassian's two books, Conferences (which I highly recommend)
and Cenobitic Institutes had, and
indeed still have, an enormous influence, both in the teaching of ascetic
and mystic theology and in the practices of those in monastic life.
Perhaps in order to teach us that Cassian was the perfect example
of a monk, Providence has decreed that we should know nothing of his birth
or childhood, thereby reserving our attention for what was truly important
in his life. It is likely that he was born in Provence in France, although
some historians say that he was born in Romania, some in Syria, still others
say in Palestine, and Gennadius (5th century) says he was born in Scythia;
however, they all agree on the approximate date of his birth.
The first thing known about Cassian with any certainty is that,
about 380, he and his friend Germanus became
monks at Bethlehem, in a monastery near the place of the Nativity--a good
place to be born into the new life. They stayed there until Cassian was 25
(c. 385), by which time he had learned all that they had to teach him.
He left because he had an urgent desire to travel; not as a tourist who gapes
at different scenes, because for a contemplative person all men are the same
with the unhappiness and all countries are the same with their stones and
trees and houses. He travelled to see the work of God, the reflection of God
in his creation, and the means whereby men united themselves with God; all
the rest is vanity.
And so Cassian and Germanus, equipped with the permission and
blessing of their superiors, stout pilgrims' sticks, and an ardent desire
to visit the great masters of saintliness, set out boldly for Egypt to satisfy
both pious curiosity and a longing for perfection. For 12 or 13 years, until
about 400, the two companions travelled throughout Lower Egypt and the Nile
delta, staying with the most famous monks and anchorites who were the spiritual
descendants of the great Saint Antony. They lived for a time as hermits under
Archebius, were influenced by
Evagrius Ponticus, and then
went to Skete. And all the time Cassian,
who surely deserves to be the patron of journalists, recorded everything he
saw, setting it down with a vivid style and minute accuracy, a sense of humor,
and an eye for the picturesque.
On leaving Egypt the two men
went to Constantinople, where Saint John Chrysostom ordained Germanus a priest
and Cassian a deacon. In 405, after Chrysostom was deposed, they went to
Pope Saint Innocent I in Rome, bringing a letter from
the clergy of Constantinople on behalf of their bishop who was being persecuted.
Germanus then disappears without a trace.
Cassian is ordained a priest, and 10 years later we find him
again in Marseilles, France, where he founded two monasteries: Saint Victor for men and Saint Savior for women.
As part of the rule, the monks
would prostrate themselves at each Gloria; otherwise, the generally prayed
with their arms outstretched. The Psalms were an important vehicle for meditation
for the community. Cassian said they should be prayed with the heart as one's
own prayers, "...recognize that the words were not only fulfilled formerly
in the person of the prophet, but that they are fulfilled and carried out
daily...[in our own case]."
Cassian's "Nocturnes" (otherwise known as Matins) prayed at
midnight included three psalms sung antiphonally while standing; three psalms
led by a cantor with the rest responding while seated; three lessons recited
from memory; then everyone bowed for more private prayer before returning
to bed.
All awakened again at 2:30 a.m. for Lauds, which followed the
pattern of Nocturns and included Pss. 148, 149, and 150.
Prime (or Second Mattins) at daybreak included Psalms 51, 62, and 90. Terce
at 9 a.m. (the third hour) reminded the monks of the time the Holy Spirit
first descended upon the Apostles assembled for prayer. Sext at midday recalled
the Crucifixion at the sixth hour of the day. Nones at 3 p.m. reflected on
the time Jesus yielded up his spirit.
A neighboring bishop, Castor of Apt, who had himself founded
some monasteries, asked Cassian to compile a summary of all the observations
that he had made and all the teachings that he had learned during his travels.
And so, perhaps reluctantly, the pilgrim became an author.
Cassian first wrote Cenobitic Institutes and the Remedies for the Eight Captial Sins. This
12-volume work gives full account of the rules and organization of communities
in Egypt and Palestine, and of the means used by the monks in their spiritual
combat the eight chief hindrances to a monk's perfection.
His next work were the 24 Conferences on the Egyptian Monks,
which were addressed to different people, among them Saint Honoratus, abbot and founder of Lérins.
In them Cassian tells of the discussions or conferences that he had with the
monks; however, the doctrine that he expressed in them was often unorthodox,
and in the opinion of Saint Augustine gave too much importance to human free
will in the virtuous act and not enough to divine grace. This whiff of heresy,
which went under the name of 'semi-Pelagianism,' earned the author public
reproof, and his Conferences were officially relegated to the ranks of the
apocrypha by a decree attributed to Pope
Saint Gelasius. Nevertheless, Saint
Benedict prescribed the Conferences
as one of the books to be read aloud to his monks after supper.
Though Cassian was in bad odor with the Holy Office, the success
and popularity of his works in no way diminished, particularly among the
monks of southern France, who were strongly anti-Augustinian. In about 430,
Cassian was commissioned by the future Pope
Saint Leo to write seven books entitled On the Incarnation of the Lord against the heretic
Nestorius. This work was evidently written in haste and does not
compare with the other two works. Nestorius, archbishop of Constantinople,
was solemnly condemned by the Council of Ephesus in 431, whereas Cassian,
the champion of semi- Pelagianism, was not condemned by a council until 529.
Cassian's answer to the theological
bickering and to the violent attacks against his works was one of silence,
for he desired only to live in peace and watch over the pious souls who had
come to his monasteries to seek the way of perfection.
Though Cassian studied the lives of the desert anchorites, he
did not recommend their extreme asceticism for the monks of the West. His
first essential rule is that perfection does not consist in the solitary life
and tightening the belt a notch a day, but is instead a matter for the soul,
and above all of the charity and loving- kindness that makes man most like
God.
He regarded sadness and melancholy
as vices, for a person who knows that he is loved by God, and who loves God
as his Father and all men as his brothers, ought to be joyful.
He insisted on the importance of the Gospel precept that commands
us to go into our room and close the door and pray; but he added that this
is less a matter of physical circumstances than of withdrawing our hearts
from the cares and thoughts of the world and entering into an intimate colloquy
with God.
We pray with the door closed when we pray without opening our
lips, for God sees into our hearts rather than listens to our words.
Fasts, meditation on the Scriptures, poverty, and asceticism
are only the means to perfection, and not perfection itself.
In many ways Cassian was the
precursor of Saint Benedict, who drew
on him heavily, though he also altered a great deal. Every generation has
found in Cassian one of its best guides. His works, which have been endlessly
republished and translated, have been quoted by a large number of spiritual
writers, from Saint Bernard and Saint Thomas down to the Jesuit father
Rodriguez.
Cassian, in short, was
and still is one of the great teachers of the religious life (Attwater, Benedictines,
Chadwick, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
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460 St. Valerian Bishop
and orator. Originally a monk in Lerins monastery; named bishop of Cimeiz,
Gaul (France); took part in the Councils of Riez (439) and Vaison (442)'
Some of his sermons were discovered in the sixteenth century attesting to
his eloquence and offering considerable insight into his historical era.
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St. John, of the
Golden Gospel Departure of righteous monk Many miracles were manifested
from his relics {Coptic}
On this day, St. John, the owner of the Golden Gospel, departed.
This saint was born in the city of Rome. His father was a rich man whose
name was Atrofius (Trabius). His father gave him a copy of the Gospel of
St. John written in letters of gold and bound with a golden cover and from
this he was generally known as "John of the Golden Gospel." John rejoiced
exceedingly with this gift.
A monk, who was on his way to Jerusalem, came to visit his father's
house. John asked the monk to take him with him. The monk told him that
he was going to Jerusalem and not to the monastery. He also told him that
he was young and could not endure the rough life that the monks practiced.
Nevertheless, John was sincere in his intention, so he embarked on a ship,
without telling anyone, to the monastery of that monk. When the Abbot saw
him, he refused to accept him because of his young age, and explained to
him that the monastic life was difficult for one like him. John pleaded with
him, and when the Abbot saw his firm intention and strong conviction, he
accepted him. He shaved his head, and arrayed him in the holy garb of the
monastic life. John devoted himself to the ascetic life with many worships.
The Abbot often advised him saying, "Have pity on yourself, and do as the
rest of the brethren." But John used to answer, saying, "The power of God
and your prayers support me."
Seven years later, he saw in a vision, who told him, "Rise,
and go to your parents, that you might receive their blessings before your
departure from this world." This vision was repeated on three consecutive
nights, and he told the Abbot about it. The Abbot told him that this was
from God, and advised him to go to see his parents.
When he left the monastery, he found a poor man wearing ragged
garments, he took them from him, and gave him his own monk's garb. When
he arrived at his father's house, he lived for three years, near the door
of the house, in a small hut made of straw. He ate, during this time, the
fragments from his father's table which the servants threw to him. Whenever
his mother passed by him, she was disgusted by his smell and the appearance
of his clothes.
When his departure drew near, the Lord made it known to him
that after three days he would depart from this world. St. John sent and
called his mother. Without telling her that he was her son, he made her
swear to bury him in that hut with whatever clothes he had on. Then, he gave
her the golden Gospel and said to her, "Whenever you read in it, remember
me." When his father returned to the house, she showed him the Gospel, and
immediately he recognized that it was the Gospel of his son John. They came
in haste to St. John and asked him about the Gospel and about their son.
He asked them to assure him that they would not bury him except in the clothes
that he had on, and then he told them that he was their son. They wept with
a great weeping. When the nobles of the city of Rome heard that, they gathered
to see this righteous monk. After three days, he departed and his mother clothed
him with the clothes that she had prepared for his wedding day before he
went to the monastery. Thereupon she fell sick, and her husband remembered
the oath that they had given. Immediately he removed the clothes of his son
and clothed him with the old ragged cloth that he had on and buried him in
the hut in which he had lived. Many miracles were manifested from his body.
Then they built a church in his name and placed his body in it. May his prayers
with us. Amen.
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6th v. St. Romlua A
virgin who lived with St. Redempta as a hermitess near the church of Mary
Major, Rome. Redempta had been trained as a nun by St. Herundo in Palestine.
They formed a small community in Rome, and they earned the praise of Pope
St. Gregory I the Great. Romula was paralyzed for the last years of her life.
On July 23 the Roman Martyrology mentions "the holy maidens
Romula, Redempta and Herundo, of whom St Gregory the Pope has written".
St Redempta was brought up by St Herundo
in the ways of virtue and the solitary life, and when she had grown old went
from the hills near Palestrina to live with St Romula and another woman in a small
house near the church of St Mary
Major, about the year 575. St
Gregory, who knew them personally, says that they showed a perfect
humility and obedience, and hardly opened their mouths to speak except in
prayer. During the last years of her life Romula suffered from a general
paralysis, which kept her motionless in bed; she turned this infirmity to
her advantage, guarding her tongue that she should never complain of it,
especially as it enabled her to concentrate on prayer and worship of God
free from the distraction of any other duties. Doubtless her disease
was the cause of Romula dying the first, for she was considerably younger
than Redempta. One night the two active ones were aroused by
Romula crying out, and running to her room they found it full with a wonderful
light, and heard a noise as it were of people about to enter the room.
They were rather frightened, but reassured by Romula, who said:
"Do not fear; I shall not die yet." Three nights later, she called
them again, and this time asked for viaticum, which was brought to her.
She had scarcely received it, when again a noise was heard : it seemed as
if a heavenly choir were outside the door, singing in alternate strophes
the most perfect music. And so Romula died, and the singing gradually
became fainter, as though the singers were moving away and away, bearing
her soul to Paradise.
See the Dialogue: of St Gregory, bk iv, ch. 15,
and his Homilies, 40, ch. ii.
|
580 Romula, Redempta,
and Herundo Three Roman maidens who lived lives of austerity and prayer
in or near the church of Saint Mary Major. They were venerated by Saint Gregory
the Great (Benedictines, Encyclopedia). VV (RM)
Romæ sanctárum Vírginum Rómulæ, Redémptæ
et Herúndinis, de quibus scribit sanctus Gregórius Papa.
At Rome, the saintly virgins Romula, Redempta, and Herundo,
mentioned by Pope St. Gregory in his writings.
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9th v. Martyrs of
Bulgaria war between the Greek emperor, Nicephorus, and the Bulgars (RM)
In Bulgária sanctórum plurimórum Mártyrum,
quos ímpius Imperátor Nicéphorus, Ecclésias Dei
devástans, divérso mortis génere, nimírum ense,
láqueo, sagíttis, diútino cárcere et fame necári
fecit.
In Bulgaria, many holy martyrs, whom the impious Emperor
Nicephorus, while devastating the churches of God, put to death in various
ways: by the sword, by hanging, arrows, long imprisonment, and by starvation.
An unknown number of Bulgarian Catholics who were
martyred for their faith during the war between the Greek emperor, Nicephorus,
and the Bulgars, who were not yet Christians. Many fell on the battlefield.
Others were more traditional martyrs. There is much uncertainty as exact
circumstances, but they have always been accounted martyrs (Benedictines,
Encyclopedia).
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918 St. Anne Hermitess
went to Leucadia, Epirus, about 896. She lived as a hermitess there until
her death
Also called Susanna. Born in Constantinople in 840 to aristocrats, she
fled the city to avoid marriage to Agarenus whose marriage proposal was supported
by Emperor Basil the Macedonian. Anne went to Leucadia, Epirus, about 896.
She lived as a hermitess there until her death. Anne may be the "Maura" listed
in the Roman Martyrology as suffering martyrdom in Constantinople
Anne (Susanna) of Constantinople
V Hermit (AC) Born in Constantinople c. 840; died c. 918. Anne was orphaned
at an early age and inherited a large fortune, which attracted many unsuitable
men. She refused their offers of marriage, spent her money in the service
of the poor, and finally lived half a century as a solitary on the Leucadian
promontory of Epirus (Benedictines).
Anne, also called Susanna, was born at Constantinople about
the year 840. Her father died while she was young, leaving a large
fortune to her mother, who brought her up with care. Anne added personal
beauty to her material riches, but refused several offers of marriage.
One suitor, Agarenus, was backed by the emperor himself, Basil the Macedonian,
and when Anne again refused she was subjected to persecution and ill-treatment.
Hitherto she had led a monastic life in the world, but now she fled to Leucadia,
the promontory in Epirus, and there passed the rest of her life in complete
solitude. She was then about twenty-eight and died fifty years later.
Long afterwards her tomb was the scene of such marvellous
cures, especially of those possessed by evil spirits, that it was opened;
her body was found quite undecayed and giving off a sweet smell, and thenceforth
St Anne was held in great veneration by the Greeks.
It is interesting to note that Leucadia is also known
as Saint Maura, the name of a town thereon, after a virgin martyr of whom
nothing at all is known except that veneration for her memory was so great
that the apostate Emperor Julian, in order to overcome it, gave it out that
the cultus was really a disguised worship of Aphrodite. The Roman Martyrology
mentions her on November 30, and puts her at Constantinople; it does not name
this St Anne.
See the Acta Sanctorum, July, vol. v. It
is noted by Martynov, Annus Ecclesiasticus
Graeco-Slavicus (in Acta Sanctorum,
October, vol. xi), that in certain texts of the synaxaries the virgin is named
Susanna, not Anna.
Anne (Susanna) of Constantinople
V Hermit (AC) Born in Constantinople c. 840. Anne was orphaned at an early
age and inherited a large fortune, which attracted many unsuitable men. She
refused their offers of marriage, spent her money in the service of the poor,
and finally lived half a century as a solitary on the Leucadian promontory
of Epirus (Benedictines).
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1306 Blessed Jane
of Orvieto a Dominican tertiary her life was one of unwearied devotion to
God, attention to the poor; it was known that she bore particular good will
towards those who were unkind to her, doing penance for their sins;
Also known as Giovanna,
Vanna) Born at Carnajola, near Orvieto, Italy; cultus approved in 1754. Blessed
Jane was a Dominican tertiary (Benedictines) OP Tert. V (AC)
Joan was a peasant girl of Carnaiola, and
was, and is at Orvieto, commonly called Vanna.
She was left an orphan at the age of five, and her companions tried to
frighten her by telling her that now she would have no one to look after
her and she would starve. This did not disturb her and
she retorted on them that " I've got a better father than you have!"
When asked what she meant she led them to the church and pointed triumphantly
to an image of a guardian angel: "He will look after me!" Her
trust was justified, for she was adopted by a family in Orvieto, who brought
her up and arranged a marriage for her. But Joan had different ideas.
She ran away to the house of a friend and joined the third order of St Dominic.
Henceforward her life was one of unwearied devotion to God and attention
to the poor; it was known that she bore particular good will towards those
who were unkind to her, doing penance for their sins, and it became a byword
in Orvieto that anyone who wanted Sister Joan's prayers should do her a bad
turn.
Numerous ecstasies and other
unusual occurrences were reported of her.
For some years she was under the spiritual direction of Bd James of Mevania, stationed at the Dominican
priory in Orvieto;
there is a remarkable story told of Joan confessing to him at Orvieto,
when he was in fact lying dead at Bevagna.
Joan predicted among other things
some of the miracles that would happen after her own death, but made every
effort to conceal the supernatural favours that were accorded her; her detachment
from the world, her humility and her sweetnessnshe could not hide. She
always maintained great devotion to the holy angels, and died in their care
on July 23, 1306. Her cultus
was approved in 1754.
Bd Joan is lmown to us primarily
by a Latin life that was written by James Scaiza this was edited in 1853,
and other editions in Italian were issued by L. Furni and by L.mPassarini.
See also Procter, Dominican Saints,
and M. C. Ganay, Les bienheureuses Dominicaines
(1913).
Blessed Jane of Orvieto, OP Tert. V (AC) (also known as Giovanna,
Vanna) Born at Carnajola, near Orvieto, Italy; cultus approved in 1754.
Blessed Jane was a Dominican tertiary (Benedictines).
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1340 Pochaev
Icon of the Mother of God is in the Pochaev monastery among the most venerable
sacred items of the Orthodox Church
Pochaev_original_Icon of the Mother of God
The Pochaev Icon of the Mother
of God is among the most venerable
sacred items of the Orthodox Church. Located at the Dormition Cathedral, Pochaev, Ukraine, the icon is renowned
throughout the Slavic world and is venerated by Orthodox Christians throughout
the world. Christians of other confessions also come to venerate the wonderworking
image of the Most Holy Theotokos, together with the Orthodox. The wonderworking
icon has been kept at the Pochaev Lavra, an ancient bastion of Orthodoxy,
for about 400 years. (The account of the transfer of the icon to the Pochaev
monastery is found under September 8). The miracles which issued forth from
the holy icon are numerous and are testified to in the monastery books with
the signatures of the faithful who have been delivered from unclean spirits,
liberated from captivity, and sinners brought to their senses.
In the year 1721, Pochaev was occupied by Uniates. Even in this
difficult time for the Lavra, the monastery chronicle notes 539 miracles
from the glorified Orthodox icon. During the time of the Uniate rule in the
second half of the eighteenth century, for example, the Uniate nobleman Count
Nicholas Pototski became a benefactor of the Pochaev Lavra through the following
miraculous circumstance. Having accused his coachman of overturning the carriage
with frenzied horses, the count took out a pistol to shoot him. The coachman,
turning towards Pochaev Hill, reached his hands upwards and cried out: "Mother
of God, manifest in the Pochaev Icon, save me!" Pototski several times tried
to shoot the pistol, which had never let him down, but the weapon misfired.
The coachman remained alive. Pototski then immediately went to the wonderworking
icon and decided to devote himself and all his property to the building-up
of the monastery. From his wealth the Dormition cathedral was built, as well
as buildings for the brethren.
The return of Pochaev into the
bosom of Orthodoxy in 1832 was marked by the miraculous healing of the blind
maiden Anna Akimchukova, who had come on pilgrimage to the holy things together
with her seventy-year-old grandmother from Kremenets-Podolsk, 200 versts away.
In memory of this event, the Volhynia archbishop and Lavra archimandrite Innocent
(1832-1840) established the reading of the Akathist on Saturdays before the
wonderworking icon. During the time of Archimandrite Agathangelus, Archbishop
of Volhynia (1866-1876), a separate chapel was constructed in the galleries
of the Holy Trinity church in memory of the victory over the Tatars, which
was dedicated on July 23, 1875.
The Pochaev Icon is also commemorated
on Friday of Bright Week and on September 8.
Two monks settled on the hill where the monastery is now located
in the year 1340. One of the monks went to the top of the hill after he had
prayed, and suddenly he saw the Theotokos standing on a stone and encircled
by flame. He summoned the other monk to behold the marvel. A third witness
of the vision was the herdsman Ioann Bosoi. He ran to the hill, and the three
of them glorified God. The Most Holy Theotokos left the imprint of Her right
foot on the stone where She had stood.
In 1559 Metropolitan Neophytus of Constantinople, on his journey
through Volhynia, visited the noblewoman Anna Goiskaya living at the estate
of Orlya, not far from Pochaev. As a farewell blessing he left Anna an icon
of the Mother of God which he brought from Constantinople. They began to notice
a radiance coming from the icon. In 1597 Anna's brother Philip was healed
of an ailment before the eyes of a monk who lived on the hill at Pochaev.
She then gave the wonderworking image to the monk. The icon was placed in
a church which was built in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.
A monastery was later established there, and Anna Goiskaya provided a large
portion of the money needed for construction.
The following is one of the more famous accounts of help from
the Queen of Heaven through her wonderworking Pochaev Icon.
A monk of Pochaev
monastery was taken into captivity by the Tatars. Held as a slave, he thought
of the Pochaev monastery, its holy things, the divine services, and the church
singing. In particular the monk yearned to be in Pochaev for the approaching
Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. He prayed tearfully to
the Mother of God for deliverance from captivity,
suddenly, through the prayers of the Holy Virgin,
the walls of the dungeon disappeared,
and the monk found himself standing before the walls of the Pochaev monastery.
The Pochaev Icon is also celebrated
on Friday of Bright Week and on July 23.
Celebration in honor of the Pochaev Icon of the
Mother of God on July 23 established in memory of deliverance of the Dormition
Lavra monastery from a Turkish siege on July 20-23, 1675.
In the summer of 1675 during the Zbarazhsk War with the Turks,
in the reign of the Polish King Jan Sobesski (1674-1696).
regiments composed of Tatars under the command of Khan
Nurredin via Vishnevets fell upon the Pochaev monastery, surrounding it
on three sides. The weak monastery walls and its stone buildings did not
offer much defense against a siege. The igumen Joseph Dobromirsky urged the
brethren and laypeople to pray to their heavenly intercessors: the Most Holy
Theotokos and St Job of Pochaev (October 28).
The monks and the laypeople prayed fervently, prostrating themselves
before the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God and the reliquary with
the relics of St Job. At sunrise on the morning of July 23, as the Tatars
were planning an assault on the monastery, the igumen ordered an Akathist
to the Theotokos to be sung. At the opening words, "O Queen of the Heavenly
Hosts," the Most Holy Theotokos suddenly appeared over the church, in "an
unfurled gleaming-white maphorion," with angels holding unsheathed swords.
St Job stood beside the Mother of God, bowing to Her and beseeching Her to
defend the monastery.
The Tatars believed the heavenly army was a vision, and in confusion
they began to shoot arrows at the Most Holy Theotokos and St Job, but the
arrows fell backwards and wounded those who shot them. Terror seized the enemy.
In a flight of panic and without looking, they trampled upon and killed each
other. The defenders of the monastery attempted pursuit and took many prisoners.
Some of the prisoners afterwards
accepted the Christian Faith and remained at the monastery thereafter.
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1373 Bridget (Birgitta)
of Sweden, Religious visions were written in a book called Revelations
Born in 1304; feast day formerly on October 8.
"True wisdom, then, consists in works, not
in great talents, which the world admires; for the wise in the world's estimation...
are the foolish who set at naught the will of God, and know not how to control
their passions." --Saint Brigit of Sweden.
Bridget was the daughter of Birger, the wealthy governor of
Upland, Sweden, and his second wife, Ingeborg, the daughter of the governor
of East Gothland. When Bridget was 12, her mother died, and she was raised
by an aunt at Aspenaes on Lake Sommen. When she was 14, she was wedded to
18-year-old prince Ulf Gunmarsson. The fruit of their happy, 28-year marriage
was eight children, including another saint, Karin or Catherine of Vadstena.
For several years she acted as the feudal lady
on her husband's estate at Ulfasa, and, uncharacteristically for women of
the period, she cultivated friendships with many erudite men. In 1335, she
was summoned to be chief lady-in-waiting at the court of King Magnus Eriksson
(Magnus II), who had married Blanche of Namur. Magnus was weak-willed and
Blanche, rather frivolous. It was Bridget's duty to correct the lives of the
immature king and queen.
1373 ST BRIDGET, WIDOW, FOUNDRESS
OF THE ORDER OF THE MOST HOLY SAVIOUR
ST BIRGITTA, more commonly called Bridget, was daughter of Birger,
governor of Upland, the principal province of Sweden, and his second wife,
Ingeborg, daughter to the governor of East Gothland. Ingeborg, who had several
other children, died about the year 1315, some twelve years after the birth
of Bridget, who thenceforward was brought up by an aunt at Aspenäs on
lake Sommen. She had not begun to speak till she was three years old, and
then she spoke quite clearly and unhesitatingly, rather than confusedly like
a child; her goodness and devotion matched her speech. But she tells us that
in her youth she was inclined to be proud and overbearing. When she was seven
she had a vision of being crowned by our Lady; at ten she was deeply affected
by a sermon on the passion of Christ, and the night following seemed to see
Him hanging upon His cross and she thought she heard Him say to her, “Look
upon me, my daughter”. “Alas”, said she, “who has treated you thus ?” She
seemed to herself to hear Him answer, “They who despise me, and spurn my love
for them”.
The impression made upon her mind was never effaced,
and from that time the sufferings of her Redeemer became the centre of her
spiritual life. Before she was fourteen, Bridget married Ulf Gudmarsson,
who was himself only eighteen, and the marriage subsisted happily for twenty-eight
years. They had eight children, four boys and four girls, of whom one is
venerated as St Catherine of Sweden. For some years Bridget led the life
of a feudal lady on her husband’s estate at Ulfasa, with the difference that
she cultivated the friendship of a number of learned and virtuous men.
About the year 1335 St Bridget was summoned to
the court of the young king of Sweden, Magnus II, to be principal lady-in-waiting
to his newly-wedded queen, Blanche of Namur. Before she had been long at court
Bridget found that her responsibilities could not stop at the duties of her
office. Magnus was weak and tended to be wicked; Blanche was good-willed but
irresponsible and luxury loving. The saint bent all her energies to developing
the better side of the queen’s character and to establishing an influence
for good over both of them. As so often happens in such cases, she earned
the respect of the young sovereigns, but did not succeed in making much difference
in their lives; they could not or would not take her altogether seriously.
The personal revelations which later were to make St Bridget so famous were
already supporting her, and concerned matters so far apart as the necessity
of washing and terms for peace between England and France, “which if the English
king does not accept, he will prosper in none of his affairs, but will end
his life in grief and leave his realm and children in tribulation and anguish”.
But the court did not seem susceptible to these influences: “What was the
Lady Bridget dreaming about last night?” became a sort of byword. And St
Bridget had troubles of her own. Her eldest daughter had married a riotous
noble whom his mother-in-law refers to as “the Brigand”; and about 1340 the
youngest son, Gudmar, died. St Bridget thereupon made a pilgrimage to the
shrine of St Olaf of Norway at Trondhjem, and on her return, fortified thereby,
she made a further attempt to curb the excesses of Magnus and Blanche. Meeting
with no more success than before, she got leave of absence from the court,
and with Ulf went on pilgrimage to Compostela. On the way back Ulf was taken
ill at Arras, where he received the last sacraments and all seemed over.
But Bridget spared neither pains nor prayers for his recovery, and she received
an assurance of it by a revelation of St Denis. He was in fact restored again
to health, and husband and wife vowed henceforward to devote their lives
to God in religious houses. But, apparently before this resolution could
take effect, Ulf died in 1344 at the monastery of Alvastra of the Cistercian
Order.
St Bridget continued to live at Alvastra for four years, having
taken upon herself the state of a penitent, and from that day she seemed to
forget what she had been in the world. She changed her manner of dress, using
no more linen except for a veil to cover her head, wearing a rough hair-shift
and cords full of knots for a girdle. Her visions and revelations now became
so insistent that she was alarmed, fearing to be deluded by the Devil or
by her own imagination. But a thrice-repeated vision told her to submit them
to Master Matthias, a canon of Linköping and a priest of experience
and learning, and he pronounced them to be of God. From now to her death
she communicated them as they occurred to Peter, prior at Alvastra, who wrote
them down in Latin. Those of this period culminated in a command of our
Lord to go to the royal court and warn King Magnus of the judgement of God
on his sins. She did so, and included the queen, the nobles and the bishops
in her denunciation. For a time Magnus mended his ways, and liberally endowed
the monastery which St Bridget now, in consequence of a further vision, planned
to found at Vadstena, on Lake Vättern.
In this house St Bridget provided for sixty nuns, and in a
separate enclosure monks, to the number of thirteen priests, in honour of
the twelve Apostles and St Paul, four deacons, representing the Doctors of
the Church, and eight choir-brothers not in orders, making the number of
our Lord’s apostles and disciples, eighty-five, in all. She prescribed them
certain particular constitutions, which are said dictated to her by our Saviour
in a vision. This circumstance is neither mentioned by Pope Boniface IX in
the bull of her canonization, nor by Martin V when he ratified the privileges
of Syon Abbey and reaffirmed the canonization; and the popes when they speak
of this rule mention only the approbation of the Holy See, without making
reference to any such private revelation. In this institute, as in the Order
of Fontevrault, the men were subject to the abbess of the nuns in temporals,
but in spirituals the women were subject to the superior of the monks, because
the order was principally instituted for women and the men were admitted
only to afford them spiritual ministrations. The convents of the men and
women were separated by an inviolable enclosure, but had the same church,
in which the nuns’ choir was above in a gallery, so they could not even see
one another.
There are now no men in the Order of the Most Holy Saviour,
or Bridgettines as they are commonly called, and where formerly there were
seventy houses of nuns there are today but about a dozen. All surplus income
had every year to be given to the poor, and ostentatious buildings were forbidden;
but each religious could have as many books for study as he or she pleased.*
* The Bridgettine community at South Brent in Devon has unbroken organic identity
with a pre-Reformation community, and is the only English religious community
of which this is true. It was founded by King Henry V in 1415, and settled
in 1431 at Syon House, Isleworth. The nuns took refuge at Termonde in Flanders
at the dissolution under Henry VIII, after various vicissitudes settled at
Lisbon, and returned to England (Spettisbury in Dorset) in 1861. Building
of the abbey at Vadstena was not finally begun till 1369.
During the fifteenth century Vadstena was the literary centre
of Sweden.
In consequence of a vision St Bridget wrote a very
outspoken letter to Pope Clement VI, urging him to abandon Avignon for Rome,
and to bring about peace between Edward III of England and Philip IV of France.
The pope declined to leave Avignon, but sent Hemming, Bishop of Abö,
to Philip’s court, where, however, he could do nothing. King Magnus, meanwhile,
who valued Bridget’s prayers if not her advice, asked for her interest in
a projected crusade against the pagan Letts and Estonians, which was really
a disguised plundering expedition. The saint saw through it, and tried to
dissuade him. She was now out of favour at the Swedish court, but was beloved
by the people, among whom she went travelling about the country and looking
after their temporal and spiritual welfare. Many of them were not long converted,
and she enforced the preaching of her chaplains by miracles of healing. In
1349, in spite of the Black Death that was ravaging Europe, she decided to
go to popeless Rome for the year of jubilee in 1350. With her confessor, Peter
of Skeninge, and others, she embarked at Stralsund, amid the tears of the
people who were never to see her again for at Rome she settled down, to work
among the people and for the return of the popes to their City. She lived
by a rule, being present at Mass at five o’clock every morning; it is said
she went to confession every day and to communion several times a week. The
brightness of her virtue shone doubly in contrast to the degradedness of
Rome in those days, where open robbery and violence were rife, vice no less
open and unashamed, the churches falling through neglect, and the people uncared
for except to be exploited. The austerity of her way of living, the fervour
of her devotion, her love of the holy shrines, her severity to herself and
kindness to others, her tirelessness in serving the sick, the poor and pilgrims,
made her loved by all in whom the light of Christianity was not entirely
extinguished. She made the care of her fellow-countrymen her particular charge,
and every day she fed Swedish pilgrims in her house near St Laurence in Damaso.
Nor did St Bridget confine her good works and exhortations
to holy living to the poor and humble. She went to the great monastery of
Farfa to remonstrate with the abbot, “a very worldly man, who did not trouble
about souls at all”; but it is to be feared that he did not mend his ways.
So Bridget turned her attention to another relaxed house, at Bologna, where
she had more success. It was probably at Bologna that her daughter, St Catherine,
joined her. Bridget persuaded her not to return to Sweden, and Catherine remained
her helper and dear companion throughout the remainder of her life. Among
the places particularly associated with St Bridget in Rome are the churches
of St Paul’s-outside-the-Walls and San Francesco a Ripa. In the first is
the most beautiful crucifix of Cavallini before which she prayed, which is
said to have spoken to her, and in the second she had a vision of St Francis,
who said to her, “Come, eat and drink with me in my cell”. She took this
to be an invitation to go to Assisi, which she accordingly did. Later she
made a tour of shrines in Italy that lasted for two years.
The saint’s prophecies and revelations had reference to most
of the burning political and religious questions of her time, both of Sweden
and Rome. She prophesied that pope and emperor would shortly meet amicably
in Rome (which Bd Urban V and Charles IV did in 1368), and the using of her
by factions did somewhat to abate her popularity among the Romans. Her prophecies
that their iniquities would be visited with condign punishments had the same
effect, and several times her ardour drew down persecution and slander upon
her. On the other hand, she was not sparing of her criticisms, and did not
fear to denounce a
pope as “a murderer of souls, more unjust than Pilate and more cruel
than Judas”. Once she was turned out of her house at a month's notice, and
more than once she and Catherine found themselves seriously in debt; they
sometimes even had to beg food at a convent of Poor Clares. St Bridget's joy
at the coming of Pope Urban V was short-lived, for he soon retired to Viterbo
and Montefiascone, and it was rumoured he was going back to Avignon. On her
return from a pilgrimage to Amalfi she had a vision in which our Lord appeared
to tell her to go to the pope, warn him that his death was near, and show
him the rule of the religious at Vadstena. This rule had already been submitted
to Urban when he arrived in Rome, and he had done nothing about it. So now
Bridget set off to Montefiascone on her white mule, and as a result the pope
gave a general approval to her religious foundation, prescribing for it the
general Rule of St Augustine with the Bridgettine constitutions. Four months
later Urban was dead, and St Bridget three times wrote to his successor at
Avignon, Gregory XI, warning him to come back to the apostolic see, which
he eventually did four years after her death.
In 1371, in consequence of another vision, St Bridget embarked on the last
of her journeys, a pilgrimage to the Holy Places, taking with her St Catherine,
her sons Charles and Birger, Alphonsus of Vadaterra and others. The expedition
started inauspiciously, for at Naples Charles got himself entangled with Queen
Joanna I, of unenviable reputation. Although his wife was still alive in
Sweden, and her third husband in Spain, Joanna wanted to marry him, and he
was far from unwilling. His mother was horror-stricken, and set herself to
ceaseless prayer for the resolution of the difficulty. It came about in an
unexpected and tragic way. Charles was struck down by a fever, and after a
fortnight's illness died in the arms of his mother. He was, with St Catherine,
her favourite child, and Bridget after his funeral went on in deepest grief
to Palestine. Here, after being nearly drowned in a wreck off Jaffa, her
progress through the Holy Places was a succession of visions of the events
that had happened there and other heavenly consolations. On her way back,
in the autumn of 1372, she landed at Cyprus where she denounced the wickedness
of the royal family and the citizens of Famagusta, who had mocked at her warnings
on her way out; then she passed on to Naples, where her warnings were read
by the clergy from the pulpit but with little effect on their uninstructed
and erring congregations. The party arrived back in Rome in March 1373. Bridget
had been ailing for some months, and now she got weaker every day till,
having received the last sacraments from her faithful friend; Peter of Alvastra,
she died on July 23 in her seventy-first year. She was temporarily buried
in the church of St Lawrence in Panisperna. Four months after, the body was
taken up and, in the care of St Catherine and Peter of Alvastra; it was carried
in triumphal progress by way of Dalmatia, Austria, Poland and Danzig to Vadstena,
where it was laid to rest in the abbey. St Bridget was canonized in 1391 and
is the patron saint of the kingdom of Sweden. Thirty-five or so years after
her death, one of her maids in Rome told Margery Kempe of Lynn that Bridget
“was kind and meek to every creature, and had a laughing face”.
Nothing is more famous in the life of St Bridget than the many revelations
with which God, chiefly concerning the sufferings of our Saviour, favoured
her and events that were to happen in certain kingdoms. By order of the Council
of Basle, the learned John Torquemada, afterwards cardinal, examined the book
of St Bridget's revelations, and approved it as profitable for the instruction
of the faithful, but this approbation met with not a little opposition. It,
however, amounts to no more than a declaration that the doctrine contained
in that book is conformable to the orthodox faith, and that the revelations
are credible upon a historical probability. Pope Benedict XIV referred specifically
to the revelations of St Bridget, among others, when he wrote that, “Even
though many of these revelations have been approved, we cannot and we ought
not to give them the assent of divine faith, but only that of human faith,
according to the dictates of prudence whenever these dictates enable us to
decide that they are probable and worthy of pious credence”. St Bridget with
true simplicity of heart always submitted her revelations to the judgement
of the pastors of the Church; and she was far from ever glorying in any extraordinary
graces, which she never desired and on which she never relied except to be
obedient thereto and to increase her love and humility. If her revelations
have rendered her name famous, it is by her heroic virtue that it is venerable
to the whole Church. To live according to the spirit of the mysteries of religion
is something much greater and more sublime than to know hidden things or
to be favoured with the most extraordinary visions. To have the knowledge
of angels without charity is to be only a tinkling cymbal; both to have charity
and to speak the language of angels was the happy privilege of St Bridget.
The book of her revelations was first printed at Lübeck in 1492, and
has been translated into many languages. They were known in England soon after
the Bridgettine Richard Whytford translated the saint’s death, and part in
1531. The lessons at Matins in the Bridgettine office are taken from the
revelations on the glories of our Lady, the Sermo angelicus, according to
the alleged words of our Lord to St Bridget, “I will send my angel who will
reveal to you the lesson that shall be read at Matins by the nuns of your
monastery, and you shall write it as he tells you”. Alban Butler pertinently
remarks that if we had the revelations as written down by St Bridget herself,
instead of passing through the mind and translation of Peter of Alvastra
and, in part, Alphonsus of Vadaterra, “it would have been compiled with more
simplicity and with greater life and spirit, and would have received a higher
degree of certainty”.
Owing to the immense
interest which has been taken in St Bridget by Scandinavian scholars of all
creeds, the materials formerly available in the various editions of the Revelationes
Stae Birgittae and in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. iv, have to
a large extent been superseded. The oldest life, which was compiled immediately
after her death by her confessor Peter of Alvastra and Peter of Skeninge was
only printed for the first time in 1871 in the collection Scriptores rerum
Suecicarum, vol. iii, pt 2, pp. 185-206. Other lives, such as that by
Birger, archbishop of Upsala, will be found in the Bollandists and in the
publications of Swedish learned societies. A scholarly edition of the whole
collection of the canonization documents has been compiled by Isak ColIijn,
Acta et Processus canonizacionis Beate Birgitte
(1924-31). There are furthermore a number of biographies and of studies of
special aspects of the saint's career, mostly in Swedish; notably an account
of the historical personages connected with her life in Sweden and in Rome.
This, published under the title Birgittinska Gestalter (1929), is also
by Collijn. One historically excellent Swedish life, by E. Fagelklou, has
been translated into German (1929) by M. Loehr. Among French biographies that
written by Countess de Flavigny, Sainte Brigitte de Suede, may be recommended
as having made good use of Swedish sources. It seems rather doubtful whether
the Revelations have not been to some extent coloured by the prepossessions
of her confessors who copied them or translated them into Latin. The most
reliable text is said to be that of G. E. Klemming in Swedish (1857-84), of
which a modernized selection has been edited by R. Steffen (1900). F. Partridge
contributed an English life of St Bridget to the Quarterly Series in 1888;
The Story of the English Bridgettines (1933) has been briefly told by Canon
J. R. Fletcher; and in 1947 there was published in America God's Ambassadress,
by Helen Redpath, an admirable biography, both scholarly and popular. Cf.
also E. Graf, Revelations and Prayers of St Bridget
(1928), which
consists of the Sermo angelicus; and The Book
of Margery Kempe (1936), pp. 149—141. J.
Jorgensen’s St. Bridget of Sweden (2 vols.) appeared
in English in 1954. St Bridget (and her
daughter St Catherine) is commonly called “of Sweden”, but she was not of
the royal house, either by birth or marriage; nor did she ever found an
order of knights.
Bridget's personal revelations, which were to make
her famous later, were already guiding her opinions on subjects as varied
as the necessity of washing, to the terms for peace between England and France.
The court remained largely deaf to her suggestions and some whispered against
her. Bridget became more preoccupied with her own family when her daughter
made an unfortunate marriage and her youngest son, Gudmar, died in 1340.
The saint made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Olaf of Norway
at Trondheim. When she returned to court, she renewed her efforts to guide
the steps of the young royal couple. Still unsuccessful in this task, she
begged leave and was given permission to make a pilgrimage with her husband
to Santiago de Compostella.
On the way home, Ulf fell ill and received the last sacraments
at Arras. He finally recovered as Bridget had foreseen in a vision of Saint Denis, and the couple vowed to devote
their lives to God in religious houses. Ulf entered the Cistercian monastery
at Alvastra, where he died in 1344. Bridget continued to live as a penitent
at that double-monastery for another four years.
When her visions and revelations became frequent,
she grew afraid that she might be imaging them all. After experiencing the
same vision three times, she submitted them to Master Matthias, canon of Linkoeping.
He pronounced her visions to be originated from God. From that point until
her death, she submitted them to Peter, the prior of Alvastra, who copied
them down in Latin.
A vision commanded her to go to court and warn Magnus of the
judgment of God on his sins. She did so, denouncing the whole royal court
in her warning. Magnus briefly changed his ways, and endowed a monastery,
which Bridget, in response to a vision in 1344, planned to found at Vadstena
on Lake Vattern.
The monastery provided for 60
nuns. There was a separate enclosure for monks, including 13 priests (in honor
of the twelve apostles and Saint Paul), four deacons (representing the four
great Latin Doctors of the Church), and eight choir brothers not in orders,
totalling the number of the Lord's apostles and disciples (12 plus 72 or
84 in all).
Bridget prescribed a constitution, which was said to have been
dictated to her by the Savior in a vision. The men were subject to the abbess
of nuns in temporal matters, but the women were subject to the men in spiritual
ones, the reason for which men were asked to join. The convents were separate,
and while they used the same church, it was designed so that the men and women
could not see one another. The community was named the Order of the Most
Holy Savior, or the Bridgettines, as they came to be called.
Extra income from the monastery was given to the poor, and ostentatious
buildings were forbidden. The religious were allowed to have as many books
for study as they wished, however, and the monastery was to become the intellectual
center of Sweden in the 15th century.
In 1349, Bridget travelled to Rome with her confessor, Peter
of Skeninge, and others for the 1350 Jubilee even though no Pope in residence
there. She hoped to obtain approval for the order. In Rome she settled down
to devote herself to the poor, reform monasteries, and to lobby for the return
of the pope to the city.
She is associated with the churches of Saint Paul's Outside-the-
Walls and San Francesco a Ripa. In Saint Paul's, a crucifix of Cavallini is
said to have spoken to her. In San Francesco a Ripa, she was visited by a
vision of Saint Francis of Assisi. She took this to be an invitation to visit
Assisi, which she did. Bridget toured the shrines of Italy for two years.
Her prophecies and revelations made reference to the prominent
religious and political events of the day, both in Rome and in Sweden. She
refused to support Magnus in his crusade against the pagans in Latvia and
Estonia, saying it was an excuse for a marauding expedition. She wrote to
Pope Clement VI telling him that a vision demanded that he return to Rome
and that he secure peace between England and France. She prophesied that the
pope and emperor would be able to meet peacefully in Rome. Like her contemporary,
Saint Catherine of Siena, Bridget was famous for her criticism, even of popes.
In 1371, in response to another vision, she travelled on a pilgrimage
to the Holy Land with her daughter Karin, sons Charles (Karl) and Birger,
Alphonsus of Vadaterra, and others. Her son Charles became involved with Queen
Joanna I, who despite the fact that both were already married, wanted to
marry him. Horrified, Bridget prayed ceaselessly for a resolution. It came
when Charles was sickened by a fever and died in her arms a few weeks later.
He had been one of her favorite children.
After the funeral, she went to Cyprus, grieving terribly. She
nearly drowned in a shipwreck off Jaffa, but her journey to holy places was
enriched by a series of comforting visions of things that had occurred there.
She returned to Rome in 1373, but ailing. Bridget died after receiving the
viaticum from her friend Peter of Alvastra. Her body was taken to Vadstena.
July 23, 2010 St. Bridget (1303?-1373)
From age seven on, Bridget had
visions of Christ crucified. Her visions formed the basis for her activity—always
with the emphasis on charity rather than spiritual favors. She lived
her married life in the court of the Swedish king Magnus II. Mother of eight
children (the second eldest was St. Catherine of Sweden), she lived the strict
life of a penitent after her husband's death.
Bridget constantly strove to
exert her good influence over Magnus; while never fully reforming, he did
give her land and buildings to found a monastery for men and women. This group
eventually expanded into an Order known as the Bridgetines (still in existence).
In 1350, a year of jubilee, Bridget braved a plague-stricken Europe to make
a pilgrimage to Rome. Although she never returned to Sweden, her years in
Rome were far from happy, being hounded by debts and by opposition to her
work against Church abuses. A final pilgrimage to the Holy Land, marred
by shipwreck and the death of her son, Charles, eventually led to her death
in 1373. In 1999, she, Saints Catherine of Siena and Edith Stein were named
co-patronesses of Europe.
Comment: Bridget's visions,
rather than isolating her from the affairs of the world, involved her in many
contemporary issues, whether they be royal policy or the Avignon papacy. She
saw no contradiction between mystical experience and secular activity, and
her life is a testimony to the possibility of a holy life in the market place.
Quote: Despite the hardships of life and wayward children (not all
became saints), Margery Kempe of Lynn says Bridget was "kind and meek to
every creature" and "she had a laughing face."
Bridget's visions were written
in a book called Revelations. Today
there are 12 Bridgettine convents left (Martindale, White).
In art, Saint Bridget is portrayed as a crowned Brigittine abbess
with a cross on her brow, holding a book and a pilgrim's staff. She may also
be shown (1) writing with a pilgrim's attributes near her; (2) as Christ
and the Virgin appear while she is writing; (3) reading, holding a cross,
with builders in the background; (4) in ecstasy before the crucifix with instruments
of the Passion nearby; (5) as a small child present at the Scourging of Christ
(one of her revelations); (6) as a nun with a cross on her brow witnessing
the Birth of Christ (another revelation); (7) enthroned, with Christ above
her and hell below, she gives books to the emperor and kings; or (8) giving
a book to Saint Augustine (Roeder).
Bridget is the patron saint of
Sweden (White).
|
1408—1427 St. George,
the Great Martyr Recovery of the Holy Relics of; many signs were manifested
from it to his church in Old Cairo {Coptic}
On this day also, was the arrival of the holy relics of St. George, the
great martyr, to his church in Old Cairo. A monk called Fr. Marcus, who was
the hegumen and Abbot of El-Qualamoun monastery, used to visit the villages
and the cities every year to visit the Christians. One night, while he was
visiting someone in one of the villages he used to visit, he saw St. George
(Gawargios) in a vision, who told him,
"Take my body from the
woman that will be coming to you tomorrow,
and place it in my church that is in Old Cairo."
On the next day, a woman came to him and told him
that she had a box that her father had brought before his death from the church
of St. George in Palestine.
This fulfilled the vision, and he went with her and examined the box. Then,
he went to Pope Gabrial, 88th Pope, and told him about the vision and the
box. Immediately the Pope rose up and took with him the priests and the deacons,
and went to where the box was. After they took the blessings of the holy relics
and gave some money to the woman, they carried the box in a venerable celebration.
They brought it to the church of St. George in Old Cairo where many signs
were manifested from it. May his prayers be with us and Glory be to
God forever. Amen.
1888 "Joy of All Who Sorrow" (With
Coins) The Icon of the Mother of God was glorified in the year 1888
in Petersburg
When during the time of a terrible thunderstorm lightning struck
in a chapel. All was burned or singed, except for this icon of the Queen of
Heaven. It was knocked to the floor, and the poor box broke open at the same
time.
Somehow, twelve small coins (half-kopeck pieces), became attached to the
icon. A church was built in 1898 on the chapel site.
|
Mary Mother of GOD
Saints of this Day July 23 Duodécimo Kaléndas Augusti Et álibi aliórum plurimórum
sanctórum Mártyrum et Confessórum, atque sanctárum
Vírginum. R. Deo grátias.
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
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.