90 St. Philip the Deacon "Acts"
ministering to needy members of the Church 1st preacher in Samaria converted
Simon Magus then eunuch chief treasurer of the Queen of Ethiopia on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza
Cæsaréæ,
in Palæstína, natális beáti Philíppi, qui
fuit unus de septem primis Diáconis. Hic, signis et prodígiis
clarus, Samaríam ad Christi fidem convértit, et Regínæ
Æthíopum Cándacis Eunúchum baptizávit, ac
demum apud Cæsaréam requiévit. Juxta ipsum tres
Vírgines, ejus fíliæ ac Prophetíssæ, tumulátæ
jacent; nam quarta fília ejus, plena Spíritu Sancto, Ephesi
occúbuit.
At Caesarea
in Palestine, the birthday of blessed Philip, one of the first seven deacons.
He was renowned for miracles and prodigies. He converted Samaria to
the faith of Christ, baptized the eunuch of Candace, queen of Ethiopia, and
finally rested in peace at Caesarea. Near him are buried three of his
daughters, virgins and prophetesses. His fourth daughter died at Ephesus,
filled with the Holy Ghost.
1st
v. ST PHILIP THE DEACON
ALL
that is actually known about St Philip is to be found in the Acts of the
Apostles. His name suggests that he was of Greek origin, but St Isidore of
Pelusium asserts that he was born at Caesarea. He stands second in the list
of the seven' deacons specially set aside in the early days of the Church
to look after its needy members, in order that the Apostles might be free
to devote themselves exclusively to the ministry of the word. The work of
the deacons, however, soon developed, and we find them ministering to the
priest at the Eucharist, baptizing in the absence of a priest, and preaching
the Gospel. St Philip in particular was so zealous in spreading the faith
that he was surnamed the Evangelist. When the disciples dispersed after the
martyrdom of St Stephen he carried the light of the Gospel to Samaria. His
great success induced the Apostles at Jerusalem to send St Peter and St John
to confirm his converts. Simon Magus, whom he had baptized, was amongst
his adherents. St Philip was probably still in Samaria when an angel directed
him to go south to the road that led from Jerusalem to Gaza. There he came
upon one of the chief officials of Queen Candace of Ethiopia. The man, who
was presumably an African proselyte of the Jews, was returning from a religious
visit to the temple at Jerusalem, and was sitting in his chariot studying
with some perplexity the prophecies of Isaias. St. Philip joined him, and
explained that the prophecies had found their meaning and fulfilment in the
incarnation and death of Jesus Christ. The eunuch believed and was baptized.
St Philip was then led by the Spirit to Azotus, where he preached, as he continued
to do in all the cities through which he passed until he reached Caesarea,
perhaps his ordinary place of residence. Some twenty-four years later, when
St Paul came to Caesarea, he lodged in the house where St Philip lived with
his four unmarried daughters, who were prophetesses. According to a later
Greek tradition St Philip afterwards became bishop of Tralles, in Lydia.
See
the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol.
i, and cf. what is said under St Philip the Apostle, May I. The commemoration
of the Deacon Philip on this day seems to be due to a blunder of the martyrologist
Ado, who identified another martyr, Philip of Noviodunum in Moesia, whose
name occurs in the Hieronymianum,
with the Deacon of the New Testament.
Philip we are told in Acts in the Bible is one of the seven
chosen to assist the Apostles by ministering to the needy members of the
Church so the Apostles could be free to preach the Gospels. He was the first
to preach in Samaria, where he converted Simon Magus and then a eunuch
who was chief treasurer of the Queen
of Ethiopia on the road from Jerusalem
to Gaza. Philip preached in
the coastal cities on the way to his home at Caesarea, and twenty-four years
later, St. Paul stayed at his home
in Caesarea, where he still lived with his four unmarried daughters. A Greek
tradition has him become Bishop of Tralles, Lydia. He was so successful in
his preaching that he was sometimes surnamed "the Evangelist," which has sometimes
caused him to be confused with Philip the Apostle. |
Romæ sancti Artémii, cum uxóre
sua Cándida, et fília Paulína. Ex his Artémius,
ad prædicatiónem et mirácula sancti Petri Exorcístæ,
ad Christum convérsus, et, cum omni domo sua, a sancto Marcellíno
Presbytero baptizátus, Seréni Judicis jussu plumbátis
cæsus et gládio percússus est; uxor vero ejus et fília,
in cryptam impúlsæ, lapídibus ruderibúsque sunt
óbrutæ.
At
Rome, St. Artemius, with his wife Candida and his daughter Paulina.
Artemius became a believer through the preaching and miracles of St. Peter
the Exorcist, who was baptized with all his household by the priest St. Marcellinus.
By order of Judge Serenus, he was scourged with leaded whips, and then slain
with the sword. His wife and daughter were forced into a pit and covered
with stones and earth.
|
293 Archelais, Thekla
and Susanna Holy Virgin Martyrs sought salvation in a small monastery near
Rome received the gift of healing from God in the nineteenth century, St Susanna
appeared to a disciple of Elder Boniface saying, "We must pray to God with
the soul, the mind, and the heart." She is described as a maiden of untold
beauty, with a soft, pleasant voice.
During the persecution by Diocletian (284-305), the holy virgins dressed
themselves in men's clothing, cut their hair and went to the Italian province
of Campagna. Settling in a remote area, they continued to pursue an ascetical
life of fasting and prayer. They received the gift of healing from God, and
treated the local inhabitants, converting many pagans to Christ.
When the governor of the district heard about them, he had them brought
to Salerno. He threatened St Archelais with torture and death if she did
not offer sacrifice to idols. With firm hope in the Lord, the saint refused
to submit to the command, and she denounced the folly of worshipping soulless
statues. Then the governor ordered the saint to be torn apart by hungry lions,
but the beasts meekly lay at her feet. In a rage the governor ordered the
lions to be killed, and locked the holy virgins in prison.
In the morning, having suspended St Archelais, the torturers began to rake
her with iron utensils and pour hot tar on the wounds. The saint prayed even
more loudly, and suddenly a light shone over her and a voice was heard, "Fear
not, for I am with you."
The saint was defended by the power of God. When they wanted to crush her
with an immense stone, an angel pushed it to the other side, and it crushed
the torturers instead. A judge ordered soldiers to behead the holy virgins,
but the soldiers did not dare to put their hands upon the saints. Then Sts
Archelais, Thekla and Susanna said to the soldiers, "If you do not fulfill
the command, you shall have no respect from us." The holy martyrs were beheaded
in 293.
In the nineteenth century, St Susanna appeared to a disciple of Elder Boniface
saying, "We must pray to God with the soul, the mind, and the heart." She
is described as a maiden of untold beauty, with a soft, pleasant voice.
|
300 20 Marytrs of Tarsus
A group of twenty martyrs slain at Tarsus, in modern Turkey
Tarsi, in Cilícia, sanctórum Mártyrum vigínti,
qui, tempóribus Diocletiáni et Maximiáni, sub Simplício
Júdice, per divérsa torménta glorificavérunt Deum
in corpóribus suis.
At Tarsus in Cilicia, in the time of Emperors Diocletian
and Maximian, and the governor Simplicius, twenty holy martyrs, who, through
various torments to their bodies, glorified God.
during the reign of Emperor Diocletian c 243-316. |
303 St. Vincent of Bevagna 1st Bishop of Bevagna
in Umbria martyr
Italy, who was martyred under Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305). Vincent
is listed as the first bishop of that diocese.
|
| 410 St. Cocca Patroness
of Kilcock Patroness of Kilcock on the borders of Counties Meath and Kildare
in Ireland, also called Cucca or Cuach. |
St. Ceratius Bishop
of Grenoble present at the Council of Orange in 441
455 ST CERATIUS, OR CERASE, BISHOP OF GRENOBLE
THE accounts in which Bishop Ceratius is mentioned are meagre
and apparently conflicting. But we have definite data which prove his existence
as bishop of Grenoble in the middle of the fifth century- and also that he
was honoured in that city a century or so later on June 6. We know that he
was present at the Council of Orange in 441, also that he with two other Gaulish
bishops wrote to Pope St Leo the
Great in 450, and finally there is mention of him in a letter written
to the same pope by Eusebius of Milan. On the other hand, the Gascons claim
a Ceratius, or Cerasius, as the founder and first occupant of the see of
Eauze, later the diocese of Auch. His relics are said to be preserved in the
abbey of Simorre, near Lombez. Theories have been broached that the saint
was driven from Grenoble by the persecution of the Burgundian Arians and then
migrated to Aquitaine to found what is now the see of Auch. There is, however,
no historical evidence to support these conjectures. The cultus of St Ceratius
of Grenoble was confirmed in 1903.
The Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i, 708-710,
and vol. ii, p. lxxxviii, endeavoured without success to find an acceptable
solution of the difficulty. See Delehaye's commentary on the Hieronymianum, where St Ceratius's name
is entered on June 6 as bishop of Grenoble, and also Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux, vol. i, p. 231.
Data which prove his existence as bishop of Grenoble in the middle of the
fifth century and also that he was honored in that city a century or so later
on June 6. We know that he was present at the Council of Orange in 441, also
that he with two other Gallish bishops wrote to Pope St. Leo the Great in
450, and finally there is mention of him in a letter written to the same
Pope by Eusebius of Milan.
On the other hand, the Gascons claim a Ceratius or Cerasius,
as the founder and first occupant of the See of Eauze, later the diocese of
Auch. His relics are said to be preserved in the Abbey of Simorre, near Lombez.
Theories have been broached that the saint had been driven from Grenoble by
the persecution of the Burgundian Arians and then migrated to Aquitaine to
found what is now the See of Auch. There is, however, no historical evidence
to support these conjectures. The cultus of St. Ceratius of Grenoble was confirmed
in 1903. |
455 St. Gudwal solitary
anchorite succeeded St. Malo, as bishop in Brittany relics are venerated
in Ghent, Belgium.
Abbot and Bishop in Cornwall, Near Penzance
6th v. ST GUDWAL, OR GURVAL
ST GUDWAL, whom the most recent historical research identifies with St
Gurval, was probably one of the earliest of the missionaries who evangelized
Brittany. His name figures prominently in the ancient Armorican litanies,
notably in that of the Missal of S.-Vougay where he comes third in the list
of the seven pioneer saints of Brittany, St Samson being first and St Malo
second. That he was, as tradition states, a native of Britain is likely but
not certain. On the inland sea of Etel he founded the monastery of "Plecit"
near the island called after him, Locoal, which still remains the
centre of his cultus. He made other settlements on the mainland in the vicinity
and a more distant one at Guer, which annually celebrates his feast with
a procession to St Gurval's holy well. Moreover, the chapel of St Stephen
in the parish of Guer, which is described as the oldest religious monument
in the department of Morbihan, is regarded by at least one modern archaeologist
as having been St Gurval's hermitage.
We have, unfortunately, no trustworthy account of the saint's activities.
He appears to have died in one of his monasteries which stood in a wood, but
his body was taken back to Locoal after his death. When the Northmen invaded
Brittany in the tenth century the relics of St Gudwal were removed for safety,
first to Picardy and then to Ghent, in the abbey of St Peter. Long years
afterwards a monk compiled a Latin life of the saint, ultimately based on
such scanty oral or written tradition as had survived, but so much amplified
by fictitious details as to be quite unreliable. Even less worthy of credence
is a late tradition from Saint-Malo which claims St Gurval or Gudwal as one
of its bishops. He may have been a regionary bishop, but he was never bishop
of Saint-Malo. As Canon Doble points out, the cultus of St Gudwal was probably
introduced into that region from Guer which, though in the south of Brittany
and geographically belonging to the diocese of Vannes, actually was in the
middle ages under the jurisdiction of the bishops of Saint-Malo.
The parish of Gulval, near Penzance, takes its name from St Gulval, Gwelvel,
or Welvela, but it is not known what connection, if any, there was between
the Breton saint and the Celtic founder of that remote parish.
By far the most thorough investigation
of the problems presented by the history of St Gudwal is that of Canon Doble
in his collection of "Cornish Saints" (1933). With the exception of a brief
reference in the Abbé Duine's Memento (p. 147), the account given by
most earlier writers such as Baring-Gould and Fisher, LBS., vol. iii, pp.
150 and 161, needs revision. The subject finds a place in several collections
such as DNB. and Stanton's Menology.
St. Gudwall, Gunwall, or Gunvell, was born in Wales about A.D.
500. Being entirely devoted to religion, he collected eighty-eight monks in
a little island called Plecit, being no more than a rock surrounded by water.
For some reason however, he abandoned this establishment, and passed by sea
into Cornwall; and from thence he went into Devonshire, where he betook himself
to the most holy, perfect, and useful state of a solitary anchorite; at length
however again emerging, he sailed into Brittany, and there succeeded
St. Malo, as bishop of that see,
although he is said even then to have dwelt in a solitary cell, and to have
died there at a very advanced age. His relics have been widely distributed,
and various places in France have been called by his name.
St. Gudwal is known to have been a prominent figure in the Breton
Church during the sixth century, from whence his relics were removed during
a period of Viking activity. They were translated with due ceremony in 959
to the abbey of Mont Blandin, Ghent, where subsequently his feast was kept
on 6 June. His relics are venerated in Ghent, Belgium.
|
461 Departure Of St.
Simon the Stylite; led a great ascetic life in worship and prayer
On this day of the year 461 A.D., St. Simon departed. He was born in Antioch
in 392 A.D. His father's name was John, and his mother's name was Martha.
Many miraculous things happened because of him. Before his mother had conceived
of him, St. John the Baptist appeared to her in a dream and told her of her
conception and what he would become. At age sixteen, he became a monk in the
mountain of Antioch, and he led a great ascetic life in worship and prayer.
An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and guided him in his monastic
life to the life of St. Pachomius. He excelled in his worship to a level beyond
the normal human level, so that he lived alone on a high place like a pillar,
for 45 years, during which he ate grass.
This father wrote many useful ascetic teachings, and explained
many church books. He departed in peace. May his prayers be with us,
and glory be to God forever. Amen.
466 Saint Bessarion Wonderworker
of Egypt an Egyptian baptized while still in his youth led a strict life,
striving to preserve the grace given him during Baptism
Seeking to become more closely acquainted with the monastic life, he journeyed
to the holy places. He was in Jerusalem, he visited St Gerasimus (March 4) in the Jordanian
wilderness, he viewed other desert monasteries, and assimilated all the rules
of monastic life.
Upon his return, he received monastic tonsure and became a disciple of
St Isidore of Pelusium (February 4). St Bessarion took a vow of silence,
and partook of food only once a week. Sometimes he remained without food
or drink for forty days. Once, the saint stood motionless for forty days
and forty nights without food or sleep, immersed in prayer.
St Bessarion received from God the gift of wonderworking. When his disciple
was very thirsty, he sweetened bitter water. By his prayer the Lord sent rain
upon the earth, and he could cross a river as if on dry land. With a single
word he cast out devils, but he did this privately to avoid glory.
His humility was so great that once, when a priest ordered someone from
the skete to leave church for having fallen into sin, Bessarion also went
with him saying, "I am a sinner, too." St Bessarion slept only while standing
or sitting. A large portion of his life was spent under the open sky in prayerful
solitude. He peacefully departed to the Lord in his old age.
Our Holy Father Bessarion June 6 SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net
Born and educated in Egypt, he devoted himself to the
spiritual life at an early age, and `never soiled the spiritual garment in
which he was clothed at his baptism'. He visited St Gerasim by the Jordan
and learned from St Isidore of Pelusium. He conquered his flesh in strict
fasting and vigils, but, as far as possible, hid his asceticism from men.
He once spent forty days in prayer, neither eating nor sleeping, and had one
single garment that he wore summer and winter. He had a great gift of wonderworking.
He had no fixed abode, but lived in the mountains and forests, healing the
sick and performing many other miracles to help men and glorify God. He entered
peacefully into rest in 466.
(In the Greek Prologue, this saint is commemorated on
February 20th.)
|
518 St. Eustorgius
II Reportedly a Greek who lived in Rome spent vast amounts of money ransoming
members of his flock
Medioláni deposítio sancti Eustórgii
Secúndi, Epíscopi et Confessóris.
At Milan,
the death of St. Eustorgius II, bishop and confessor.
518
ST EUSTORGIUS II, BISHOP OF MILAN
IT is the proud, if somewhat misleading, boast of the diocese of Milan
that no less than thirty-six of her archbishops and bishops are reckoned
among the saints. *[This does not mean that they have all been canonized
by any formal process, but only that the names of many early occupants of
the see appear in the episcopal lists with the prefix sanctus. We know nothing
of the compilers of these lists, or of their competence to pronounce judgement.]
Of these, two were called Eustorgius. - The second bearer of the name
succeeded in 512 and ruled the see for nearly seven years; he is said by some
writers to have been, like Eustorgius I, of Greek origin, and to have lived
in Rome during the reigns of Popes Gelasius, Symmachus and Hormisdas. His
episcopate seems to have been uneventful; he is described as having been a
man of great virtue, an excellent shepherd of his people and a defender of
the patrimony of the Church. He also beautified and perhaps enlarged the baptistery
his predecessor had built. He received into his house, instructed, baptized
and ordained a young native of Pannonia called Florian, who afterwards preached
the Gospel in Berry and, under the name of St Laurien, is venerated by the
French as having been martyred by Arians near Vatan, and by the Spanish as
having become bishop of Seville. St Eustorgius was buried in the church of
St Lawrence, in Milan, where his relics are still preserved.
In the short notice devoted to
this Eustorgius II in the Acta Sanctorum,
June, vol. i, two documents are quoted from Cassiodorus which show that King
Theodoric the Great regarded the holy bishop with much respect. We also have
a letter addressed to him by St Avitus of Vienne, but, except for some short
Breviary lessons, this is almost all we know about him. See, further, Savio,
Gli antichi Vescovi d'Italia; La Lombardia
(1913), pp. 6-10, 108-114, 217-221.
Eustorgius was made bishop of Milan in 512, was respected
for his ability and holiness, and spent all of his resources ransoming members
of his flock who had been captured by the barbarians.
Eustorgius II of Milan B (RM) Died 518. Saint Eustorgius was a Roman priest
who was named bishop of Milan in 512. He spent vast amounts of money ransoming
members of his flock who had been taken prisoner by the barbarian invaders
(Benedictines).
|
550
St. Jarlath, Bishop founder and principle patron of the Archdiocese of Tuam
in Galway pupils were St. Brendan of Clonfert and St. Colman of Cloyne
550 ST JARLATH, BISHOP OF TUAM
THE archdiocese of Tuam in Galway venerates St Jarlath as its principal
patron and as the founder of its ancient episcopal seat. This saint is not
to be identified with his earlier namesake, one of St Patrick's disciples,
who became bishop of Armagh, and whose festival is kept on February II. St
Jarlath of Tuam ranks with the second class of Irish saints, viz. those whose
activities belong rather to the sixth than to the fifth century. No traditional
"acts" are available for the reconstruction of the saint's history: only
a bare outline of his career can be derived from allusions to him in glosses
of late date-allusions which are often puzzling and do not always agree.
His father is said to have belonged to the noble Conmaicne family which
dominated a large district in Galway, and his mother, called Mongfinn, or
the Lady of the Fair Tresses, was the daughter of Cirdubhan of the Cenneans.
The date of his birth is quite unknown. In early youth he was sent to be
trained by a holy man, who eventually ordained him and his cousin Caillin,
or perhaps presented them for ordination. St Benignus is quoted by some writers
as having been that master, but Benignus died about the year 469, when Jarlath
could scarcely have been old enough for the priesthood. It seems probable
that the writers were confusing him with the other Jarlath, who succeeded
St Benignus in the see of Armagh. As a priest St Jarlath is supposed to have
returned to his native district, where he founded a monastery at Cluain Fois-the
meadow of rest-a short distance from the present town of Tuam. Over this
community he ruled as abbot- bishop, honoured by all for his piety and learning.
In connection with the monastery he opened a school which attained great
renown. Among his pupils were St Brendan of Clonfert, and St Colman son of
Lénine, the "royal bard of Munster", who went to study at Cluain Fois
after he had been induced by St Brendan and St Ita to renounce his worldly
career. St Jarlath appears to have died about the middle of the sixth century.
His feast is kept throughout Ireland.
The whole matter is very uncertain,
though Colgan, Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae,
vol. i, pp. 307-308, professes to give some account of this saint. There are
references to him in Healy, Ireland's Ancient
Schools and Scholars; J. Ryan, Irish
Monasticism; and O'Hanlon,
LIS. And see Acta Sanctorum,
November, vol. iv, pp. 147-186.
Jarlath is regarded as the founder and principle
patron of the Archdiocese of Tuam in Galway, Ireland. He belonged to the Conmaicne
family, perhaps the most important and powerful family in Galway during that
period. Jarlath was trained by a holy man and ordained a priest along
with his cousin. He then founded the monastery of Cluain Fois, just outside
Tuam, and presided over that monastery as abbot-bishop. Later, Jarlath opened
a school attached to the monastery, one which soon became known as a great
center of learning. St. Brendan of
Clonfert and St. Colman of Cloyne were among his pupils
at the school. Jarlath died around 550 A.D. |
590 St. Alexander
of Fiesole Bishop martyr halted encroachment of nobles into affairs
of faith they martyred him
In agro Bononiénsi sancti Alexándri, Epíscopi Fæsuláni
et Mártyris; qui, rédiens ex urbe Papía, ubi Ecclésiæ
suæ bona apud Longobardórum Regem ab usurpatóribus vindicáverat,
ab his in Rhenum flúvium est dejéctus et aquis præfocátus.
In the district of Bologna, St. Alexander, bishop of
Fiesole and martyr. While returning from the town of Pavia, where he
had defended the title to the goods of his church before the Lombard king
against those taking them away, he was seized by the usurpers, cast into
the Rhine river, and drowned.
Fell prey to the political ambitions of the nobles
of Lombardy, Italy. Alexander was the bishop of Fiesole,
where he halted the encroachment of the nobles into affairs of the faith.
When the nobles attempted to dictate Church matters and place their clients
in positions of power, they faced Alexander. He defended the Church, and in
revenge, the nobles had Alexander drowned near Bologna.
590 Alexander of Fiesole M (RM) Died near Bologna in 590. Alexander, bishop
of Fiesole in Tuscany, Italy, was a fierce defender of the Church against
the heresy of the kings of Lombardy. His opponents waylaid him near Bologna
and drowned him in the Reno River (Benedictines).
|
7th v. St. John of
Verona successor of St. Maurus active protecting the poor
Verónæ sancti Joánnis Epíscopi.
At Verona, the bishop St. John.
Bishop
of Verona, Italy. He was the successor of St. Maurus
and was active in protecting the poor of his region.
John of Verona B (RM) 7th century. Saint John succeeded Saint
Maurus (Died c. 600) as bishop of Verona (Benedictines).
|
699 St. Claud
restored the monastic buildings in the Jura mountains enforced the Rule
of St. Benedict burial place for centuries a favorite place of pilgrimage
at which miraculous cures took place
Vesontióne, in Gálliis, sancti Cláudii
Epíscopi.
At Besançon, France, the bishop St. Claudius.
699 ST
CLAUD, BISHOP OF BESANCON
ST CLAUD is said to have been born in Franche-Comte, of a senatorial family,
and after his ordination he became one of the clergy of Besançon. According
to the generally accepted tradition, he retired twelve years later to the
monastery of Condate, or, as it is now called, Saint-Claude, in the Jura
Mountains, where he lived a most holy and austere life. Raised to the position
of abbot, he introduced or enforced the Rule of St Benedict and restored
the monastic buildings. In 685 he was chosen bishop of Besançon. He
was, by all accounts, already an old man and most unwilling to accept the
dignity. Nevertheless he ruled the diocese wisely and well for seven years.
He then resigned and went back to Condate, the direction of which he had retained
during his episcopate. He died in 699, at a very advanced age. Another tradition
represents St Claud as having remained a secular priest until his elevation
to the episcopate, and only to have retired to the monastery after vacating
his office.
The cultus of St Claud became widespread
in the twelfth century when his body was discovered to be incorrupt. His
burial-place was for centuries a favourite place of pilgrimage at which miraculous
cures took place.There are two medieval texts of relatively late date which
profess to tell the story of St Claud. One is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i. It is not
very clear whether the abbot of Condate was identical with the bishop of Besançon.
There was a Claudius, bishop of Besançon, who took part in the council
of Epaon in 517 and in that of Lyons in 529; this, of course, cannot have
been the abbot of Condate, if the latter died in the seventh century; but
the existence of such a bishop may have given rise to confusion. See also
Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux,
vol. iii, p. 212, and G. Gros, Louis XI,
pèlerin a Saint-Claude (1946).
St. Claud is said to have been born in Franche-Comte',
of a senatorial family, and after his ordination he became one of the clergy
of Besancon. According to the generally accepted tradition, he retired twelve
years later to the monastery of Condate, or, as it is now called, Saint-Claude,
in the Jura mountains, where he lived a most holy and austere life. Raised
to the position of Abbot, he introduced or enforced the Rule of St. Benedict
and restored the monastic buildings. In 685 he was chosen Bishop of Besancon.
He was, by all accounts, already an old man and most unwilling to accept the
dignity.
Nevertheless, he ruled the diocese wisely and
well for 7 years. He then resigned and went back to Condate, the direction
of which he had retained during his episcopate. He died in 699, at a very
advanced age. Another tradition represents St. Claud as having remained a
secular priest until his elevation to the episcopate, and only to have retired
to the monastery after vacating his office. The cultus of St. Claud became
widespread in the twelfth century when his body was discovered to be incorrupt.
His burial place was for centuries a favorite place of pilgrimage at which
miraculous cures took place. |
786 Willibald dedicated
as a child to God porter in the great monastery of Monte Cassino ordained
priest and became bishop of Eichstaett over 50 years pioneering work in a
barbarous land (RM)
feast day was formerly July 7.
The life of St. Willibald had been despaired of as a child
and he had been cured, so it was believed, by being placed at the foot of
a market cross where his royal parents had prayed and made a vow that if
his life were spared it should be dedicated to the service of God. As a result,
when five years old, he was placed for education in a monastery. Later he
accompanied his father and brother to the Holy Land, and at one point was
arrested as a spy and imprisoned. After an absence of six years he settled
in the great monastery of Monte Cassino, where he was appointed sacristan
and for eight years acted as porter.
At the end of that time he was sent to join his uncle Saint Boniface in Germany, where he was
ordained priest and became bishop of Eichstaett. It was a hard and rough task
in a barbarous land, for it was pioneering work demanding great qualities
of energy and evangelism. During that period he lived in the abbey ruled by
his brother, and afterwards by his sister, where he found a welcome retreat
from the cares of his work, but was no less diligent in his pastoral oversight.
"The field which had been so arid and barren soon flourished as a very vineyard
of the Lord."
For over 50 years he labored for God in a foreign land and
no story of missionary enterprise is more exhilarating than that of this
faithful prince, who, whether as porter of a monastery or bishop of a diocese,
served the needs of men and to the glory of God. And thus these three children
of the good Saxon King Richard came to be numbered among the saints.
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840 St. Agobard Archbishop
theologian fled Spain to avoid Moorish invasion
When the Muslims entered his homeland, Agobard went to France.
He became an ordained priest in Lyons, distinguishing himself with his holiness
and charity. In 813, Agobard was named archbishop of Lyons. He took an active
role in the affairs of the city and was a noted author of treatises concerning
theology and liturgical matters.
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845 Saint
Hilarion the New was born of pious parents Peter and Theodosia raised him
in the virtues instructed him in Holy Scripture At 12 tonsured as a monk at
the Hesychius monastery near Constantinople, and from there he transferred
to the Dalmatus monastery, where he received the Great Schema and became a
disciple of St Gregory the Dekapolite (November 20). Hilarion beheld
holy angels taking the soul of St Theodore to Heaven.
The monk deeply venerated his
God-bearing patron St Hilarion the Great (October 21), and he strove
to imitate his life, so he came to be called Hilarion the New.
Then the monks of Dalmatus monastery
sent a petition to Patriarch Nicephorus,
asking that St Hilarion be assigned as igumen. The Patriarch summoned the
saint and persuaded him to give his assent. St Hilarion submitted out of holy
obedience. For eight years he peacefully guided the monastery, but in the
year 813 the iconoclast Leo the Armenian (813-820) occupied the imperial throne.
The saint refused to dishonor the holy icons, and he boldly accused the emperor
of heresy, for which he endured many torments. They locked him up in prison
for awhile, and vexed him with hunger and thirst.
The impious Patriarch Theodotus, who replaced the exiled Patriarch
Nicephorus, caused the monk much suffering in demanding that he abandon
Orthodoxy. The monks of the Dalmatus monastery went to the emperor and asked
him to release the saint, promising to submit to the imperial will. After
they returned to the monastery, however, St Hilarion and the monks continued
to venerate the holy icons. The enraged emperor again threw the monk into
prison. He gave the saint over to torture with all the means at his disposal,
hoping to change his mind.
The wrath of God soon overtook the wicked emperor. He was cut
down by his own soldiers in church at the very spot where he had once thrown
down a holy icon. The new emperor Michael II (820-829) freed St Hilarion
from his imprisonment, and the saint settled into a monastic cell. Upon the
death of St Theodore the Studite (November 11), who also suffered for the
holy icons, St Hilarion beheld holy angels taking the soul of St Theodore
to Heaven.
Under the iconoclast emperor Theophilus (829-842), St Hilarion
was again put under guard and beaten terribly, then they confined him on
the island of Aphousia.
After the death of Theophilus, the holy empress St Theodora
(842-855) gave orders to recall the confessors from exile.
St Hilarion returned to the Dalmatus
monastery, again agreeing to be igumen. He departed peacefully in the year
845.
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950 St. Amantius Bishop
governed Noyon, France and five other priests were martyred for the faith
Noviodúni,
in Gálliis, sanctórum Mártyrum Amántii, Alexándri
et Sociórum.
At Noyon
in France, the holy martyrs Amantius, Alexander, and their companions.
Served
the Church in the area of Cannes and governed Noyon, France. Amantius and
five other priests were martyred for the faith. Three of these companions
are recorded as being Amantius' brothers.
1088
Blessed Marianus Scotus extraordinarily gifted at producing manuscripts
Feast day february 09, OSB Abbot (AC) (also known as Muirdach MacRobartaigh
or Muiredach MacGroarty)
BD MARIANUS SCOTUS (A.D. 1088)
THE actual name of Marianus Scotus was Muiredach mac Robartaigh, and he appears
to have been born in Donegal. As a boy he was remarkable for his personal
beauty and great strength, as well as for his piety and for the charming
simplicity of his manners. His parents destined
him for the priesthood and he early assumed some sort of monastic
habit, but without joining any community. With several companions he set
out from Ireland in the year 1067, apparently with the intention of ultimately
reaching Rome. At Bamberg they were kindly received by Bishop Otto of Regensburg,
and under his direction they practised the strictest conventual rule, though
still seculars. After a year the bishop, convinced of their vocation, advised
them to enter a religious house and they were admitted to the Benedictine
monastery of Michelsburg. Though they were very cordially received by the
monks, they elected, as they could not speak German, to live apart from the
rest, and accordingly a cell at the foot of the mountain was made over to
them. There they remained for some time, but they had not forgotten their
original intention of making a pilgrimage to Rome. They told the abbot, who,
knowing that it was a devout practice very popular with Irishmen, gave them
his blessing and a licence to continue on their way.
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1134 Saint Norbert
early life devoted to worldly pleasures including financial benefices as cannon
then struck down w/lightning regain conscious first words were "Lord, what
do you want me to do?" same words Saul spoke on the road to Damascus Norbert
heard in his heart, "Turn from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it."
became an itinerant preacher severe and popular reformer. Theobald, Count of Champagne, aspired to enter
the order, but St Norbert, who recognized his lack of vocation, dissuaded
him, urging him rather to carry out the duties of his station and to marry.
At the same time he gave him a small white scapular to wear under his outer
garments, and prescribed certain rules and devotions for his use. This seems
to have been the first known case of the affiliation of a layman living in
the world to a recognized religious order, and from the Premonstratensians
St Dominic is thought to have derived the idea of secular tertiaries.
Norbert's community we have the first evidence
of lay affiliation with a religious order
Magdebúrgi sancti Norbérti, ejúsdem
civitátis Epíscopi et Confessóris, qui Fundátor
exstitit Ordinis Præmonstraténsis.
At Magdeburg,
St. Norbert, bishop of that city, confessor. He was the founder of the
Premonstratensian Order.
1134 ST NORBERT, ARCHBISHOP OF MAGDEBURG, FOUNDER OF THE CANONS REGULAR
OF PREMONTRE
XANTEN, in the duchy of Cleves, was the birthplace of St Norbert.
His father, Heribert, Count of Gennep, was related to the emperor, and his
mother, Hedwig of Guise, derived her pedigree from the house of Lorraine.
Although he appeared to cherish no higher ambition than to lead a life of
pleasure, he received minor orders, including the subdiaconate, and was presented
to a canonry in the church of St Victor at Xanten, as well as to other benefices.
At the court of the Emperor Henry V, who appointed him his almoner, Norbert
joined in all the diversions, though not without signs of more serious preoccupations;
and one day, when he was riding near the Westphalian village of Wreden, he
was overtaken in open country by a violent thunderstorm. His horse, frightened
by a flash of lightning, threw its rider, who lay on the ground as though
dead for nearly an hour. His first words on regaining consciousness were those
of Saul on the road to Damascus: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" To
which an inner voice replied: "Turn from evil and do good: seek after peace
and pursue it."
This conversion was as sudden and complete as that of the great Apostle
of the Gentiles. He retired to Xanten, where he gave himself up to prayer,
fasting, meditation and a review of his past life. He then made a retreat
at the abbey of Siegburg, near Cologne, where he came under the influence
of its Abbot Conon.
He was now preparing himself for ordination as a priest, from which, in
spite of his canonry, he had formerly shrunk, and Frederick, archbishop of
Cologne, conferred on him the diaconate and the priesthood in 1115. He appeared
on this occasion clad in a lambskin garment with a rope for a girdle, as
a public expression of his determination to renounce worldly vanities. After
another forty days' retreat he returned to Xanten determined to lead "an
evangelical and apostolic life"; but the vigour of his exhortations, joined
apparently with a certain eccentricity of behaviour, made enemies for him,
and at the Council of Fritzlar in 1118 he found himself denounced to the
papal legate as a hypocrite and an innovator, and charged with preaching
without a licence or commission. Any doubt as to his sincerity must have
been dispelled by his next step. He sold all his estates and gave all he
possessed to the poor, reserving only forty silver marks, a mule (which soon
died), a missal, a few vestments, a chalice, and a paten. Then, accompanied
by two attendants who refused to leave him, he travelled barefoot to Saint-Gilles
in Languedoc, where Pope Gelasius
II was residing in exile. At the feet of the vicar of Christ he made
a general confession of his misdeeds and irregularities, and offered himself
for any penance that might be laid upon him. In response to his petition
the pope granted him leave to preach the Gospel wherever he chose.
Armed with this permission St Norbert started forth again, barefoot in
the snow - for it was mid-winter-and seemingly insensible to the inclemency
of the weather. At Valenciennes his companions fell ill and died. But he
was not destined to remain long alone. He was still at Valenciennes when
he received a visit from Burchard, archbishop of Cambrai, and his young chaplain
Bd Hugh of Fosses. The bishop was amazed at the change in one whom he had
formerly known as a frivolous courtier, whilst Hugh was so impressed that
he elected to follow him. He became St Norbert's most trusted follower, and
eventually succeeded him as head of his order. Pope Callistus II having succeeded
Gelasius II in 1119, St Norbert, with a view to obtaining a renewal of the
sanction he had received from Gelasius, went to Rheims, where the pontiff
was holding a council. Although the saint does not seem to have achieved his
main purpose, Bartholomew, bishop of Laon, received permission to retain the
missioner in his diocese to assist him in reforming the canons regular of
St Martin's at Laon. But as the canons could not be induced to accept St
Norbert's strict regulations, the bishop offered the holy man his choice of
several places in which to found a community of his own. Norbert chose a
lonely valley called Prémontré in the forest of Coucy, which
had been abandoned by the monks of St Vincent at Laon because of the poverty
of the soil. There a beginning was made with thirteen disciples. Their number
soon increased to forty, who made their profession on Christmas day, 1121.
They wore a white habit and kept the rule of St Augustine with certain additional
regulations. Their manner of life was extremely austere, but their institute
was not so much a new religious order as a reform of the regular canons. It
soon spread to other countries, and distinguished persons of both sexes offered
themselves as postulants and made gifts of property for new foundations. Amongst
these recruits were Bd Godfrey of Kappenberg, Bd Evermod and Bd Waltman.
When the new organization could number eight abbeys as well as one
or two nunneries, St Norbert became desirous of securing a more formal approbation
for its constitutions. With that object in view he in 1125 undertook a journey
to Rome, where he obtained from Pope Honorius II all that he asked
for. The canons of St Martin's, Laon, who had formerly refused to submit to
his rule, now voluntarily placed themselves under his obedience, as did also
the abbey of Vervins.
Another magnate, Theobald, Count of Champagne, aspired to enter the order,
but St Norbert, who recognized his lack of vocation, dissuaded him, urging
him rather to carry out the duties of his station and to marry. At the same
time he gave him a small white scapular to wear under his outer garments,
and prescribed certain rules and devotions for his use. This seems to have
been the first known case of the affiliation of a layman living in the world
to a recognized religious order, and from the Premonstratensians St Dominic
is thought to have derived the idea of secular tertiaries. When the count
went to Germany to conclude a marriage treaty in 1126, he took the saint with
him. On their way they visited Speyer, where the Emperor Lothair was holding
a diet, and at the same time there arrived deputies from Magdeburg to ask
the monarch to nominate a bishop to their vacant see.
Lothair chose St Norbert. The deputies led him back to Magdeburg, where
he entered the city barefoot, and so meanly clad that the porter at his episcopal
residence is said to have denied him admission, bidding him go and join the
other beggars. "But he is our bishop!" shouted the crowd . "Never mind, dear
brother," said the saint to the startled servant. "You judge me more truly
than those who brought me here!" In his new station he still practised the
austerity of a monk, whilst his residence came to resemble a cloister. But
though personally humble and requiring for himself only the bare necessaries
of life, he was unflinching in his determination to resist all attempts to
deprive the Church of her rights. Under the weak rule of his predecessors,
laymen, sometimes local magnates, had alienated much ecclesiastical property.
St Norbert did not hesitate to take action against them, for he regarded
them as little better than robbers. Many of the clergy were leading careless-sometimes
scandalous-lives, neglecting their parishes and disregarding the obligations
of celibacy. Where they would not listen to reason the bishop resorted to
compulsion, punishing some, dispossessing others, and occasionally replacing
them by his own Premonstratensian canons.
His reforms met with much opposition, his enemies joining forces to discredit
him and to instigate the people to active resistance. On two or three occasions
he narrowly escaped assassination, and once the rabble broke in upon him as
he was ministering in his cathedral. So rebellious was their attitude that
Norbert at last decided to retire from the city for a time and leave the
people to their own devices. The step proved a wise one. For the citizens,
finding themselves under ecclesiastical censure and fearing the emperor's
displeasure, soon sent to beg him to return, promising to be more submissive
for the future. Before the end of St Norbert's life he had successfully carried
through the greater part of his projected reforms. All this time he was also
directing his Premonstratensian houses through his lieutenant Bd Hugh, and
for several years before his death he was taking an important part in the
politics of the papacy and the empire.
After the death of Pope Honorius II, an unhappy schism divided the Church.
One section of cardinals had elected Cardinal Gregory Papareschi, who adopted
the name of Innocent II,
whilst the rest chose Cardinal Pierleone. The latter, who called himself "Anacletus
II", was the favourite in Rome, and Innocent found himself obliged
to escape to France. There he was accepted as the lawful pontiff, largely
through the efforts of St Bernard and of St Hugh of Grenoble. A council which
he held at Rheims was attended by St Norbert, who embraced his cause and
won favour for it in Germany as St Bernard had done in France. He it was
who persuaded the emperor to declare himself for Innocent. Furthermore, when
it became evident that although France, Germany, England and Spain had acknowledged
Innocent, he could only enter Rome with the help of armed forces, it was
mainly through the influence of St Norbert that Lothair consented to lead
an army into Italy. In March 1133, the emperor and the pope entered the Holy
City accompanied by St Norbert and St Bernard.
In recognition of his outstanding services St Norbert was invested with
the pallium, but his activities were nearly at an end. Although after their
return from Italy the emperor insisted upon making him his chancellor, it
was evident that his health was failing fast. Into the twenty years which
had elapsed since his ordination he had crowded the work of a lifetime, and
it was as a dying man that he was borne back to Magdeburg. He expired on
June 6, 1134, in the fifty-third year of his life. His relics were translated
in 1627 by the Emperor Ferdinand II to the Premonstratensian abbey of Strahov
in Bohemia; he was formally recognized as a saint by Pope Gregory XIII in
1582.
The medieval life of St Norbert,
printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June,
vol. i, is less reliable than an older redaction which was edited by R. Wilmans
in MGH., Scriptores, vol. xii, pp.
663-703. The modern lives are numerous, especially in German and Flemish;
the best is perhaps that by A. Zak, Der
heilige Norbert (1930). In French, there are biographies by E. Maire
(1922) and G. Madelaine (1930). See also C. J. Kirkfleet, History of St Norbert (1916); F. Petit, La spiritualité des Prémontrés aux XII et XIII
siècle's (1947); and an important article on the origins of
Prémontré by C. Dereine, in Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique,
vol. xli, pp. 352 seq. Cf. H. M. Colvin, The White Canons in England (1951), pp.
1-25.
St. Norbert was born at Xanten in the Rhineland,
about the year 1080. The early part of his life was devoted to the world and
its pleasures. He entered upon the ecclesiastical state in a worldly spirit.
The thunderstorm had boiled up suddenly as
Norbert was out riding. Norbert, who had always chosen the easy way, would
never have deliberately gone on a journey that promised danger, risk, or
discomfort. He had moved easily from the comforts of the noble family he
was born into at about 1080 to the pleasure-loving German court. He had no
hesitations about joining in any opportunity to enjoy himself, no matter
what the source of that pleasure. To ensure his success at court, he also
had no qualms about accepting holy orders as a canon and whatever financial
benefices that came with that position, although he did hesitate at becoming
a priest and the implied responsibilities that came with that vocation.
But now high winds pushed and pulled at his
fashionable coif, rain slashed at his fancy clothes, and dark roiling clouds
pressed night down upon his light thoughts. A sudden flash of lightning split
the dark and his horse bucked, throwing Norbert to the ground. For
almost an hour, the still form of the courtier lay unmoving. Even the rain
soaking his clothes and the howl of thunder did not bring him back to consciousness
and life. When he awoke his first words were, "Lord, what do you want me to
do?" -- the same words Saul spoke on the road to Damascus. In response Norbert
heard in his heart, "Turn from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it."
He immediately returned to the place of his
birth, Xanten, to devote himself to prayer and penance. He now embraced the
instruction for the priesthood he had avoided and was ordained in 1115. His
complete conversion and new ways caused some to denounce the former courtier
as a hypocrite. Norbert's response was to give everything he owned to the
poor and to go to the pope for permission to preach.
With this
commission in hand, he became an itinerant preacher, traveling through Europe
with his two companions. In an extreme response to his old ways, he now chose
the most difficult ways to travel -- walking barefoot in the middle of winter
through snow and ice. Unfortunately the two companions who followed him died
from the ill-effects of exposure. But Norbert was gaining the respect of those
sincere clerics who had despised him before. The bishop of Laon wanted Norbert
to help reform the canons in his see, but the canons wanted nothing to do
with Norbert's type of reform which they saw as far too strict. The bishop,
not wanting to lose this holy man, offered Norbert land where he could start
his own community. In a lonely valley called Prémontré, began
his community with thirteen canons. Despite the strictness of his regulation,
or perhaps because it, his reforms attracted many disciples until eight abbeys
and two convents were involved. Even the canons who had originally rejected
him asked to be part of the reform.
In Norbert's community we have the first
evidence of lay affiliation with a religious order. This came about when
a count Theobald wanted to join Norbert. Norbert realized that Theobald was
not called to holy orders but to marriage and worldly duties. But he did
not entirely reject Theobald, giving him a rule and devotions as well as
a scapular to wear to identify him as part of the community.
It was on the trip accompanying Theobald
to his marriage, that Norbert was spotted by Emperor Lothair and chosen as
bishop of Magdebourg. Legend has it the porter refused to let Norbert into
his new residence, assuming he was a beggar. When the crowd pointed out to
the flustered porter that this was the new bishop Norbert told the porter,
"You were right the first time." Norbert carried the love of reform that he
had found in his own life to his new diocese.
As usual, this made him many enemies and he was almost assassinated.
Disgusted with the citizens desire to keep to their old ways, he left the
city, but was soon called back -- not because the citizens missed him but
because the emperor and the pope pressured them.
When two rival popes were elected after the death
of Honorius II, Norbert helped try to heal the Church by getting his admirer
the emperor to support the first elected, Innocent II.
At the end of his life he was
made an archbishop but he died soon after on June 6, 1134 at the age of 53.
June 6, 2009 St. Norbert (1080?-1134)
Friends sometimes jokingly mangle the name of the Premonstratensians into
“Monstrous Pretensions,” just as the Franciscan O.F.M. is said to mean “Out
For Money.” The name actually derives from Prémontré, the region
of France where Norbert established this Order in the 12th century.
Recalling the nickname, Norbert’s founding of the Order was in truth a
monstrous task: combating rampant heresies (particularly regarding the Blessed
Sacrament), revitalizing many of the faithful who had grown indifferent and
dissolute, plus effecting peace and reconciliation among enemies.
Norbert entertained no pretensions about his own ability to accomplish
this multiple task. Even with the aid of a goodly number of men who joined
his Order, he realized that nothing could be effectively done without God’s
power. Finding this help especially in devotion to the Blessed Sacrament,
he and his Norbertines praised God for success in converting heretics, reconciling
numerous enemies and rebuilding faith in indifferent believers.
Reluctantly, Norbert became archbishop of Magdeburg in central Germany,
a territory half pagan and half Christian. In this position he zealously
and courageously continued his work for the Church until his death on June
6, 1134.
Comment: A different world
cannot be built by indifferent people. The same is true in regard to the Church.
Sad to say, the so-called updating of the Church has not engendered the different
Church which was so devoutly and hopefully envisioned by Vatican Council
II. A principal reason for this failure was—and is—the indifference of vast
numbers of nominal faithful, their indifference to ecclesiastical authority
and essential doctrines of the faith. Unswerving loyalty to the Church and
fervent devotion to the Eucharist, as practiced by Norbert, will continue
immeasurably towards maintaining the people of God in accord with the heart
of Christ. Quote: On the occasion of his ordination to the priesthood,
Norbert said, "O Priest! You are not yourself because you are God. You are
not of yourself because you are the servant and minister of Christ. You are
not your own because you are the spouse of the Church. You are not yourself
because you are the mediator between God and man. You are not from yourself
because you are nothing. What then are you? Nothing and everything. O Priest!
Take care lest what was said to Christ on the cross be said to you: 'He saved
others, himself he cannot save!'"
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1207 Blessed Gerard
of Tintorio expended his worldly treasure in founding a leper hospital (AC)
1207 BD GERARD OF MONZA
MONZA, the ancient capital of Lombardy, venerates one of its
own citizens, Gerard Tintorio, as its principal patron. More than two and
a half centuries after his death his cultus was revived by St Charles Borromeo,
who promoted his cause and obtained its confirmation in 1582. He is honoured
not only in his native city, but throughout the dioceses of Milan and Como.
The saint, who came of a well-to-do burgher family, lost his parents in early
youth. On reaching manhood he spent his patrimony in building a hospital for
the sick poor, and to their care he devoted the whole of his life. He would
go about in search of them and carry them to the hospital; he washed the
lepers with his own hands, and greeted each newcomer with the kiss of peace.
No service he could render them was too unpleasant or menial. Small wonder
that many of them recovered, thanks to the holy man's tender care or to his
miraculous power. He placed his institution under the protection of the cathedral
canons, and drew up wise and business-like rules for its management, which
are still to be seen in a copy of the original charter. At a
later date the staff consisted chiefly or entirely of Franciscan tertiaries.
The sick were not the only objects of his charity. No beggar who applied
for alms or assistance was turned away empty-handed. Once during a famine
the appeals were so numerous that the steward came to Gerard in despair, saying
that the stores were exhausted and that starvation stared them in the face.
The holy man betook himself to prayer. When the steward next went to the
store-rooms he found the granary so full of corn that he could scarcely open
the door, and the cellar well stocked with good wine. Another miracle attributed
to Bd Gerard accounts for the bunch of cherries which in pictures of the
saint he is represented as carrying in his hand. Once in mid-winter he asked
permission to spend the night in prayer in the church of St John Baptist.
The doorkeepers demurred, but one of them said that he might stay if he would
undertake to get them some cherries. He accepted the condition and the following
day, we are told, presented each of them with a bunch of fresh ripe cherries.
Bd Gerard died on June 6, 1207.
There does not seem to be much
information about Bd Gerard available from contemporary sources. The Bollandists
published in the Acta Sanctorum,
June, vol. i, an account derived from manuscript materials collected by St
Charles Borromeo in view of the confirmation of the cultus. See also Frisi,
Memorie Storiche di Monza (1841),
pp. 292-304; A. Lesmi, La Vita del V. Gherardo di Monza (1647); F. Meda,
S. Girardo Tintore. (1896)
Cultus approved in 1582. Gerard, a young citizen of Monza in
Lombardy, Italy, was a man of means, but not wealthy.
He expended his worldly treasure in founding a hospital, where
he served the sick, especially lepers (Benedictines).
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1350 Bertrand of Aquileia
Bishop martyr;
dean of the cathedral chapter
of Angouleme; died defending the rights of the Church
Born near Cahors, 1260; cultus approved by Pope Benedict XIV.
Bertrand became dean of the cathedral chapter of Angouleme, from which position
he was raised to the patriarchate of Aquileia. He died defending the rights
of the Church (Benedictines).
1350 St. Bertrand Bishop and
martyr. Born near Cahors, France, in 1260, he became the dean of the
cathedral chapter of Angouleme.
He was then appointed the bishop of Aquilela and was slain defending
the rights of the Church. He is also called Bertrichramnus in some lists.
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The
Pimen Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos Many miracles took place before this
icon, which flowed with a fragrant healing myrrh
brought to Moscow from Constantinople in 1381 by Metropolitan Pimen.
Many miracles took place before this icon, which flowed with a fragrant
healing myrrh.
The Pimen Icon was kept in the altar of the Dormition Cathedral in the
Kremlin.
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1470 Saint Jonah,
Bishop of Great Perm converted the inhabitants of Great Perm to Christ. He
journeyed throughout his extensive diocese to spread and consolidate the
Christian Faith
Successor to St Pitirim, Bishop of Perm (August 19), who was murdered by
the Vogulani in 1455. In the year 1462 St Jonah converted the inhabitants
of Great Perm to Christ. He journeyed throughout his extensive diocese to
spread and consolidate the Christian Faith. The saint reposed on June 6, 1470
and was buried at Ust-Vym at the Annunciation cathedral.
1504 Saint Paisius of Uglich
igumen of the Protection monastery, near Uglich relics, glorified by miracles,
rest beneath a crypt in the Protection monastery
He was born in the Tver district near the city of Kashin, and he was a
nephew of St Macarius of Kalyazin (March 17).
St Paisius entered his uncle's monastery after the death of his parents,
when he was just an eleven-year-old child. Under his uncle's guidance, St
Paisius led a monastic life of obedience, fasting and prayer, and he was put
to work copying soul-saving books.
"A man wondrous of spirit, famed teacher of holiness and most astounding
wonderworker, he founded (in 1464) the cenobitic Protection monastery three
versts from Uglich at the wish of Prince Andrew, and he was chosen igumen."
St Paisius was also "founder and organizer of the holy Nikolsky Grekhozaruchnya
monastery in 1489.
Struggling at the Protection monastery, St Paisius lived into old age and
died on June 6, 1504. His relics, glorified by miracles, rest beneath a crypt
in the Protection monastery.
St Paisius is also commemorated
on January 8.
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1534 Saint Jonah
of Klimets monk founded the Klimets Trinity monastery in fulfillment of
a vow
In the world John, became a monk, and founded the Klimets Trinity
monastery in fulfillment of a vow.
In 1490 he had been caught by a storm on Lake Onega. When there
was no hope for survival, John cried out to the Lord, entreating Him to preserve
his life so he might repent and serve God. The boat was thrown onto a sandbar
by the waves. There he heard the voice of the Lord commanding him to found
a monastery in honor of the Life-Creating Trinity.
He miraculously discovered a holy icon on a juniper tree. The
saint fulfilled the will of the Lord and built a monastery with two churches,
one dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity and the other in honor of St Nicholas,
protector of those who sail and those who travel.
Refusing the rank of igumen, St Jonah remained a simple monk
at the monastery. He died on June 6, 1534. A church was built over his relics,
and was dedicated to Sts Zachariah and Elizabeth.
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1535 BD LAURENCE OF VILLAMAGNA
BD LAURENCE, who belonged to the noble family of the Mascoli, was born
at Villamagna in the Abruzzi on May 15, 1476. He entered the Franciscan convent
of Santa Maria delle Grazie, near Ortona, and after his ordination became
one of the greatest preachers of the age. He appeared in almost every important
pulpit in Italy. He would scourge himself severely before delivering his sermons,
which were so impassioned that often he and his whole congregation were reduced
to tears. There is recounted of him a story of ripe cherries in January,
very similar to the miracle mentioned above in the notice of Bd Gerard of
Monza. His death took place at Ortona on June 6, 1535, and his cultus
was confirmed in 1923.
Not very much seems to be known
about Laurence of Villamagna. The Vita del
Beato Lorenzo da Villamagna, by Fr Giacinto d'Agostino (1923), contains
extraordinarily little in the way of historical fact. See also Mazzara,
Leggendario Francescano (1676),
vol. i, p. 679; Acta Ordinis Fratrum Minorum,
1906, pp. 127-130; 1924, pp. 21-24; and the decree of confirmatio cultus in
the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol.
xv (1923), pp. 170-173.
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1537 Bl. Walter Pierson
Bl. John Davy Bl. Robert Salt Carthusian martyrs of England opposing the religious
policies of King Henry VIII
A member of the Carthusian Charterhouse of
London, he served as a lay brother and was arrested with his companions by
English authorities for opposing the religious policies of King Henry VIII
(r. 1509-1547). With six other Carthusians, he was starved to death in prison.
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1537 Bl. John Davy
Carthusian martyr of England member of the Carthusian Charterhouse of London,
he was an opponent of the Act of Supremacy of King Henry VIII
Arrested and starved to death
in Newgate Prison with six Carthusian companions. John was beatified in 1886.
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1537 Bl. Robert
Salt Carthusian martyr a lay brother in the Carthusian community of London
who, with six other members of the order starved to death at Newgate by order
of King Henry VIII of England after they resisted his Dissolution of
the Monasteries.
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St. Nilammon Egyptian
hermit named bishop but refused blockaded his cell died while in prayer
with group of pleading bishops outside
According to tradition, he was named a bishop but refused the honor, going
so far as to blockade his cell.
He died while in prayer and with
a group of pleading bishops standing outside his fortified hermitage.
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1840 St Marcellin Champagnat founder of the Little Brothers of Mary the Marists
classmate
of St Vianney
Born May 20, (1789-05-20) St. Etienne, France Died June 6, 1840
(aged 51) Marlhes, France
Marcellin_Champagnat,_1840.jpg
To raise children,
we must love them and love them equally.
I cannot see a child without wanting to tell them how much God loves them.
Let there
be among you just one heart and one mind. Let it always be said of the Little
Brothers of Mary as it was of the early Christians: See how they love one
another!
Marcellin Champagnat was born the ninth of ten children at Le
Rosey, a hamlet in the Rhône-Alpes region (Loire Département,
Saint-Étienne Arrondissement, Mahrles commune). He spent his childhood
years in this area amidst the turmoil of the French Revolution where he witnessed
the atrocities of civil war. Marcellin's character was influenced by
three people in his family. His father, an intelligent, hard-working, enterprising
man, contributed to his formation as a citizen. His mother and his aunt (a
Sister of St Joseph) served as models and guides to strengthen his steps as
a believer and to deepen his faith. The area of Marlhes in which Champagnat
lived and worked had been badly affected by the French Revolution and Napoleonic
Wars, and the local community was poor and uneducated.
From 1805 to 1813, Marcellin attended the minor seminary in Verrieres.
At one stage, quite discouraged, he overcame the temptation to leave religious
life. He then attended the major seminary in Lyon for his spiritual and theological
formation as a priest. It would be untrue to say that at Verrières
Jean-Marie was subjected to persecution or was a prey to loneliness. “The
more serious and fervent among the students took him as a model,” says one
of his former companions; “they enjoyed being in his company because he habitually
conversed with them about God and the Blessed Virgin.”2 {2Abbé Etienne
Dubouis, curé of Fareins (Procès apostolique ne pereant, p.880).}
In this way he won the friendship of Marcellin Champagnat, the future founder
of the Little Brothers of Mary. Nor was Marcellin considered a genius. He
was seventeen years old when he began the study of Latin. After a year’s effort
he was dis¬missed as being quite incapable, when, like Jean-Marie, he
made a vow to go on pilgrimage to the sanctuary of La Louvesc. A second time
he was admitted at Verrières. After five years of relentless toil
he began his course of rhetoric, which he was made to do twice over.
At the beginning of the school year 1812 he found himself
in the philosophy class by the side of the pupil of M. Bailey. Marcellin was
twenty-three, Jean-Marie twenty-six and a half. Their age, the similarity
of their trials, a like desire of holiness, all com¬bined to make them
fast friends.3{3Cf. Mgr. Laveille, Un condiscip1e et émule du Curé
d’Ars, Marcellin Champagnat, Paris, Téqui, pp. 34-36.}
It was here that the idea for the Society of Mary was conceived and promoted
by a group of seminarians, including Marcellin. From the start, he announced
the Society should include Teaching Brothers to work with children deprived
of Christian education in remote rural areas because others were not going
to them.
After his ordination as a priest on 2 July 1816, Champagnat’s first posting
was as curate to the parish of Lavalla-en-Gier. Marcellin was distressed that
the people in the village were so isolated that they did not know much about
the rest of the world. There was also little happening to help young people
learn more about the Catholic faith. Teachers were poorly paid and not respected
and therefore teaching attracted those with low ability and bad character.
At the end of October 1816, Marcellin visited the dying Jean Baptiste Montage.
Champagnat was horrified that this seventeen year old boy who looked more
like a scrawny child of twelve was totally ignorant of the basic beliefs of
the Catholic faith. He knew that there were many young people like Jean who
were poor and lacked knowledge of religion and God. This event motivated him
to act.
On 2 January 1817, Marcellin encouraged two young men Jean-Marie Granjon
and Jean-Baptiste Audras, to join him in forming the nucleus of the Marist
Brothers. Others soon followed. La Valla thus became the birthplace of the
Marist Brothers.
The first Brothers were young country men, most of whom were between 15
and 18 years old. They were more used to hard work in the fields than to
prayer, intellectual work and working with children and the uneducated.
Marcellin motivated these teenagers with his enthusiasm for teaching and
spreading the gospel. He lived among them, like one of them. He taught them
how to pray and to live in religious community as Brothers, and how to be
teachers and religious educators themselves. Very soon, he sent them
into the most remote villages to teach the children, and sometimes the adults
as well, the basics of religious knowledge, and of reading and writing. Between
1817 and 1824, he started a traditional primary school at La Valla and used
it as a teacher training centre for his young Brothers.
Encouraged by the success of the school in La Valla, others were founded
at Marlhes in 1819, in Saint-Sauveur-Street 1820, and in Bourg-Argental in
1822. But this success endangered the small congregation, which had little
more than novices. In March 1822, eight applicants came from Haute-Loire,
giving a new impetus to the institution, and allows the creation of new houses
in Vanosc 1823, Saint-Symphorien-le-Chateau 1823, and Chavanay Charlieu 1824.
Champagnat decided to build a novitiate on land purchased from the hermitage
at St. Chamond. One sign of both his trust in God and the huge success the
Brothers had become, was the building being designed to accommodate 150 people.
The chapel was blessed on August 13, 1825. In 1837, Champagnat printed a Rule
for his Brothers. Exhausted by his travels and his incessant efforts to gain
recognition for his work with the authorities in Paris, and having been sick
for a long time, Champagnat began preparing for his succession and Brother
Francis was elected as Marcellin's replacement, on October 12, 1838.
After a long and painful illness caused by cancer Champagnat died on 6
June 1840, aged 51, at Our Lady of the Hermitage in the Gier River valley
about 30 kilometres from where he had commenced his work He was buried on
8 June. He left this message in his spiritual Testament of May 18, 1840:
"Let there be among you just one heart and one mind. Let it always be said
of the Little Brothers of Mary as it was of the early Christians: See how
they love one another!" By that time there were 280.4 Brothers and 48.8 Marist
schools in France and Oceania (South Pacific), and by 1856 there were 300
houses and more than 1500 Brothers.
The Marist Brothers Institute was not formally approved until 1863 by Pope
Pius IX. The educational philosophy of Champagnat was simple: to teach children
one must love them, and secular subjects should be well taught as a means
of children to the schools, where they would learn the basic elements of their
faith. Champagnat saw God at the centre of life and the Virgin Mary as a
sure means of attracting people to God. Marcellin Champagnat was declared
Venerable in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV beatified by Pope Pius XII on 29 May
1955, and canonised by Pope John Paul II on April 18, 1999. His feast day
is observed in the Roman Catholic Church on 6 June. At their most numerous
the Marist Brothers numbered about 10,000. In 2005 there were around 5,000
brothers.
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Mary Mother
of GOD
Saint of the Day June 06 Octávo Idus
Júnii 
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.