Seven Priestly Virtues
FROM SOLITUDE TO STORYTELLING By Father William McNamara O.C.D.
Christ said, “I am the temple,” and at that crucial historical
moment he shifted the axis of the whole world from buildings, cities, and
even the home as the centre that held people together, and replaced that
centre with something extremely personal and indispensable for mediating
between estranged humanity and the ineffable Godhead: himself. As God – man
he is the mediator. He is, by nature, in essence, priest.
When Jesus urged the fisherman to follow him, promising to make them fishers
of men, he subsequently actualized that promise of the most essential ministry
by sharing with them his won priestly power. They would be priests indeed:
celebrating sacramentally what God has done and continues to do in Christ,
and, with scorched lips and broken hearts, preaching the word of God. Not
only preaching the word of God but vitally embodying it. If they do not embody
it, they will die. If they do embody it, they will be killed. There is no
other way to be a priest.
Then Jesus instituted the Church, not to organize religion (horrors!) but
to personalize it: to keep the personal passionate presence of God alive forever
at the creative centre of all Human affairs. The key to this personal contact
with the transcendent is the priest. He is the warrant against human estrangement,
alienation, illusory autonomy, natural reductionism, narcissistic hedonism
and all the inevitable frustrations, addictions and desperations that are
always the sad result of such a dehumanized, ungodly condition.
What can we do with a world ( modernity ) that will not transcend itself,
that has lost touch with the sacred, with its centre and its source of life?
Temple, church and palace have been abolished – or banalized. Everything has
been profaned, that is, thrust outside of the sphere of the holy. Sacred mountains
and groves are also gone; so that the world of man and nature is emptied
of transcendent significance, of any ultimate meaning. No wonder there is
a rebellion among the young against this drab, one – dimensional world, Hordes
of young people are going to India to discover the sense of the sacred, the
inner meaning of life which has been lost in the West. But, as Dom Bede Griffiths,
O.S.B., sadly reassures us, India, too, is rapidly losing it.
Wherever modern civilization spreads, all holiness, all sense of the sacred,
all sense of transcendent reality disappears. This decline of the West and
diminution of the Spirit in the East is another dramatic Fall of Man. What
can we do in the face of our narcissistic culture and in the path of techno
– barbaric juggernaut? We can ordain priests. We should only do this on the
condition that we have done our utmost to assure that their training in preparation
for this incomparable ministry is better than ever before.
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Martyrdom of St.Aristobulus
one of the seventy apostles bishop of Abratabias performed many miracles
On this day St. Aristobulus,
one of the seventy apostles that was chosen and sent to preach by the Lord
before His passion, was martyred. He received along with the disciples the
gifts of the Spirit the comforter, accompanied, ministered to them and preached
with them the Life-giving Gospel. He turned many to the path of salvation,
believed in the Lord Christ, baptized them and taught them the Divine commandments.
The disciples ordained him bishop for the city of Abratabias, and he went
there, preached it's people, performed many miracles, taught and baptized
them. Many tribulations and humiliation befell him from the Jews and the Greeks,
who threw him out many times, and cast him with stones.
Having finished his strife, he
departed in peace. St. Paul had mentioned him in his Epistle to the Romans
(Ch.16:10).
"To Greet Apelles, who is approved (has gone through
so much for) in Christ.
Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. "
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
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St.
Castor & Dorotheus early persecutions of Tarsus Martyrs in Cilicia
Tarsi, in Cilícia, sanctórum Mártyrum Cástoris
et Doróthei.
At Tarsus in Cilicia, the holy martyrs
Castor and Dorotheus.
Castor and Dorotheus MM (RM) Castor and Dorotheus were martyred in one
of the early persecutions at Tarsus in Cilicia (Benedictines). |
260 St. Alexander Martyr
companion of Sts. Malchus and Priscus
Cæsaréæ,
in Palæstína, natális sanctórum Mártyrum
Prisci, Malchi et Alexándri. Hi tres, in persecutióne
Valeriáni, cum in suburbáno agéllo supradíctæ
urbis habitárent, atque in ea cæléstes martyrii proponeréntur
corónæ, ultro Júdicem, divíno fídei calóre
succénsi, ádeunt, et cur tantum in sánguinem piórum
desævíret, objúrgant; quos ille contínuo, pro Christi
nómine, béstiis trádidit devorándos.
At Caesarea in Palestine, the birthday of the holy martyrs Priscus, Malchus,
and Alexander. In the persecution of Valerian, they were living the
suburbs of Caesarea, but knowing that in the city the heavenly crown of martyrdom
was to be gained, and burning with the divine ardour of faith, they went to
the judge of their own accord, rebuked him for shedding in torrents the blood
of the faithful, and were immediately condemned to be devoured by beasts for
the Name of Christ.
The men, devout Christians in Caesarea, Palestine, were caught
up in the persecutions conducted by Emperor Valerian. The martyrs were killed
by wild beasts in an arena.
Martyrdom of the Saints Alexander, Agabius, Alexander, Timol (Timolaos),
Dionysius, Romulus, and Blesius (Valesius)
On this day also is the commemoration
of the seven holy martyrs: Alexander the Egyptian, Agabius and Alexander from
the city of Gaza, Timol (Timolaos) from Pontus, Dionysius from the city of
Tripoli, and Romulus, and Blesius (Valesius) from the villages of Egypt. These
men were joined together with the Christian love, and they came to the Governor
of Caesarea, Palestine, and confessed before him the Lord Christ. They all
were martyred and received the crown of martyrdom during the days of Diocletian.
May their prayers be with us and
Glory be to God forever. Amen.
Priscus, Malchus & Alexander MM (RM) Died 260. This trio of martyrs
was thrown to the wild beasts during the public games at Caesarea, Palestine,
under Valerian. During the height of the persecution they had secretly reproached
themselves for their cowardice in hiding. Unable to suppress the emotions
they felt, they said to one another, "While the secure gate of heaven is open,
shall we shut it against ourselves? Shall we be so faint-hearted as not to
suffer for the name of Christ, who died for us? Our brethren invite us by
their example: their blood is a loud voice, which presses us to tread in
their steps. Shall we be deaf to a cry calling us to the combat, and to a
glorious victory?" Full of the Holy Spirit, they returned to Caesarea and
presented themselves to the governor as Christians. Some were struck with
admiration at this act of courage, but it incite the judge. They were tried,
tortured, and exposed to wild beasts in the arena. (Benedictines).
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4th v. Saint Jonah was one
of those martyred with Sts Jonah and Barachisius.
The brothers Jonah and Barachisius were Christians who lived in the village
of Yasa in Persia during the time of the emperor Sapor (310-331), a fierce
persecutor of Christians.
Learning that Christians were being tortured in the city of Baravokh, they
went there to the prison where Sts Zanithas,
Lazarus, Maruthas, Narses, Elias, Marinus, Habib, Sivsithina and Sava
were being held.
They encouraged them to adhere to the Christian Faith until the very end.
The holy martyrs firmly confessed their faith in Christ and would not agree
to the demands of the pagans. Therefore, they were subjected to fierce torments
and death.
The bodies of the holy martyrs Jonah, Barachisius and the other martyrs
were buried by a pious Christian named Habdisotes.
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St. Rogatus band of 18
martyrs put to death in proconsular Africa
In Africa sanctórum Mártyrum Rogáti, Succéssi
et aliórum séxdecim.
In Africa, the holy martyrs Rogatus, Successus,
and sixteen others.
One of a group of eighteen martyrs put to death in Roman Africa during
the persecution of the Church under the Romans. Successus was one of these
martyrs.
Rogatus, Successus & Comp. MM (RM) Date unknown. A band of 18 martyrs
put to death in proconsular Africa (Benedictines).
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Drizíparæ, in Pannónia, sancti
Alexándri mílitis, qui, sub Maximiáno Imperatóre,
post multos pro Christo agónes superátos múltaque mirácula
édita, cápitis abscissióne martyrium complévit.
At Drizipara in Hungary, St. Alexander,
soldier, in the time of Emperor Maximian. Having overcome many torments
for the sake of Christ, and performing many miracles, his martyrdom was completed
by beheading.
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350? Matrona of Thessalonica
The Holy Martyr suffered
in the third or fourth century
She was a slave of the Jewish woman Pautila (or Pantilla), wife of one
of the military commanders of Thessalonica. Pautila constantly mocked her
slave for her faith in Christ, and tried to convert her to Judaism. St Matrona,
who believed in Christ from her youth, still prayed to the Savior Christ,
and secretly went to church unbeknownst to her vengeful mistress.
Pautila, learning that St Matrona had been to church, asked, "Why won't
you come to our synagogue, instead of attending the Christian church?" St
Matrona boldly answered, "Because God is present in the Christian church,
but He has departed from the Jewish synagogue." Pautila went into a rage and
mercilessly beat St Matrona, tied her up, and shut her in a dark closet. In
the morning, Pautila discovered that St Matrona had been freed of her bonds
by an unknown Power.
In a rage Pautila beat the martyr almost to death, then bound her even
more tightly and locked her in the closet. The door was sealed so that no
one could help the sufferer. The holy martyr remained there for four days
without food or water, and when Pautila opened the door, she again found
St Matrona free of her bonds, and standing at prayer.
Pautila flogged the holy martyr and left the skin hanging in strips from
her body. The fierce woman locked her in the closet again, where St Matrona
gave up her spirit to God.
Pautila had the holy martyr's body thrown from the roof of her house. Christians
took up the much-suffered body of the holy martyr and buried it. Later, Bishop
Alexander of Thessalonica built a church dedicated to the holy martyr. Her
holy relics, glorified by many miracles, were placed in this church.
The judgment of God soon overtook the evil Pautila. Standing on the roof
at that very place where the body of St Matrona had been thrown, she stumbled
and fell to the pavement. Her body was smashed, and so she received her just
reward for her sin.
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394 ST JOHN OF EGYPT Wonderful cures were effected by the application to the sick and
blind of oil which the man of God had blessed.
In Ægypto
sancti Joánnis Eremítæ, magnæ sanctitátis
viri, qui, inter cétera virtútum insígnia, étiam
prophético spíritu plenus, Theodósio Imperatóri
victórias de tyránnis Máximo et Eugénio prædíxit.
In Egypt, the hermit St. John, a man of great
sanctity, who, among other virtues, was filled with the spirit of prophecy,
and predicted to Emperor Theodosius his victories over the tyrants Maximus
and Eugene.
EXCEPTING St Antony,
no desert hermit acquired such widespread fame as St John of Egypt, who was
consulted by emperors and whose praises were sung by St Jerome, Palladius,
Cassian, St Augustine and many others.
He was born in the Lower Thebaid at Lycopolis, the site of the present
city of Asyut, and was brought up to the trade of a carpenter. At the age
of twenty-five, he abandoned the world and placed himself under the direction
of an aged anchoret, who for ten or twelve years trained him in obedience
and self-surrender. John obeyed unquestioningly, however unreasonable the
task imposed: for a whole year, at the command of his spiritual father, he
daily watered a dry stick as though it had been a live plant and carried
out other equally ridiculous orders. He continued thus until the old man’s
death, and it is to his humility and ready obedience that Cassian attributes
the extraordinary gifts which he afterwards received from God. Another four
or five years seem to have been spent in visiting various monasteries. Finally
he retired to the top of a steep hill near Lycopolis and made in the rock
a succession of three little cells—one as a bedroom, another as a workroom
and living-room, and the third as an oratory. He then walled himself up,
leaving only a little window through which he received the necessaries of
life and spoke to those who visited him. During five days of the week he
conversed only with God, but on Saturdays and Sundays men—but not women—had
free access to him for his instructions and spiritual advice. He never ate
until sunset, and his fare was dried fruit and vegetables. At first
and until he became inured, he suffered severely because he would not eat
bread or anything that had been cooked by fire, but he continued this diet
from his fortieth year until he was ninety.
He founded no community, but was regarded as a father by all the
ascetics of the neighbourhood, and when his visitors became so numerous that
it seemed necessary to build a hospice for their reception, the establishment
was managed by his disciples.
St John was especially famous for his prophecies, his miracles
and his power of reading the thoughts and of discovering the secret sins of
those who visited him. Wonderful cures were effected by the application to
the sick and blind of oil which the man of God had blessed. Of his many prophecies
the most celebrated were those made to the Emperor Theodosius I. John told
him that he would be victorious against Maximus, and Theodosius thereupon
confidently took the offensive and defeated him. So again in 392, four years later, when Eugenius seized
the empire of the West, Theodosius once more had recourse to the recluse.
He sent the eunuch Eutropius into Egypt with instructions to bring back St
John if possible, but in any case to find out from him whether he should march
against Eugenius or await his attack. The saint refused to leave his cell,
but sent word that Theodosius would be victorious, though at the price of
much blood, and that he would not long survive his triumph. The prediction
was fulfilled: Eugenius was defeated on the plains of Aquileia and Theodosius
died less than six months later.
Shortly before
St John’s death he was visited by Palladius, who gives a most interesting
account of his journey and reception. The venerable hermit told him that he
was destined one day to be consecrated bishop, and made other disclosures
of things of which he could not normally have knowledge. Similarly, when some
monks came from Jerusalem, John recognized at once that one of them was a
deacon, though the fact had been suppressed. The recluse was then ninety years
of age and died shortly afterwards. Divinely warned of his approaching end,
he had shut his window and commanded that no one should come near him for
three days. He died peacefully at the end of that period, when on his knees
at prayer. In 1901 the cell he had occupied was discovered near Asyut.
The Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum (March, vol. iii) have
extracted the principal references made to St John of Egypt in Palladius’s
Lausiac History, in the Historia Monachorum, and elsewhere.
For the text of Palladius we have to consult C. Butler, or Lucot for the
Historia Monachorum, see Preuschen,
Palladius und Rufinus.
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434 450? Hesychius
Priest famous exegete of Jerusalem
Saint Hesychius was a priest and a famous exegete of Jerusalem (Encyclopedia).
The writings of Hesychius of Jerusalem have been in part lost, in part
handed down and edited as the work of other authors, and some are still buried
in libraries in MS. Whoever would collect and arrange the fragments of Hesychius
which have come down to us must go back to the MSS.; for in the last edition
of the Fathers (P.G., XCIII, 787-1560) the works of various writers named
Hesychius are thrown together without regard for order under the heading "Hesychius,
Presbyter of Jerusalem".
450 St. Hesychius of Jerusalem
Not only is the name of today's saint a bit hard to pronounce and spell.
It's also difficult to learn about such a modest and gentle man who lived
in the fourth and fifth century and who is better known in the Russian Orthodox
Church.
The birth date of Hesychius (pronounced HESH-us) is unclear, but we know
that he was a priest and monk who wrote a history of the Church, unfortunately
lost. He also wrote about many of the burning issues of his day. These included
the heresy of Nestorianism, which held that there were two separate persons
in Jesus—one human, one divine—and the heresy of Arianism, which denied the
divinity of Christ. Some of his commentaries on the books of the Bible as
well, along with meditations on the prophets and homilies on the Blessed Virgin
Mary, still survive.
It's believed Hesychius delivered Easter homilies in the basilica in Jerusalem
thought to be the place of the crucifixion.
His words on the Eucharist, written centuries ago, speak to us today: "Keep
yourselves free from sin so that every day you may share in the mystic meal;
by doing so our bodies become the body of Christ." Hesychius died around the
year 450
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513 Spes of Campi Abbot regained eyesight 15 days before death 40 yrs blind
Apud Núrsiam sancti Spei Abbátis, miræ patiéntiæ
viri, cujus ánima (ut refert sanctus Gregórius Papa), cum ex
hac vita migráret, in colúmbæ spécie a cunctis
frátribus visa est in cælum ascéndere.
At Norcia, Abbot St. Spes, a man of extraordinary
patience, whose soul at its departure from this life (as Pope St. Gregory
relates) was seen by all his brethren to ascend to heaven in the shape of
a dove. (RM)
Though totally blind for forty years, Saint Spes, abbot of Campi in central
Italy, regained his eyesight 15 days before his death (Attwater2, Benedictines).
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592 Saint Guntramnus, King
protector of oppressed care-giver to sick many miracles performed before and
after death (Saint Gregory of Tours)
Cabillóne, in Gálliis, deposítio sancti Gunthrámni,
Regis Francórum, qui spiritálibus actiónibus ita se mancipávit,
ut, relíctis, sæculi pompis, thesáuros suos lárgiter
Ecclésiis et paupéribus erogáret.
At Chalons in France, the death of St. Guntram,
king of the Franks, who devoted himself to exercises of piety, despising the
ostentation of the world, and who bestowed his treasures on the Church and
the poor. ( (RM)
(also known as Contran, Gontran, Gontram, Gunthrammus)
Died March 28, 592. Saint Guntramnus, son of King Clotaire and Saint Clothildis, was crowned king of Orléans
and Burgundy in 561, while his brothers Charibert reigned in Paris and Sigebert
at Metz.
In general, his life was that of a peacemaker. He protected his nephews
against the wickedness of the dowager queens, Sigebert's Brunehault and Chilperic's
Fredegonde. But he had a period of intemperance. He divorced his wife,
Mercatrude, and hastily ordered the execution of his physician. He was overcome
with remorse and lamented these sins for the rest of his life, both for himself
and for his nation. In atonement, he fasted, prayed, wept, and offered himself
to the God he had offended.
Throughout the balance of his prosperous reign he gave examples of how
the maxims of the Gospel could be rendered into effective policy. He was
the protector of the oppressed, care-giver to the sick, and the tender parent
to his subjects. He was open-handed with his wealth, especially in times of
plague and famine. He strictly and justly enforced the law without respect
to person, yet was ever ready to forgive offenses against himself, including
two attempted assassins.
Guntramnus munificently built and endowed many churches and monasteries.
Saint Gregory of Tours relates
many miracles performed by the king, both before and after his death, some
of which he witnessed himself.
At the time of his death, Guntramnus had reigned for 31 years. Almost immediately
he was proclaimed a saint by his subjects. He was buried in the church of
Saint Marcellus, which he had founded. The Huguenots, who scattered his ashes
in the 16th century, left only his skull untouched in their fury. It is now
kept there in a silver case (Attwater2, Benedictines, Husenbeth)
In art, Saint Guntramnus is depicted as a king finding treasure and giving
it to the poor. Sometimes there may be three treasure chests before him, a
globe, and cross on one (Roeder).
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710 - 720 Rupert of Salzburg
consecrated pagan temples to Christian; He would remove all their
doubts and scruples, comfort the afflicted, cure the sick, and heal the disorders
of souls OSB B (RM)
Salisbúrgi,
in Nórico, sancti Rupérti, Epíscopi et Confessóris,
qui apud Bávaros et Nóricos Evangélium mirífice
propagávit.
At Salzburg in Austria, St. Rupert, bishop and
confessor, who spread the Gospel extensively in Bavaria and Austria.
(also
known as Hrodbert, Robert, Rupprecht) Died in Salzburg, Austria, on
March 27, c. 710-720; feast day formerly March 27; feast of the translation
of his relics is kept in Bavaria and Austria September 25.
There
have been varying opinions as to where Rupert was born and when (with variations
of 100 years). While more reliable sources make him a Frankish nobleman, others,
including Colgan insist he was an Irishman with the Gaelic name Robertach.
From his youth he was renowned for his learning, extraordinary
virtues, austerity, and charity that sought to impoverish himself to enrich
the poor. People came from remote provinces to receive his advice. He would
remove all their doubts and scruples, comfort the afflicted, cure the sick,
and heal the disorders of souls. His virtuous life led to him being consecrated
bishop of Worms, Germany, from where he began his missionary work in southern
Bavaria and Austria. (One version says he was expelled by the pagans at
Worms, others that he was simply a zealous, evangelical Christian.)
Rupert
travelled to Regensburg (Ratisbon) with a small company about 697, perhaps
with credentials from the French King Childebert III, or because Duke Theodo
of Bavaria had heard of his reputation for miracles and invited him. They
went to Duke Theodo, whose permission they needed to proceed. While Theodo
was not a Christian, his sister, Bagintrude, is said to be one. He agreed
to listen to their preaching and was converted and baptized. Many of the leading
men and women of the land followed the duke's example and embraced Christianity,
which had been preached there 200 years earlier by Saint Severinus of Noricum.
Instead of knocking down
pagan temples, as many missionaries did, Rupert preferred to consecrate them
as Christian churches. For example, those at Regensburg and Altötting
were soon altered for Christian services. (It is said that the statue of the
Blessed Mother at Altötting was brought there from Ireland by an Irishman
named Rupert.) Where there was no suitable temple to adapt churches were
built, and Regensburg became primarily Christian. God confirmed Rupert's preaching
by many miracles. Soon the missionary work met with such success that many
more helpers from Franconia were needed to meet the spiritual needs of Rupert's
converts.
The
group continued down the Danube, converting still more. After Ratisbon, the
capital, the next seat of his labors was Laureacum, now called Lorch, where
he healed several diseases by prayer, and won many other souls to Christ.
But in neither of these flourishing towns did Rupert establish his bishopric.
He made the old, fallen-down town of Juvavum, given to him by the duke of
Bavaria, his headquarters. The town was restored and he named it Salzburg
(Salt Fortress). There with the help of his companions Saints Virgilius,
Chuniald, and Gislar, Rupert founded Saint Peter's church and monastery
with a school along the lines of the Irish monasteries.
He made
a trip home to gather twelve more recruits. His sister, Saint Ermentrudis,
entered a convent he founded at Nonnberg (setting for The sound of music)
and became its first abbess. He did much to foster the operation of the salt
mines. Rupert, the first archbishop of Salzburg, is considered to be the Apostle
of Bavaria and Austria. He died on Easter Day after having said Mass and
preached the Good News. Thereafter, he became so renowned that countries such
as Ireland claimed him as a native son and celebrate his memory liturgically.
The Duchy of Salzburg cast his likeness with that of the Saint Virgilius on
the coin of the realm called a rubentaler (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines,
Bentley, D'Arcy, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Gougaud, Husenbeth, Kenney, Walsh,
White).
The Saint Pachomius Library
contains two versions of the Life of Saint Robert.
Rupert's
emblem in art is a barrel of salt, because of his association with the reopening
of the salt mines. He may be shown holding a basket of eggs; baptizing Duke
Theodo(re) of Bavaria; or with Saint Virgilius of Salzburg (Farmer, Roeder,
White).
Saint Rupert de Salzburg,
évêque.
(Hrodbert, Robert, Rupprecht)
Mort à Salzburg,
Autriche, le 27 mars, vers 710-720; ancien jour de fête le 27 mars;
la fête de la translation de ses reliques, de nos jours, en Bavière
et Autriche, le 25 septembre.
Sur où et quand
Rupert est né, il y a toujours eu divergences d'opinions (avec des
variations de 100 ans). Cependant que les sources plus fiables en font un
noble Franc, d'autres, y compris Colgan, insistent sur le fait qu'il aurait
été Irlandais, portant le nom gaélique de Robertach.
Dès sa jeunesse, il était renommé pour son érudition,
ses vertus extraordinaires, son austérité, et sa charité,
cherchant à s'appauvrir en enrichissant les pauvres. Les gens venaient
de provinces éloignées pour recevoir son conseil. Il levait
tous leurs doutes et leurs scrupules, réconfortait l'affligé,
guérissait le malade, de corps et d'âme. Sa vie vertueuse l'amena
à se retrouver sacré évêque de Worms, Allemagne,
d'où il entama son travail de missionnaire en Bavière et en
Autriche méridionale. (Une version dit qu'il a été expulsé
par les païens de Worms, d'autres qu'il était simplement un Chrétien
zélé et évangélique.)
Rupert voyagea à
Regensburg (Ratisbon) avec une petite compagnie vers 697, peut-être
avec l'accréditation du Roi Franc Childebert III, ou parce que Theodo,
Duc de Bavière, avait entendu parler de sa réputation de thaumaturge
et l'avait invité. Ils sont allés voir le duc Theodo, dont ils
avaient besoin de la permission pour continuer. Bien que Theodo n'était
pas Chrétien, sa soeur, Bagintrude, l'était. Il consenti à
écouter leur prédication et se converti et reçut le saint
Baptême. Beaucoup d'hommes et de femmes influents de ses terres suivirent
l'exemple du duc et embrassèrent le Christianisme, qui avaient été
prêché là-bas 200 ans plus tôt par saint Severin
de Noricum (8 janvier).
Au lieu de renverser les
temples païens, comme tant de missionnaires l'ont fait, Rupert a préféré
les consacrer comme églises chrétiennes. Par exemple, ceux de
Regensburg et d'Altoetting ont été bientôt transformés
pour les Offices Chrétiens. (On rapporte que la statue de la Mère
de Dieu à Altoetting y a été amenée d'Irlande
par un Irlandais nommé Rupert.) Où il n'y avait pas de temple
convenable à adapter, des églises ont été construites,
et Regensburg est devenu essentiellement chrétien. Dieu confirma les
prédications de Rupert par beaucoup de miracles. Bientôt son
travail de missionnaire rencontra un tel succès que de nombreux aides
de Franconie furent nécessaires pour répondre aux besoins spirituel
des convertis de Rupert.
Le groupe continua vers
le bas du Danube, convertissant toujours plus. Après Ratisbon, la capitale,
le prochain lieu de ses oeuvres était "Laureacum," l'actuelle Lorch,
où il guérit plusieurs malades par la prière, et gagna
beaucoup d'autres âmes au Christ. Mais Ruppert n'établit son
évêché dans aucune ces villes florissantes. Il fit son
siège de la vieille et désafectée ville de Juvavum, donné
à lui par le duc de Bavière. La ville fut restaurée et
il la nomma Salzburg (la Forteresse de Sel). Là-bas à l'aide
de ses compagnons saints Virgile (27 novembre), Chuniald (24 septembre), et
Gislar (24 septembre), Rupert fonda l'église et le monastère
de saint Pierre, avec une école sur le modèle des monastères
Irlandais.
Il fît un voyage
à la maison pour rassembler 12 recrues de plus. Sa soeur, sainte Ermentrude
(30 juin), entra au couvent qu'il avait fondé à Nonnberg (s'occupant
du "Son de la Musique") et en devint sa première abbesse. Il fît
beaucoup pour encourager les travaux des mines de sel. Rupert, premier archevêque
de Salzburg, est considéré comme l'Apôtre de Bavière
et d'Autriche. Il mourrut le Jour de Pâques. Par la suite, il est devenu
si renommé que des pays tels qu'Irlande l'ont réclamé
comme un fils natal et célèbrent sa mémoire liturgiquement.
Le Duché de Salzburg représente son portrait avec celui de
saint Virgile sur une pièce du royaume appelée un rubentaler
(Attwater, Attwater2, Bénédictins, Bentley, D'Arcy, Encyclopaedia,
Farmer, Gougaud, Husenbeth, Kenney, Walsh, White).
L'emblème de Rupert
dans l'art est un baril de sel, à cause de son association avec le
réouverture des mines de sel. Il peut être montré tenant
un panier d'oeufs; baptisant le duc Theodo(re) de Bavière; ou avec
saint Virgile de Salzburg (Farmer, Roeder, White). |
749 ST JOHN DAMASCENE,
DOCTOR OF THE Church; last of Greek
fathers; first of long line of Christian Aristotelians; one of 2 Eastern church great poets; the the other St Romanus the Melodist
Sancti Joánnis Damascéni, Presbyteri, Confessóris
et Ecclésiæ Doctóris, cujus dies natális ágitur
prídie Nonas Maji.
St. John Damascene, priest, confessor,
and doctor of the Church, whose birthday is commemorated on the 6th of May.
ST JOHN OF DAMASCUS, the last of the Greek fathers and
the first of the long line of Christian Aristotelians, was also one of the
two greatest poets of the Eastern church, the other being St Romanus the
Melodist.
The whole of the life of St John was spent under the
government of a Mohammedan khalif, and it exhibits the strange spectacle
of a Christian father of the Church protected from a Christian emperor, whose
heresy he was able to attack with impunity because he lived under Moslem
rule. He and St Theodore Studites were the principal and the ablest defenders
of the cult us of sacred images in the bitterest period of the Iconoclastic
controversy. As a theological and philosophical writer he made no attempt
at originality, for his work was rather to compile and arrange what his
predecessors had written. Still, in theological questions he remains the
ultimate court of appeal among the Greeks, and his treatise Of the Orthodox
Faith is still to the Eastern schools what the Summa of St Thomas Aquinas
became to the West.
The Moslem rulers of Damascus, where St John
was born, were not unjust to their Christian subjects, although they required
them to pay a poll tax and to submit to other humiliating conditions. They
allowed both Christians and Jews to occupy important posts, and in many cases
to acquire great fortunes. The khalif’s doctor was nearly always a Jew, whilst
Christians were employed as scribes, administrators and architects. Amongst
the officials at his court in 675 was a Christian called John, who held the
post of chief of the revenue department—an office which seems to have become
hereditary in his family. He was the father of our saint, and the surname
of al-Mansur which the Arabs gave him was afterwards transferred to the son.
The younger John was born about the year 690 and was
baptized in infancy. With regard to his early education, if we may credit
his biographer, "His father took care to teach him, not how to ride a horse,
not how to wield a spear, not to hunt wild beasts and change his natural
kindness into brutal cruelty, as happens to many. John, his father, a second
Chiron, did not teach him all this, but he sought a tutor learned in all
science, skilful in every form of knowledge, who would produce good words
from his heart; and he handed over his son to him to be nourished with this
kind of food". Afterwards he was able to provide another teacher, a monk
called Cosmas, "beautiful in appearance and still more beautiful in soul",
whom the Arabs had brought back from Sicily amongst other captives. John
the elder had to pay a great price for him, and well he might for, if we
are to believe our chronicler, “ he knew grammar and logic, as much arithmetic
as Pythagoras and as much geometry as Euclid “. He taught all the sciences,
but especially theology, to the younger John and also to a boy whom the elder
John seems to have adopted, who also was called Cosmas, and who became a
poet and a singer, subsequently accompanying his adopted brother to the monastery
in which they both became monks.
In spite of his theological training St John does not
seem at first to have contemplated any career except that of his father, to
whose office he succeeded. Even at court he was able freely to live a Christian
life, and he became remarkable there for his virtues and especially for his
humility. Nevertheless, after filling his responsible post for some years,
St John resigned office, and went to be a monk in the laura of St Sabas (Mar
Saba) near Jerusalem. It is still a moot point whether his earlier works
against the iconoclasts were written while he was still at Damascus, but
the best authorities since the days of the Dominican Le Quien, who edited
his works in 1712, incline to the opinion that he had become a monk before
the outbreak of the persecution, and that all three treatises were composed
at St Sabas. In any case John and Cosmas settled down amongst the brethren
and occupied their spare time in writing books and composing hymns.
It might have been thought that the other monks would
appreciate the presence amongst them of so doughty a champion of the faith
as John, but this was far from being the case. They said the new-comers were
introducing disturbing elements. It was bad enough to write books, but it
was even worse to compose and sing hymns, and the brethren were scandalized.
The climax came when, at the request of a monk whose brother had died, John
wrote a hymn on death and sang it to a sweet tune of his own composition.
His master, an old monk whose cell he shared, rounded upon him in fury and
ejected him from the cell. “Is this the way you forget your vows?”
he exclaimed. “ Instead of mourning and weeping, you sit in joy and delight
yourself by singing.” He would only permit him to return at the end of several
days, on condition that he should go round the laura and clear up all the
filth with his own hands.
St John obeyed unquestioningly,
but in the visions of the night our Lady
appeared to the old monk
and told him to allow his disciple to write as many books and
as much poetry as he liked.
From that time onwards St John was able to devote his
time to study and to his literary work. The legend adds that he was sometimes
sent, perhaps for the good of his soul, to sell baskets in the streets of
Damascus where he had once occupied so high a post. It must, however, be confessed
that these details, written by his biographer more than a century after the
saint’s death, are of very questionable authority.
If the monks at St Sabas did not value the two friends,
there were others outside who did. The patriarch of Jerusalem, John V, knew them well by reputation and wished to
have them amongst his clergy. First he took Cosmas and made him bishop of
Majuma, and afterwards he ordained John priest and brought him to Jerusalem.{note:
John V died 686} St Cosmas, we are told, ruled his flock admirably until his
death, but St John soon returned to his monastery. He revised his writings
carefully, “and wherever they flourished with blossoms of rhetoric, or seemed
superfluous in style, he prudently reduced them to a sterner gravity, lest
they should have any display of levity or want of dignity”.
His works in defence of eikons had become known and
read everywhere, and had earned him the hatred of the persecuting emperors.
If his enemies never succeeded in injuring him, it was only because he never
crossed the frontier into the Roman empire. The rest of his life was spent
in writing theology and poetry at St Sabas, where he died at an advanced age.
He was proclaimed doctor of the Church in 1890.
The gospel of the man with the withered hand, which
is appointed in the Roman Missal for the Mass of St John Damascene, refers
to a story once widely credited but now regarded as apocryphal. When the
saint was still revenue officer at Damascus, the Emperor Leo III, who hated
him but could not take him openly, sought to destroy him by guile. He therefore
forged a letter purporting to have been written to him by John to inform him
that Damascus was poorly defended and to offer his aid in case he should attack
it. This forgery Leo sent to the khalif with a note to the effect that he
hated treachery and wished his friend to know how his official was behaving.
The infuriated khalif had John’s right hand cut off, but sent him the severed
member at his request. The saint bore it into his private chapel and prayed
in hexameter verse before an image of the Mother of God. By our Lady’s intercession
it was joined again to his body and was immediately employed to write a thanksgiving.
The formal biography of the saint written in
Greek by John of Jerusalem about a century and
a half after his death is pretentious in style and untrustworthy in the data
it supplies. It is possibly no more than a translation of an Arabic original
(see the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxxiii, 1914, pp. 78—81).
It was edited by Le Quien and is reprinted in Migne (PG., vol. xciv, cc. 429—490)
with Le Quien’s valuable comments. The brief notice of John Damascene in
the Synax. Constant. (ed. Delehaye, cc. 279—280) is probably
more reliable. There is an excellent account of St John by J. H. Lupton in
DCB., vol. iii, pp. 409—423, and by Dr A. Fortescue in his book, The Greek Fathers, pp. 202—248. A still fuller and more up-to-date
estimate of the work of this great doctor of the Church is that of M. Jugie
in DTC., vol. viii, cc. 693—755, where his writings and theological teaching
sre discussed in detail. See also J. Nasrallah, S. Jean de Damas
(1950).
|
750 St. Gundelindis Benedictine succeeded St. Ottilia as abbess of Niedermunster
also called Gwendoline. She was the daughter of the duke of Alsace, France,
and a niece of St. Ottilia.
Gundelindis of Niedermünster, OSB V (AC) (also known as Guendelindis)
Died c. 750. Saint Gundelindis, daughter of the duke of Alsace and niece
of Saint Ottilia, succeeded her aunt as abbess in the convent of Niedermünster
(Benedictines).
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815 St Stephen the Confessor
Igumen of Triglia Monastery
suffered under the iconoclast emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820). From
a young age, the holy ascetic dedicated his life to God and received monastic
tonsure. He later became head of the Triglia monastery near Constantinople.
When persecution again began against holy icons, the saintly igumen was
summoned for questioning, and they tried to force him to sign a document
rejecting the veneration of icons.
St Stephen steadfastly refused to betray Orthodoxy and he boldly denounced
the emperor for his impiety.
They subjected the saint to cruel torments, after which they sent him to
prison in the year 815.
Weakened and sick, the holy Confessor Stephen soon died in prison from
his sufferings.
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830 + Saint Kortyla one
of the ten or twelve Irish bishops of Verden B (D'Arcy).
|
830 The Holy Martyr Boyan,
Prince of Bulgaria filled with a love of prayer, fasting and contemplation
of God
Suffered for Christ around the year 830. When his pagan brother Malomir
[Vladimir] ascended the Bulgarian throne, Prince Boyan asked him to free
the learned Christian Kinamon, who had been in prison for a long time for
refusing to participate in pagan sacrifices under Prince Obrit (Krutogon),
Prince Malomir's predecessor.
Malomir consented and gave Kinamon to Prince Boyan as a slave. Boyan spoke
to Kinamon about Christianity, telling him of the errors of paganism and that
belief in Christ is necessary for salvation. At the end of their conversation
he told the prince, "Without Jesus Christ there is no light for the mind,
no life for the soul. He alone is the Teacher of mankind and our Savior. By
His death, He has reconciled fallen mankind with God. If you do not wish to
perish, believe in the Lord Jesus."
Prince Boyan recognized the truth
of his words, and was inspired to ask for Baptism.
The newly-converted prince was filled with a love of prayer,
fasting and contemplation of God. Malomir, learning about the conversion
of his brother to Christianity, demanded that he renounce the Christian Faith
and return to paganism.
Instead, the holy Prince Boyan answered, "I despise the pagan idols and
I revere Christ, the true God. No one shall separate me from the love of
Christ." Malomir, hearing his brother's reply, sentenced him to death.
Before his martyric death, the holy martyr-prince declared: "The faith
for which I now die will spread throughout the Bulgarian land. You vainly
imagine that you will stop it by killing me. Temples to the true God will
be built, and priests will offer Him true worship. The idols and their foul
sacrifices, however, will vanish."
Then he said to his brother Malomir,
"You will gain nothing from your cruelty, and death will soon overtake you."
The holy martyr was killed by the sword, and his predictions
to his brother were the first to be fulfilled. Malomir soon died, and since
he had no heir, his elder brother Presian (836-852) succeeded to the throne.
Prince Presian's son, the holy Prince Boris, in holy Baptism Michael (May
2) later Christianized the Bulgarian nation.
Thus the prophecy of the holy
Martyr Prince Boyan was fulfilled.
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915 St. Tutilo Monk
artist adherence to obedience recollection
A member of the Benedictines at St. Gall, Switzerland, he distinguished
himself through his abilities as a painter, sculptor, musician, poet, metalworker,
and orator there. He taught at the abbey school and was noted for his particular
adherence to obedience.
Tutilo of Saint-Gall, OSB (AC) Died at Saint-Gall, Switzerland, c. 915.
The handsome, eloquent, quick-witted Saint Tutilo was a giant in strength
and stature and a friend of Saint Notker
Balbulus, with whom he received musical training from Moengal. Tutilo,
a monk of Saint-Gall, may have been Tuathal, a younger member of the party
of the Irish Bishop Marcus and his nephew who stopped at the abbey on their
return from Rome. Tutilo was a painter, musician and composer of music for
harp and other strings, poet, orator, architect, metal worker, mechanic,
head of the cloister school, and sculptor, but he is best known for his
obedience, recollection, and aversion to publicity. Some of his paintings
can be found in Constance, Metz, Saint-Gall, and Mainz. The chapel in which
he was buried, dedicated to Saint Catherine,
was later renamed for him (Attwater2, Benedictines, D'Arcy, Encyclopedia,
Fitzpatrick2).
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1197 BD WILLIAM TEMPIER, BISHOP
OF Poitiers; his tomb became a place of pilgrimage, because
of the miracles of healing reported wrought there.
BD WILI.IAM TEMPIER, the forty-sixth bishop of Poitiers and
the third to bear the name of William, was born at Poitiers. At a very early
age he entered the monastery of St Hilaire-de-la-Celle in his native city
and became one of the canons regular. He was remarkable for his piety and
austerity and rose to be superior. In 1184 he was chosen to succeed Bishop
John in the episcopal chair of Poitiers. A strenuous opponent of simony and
of any secular control of ecclesiastical affairs, he had to endure persecution
and calumny in defence of the rights of the Church. Dying in 1197, he was
buried behind the high altar of the church of St Cyprian in Poitiers, and
his tomb became a place of pilgrimage, because of the miracles of healing
reported wrought there.
See the Acta Sanctorum, March, vol. iii.
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1236 St. Conon Basilian
abbot Greek monastery at Nesi Sicily holiness worker of miracles
Italy.
Conon of Nesi, Abbot (AC) Died 1236. A Basilian monk and abbot of the Greek
monastery of Nesi in Sicily, Saint Conon was revered for his holiness demonstrated
by the working of miracles (Attwater2, Benedictines).
|
1346 St. Venturino of
Bergamo Dominican preacher missionary crusader
A native of Bergamo, Italy, he
joined the Dominicans in 1319 and soon distinguished himself as a brilliant
preacher, attracting huge crowds throughout northern Italy. Pleased with
his ability to reach large numbers of believers, he announced in 1335 his
intention to go on a pilgrimage to Rome. When Pope Benedict XII (r. 1334-1342)
learned of the pilgrimage, he feared Venturino might be planning to crown
himself pope, and so forbade the friar to proceed. This decree was joined
by one issued by the Dominicans themselves at the Chapter in London (1335).
Ignorant of these bans, Venturino proceeded to Rome and then to Avignon where
he was arrested and imprisoned until 1343.
St. Venturino of Bergamo
is also known for helping to organize a crusade, at the behest of Pope Clement
VI (r. 1342-1352), against the Turks who were then menacing Europe.
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1476 St Hilarion of Gdov
and Pskov Lake; high level of pious and ascetic life
A disciple of St Euphrosynus of Pskov (May 15). In 1460 on the banks of
the River Zhelcha, not far from Gdov, he founded the Ozersk [Lake] Monastery
of the Protection of the Mother of God. The monastery bordered the territory
of the Livonian Knights, and the monks constantly suffered the incursions
of that military order. Despite harsh conditions and insufficient means, St
Hilarion maintained a high level of pious and ascetic life at the monastery,
and made great efforts to adorn and build up the monastery.
St Hilarion reposed on March 28, 1476 and was buried in the church of the
Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos in the monastery he founded. Afterwards,
a church was built at the monastery in honor of the Nativity of Christ. The
left chapel was dedicated to the founder of the Gdov monastery.
St Hilarion of Gdov is also commemorated
on October 21, on the Feast of his heavenly patron and namesake.
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1588 St. James Claxton,
Blessed devout Catholic Martyr in England
A native of Yorkshire and a devout Catholic, he studied at Reims and was
ordained in 1582. Returning home to conduct missionary work in his former
region, he was soon arrested and hanged, drawn, and quartered at Isleworth.
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Sancti Joánnis de Capistráno, Sacerdótis
ex Ordine Minórum et Confessóris, cujus memória
recólitur décimo Kaléndas Novémbris.
St. John Capistrano, confessor, a priest
of the Order of Friars Minor, who is mentioned on the 23rd of October.
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1888 Blessed Francis Faà
di Bruno; founded Society of St. Zita
for maids and domestic servants, expanding to include unmarried mothers, helped
establish hostels for elderly and poor; oversaw construction of a Turin church
dedicated to memory of Italian soldiers who lost lives in struggle over the
Italy's unification
(1825-1888)
Francis, the last of 12 children, was born in northern Italy into an aristocratic
family. He lived at a particularly turbulent time in history, when anti-Catholic
and anti-papal sentiments were especially strong.
After being trained as a military officer, Francis was spotted by King
Victor Emmanuel II, who was impressed with the young man's character and
learning. Invited by the king to tutor his two young sons, Francis agreed
and prepared himself with additional studies. But with the role of the Church
in education being a sticking point for many, the king was forced to withdraw
his offer to the openly Catholic Francis and, instead, find a tutor more
suitable to the secular state.
Francis soon left army life behind and pursued doctoral studies in Paris
in mathematics and astronomy; he also showed a special interest in religion
and asceticism. Despite his commitment to the scholarly life, Francis put
much of his energy into charitable activities. He founded the Society of St.
Zita for maids and domestic servants, later expanding it to include unmarried
mothers, among others. He helped establish hostels for the elderly and poor.
He even oversaw the construction of a church in Turin that was dedicated to
the memory of Italian soldiers who had lost their lives in the struggle over
the unification of Italy.
Wishing to broaden and deepen his commitment to the poor, Francis, then
well into adulthood, studied for the priesthood. But first he had to obtain
the support of Pope Pius IX to counteract the opposition to his own archbishop's
difficulty with late vocations. Francis was ordained at the age of 51.
As a priest, he continued his good works, sharing his inheritance as well
as his energy. He established yet another hostel, this time for prostitutes.
He died in Turin on March 27, 1888, and was beatified 100 years later.
Comment: It wasn’t
Francis’ lack of scholarly ability or deep-down goodness that almost kept
him from the priesthood, but his bishop’s distrust of “late vocations.” Until
the later part of the 20th century, most candidates for the priesthood entered
the seminary right out of grade school. Today no bishop would refuse a middle-aged
applicant—especially someone whose care for people in need is constant. Francis
is a holy reminder that God’s call to reassess our life’s direction can
reach us at any age.
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Saints of this Day March 27 Sexto Kaléndas
Aprílis
Quote:
Pope Paul VI’s 1969 
Benedict XVI met
with Aram I Catholicos of
Cilicia, the highest authority
of the Orthodox Church.
The
Pope remembered the martyrs of
the Armenian Church and the Armenian
genocide, without explicitly
mentioning it, and denounced
the persecution of Christians in
modern times. Benedict
XVI
Among the most important
titles we have in the Catholic Church for the Blessed Virgin
Mary are Our Lady of Victory and Our Lady of the Rosary. These
titles can be traced back to one of the most decisive times in
the history of the world and Christendom. The Battle of Lepanto
took place on October 7 (date of feast of Our Lady of Rosary), 1571.
This proved to be the most crucial battle for the Christian forces
against the radical Muslim navy of Turkey. Pope Pius V led a procession
around St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City praying the Rosary. He showed
true pastoral leadership in recognizing the danger posed to Christendom
by the radical Muslim forces, and in using the means necessary to
defeat it. Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons, and this
more than anything was a battle that had its origins in the spiritual
order—a true battle between good and evil.