600 B.C. The Holy
Prophet Jeremiah, one of the four great Old
Testament prophets regarded as a wonderworker
In Ægypto sancti Jeremíæ Prophétæ,
qui, a pópulo lapídibus óbrutus, apud Taphnas
occúbuit, ibíque sepúltus est; ad cujus sepúlcrum
fidéles (ut refert sanctus Epiphánius) supplicáre
consuevérunt, índeque sumpto púlvere, áspidum
mórsibus medéntur.
In Egypt, St. Jeremias, prophet, who
was stoned to death by the people at Taphnas, where he was buried.
St. Epiphanius tells that the faithful were accustomed to pray at
his grave, and to take away from it dust to heal those who were stung
by serpents.
Son of the priest Helkiah from
the city of Anathoth near Jerusalem. He lived 600 years before
the Birth of Christ, under the Israelite king Josiah and four of his
successors. He was called to prophetic service at the age of fifteen,
when the Lord revealed to him that even before his birth the Lord had
chosen him to be a prophet. Jeremiah refused, citing his youth and lack
of skill at speaking, but the Lord promised to be always with him and
to watch over him.
He touched
the mouth of the chosen one and said, "Behold, I have put My words
into your mouth. Behold, I have appointed you this day over nations
and kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to rebuild,
and to plant" (Jer. 1:9-10).
From that time Jeremiah prophesied
for twenty-three years, denouncing the Jews for abandoning the true
God and worshipping idols, predicting sorrows and devastating wars.
He stood by the gates of the city, and at the entrance to the Temple,
everywhere where the people gathered, and he exhorted them with imprecations
and often with tears.
The people, however, mocked and abused him,
and they even tried to kill him.
Depicting for the Jews their
impending enslavement to the king of Babylon, Jeremiah first placed
on his own neck a wooden, and then an iron yoke, and thus he went
about among the people. Enraged at the dire predictions of the prophet,
the Jewish elders threw the Prophet Jeremiah into a pit filled with
horrid, slimy creatures, where he almost died. Through the intercession
of the God-fearing royal official Habdemelek, the prophet was pulled
out of the pit, but he did not cease his prophecies, and for this he was
carted off to prison.
Under the Jewish king Zedekiah his prophecy
was fulfilled.
Nebuchadnezzar came, slaughtered
many people, carried off a remnant into captivity, and Jerusalem
was pillaged and destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar released
the prophet from prison and permitted him to live where he wanted.
The prophet remained at the
ruins of Jerusalem and bewailed his nation's misfortune. According to Tradition,
the Prophet Jeremiah took the Ark of the Covenant with the Tablets
of the Law and hid it in one of the caves of Mount Nabath (Nebo),
so that the Jews could no longer find it (2 Mac. 2). Afterwards,
a new Ark of the Covenant was fashioned, but it lacked the glory of
the first.
Among the Jews remaining in their fatherland
there soon arose internecine clashes: Hodoliah, Nebuchadnezzar's
viceroy, was murdered. The Jews, fearing the wrath of Babylon, decided
to flee into Egypt. The Prophet Jeremiah disagreed with their intention,
predicting that the punishment which they feared would befall them in
Egypt. The Jews would not listen to the prophet, however, and taking
him along by force, they went into Egypt and settled in the city of Tathnis.
There the prophet lived for four years and was respected by the Egyptians,
because by his prayers he killed crocodiles and other creatures infesting
these parts.
When Jeremiah
prophesied that the King of Babylon would invade Egypt and annihilate
the Jews living there, the Jews murdered him. In that
very same year the saint's prophecy was fulfilled.
There is a tradition that 250 years later,
Alexander the Great transported the relics of the holy Prophet Jeremiah
to Alexandria.
The Prophet Jeremiah wrote his
Book of Prophecies and also the Book of Lamentations about the desolation
of Jerusalem and the Exile. The times in which
he lived and prophesied are described in 4/2 Kings (Ch. 23-25) and in the
Second Book of Chronicles
(36:12) and in 2 Maccabbees (Ch. 2).
In the Gospel of Matthew it is said that the
betrayal of Judas was foretold by the Prophet Jeremiah, "And they
took thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom the sons of
Israel had set a price, and they gave them for the potter's field,
as the Lord directed me" (Mt. 27:9-10). Perhaps Jeremiah 32:6-15 is
meant.
Even after his death, the Prophet Jeremiah
was regarded as a wonderworker.
Dust from his tomb was believed
to cure snake-bite, and many Christians pray to him for this purpose.
|
St. Joseph Feastday:
March 19, May 1 Patron of the Universal Church
St. Joseph The Workman (See 19 March) SS. Philip and James,
Apostles (transferred to 11 May)
ST PHILIP the apostle came from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and seems to have belonged to a little group of earnest men who had
already fallen under the influence of St John the Baptist.
In the synoptic gospels there is no mention of Philip
except in the list of apostles which occurs in each. But St John’s
gospel introduces his name several times, recording in particular that
the call of Philip came the day after that given to St Peter and St Andrew.
Jesus, we are told, “found Philip” and said to him, “Follow me”. More than
a century and a half later Clement of Alexandria avers that St Philip was
the young man who, when our Lord said to him, “Follow me”, begged leave to
go home first and bury his father, which occasioned the reply, “Let the dead
bury their dead; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God” (Luke ix 6o).
It seems probable that this identification was based on no firmer ground
than the use of the phrase “Follow me” in both cases. The position of the
incident of the rebuke (“Let the dead”, etc.) in the narrative of St Luke,
and also in that of St Matthew, clearly suggests that it occurred some
time after the beginning of the public life, when our Lord was already
attended by His little company of apostles. On the other hand, St Philip
was certainly called before the marriage feast at Cana, though, as our
Saviour Himself declared, His hour had not yet come, i.e. He had not yet
embarked on the public activities of His great mission.
From the account given by the evangelist, we should naturally
infer that Philip responded without hesitation to the call he had
received. Though his knowledge was imperfect, so much so that he describes
Jesus as “the son of Joseph of Nazareth”, he goes at once to find his
friend Nathanael (in all probability to be identified with the apostle
Bartholomew) and tells him, “We have found him of whom Moses, in the
law and the prophets did write”, being plainly satisfied that this was
in truth the Messias. At the same time Philip gives proof of a sober discretion
in his missionary zeal. He does not attempt to force his discovery upon
unwilling earn. When Nathanael objects, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
his answer is not indignant declamation, but an appeal for personal inquiry—“Come
and see.”
In the description of the feeding of the five thousand
Philip figures again. “When Jesus”, we are told, “had lifted up His
eyes and seen that a very great multitude cometh to Him, He said to
Philip, ‘ Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?’ And this He said
to try him; for He Himself knew what He would do.” Once more we get
an impression of the sober literalness of St Philip’s mental outlook
when he replies: “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for
them that every one may take a little”. It is in accord with the same amiable
type of character which hesitates before responsibilities that, when certain
Gentiles among the crowds who thronged to Jerusalem for the pasch came
to Philip saying, “Sir, we would see Jesus “, we find him reluctant
to deal with the request without taking counsel. “Philip cometh
and telleth Andrew. Again Andrew and Philip told Jesus.” Finally another
glimpse is afforded us of the apostle’s earnestness and devotion conjoined
with defective spiritual insight, when on the evening before the
Passion our Lord announced, “No man cometh to the Father but by me. If you
had known me, you would without doubt have known my Father also: and from
henceforth you shall know Him, and you have seen Him.” Philip saith to Him:
“Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us”.
Jesus saith to him: “Have I been so long a time with you; and have you not
known me? Philip, he that seeth me seeth the Father also. How sayest thou:
Show us the Father ?” (John xiv 6-9).
Apart from the fact that St Philip is named with the other apostles
who spent ten days in the upper room awaiting the coming of the Holy
Ghost at Pentecost, this is all we know about him with any degree
of certainty.
On the other hand, Eusebius, the church historian, and
some other early writers, have preserved a few details which tradition
connected with the later life of Philip. The most reliable of
these is the belief that he preached the gospel in Phrygia, and died
at Hierapolis, where he was also buried. Sir W. M. Ramsay found among
the tombs of that city a fragmentary inscription which refers to a church
there dedicated in honour of St Philip. We know also that Polycrates,
bishop of Ephesus, writing to Pope Victor towards the close of the second
century, refers to two daughters of St Philip the Apostle, who had
lived in virginity until old age at Hierapolis, and mentions also another
daughter who was buried in his own city of Ephesus. Papias, who was himself
bishop of Hierapolis, seems to have known personally the daughters
of St Philip and to have learnt from them of a miracle attributed to him,
no less than the raising of a dead man to life. Heracleon, the gnostic,
about the year 180, maintained that the apostles Philip, Matthew and
Thomas died a natural death, but Clement of Alexandria contradicted this,
and the opinion commonly accepted at a later date was that Philip
was crucified head downwards under Domitian. One fact which introduces
much uncertainty into these obscure fragments of evidence is the confusion
which undoubtedly arose between Philip the Apostle and Philip the Deacon,
sometimes also called “the Evangelist”, who figures
so prominently in chapter viii of the Acts of the Apostles. Both,
in particular, are alleged to have had daughters who enjoyed exceptional
consideration in the early Church. It is stated that the remains of St
Philip the Apostle were eventually brought to Rome, and that they
have been preserved there in the basilica of the Apostles since
the time of Pope Pelagius (A.D. 561). A late apocryphal document in Greek,
dating from the close of the fourth century at earliest, purports to
recount the missionary activities of St Philip in Greece, as well as in
the land of the Parthians and elsewhere, but it echoes the received tradition
so far as regards his death and burial at Hierapolis.
The apostle St James—the Less, or the younger—here associated
with St Philip, is most commonly held to be the same individual who
is variously designated “James, the son of Alpheus”
(e.g. Matt. x 3, and Acts i 13), and “James, the brother of the
Lord” (Matt. xiii 55 Gal. i 19). He may also possibly be identical with
James, son of Mary and brother of Joseph (Mark xv 40). This, however,
is not the place to discuss the rather intricate problem of the” brethren
of our Lord” and the questions connected with it. It may be assumed
then, as Alban Butler infers, that the apostle James who became bishop
of Jerusalem (Acts xv and xxi 18) was the son of Alpheus and “brother”
(i.e. first cousin) of Jesus Christ. Although no prominence is given
to this James in the gospel narrative, we learn from St Paul that he was
favoured with a special appearing of our Lord before the Ascension.
Further,
when St Paul, three years after his conversion, went up to Jerusalem
and was still regarded with some suspicion by the apostles who remained
there, James, with St Peter, seems to have bid him a cordial welcome.
Later we learn that Peter, after his escape from prison, sent
a special intimation to James, apparently as to one whose pre-eminence
was recognized among the Christians of the holy city.
At what
is called the Council of Jerusalem, where it was decided that the Gentiles
who accepted Christian teaching need not be circumcised, it was St
James who, after listening to St Peter’s advice, voiced the conclusion
of the assembly in the words, “it hath seemed good to the Holy
Ghost and to us” (Acts xv). He was, in fact, the bishop of Jerusalem,
as Clement of Alexandria and Eusebius expressly state. Even Josephus,
the Jewish historian, bears testimony to the repute in which James
was held, and declares, so Eusebius asserts, that the terrible calamities
which fell upon the people of that city were a retribution for their
treatment of one “who was the most righteous of men”.
The story of his martyrdom, as told by Hegesippus in the latter part
of the second century, has been preserved by Eusebius, and runs as follows:
Together with the apostles, James, our Lord’s brother, succeeded to
the government of the Church. He received the name of “the Just”
from all men from the time of our Lord even to our own; for there were
many called James. Now he was holy from his mother’s womb, drank no
wine nor strong drink nor ate anything in which was life. No razor came
upon his head; he anointed himself not with oil, and used no bath.
To him alone it was permitted to enter the holy place; for he wore
nothing woollen, but linen garments [i.e. the priestly robes]. And
alone he entered into the sanctuary and was found on his knees asking
forgiveness on behalf of the people, so that his knees became hard
like a camel’s, for he was continually bending the knee in worship to
God and asking forgiveness for the people. In fact, on account of
his exceeding great justice he was called “ the Just ”
and “ Oblias ”, that is to say, bulwark
of the people.
We learn further from Hegesippus that: As many as came to believe did
so through James. When, therefore, many
also of the rulers were believers, there was an uproar among the Jews
and scribes and pharisees, for they said: “There is danger that
the whole people should expect Jesus as the Christ ”.
Coming together, therefore, they said to James: “We beseech thee,
restrain the people, for they are gone astray unto Jesus, imagining
that he is the Christ. We beseech thee to persuade all who come for
the day of the Passover concerning Jesus, for in thee do we all put
our trust. For we bear thee witness, as do all the people, that thou
art just and that thou acceptest not the person of any. Persuade,
therefore, the multitude that they go not astray concerning Jesus.
For, of a truth, the people, and we all, put our trust in thee.
Stand, therefore, upon the pinnacle of the temple, that from thy lofty
station thou mayest be evident, and thy words may easily be heard
by all the people. For on account of the Passover all the tribes,
with the Gentiles also, have come together.” Therefore the aforesaid
scribes and pharisees set James upon the pinnacle of the temple, and
cried aloud to him saying: “0 Just One, in whom we ought all to put
our trust, inasmuch as the people is gone astray after Jesus
who was crucified, tell us what is the door of Jesus” (cf. John
x 1—9). And he replied with a loud voice: “Why ask ye me concerning
the Son of Man, since He sitteth in Heaven on the right hand of the
Mighty Power, and shall come on the clouds of Heaven?” And when many
were fully persuaded and gave glory at the testimony of James and
said: “Hosanna to the son of David “, then once more the same scribes
and pharisees said among themselves: “We do ill in affording such a
testimony to Jesus. Let us rather go up and cast him down, that
being affrighted they may not believe him.” And they cried aloud
saying: “Ho, ho, even the Just One has gone astray!” And they fulfilled
the scripture that is written in Isaias: “Let us take away the just one,
for he is troublesome to us. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of
their doings.” Going up therefore they cast the Just One down. And
they said to each other: “Let us stone James the Just “. And they
began to stone him, for the fall did not kill him. But turning he
kneeled down and said: “I beseech thee, O Lord God, Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do “. And while they thus were
stoning him, one of the priests of the sons of Rechab, the son
of Rachabim, who had witness borne to them by Jeremias the prophet,
cried aloud, saying: “Cease ye; what do ye? The Just One is praying
on your behalf.” And one of them, a fuller, took the stick with which
he beat out the clothes, and brought it down on the Just One’s
head. Thus he was martyred. And they buried him at the spot beside
the temple, and his monument still remains beside the temple.
The story is told somewhat differently by Josephus, who
says nothing about James’s having been thrown down from the pinnacle
of the temple. He informs us, however, that he was stoned to death,
and assigns this to the year 62. In relation to the festivals kept by
the Church liturgically under the designation of “ St Peter’s Chair
”, it is interesting to note that Eusebius
speaks of the “ throne ”, or chair, of St James
as still preserved and venerated by the Christians of Jerusalem.
This St
James is commonly held to be the author of the epistle in the New Testament
which bears his name and which, by its insistence on good works, was
highly obnoxious to those who preached the doctrine of justification by
faith alone.
Outside the New Testament, and such not wholly reliable
traditions as we find recorded in the pages of Eusebius, there is
very little we can appeal to as sources for the history of eiither St
Philip or St James. In the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. i, the Bollandists
have gathered up most of the allusions to be met with in the early
ecclesiastical writers. The apocryphal Acts of St Philip, which probably
date from the third or fourth century, have been edited by R. A. Lipsius
in his Apokryphen Apostelgeschichten und Apostellegenden, vol. ii,
part 2, pp. 1—90. See also E. Hennecke, Neutestamentliche Apokryphen
(2nd edn., 5924); and the Handbuch brought out by
the same editor. The life of the two apostles is discussed in nearly
all scriptural encyclopaedias, such, for example, as the Dictionnaire
dela Bible with its supplements. The authorship of the canonical
Epistle of St James has been the subject of much heated discussion.
The matter does not concern us here, and the text of the epistle itself
throws little light upon the history or character of the writer who
penned it. As the martyrdom of St James the Less is commonly
assigned to the year A.D. 62 or 63, the epistle, on the assumption
that he is the author, must be of early date. Mgr Duchesne has suggested
that the association of St James with St Philip on May 1, which is
common both to the Gelasian and the Gregorian Sacramentaries, may
be traced to the dedication of the church “of the Apostles “ at
Rome by Pope John III, C. A.D. 563. This church, though later spoken of
vaguely as the church “of the Apostles”, was originally
dedicated in honour of SS. Philip and James in particular; the
inscription long preserved there said
Quisquis lector adest Jacobi pariterque
Philippi
Cernat apostolicum lumen inesse locis.
But there are indications in certain manuscripts of the Hieronymianum
and in other documents that Philip’s name on May 1 once stood
alone, and that James is a later addition.Everything we know about
the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture
and that has seemed too little for those who made up legends about him.
We know he was a carpenter, a working man,
for the skeptical Nazarenes ask about Jesus, "Is this not the carpenter's
son?" (Matthew 13:55). He wasn't rich for when he took Jesus to the
Temple to be circumcised and Mary to be purified he offered the sacrifice
of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could
not afford a lamb (Luke 2:24).
Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came
from a royal lineage. Luke and Matthew disagree some about the details
of Joseph's genealogy but they both mark his descent from David, the
greatest king of Israel (Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38). Indeed the
angel who first tells Joseph about Jesus greets him as "son of David,"
a royal title used also for Jesus.
We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring
man. When he discovered Mary was pregnant after they had been betrothed,
he knew the child was not his but was as yet unaware that she was carrying
the Son of God. He planned to divorce Mary according to the law but
he was concerned for her suffering and safety. He knew that women accused
to adultery could be stoned to death, so he decided to divorce her quietly
and not expose her to shame or cruelty (Matthew 1:19-25).
We know Joseph was man of faith, obedient to
whatever God asked of him without knowing the outcome. When the angel
came to Joseph in a dream and told him the truth about the child Mary
was carrying, Joseph immediately and without question or concern for
gossip, took Mary as his wife. When the angel came again to tell him
that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything he owned,
all his family and friends, and fled to a strange country with his
young wife and the baby.
He waited in Egypt without question until
the angel told him it was safe to go back (Matthew 2:13-23).
We know Joseph loved Jesus. His one concern
was for the safety of this child entrusted to him. Not only did he
leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the
obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life. When Jesus stayed
in the Temple we are told Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great
anxiety for three days for him (Luke 2:48). We also know that Joseph treated
Jesus as his own son for over and over the people of Nazareth say of
Jesus, "Is this not the son of Joseph?" (Luke 4:22)
We know Joseph respected God. He followed God's
commands in handling the situation with Mary and going to Jerusalem
to have Jesus circumcised and Mary purified after Jesus' birth. We
are told that he took his family to Jerusalem every year for Passover,
something that could not have been easy for a working man.
Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus' public
life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph
probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry.
Joseph is the patron of the
dying because, assuming he died before Jesus' public life, he died with Jesus
and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.
Joseph is also patron of the universal Church,
fathers, carpenters, and social justice. We celebrate two feast days
for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for
Joseph the Worker.
There is much we wish we could know about Joseph
-- where and when he was born, how he spent his days, when and how
he died.
Scripture has left us with the most important
knowledge: who he was -- "a righteous man" (Matthew 1:18).
In His Footsteps: Joseph was
foster father to Jesus. There are many children separated from families
and parents who need foster parents. Please consider contacting your
local Catholic Charities or Division of Family Services about becoming
a foster parent.
Prayer: Saint Joseph, patron of the universal
Church, watch over the Church as carefully as you watched over Jesus,
help protect it and guide it as you did with your adopted son. Amen
May 1, 2008 St. Joseph the Worker
Apparently in response to the “May Day” celebrations for
workers sponsored by Communists, Pius XII instituted the feast of
St. Joseph the Worker in 1955. But the relationship between Joseph and
the cause of workers has a longer history.
In a constantly necessary effort to keep Jesus from being
removed from ordinary human life, the Church has from the beginning
proudly emphasized that Jesus was a carpenter, obviously trained by
Joseph in both the satisfactions and the drudgery of that vocation.
Humanity is like God not only in thinking and loving, but also in creating.
Whether we make a table or a cathedral, we are called to bear fruit
with our hands and mind, ultimately for the building up of the Body of
Christ.
Comment: “The Lord God then took the
man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for
it” (Genesis 2:15). The Father created all and asked humanity to continue
the work of creation. We find our dignity in our work, in raising a
family, in participating in the life of the Father’s creation. Joseph
the Worker was able to help participate in the deepest mystery of creation.
Pius XII emphasized this when he said, “The spirit flows to you and to
all men from the heart of the God-man, Savior of the world, but certainly,
no worker was ever more completely and profoundly penetrated by it than
the foster father of Jesus, who lived with Him in closest intimacy and community
of family life and work. Thus, if you wish to be close to Christ, we again
today repeat, ‘Go to Joseph’” (see Genesis 41:44).
Quote: In Brothers
of Men, René Voillaume of the Little Brothers of Jesus speaks
about ordinary work and holiness: “Now this holiness (of Jesus) became
a reality in the most ordinary circumstances of life, those of word,
of the family and the social life of a village, and this is an emphatic
affirmation of the fact that the most obscure and humdrum human activities
are entirely compatible with the perfection of the Son of God...in relation
to this mystery, involves the conviction that the evangelical holiness
proper to a child of God is possible in the ordinary circumstances of someone
who is poor and obliged to work for his living.”
|
The birthday of the blessed
apostles Philip and James. Philip, after having converted
nearly all of Scythia to the faith of Christ, went to Hieropolis,
a city in Asia, where he was fastened to a cross and stoned, and thus
ended his life gloriously. James, who is also called the brother
of our Lord, was the first bishop of Jerusalem. Being hurled down
from a pinnacle of the temple, his legs were broken, and being struck
on the head with a dyer's staff, he expired and was buried near the
temple.
Natális beatórum Philíppi et Jacóbi
Apostolórum. Ex his Philíppus, cum omnem fere
Scythiam ad Christi fidem convertísset, tandem apud Hierápolim,
Asiæ civitátem, cruci affíxus et lapídibus
óbrutus, glorióso fine quiévit; Jacóbus
vero, qui et frater Dómini légitur et primus Hierosolymórum
Epíscopus, e pinna Templi præcipitátus, confráctis
inde crúribus, ac fullónis fuste in cérebro percússus,
intériit, ibique, non longe a Templo, sepúltus est.
Ss.
Philip And James, Apostles (Transferred To 11 May)
From the Lives of
Saintes by Alban Butler
ST PHILIP APOSTLE.
ST. Philip was of Bethsaida, in Galilee, and called by our Saviour
to follow him the day after St. Peter and St. Andrew.* He was at that time
a married man, and had several daughters; but his being engaged in the married
slate hindered him not, as St. Chrysostom observes, from meditating continually
on the law and the prophets, which disposed him for the important discovery
of the Messiah in the person of Jesus Christ, in obedience to whose command
he forsook all to follow him, and became thenceforth the inseparable companion
of his ministry and labors. Philip had no sooner discovered the Messiah, than
he was desirous to make his friend Nathanael a sharer in his happiness, saying
to him: "I have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write,
that is, the Messiah; Jesus, the son of Joseph, of Nazareth." Nathanael
was not so ready to give his assent to this assertion of his friend, by reason
that the supposed Messiah was reported to be of Nazareth. Philip
therefore desired him to come himself to Jesus and see; not doubting but,
upon his personal acquaintance with the Son of God, he would be as much convinced
of the truth as he was himself. Nathanael complied, and Jesus, seeing
him approach, said, within his hearing: Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom
there is no guile. Nathanael asked him, how he came to know him: Jesus replied:
Before Philip called thee, when thou wart under the fig-tree, I saw thee.
Nathanael, as two holy fathers explain the matter, calling to mind that the
closeness of his retirement on that occasion was such, that no human creature
could see him, owned him hereupon for the Son of God, and the King of Israel,
or, in other words, the Messiah, foretold by Moses and the prophets.
The marriage at Cana
of Galilee happening three days after, to which Jesus and his disciples were
invited, St. Philip was present at it with the rest. The year following, when
our Lord formed the college of apostles, Philip was appointed one of that
number, and, from the several passages of the gospel, he appears to have
been particularly dear to his divine Master. Thus, when Jesus was about to
feed five thousand persons, who had followed him into the wilderness, for
the greater evidence of the miracle, and for the trial of this apostle's faith,
Jesus proposed to him the difficulty of feeding the multitudes in that desolate
place. And a little before out Savior’s passion, certain Gentiles,
desirous to see Christ, made their first address to Philip and by him and
St, Andrew obtained that favor. Our Saviour, in the discourse he made to
his disciples immediately after his last supper, having promised them a more
clear and perfect knowledge of his heavenly father than they had hitherto,
St. Philip cried out., with a holy eagerness and impatience: Lord, show us
the Father, and it suffice us. From which words our Saviour took occasion
to inculcate afresh and steady belief of his divinity, and perfect equality
with the Father, saving So long a time have I been with you teaching you
who I am both by my words and actions and have you not known, me? (If
you beheld me with the eyes of faith such as I really am, in seeing me you
would see the Father also, because) I am in the Father, and the Father is
in me. After our Lord's ascension the gospel was to be preached to the whole
world by a few persons, who had been eyewitnesses of his miracles, and were
enabled, by the power of the Holy Ghost, to confirm their testimony concerning
him by doing the like wonderful works themselves. That this might be
accomplished, it was necessary that the disciples should quickly disperse
themselves into all parts of the world. St. Philip accordingly preached
the gospel in the two Phrygia’s, as Theodoret and Eusebeus assure us from
undoubted monuments. St. Polycarp, who was only converted in the year 80,
enjoyed has conversation for some time; consequently St. Philip must have
lived to a very advanced age. It appears, from a passage of Polycrates, quoted
by Eusebius, that he was buried at Hierapolis in Phrygia, which city was
indebted to his relics for its preservation by continual miracles, as is
averred by the author of the sermon on the twelve apostles, attributed to
St. Chrysostom. An arm of St. Philip was brought from Constantinople
to Florence, in 1204, whereof we have an authentic history in the Bollandists.
The Orientals keep his festival on the 14th of November; the Latins on the
1st of May, with St. James. His body is said to be in the church of
SS. Philip arid James, in Rome, which was dedicated to God under their name,
in 560. The emperor Theodosius, in a vision, received from St.
John the Evangelist, and St. Philip, the assurance of victory over the tyrant
Eugenius, the morning before the battle, in 394, as Theodoret relates.
From St. Philip we must particularly learn an ardent love of
God, and desire to see the Father. He asked only this favor, because
this was his only desire. Is it ours? Do we feel it as perfect
as to extinguish all inordinate earthly affections and desires in our breasts?
Do we employ the proper means to attain to this happy disposition?
To obtain it, let as employ the succor of this apostle's prayers, and by
disengaging our hearts from corruption and vanity, become, in desires and
affections, citizens of heaven. The pilgrim soul sees herself a stranger
here on earth, and discovers nothing in this desert place of her-banishment
but an abyss of vanity, and subjects of compunction, grief, and fears.
On the other side, looking up to God, she contemplates the magnificence and
splendor of his kingdom, which will have no end its peace, security, sanctity
without stain, delights without sorrow, unchangeable and incomprehensible
joys; and she cries out in a holy transport 0 joy surpassing
all joys, and without which there is no true joy, when shall I possess you?
0 sovereign good, discover to me some ray of thy beauty and of thy glory;
may my heart be set on flame by thy love, and my soul languish and waste
with desire to be united to thee, to behold thee face to face, to sing thy
praises night and day, to drink of the plenty of thy house, and of the torrent
of thy delights, to be forever confirmed in thy love, and in some measure
transformed into thee! Such a soul seeks to hide herself from the eyes
of men, to live unknown to the world and, in retirement and repose, to apply
herself to prayer, all her thoughts being taken up in contemplating the glorious
things which are said of the blessed city of her God. All worldly enjoyments
and distractions are insupportable to her, and she finds no comfort in this
place of banishment but in singing the praises of her God, in adoring and
in doing always his will, and in the sweet sighs and tears with which she
seeks him, and begs him to reign perfectly in her affections by his grace
and love, and to draw her speedily to himself out of this Babylon, in which
every object increases her affliction, and inflames her desire, seeming to
say to her: Where is thy God?
St Philip the apostle came from Bethsaida
in Galilee, and seems to have belonged to a little group of earnest
men who had already fallen under the influence of St John the Baptist.
In the synoptic gospels there is no mention of Philip except in the list
of apostles which occurs in each. But St John’s gospel introduces his
name several times, recording in particular that the call of Philip
came the day after that given to St Peter and St Andrew. Jesus, we are
told, “found Philip” and said to him, “Follow me”. More than a century
and a half later Clement of Alexandria avers that St Philip was the young
man who, when our Lord said to him, “Follow me”, begged leave to go home
first and bury his father, which occasioned the reply, “Let the dead bury
their dead; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God” (Luke ix 6o). It
seems probable that this identification was based on no firmer ground than
the use of the phrase” Follow me” in both cases. The position of the incident
of the rebuke (“ Let the dead “, etc.) in the narrative of St Luke, and
also in that of St Matthew, clearly suggests that it occurred some time
after the beginning of the public life, when our Lord was already attended
by His little company of apostles. On the other hand, St Philip was certainly
called before the marriage feast at Cana, though, as our Saviour Himself
declared, His hour had not yet come, i.e; He had not yet embarked on the
public activities of His great mission.
From the account given by the evangelist, we should naturally
infer that Philip responded without hesitation to the call he had
received. Though his knowledge was imperfect, so much so that he describes
Jesus as “the son of Joseph of Nazareth”, he goes at once to find
his friend Nathanael (in all probability to be identified with the
apostle Bartholomew) and tells him, “We have found him of whom Moses,
in the law and the prophets did write”, being plainly satisfied that
this was in truth the Messias. At the same time Philip gives proof of
a sober discretion in his missionary zeal. He does not attempt to force
his discovery upon unwilling ears. When Nathanael objects, “Can anything
good come from Nazareth?” his answer is not indignant declamation, but
an appeal for personal inquiry—“Come and see.”
In the description of the feeding of
the five thousand Philip figures again. “When Jesus”, we are told,
“had lifted up His eyes and seen that a very great multitude cometh
to Him, He said to Philip, ‘Whence shall we buy bread that these may
eat?’ And this He said to try him; for He Himself knew what He would
do.” Once more we get an impression of the sober literalness of St Philip’s
mental outlook when he replies: “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not
sufficient for them that every one may take a little”. It is in accord with
the same amiable type of character which hesitates before responsibilities
that, when certain Gentiles among the crowds who thronged to Jerusalem for
the pasch came to Philip saying, “Sir, we would see Jesus”, we find him reluctant
to deal with the request without taking counsel. “Philip cometh and telleth
Andrew. Again Andrew and Philip told Jesus.” Finally another glimpse is afforded
us of the apostle’s earnestness and devotion conjoined with defective spiritual
insight, when on the evening before the Passion our Lord announced, “No
man cometh to the Father but by me. If you had known me, you would without
doubt have known my Father also: and from henceforth you shall know Him,
and you have seen Him.” Philip saith to Him: “Lord, show us the Father,
and it is enough for us”. Jesus saith to him: “Have I been so long a time
with you; and have you not known me? Philip, he that seeth me seeth the Father
also. How sayest thou: Show us the Father?” (John xiv 6—9).
Apart from the fact that St Philip is named with the other
apostles who spent ten days in the upper room awaiting the coming of
the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, this is all we know about him with any
degree of certainty.
On the other hand, Eusebius, the church historian, and
some other early writers, have preserved a few details which tradition
connected with the later life of Philip. The most reliable of these
is the belief that he preached the gospel in Phrygia, and died at Hierapolis,
where he was also buried. Sir W. M. Ramsay found among the tombs of that
city a fragmentary inscription which refers to a church there dedicated
in honour of St Philip. We know also that Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus,
writing to Pope Victor towards the close of the second century, refers
to two daughters of St Philip the Apostle, who had lived in virginity
until old age at Hierapolis, and mentions also another daughter who
was buried in his own city of Ephesus.
Papias, who was himself bishop of Hierapolis,
seems to have known personally the daughters of St Philip and to have
learnt from them of a miracle attributed to him, no less than the raising
of a dead man to life. Heracleon, the gnostic, about the year 180, maintained
that the apostles Philip, Matthew and Thomas died a natural death, but
Clement of Alexandria contradicted this, and the opinion commonly accepted
at a later date was that Philip was crucified head downwards under Domitian.
One fact which introduces much uncertainty into these obscure fragments
of evidence is the confusion which undoubtedly arose between Philip the
Apostle and Philip the Deacon, sometimes also called “the Evangelist”,
who figures so prominently in chapter viii of the Acts of the Apostles.
Both, in particular, are alleged to have had daughters who enjoyed exceptional
consideration in the early Church. It is stated that the remains of St Philip
the Apostle were eventually brought to Rome, and that they have been preserved
there in the basilica of the Apostles since the time of Pope Pelagius (A.D.
561). A late apocryphal document in Greek, dating from the close of the
fourth century at earliest, purports to recount the missionary activities
of St Philip in Greece, as well as in the land of the Parthians and elsewhere,
but it echoes the received tradition so far as regards his death and burial
at Hierapolis.
Also from the Lives of Santes by Alban Butler
ST. JAMES THE LESS, APOSTLE,
See Tillemont t. I, p. 405; Ceillier, t. 1,
p 422
ST. JAMES, to distinguish him from the other apostle of the same
name the son of Zebedee, was called the Less; which appellation is supposed
to have taken its rise, either from his having been called later to the apostleship
than the former, or from the lowness of his stature, or from his youth.
He is also known by the title of James the Just, a denomination all agree,
with Hegesippus and St. Clement of Alexandria, to have been given on account
of his eminent sanctity. He was the son of Alpheus* and Mary, the sister
of the Blessed Virgin, and seems to have been born some years before our Lord.
Jesus came with his brethren, and probably St. James among the rest, to settle
in Capharnum, at the beginning of his ministry.
James and his brother Jude were called
to the apostleship in the second year of Christ's preaching, soon after the
Pasch, in the year 31. He was favored with an extraordinary apparition
of his Master after his resurrection. Clement of Alexandria says, that
Christ being raised from the dead communicated the gift of science to SS James
the Just, John and Peter, and that they imparted it to the other apostles.
We are told by SS. Jerom and Epiphanius, that our Lord, at his ascension,
recommended his church of Jerusalem, to St. James; in consequence whereof
the apostles, before their dispersion, constituted him bishop of that city.
It was probably for a mark of his episcopal authority, and as an ensign of
his dignity that he wore on his head a lamina or plate of gold, as is recounted
by St. Epiphanius. Polycrates, quoted by Eusebius, testifies, that St.
John did the same others relate the like of St. Mark. It was probably done
in imitation of the Jewish high-priest.
The apostle St James—the Less, or the younger—here associated
with St Philip, is most commonly held to be the same individual who
is variously designated “James, the son of Alpheus” (e.g. Matt. x
3, and Acts i, 13), and “James, the brother of the Lord” (Matt. xiii
55; Gal. 1 19). He may also possibly be identical with James, son of
Mary and brother of Joseph (Mark xv 40). This, however, is not the place
to discuss the rather intricate problem of the “brethren of our Lord”
and the questions connected with it. It may be assumed then, as Alban
Butler infers, that the apostle James who became bishop of Jerusalem
(Acts xv and xxi 18) was the son of Alpheus and “brother” (i.e. first
cousin) of Jesus Christ.
Although no prominence is given to this James in the gospel
narrative, we learn from St Paul that he was favoured with a special
appearing of our Lord before the Ascension. Further, when St Paul,
three years after his conversion, went up to Jerusalem and was still
regarded with some suspicion by the apostles who remained there, James,
with St Peter, seems to have bid him a cordial welcome. Later we learn
that Peter, after his escape from prison, sent a special intimation to
James, apparently as to one whose pre-eminence was recognized among the
Christians of the holy city.
At what is called the Council of Jerusalem,
where it was decided that the Gentiles who accepted Christian teaching
need not be circumcised, it was St James who, after listening to St
Peter’s advice, voiced the conclusion of the assembly in the words, “it
hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us” (Acts xv). He was, in fact,
the bishop of Jerusalem, as Clement of Alexandria and Eusebius expressly
state. Even Josephus, the Jewish historian, bears testimony to the repute
in which James was held, and declares, so Eusebius asserts, that the
terrible calamities which fell upon the people of that city were a
retribution for their treatment of one “who was the most righteous
of men”. The story of his martyrdom, as told by Hegesippus in the
latter part of the second century, has been preserved by Eusebius, and
runs as follows:
Together with the apostles, James, our Lord’s brother,
succeeded to the government of the Church. He received the name of
“the Just” from all men from the time of our Lord even to our own; for
there were many called James. Now he was holy from his mother’s womb,
drank no wine nor strong drink nor ate anything in which was life. No
razor came upon his head; he anointed himself not with oil, and used no
bath. To him alone it was permitted to enter the holy place; for
he wore nothing woollen, but linen garments [i.e. the priestly robes].
And alone he entered into the sanctuary and was found on his knees asking
forgiveness on behalf of the people, so that his knees became hard like
a camel’s, for he was continually bending the knee in worship to God
and asking forgiveness for the people. In fact, on account of his exceeding
great justice he was called “the Just” and “Oblias”, that is to say, bulwark
of the people.
We learn further from Hegesippus that:
As many as came to believe did so through James. When,
therefore, many also of the rulers were believers, there was an uproar
among the Jews and scribes and pharisees, for they said: “There is danger
that the whole people should expect Jesus as the Christ”. Coming together,
therefore, they said to James: “We beseech thee, restrain the people,
for they are gone astray unto Jesus, imagining that he is the Christ.
We beseech thee to persuade all who come for the day of the Passover
concerning Jesus, for in thee do we all put our trust. For we bear thee
witness, as do all the people, that thou art just and that thou acceptest
not the person of any. Persuade, therefore, the multitude that they
go not astray concerning Jesus. For, of a truth, the people, and we
all, put our trust in thee. Stand, therefore, upon the pinnacle of the
temple, that from thy lofty station thou mayest be evident, and thy words
may easily be heard by all the people. For on account of the Passover
all the tribes, with the Gentiles also, have come together.” Therefore
the aforesaid scribes and pharisees set James upon the pinnacle of the
temple, and cried aloud to him saying: “0 Just One, in whom we ought
all to put our trust, inasmuch as the people is gone astray after Jesus
who was crucified, tell us what is the door of Jesus” (cf. John x 1—9).
And he replied with a loud voice: “Why ask ye me concerning the Son of
Man, since He sitteth in Heaven on the right hand of the Mighty Power, and
shall come on the clouds of Heaven?” And when many were fully persuaded
and gave glory at the testimony of James and said: “Hosanna to the son
of David”, then once more the same scribes and pharisees said among themselves:
“We do ill in affording such a testimony to Jesus. Let us rather go up
and cast him down, that being affrighted they may not believe him. “And
they cried aloud saying: “Ho, ho, even the Just One has gone astray!” And
they fulfilled the scripture that is written in Isaias:” Let us take away
the just one, for he is troublesome to us. Therefore they shall eat the
fruit of their doings.” Going up therefore they cast the Just One down.
And they said to each other:
“Let us stone James the Just “. And they began to stone
him, for the fall did not kill him. But turning he kneeled down and
said: “I beseech thee, O Lord God, Father, forgive them, for they know
not what they do”. And while they thus were stoning him, one of the
priests of the sons of Rechab, the son of Rachabim, who had witness borne
to them by Jeremias the prophet, cried aloud, saying: “Cease ye; what
do ye? The Just One is praying on your behalf.” And one of them, a fuller,
took the stick with which he beat out the clothes, and brought it down
on the Just One’s head. Thus he was martyred. And they buried him at the
spot beside the temple, and his monument still remains beside the temple.
The story is told somewhat differently
by Josephus, who says nothing about James’s having been thrown down
from the pinnacle of the temple. He informs us, however, that he
was stoned to death, and assigns this to the year 62. In relation
to the festivals kept by the Church liturgically under the designation
of “St Peter’s Chair”, it is interesting to note that Eusebius speaks
of the “throne”, or chair, of St James as still preserved and venerated
by the Christians of Jerusalem. This St James is commonly held to be
the author of the epistle in the New Testament which bears his name
and which, by its insistence on good works, was highly obnoxious to those
who preached the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
Outside the New Testament, and such not wholly reliable
traditions as we find recorded in the pages of Eusebius, there is
very little we can appeal to as sources for the history of either St
Philip or St James. In the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. i, the Bollandists
have gathered up most of the allusions to be met with in the early ecclesiastical
writers. The apocryphal Acts of St Philip, which probably date from
the third or fourth century, have been edited by K. A. Lipsius in his
Apokryphen Apostelgeschichten und Apostellegenden, vol. ii, part a,
pp. 5—90. See also E. Hennecke, Neutestamentliche Apokryphen (2nd edn.,
1924); and the Handbuch brought out by the same editor. The life of
the two apostles is discussed in nearly all scriptural encyclopaedias,
such, for example, as the Dictionnaire de la Bible with its supplements.
The authorship of the canonical Epistle of St James has been the subject
of much heated discussion. The matter does not concern us here, and the
text of the epistle itself throws little light upon the history or character
of the writer who penned it.
As the martyrdom of St James the Less is commonly assigned to the
year AD. 62 or 63, the epistle, on the assumption that he is the author,
must be of early date. Mgr Duchesne has suggested that the association
of St James with St Philip on May 1, which is common both to the Gelasian
and the Gregorian Sacramentaries, may be traced to the dedication of the
church “of the Apostles” at Rome by Pope John III, c. A.D. 563. This
church, though later spoken of vaguely as the church “of the Apostles”,
was originally dedicated in honour of SS. Philip and James in particular;
the inscription long preserved there said
Quisquis lector adest Jacobi
pariterque Philippi
Cernat apostolicum lumen inesse locis.
But there are indications in certain manuscripts of the
Hieronymianum and in other documents that Philip’s name on
May 1 once stood alone, and that James is a later addition.
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The "Unexpected Joy" Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos
It is painted in this way: in a room is an
icon of the Mother of God, and beneath it a youth is kneeling at
prayer.
The tradition about the healing of some youth
from a bodily affliction through this holy icon is recorded in the
book of St Demetrius of Rostov, The Fleece of Prayer [See Judges 6:
36-40].
The sinful youth, who was nevertheless devoted
to the Theotokos, was praying one day before the icon of the All-Pure
Virgin before going out to commit a sin. Suddenly, he saw that wounds
appeared on the Lord's hands, feet, and side, and blood flowed from
them. In horror he exclaimed, "O Lady, who has done this?" The Mother
of God replied, "You and other sinners, because of your sins, crucify
My Son anew." Only then did he realize how great was the depth of his
sinfulness.
For a long time he prayed with tears to the
All-Pure Mother of God and the Savior for mercy. Finally, he received
the unexpected joy of the forgiveness of his sins.
The "Unexpected Joy" icon is also commemorated
on January 25 and May 1.
|
208 St Andeolus
Martyr sent to France by St Polycarp
In território Vivariénsi, in Gálliis,
beáti Andéoli, Subdiáconi, qui, una cum áliis,
a beáto Polycárpo, Smyrnénsi Epíscopo,
ex Oriénte in Gálliam ad prædicándum verbum
Dei missus est. Hic, sub Sevéro Imperatóre, spinósis
fústibus cæsus, demum, per ensem lígneum cápite
in quátuor partes in modum crucis conscísso, martyrium
consummávit.
In France, in the Province of Vivarias,
blessed Andeol, subdeacon, who was sent from the East into Gaul with
others by St. Polycarp to preach the word of God. Under Emperor
Severus he was scourged with thorny sticks, and having his head split
with a wooden sword into four parts, in the shape of a cross, he completed
his martyrdom.
Martyr and companion of St. Polycarp.
Originally from Smyrna, Andeolus
was sent to France by Polycarp. There he labored until arrested and
martyred at Viviers.
From the Lives of Saintes by Alban Butler
ST. ANDEOLUS, MARTYR.
HE was a disciple of St. Polycarp, preached the gospel in Gaul,
and received the crown of martyrdom at Bergoiate upon the Rhone, his head
being sawn asunder with a wooden saw, by an order of the emperor Severus,
in his march through Gaul for Britain, in the year 2O8. The town of St. Andiol,
in Vivarez, is possessed of the treasure of his relics See Bosquet,
part 2; Bust. Eccles. Gallic. p. 91; Henschenius, P. 35
Andeolus of Smyrna M (RM) (also known as Andreolus) Andeolus,
subdeacon of Smyrna, was sent to France by Saint Polycarp to preach
the Gospel. His unreliable vita relates that he was beheaded by order
of Severus near Viviers on the Rhône in France, where he is venerated
(Attwater2, Benedictines, Husenbeth). In art, Andeolus is depicted either
as a deacon or subdeacon with a club in his hand. Sometimes with a palm,
book, club or wooden knife across his head (Roeder).
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240 St. Orentius
and Patientia Martyrs Spain husband wife.
Oscæ, in Hispánia, sanctórum Mártyrum
Oréntii et Patiéntiæ.
At Huesca in Spain, the holy martyrs
Orentius and Patience.
they suffered for the faith in
northern Spain and were traditionally thought to be the parents of
St. Lawrence, the martyr.
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303 St. Acius deacon
& Aceolus subdeacon Martyrs of minor orders
Martyrs of minor orders. Acius was a deacon and Aceolus
was a subdeacon, both probably studying for the priesthood. They
were taken prisoner during Emperor Diocletian's persecution
near Amiens, France. Both are
revered in Amiens.
Acacius and Aceolus MM (AC) (also known as Acius or Ache
and Acelus or Acheul) Deacon Acacius and Subdeacon Aceolus were martyred
near Amiens, France, under Diocletian. Their cultus is widespread in
that diocese; their acta, however, are untrustworthy.
The church of Saint Acheul outside the walls of Amiens
was the town's original cathedral (Benedictines, Husenbeth). These
saints are depicted as a deacon and subdeacon holding their severed
heads. Venerated in Amiens (Roeder). |
4th
v. The Martyr Bata, a monastic, lived during the fourth century in
Persia and labored there in one of the monasteries
The holy martyr was killed in the city of Nisibis for
confessing the Christian Faith during a time of persecution against
Christians initiated by the Persian emperor.
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418 St. Amator priest
Bishop confessor Known for miracles ability to make spur conversions
including King Germanus scholars believe Amator ordained St. Patrick
Antisiodóri
sancti Amatóris, Epíscopi et Confessóris.
At Auxerre, St. Amator, bishop and confessor.
418 St Amator, Or Amatre, Bishop Of Auxerre
For details of the life of St Amator we have to rely upon
a biography written 160 years after his death by an African priest
called Stephen. The contents of the narrative prove it to have been
for the most part an audacious fiction.
From the Lives of Saintes by Alban Butler
S. AMATOR, BISHOP OF AUXERRE, C.
He served God from his infancy with his whole heart, and applied
himself to the study of the sacred sciences under Valerian, bishop of Auxerre.
In compliance with the desires of his parents, he took to wife Martha, a rich
young lady of Langres but no sooner was the contract solemnized in the church,
but, taking her aside, he spoke to her in such strong terms on the advantages
of holy virginity, that, by her free consent, they on the spot engaged themselves,
by a mutual vow, to embrace that state for the sake of more perfect virtue.
She soon after took the religious veil, and he received the clerical tonsure.
Being afterwards chosen bishop of Auxerre, he governed that church thirty
years, from 388 to 418, laboring to conduct his flock by his example and
assiduous exhortations, in the paths of eternal salvation. He
died on the first of May, 418. See his life, and that of Saint
Germanus and other monuments, collected by Henschenius, t. 1, Maj. p. 50.
Amator, we read, was the only son of distinguished citizens of
Auxerre, who affianced him to a young heiress named Martha, although
he had expressed a strong disinclination for the married state. On the
wedding day the guests assembled, and the aged Bishop Valerian came
to perform the ceremony. Accidentally or providentially Valerian, instead
of reading the nuptial blessing, recited the form which was used in
the ordination of deacons—a mistake which was noticed only by the bride
and bridegroom. When the service was over the young couple agreed to live
a life of virginity, and Martha within a short time retired into a convent.
Amator, after having laboured for some years as a priest, was elected bishop
of Auxerre. In the course of a long episcopate he converted the remaining
pagans of the district, performed many miracles, and built churches. He is
said, on reliable evidence, to have ordained St Patrick up to the priesthood.
The governor of Auxerre during St Amator’s
later years was Germanus, a high-spirited young patriciar wholly
devoted to hunting. That all men might admire his prowess he continued,
although he was a Christian, to observe the pagan custom of hanging
the heads of the animals he killed on a pear-tree in the middle of the
city—an offering to Woden. This caused great scandal, and St Amator,
after having repeatedly remonstrated with Germanus, had the tree cut
down during the governor’s absence. Greatly incensed, the young man on
his return threatened to kill the bishop, who thought it advisable to
retire for a time from the city. He was now well advanced in years, and
had been for some time desirous of handing on his office to another. While
he was staying at Autun with the provincial prefect, Julius, it was suddenly
borne in upon him—by revelation or by intuition—that the worthy successor
he was seeking was none other than Germanus himself. Having obtained the
sanction of his host, under whom the governor of Auxerre served, Amator
returned to Auxerre where, at his summons, the people—Germanus included—came
to him in the cathedral. All arms having been laid down outside at the bishop’s
request, the doors were shut, and the prelate, with the help of some of
his clergy, seized Germanus, stripped him of his secular garb, gave him
the tonsure, and pronounced him bishop designate of Auxerre.
St Amator’s work was now done. He had laboured
for many years, and had secured as his successor one who was destined
to become the greatest of all the bishops of Auxerre. A few days later
the aged saint asked to be conveyed once more into his cathedral, where
he peacefully breathed his last. The body of St Amator was laid with
his predecessors in the ancient cemetery on the Entrains road.
The Latin life written by Stephen is printed
in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. i. Its extravagant details
are, of course, quite fabulous, but there is no reason to doubt St
Amator’s historical existence. Mgr Duchesne in his Fastes Épiscopaux
(vol. ii, pp. 427—446) speaks well of the episcopal lists
of Auxerre. See also DHG., vol. ii, c. 981, and Father Delehaye’s
commentary on the Hieronymianum (p. 224) in which
martyrology St Amator is commemorated. But especially consult R.
Louis on “L’ Église d’Auxerre...avant S. Germain” in S. Germain
d’Auxerre et son temps (1951), and his Les églises
d’Auxerre au Xie siècle (1952).
The son of Upper-class wealthy parents in Auxerre,
France, also called Arnatre. At his wedding, Bishop Valerian read
the words for the ordination ceremony for deacons.
Amator had not wanted to be married, and with
the help of the bishop convinced his bride-to-be to enter a convent.
He then became a priest and the bishop of Auxerre.
Known for his miracles and his ability to make
spur conversions, Amator found himself threatened by the local governor,
Germanus, a pagan who still conducted many of the old rituals.
Amator left for a time but upon his return
he made Germanus a designated candidate for the bishopric. Some scholars
believe it was Amator who ordained St. Patrick.
|
307 St. Grata secured
proper burial for remains of Christian martyrs.
Bérgomi sanctæ Gratæ Víduæ.
At Bergamo, St. Grata, widow.
Holy woman of Bergamo, Itlay. She secured the
proper burial for the remains of the Christian martyrs of her region.
Grata of Bergamo, Widow (RM)
Saint Grata, daughter of Duke
Saint Lupo of Bergamo and his wife Saint Adelaide, did not become
a Christian until after the death of her husband, at which time she
converted her parents. She gained a reputation as a holy woman in her
native Bergamo, Italy, especially for her zeal in securing Christian
burial for the bodies of martyrs. It is said that she wrapped the head
of Saint Alexander, one of the soldier-martyrs of the Theban Legion,
in a napkin and honorably buried his remains. After her father's death,
Grata governed Bergamo with wisdom and benevolence. Evidence
regarding her life is conflicting (Benedictines, Tabor). In Bergamese
art, Saint Grata is a widow carrying the head of the martyr Saint
Alexander. Sometimes her parents are included in the picture (Tabor).
She is venerated in Bergamo, Italy (Roeder).
St. Asteria (or Hesteria) & St. Grata, Virgin Martyrs,
of Bergamo, Italy
St. Asteria is the patron of Bergamo in Lombardy in Italy.
She was the sister of St. Grata of Bergamo where, during the time
of the persecutions under Emperors Diocletian and Maximian, they both
were responsible for burying the body of St. Alexander. St.
Grata was put to death for her deed, with Asteria also being responsible
for the burial of her remains.
In 307, shortly after her sister’s martyrdom, St. Asteria
was arrested, tortured and beheaded. Commemorated
on August 10. Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese [America]
|
439 St. Orentius
Bishop hermit faithful of Auch insisted he become their bishop
Auscii,
in Gállia, sancti Oriéntii Epíscopi.
At Auch in France, Bishop St. Orientius.
He lived for a time as a recluse in the Lavendan
valley, near Tarbes, France. The faithful of Auch insisted that
he become their bishop, and he served in that office for four decades.
|
St. Cominus Martyr
of Catania, in Sicily.
|
510 St. Brieuc Bishop
missionary known for miracles educated by St. Germanus
in Auxerre, France.
From Lives of Saintes by Alban
Butler
S. BRIEUC, IN LATIN BRIOCUS, B. C.
He was of an illustrious extraction in Great Britain, a native
of the province called Coriticiana, which some take for Ceretica, now Cardiganshire
others for the Coretans, situated on the Trent, now in Staffordshire and Derbyshire
others will have it to be Cornwall. His father was called Cerpus, and
his mother Eldrude. St. Germanus of Auxerre, coming into Britain in
429, St. Brieuc then about twenty years of age, became his disciple, and
followed him back to France, where he was some time after promoted to priest's
orders. Returning afterwards into his own country, he converted his
parents, and, with their liberal assistance, built a famous church called
Grande-Lann, and there trained up a great number of disciples.
Several years after he passed into Armorica, where he landed at Achm, perhaps
in the country of Achk, in the bishopric of Leon.
In the territory of Treguier he converted from a worldly life a wealthy nobleman
named Conan, by whose liberality he was enabled to build a monastery in the
northern part of Armorica, which he governed some years. At length,
appointing another abbot of the numerous communities which he had formed,
he repaired to his relation and friend, prince Riwallon, or Rigald, anciently
prince of Domonia, in Britain. This prince, who had lately settled with
a colony of his British subjects in part of Armorica, gave to the saint a
house and parcel of lands, where he built a monastery and a church, which
was afterwards dedicated to God under the patronage of St. Stephen.
The saint took upon him the government of this monastery, and departed to
God in peace about the year 502 being upwards of ninety years old. His
legend mentions not his episcopal character, but he is styled a bishop in
an inscription on a marble stone, found in his shrine, in 1210.
He seems to have been ordained a regionary bishop before he left Britain.
The monastery of St. Brieuc, which was then grown into a considerable town,
was only erected into a bishopric in 811. The relics
of St. Brieuc, during the invasion of the Normans, were translated to the
abbey of St. Sergius, at Angers, in 866, but a portion was restored to St.
Brieuc’s, in 1210. See Dom Lobineau, Vies des Sts. de Ia Bretagne, p.
11, who recovered great part of his acts, which Henschenius was not able to
meet with. T. 1, Maij. p. 81,
6th v. ST BRIEUC, OR BRIOCUS, ABBOT
ALTHOUGH some writers have striven to prove that St Brieuc
was of Irish descent, it is now commonly admitted that he probably
was born in Cardiganshire. A life of him, which purports to be written
by a contemporary but which is certainly of much later date, perhaps
the eleventh century, describes his career in some detail. The saint,
who in this Latin narrative is generally called Brioccius, but also
Briomaglus,*[* Briomaglus seems to be the fill form
of the name, Briocus the hypocoristic abbreviation so common among Celtic
peoples.] is said to have been the son of noble parents, pagans,
but good and charitable people. Before his birth an angel appeared, first
to his mother and then to his father, in their sleep, demanding of them
that the child should be sent to France to be brought up by a St Germanus.
When in due course he had been ordained priest, a vision in his sleep
recalled him to his own country, and there he converted his parents
to Christianity, seemingly as a consequence of the miracles of healing
which he wrought. After a while he was bidden by an angel to return
to “Latium”, [Which may mean Brittany.] and accordingly
he set sail with no less than 168 disciples whom he had gathered about
him. On the journey the ship’s progress was suddenly arrested in the middle
of the night. Great consternation prevailed, but they eventually discovered
that they had struck an obstacle, which was really the Devil, who, in
the form of a huge monster, was lying right across their course. Yielding
to the prayers of the saint this primitive sea-serpent, though with a very
bad grace, vanished into thin air. “Evanescit utfumus”, is the biographer’s
phrase.
Pursuing their journey, they landed at some
unidentified place where the local chieftain, named Conan, was converted
from paganism by Brieuc’s miracles. This, however, was not their
final destination, and they sailed on to a little estuary on the
coast of Brittany near Tréguier, where they settled and built
a monastery, of which St Brieuc became abbot. A flourishing and fervent
community was formed, but before long news came of a grievous pestilence
which was devastating his native land. His family implored him to
visit them once again, and he, though very reluctantly, yielded to
their entreaties, leaving his nephew, St Tugdual, to rule the abbey in
his absence. His parents were consoled, and the pestilence was arrested
by his prayers, but he would not consent to abide with them long. He was
gladly welcomed back in Brittany, where he determined to found another
monastery in a different part of the country. It is said that eighty-four
volunteers accompanied him, who all travelled by sea, and, finding a
suitable spot with a good water supply, proceeded to encamp and make
themselves at home. The ruler of the district, Rigual, was at first infuriated
by this invasion, but falling ill himself he was cured by St Brieuc.
Having further discovered that he was a blood relation he became his
warm friend and patron.
We are told, however, that Brieuc, after the
foundation of the new abbey on the lands which the chieftain
bestowed, assisted Rigual on his death-bed, and himself, to the great
sorrow of his brethren, passed away shortly after. He is said to have
been then one hundred years old. All this is supposed to have happened
on the site of the present cathedral and town of Saint-Brieuc, but in
the middle of the ninth century the saint’s remains, for fear of the
Norman marauders, were translated to Angers. In 1210 a portion of the
relics was given back by the monks of Angers, and they are preserved in
the cathedral to this day. It is possible that St Brieuc was a missionary
bishop, but the see which bears his name was not formed until many centuries
later.
The complete text of the
Vita S. Brioci was printed for the first time in the Analecta
Bollandiana, vol. ii (1883), pp. 161—190. In the same collection,
vol. xxiii (1904), pp. 246—251, is an interesting fragment in verse
of a life in which he is called “Briomaglus”. From this we learn
that when his remains were exhumed (c. 853[?]) he was found wearing
a dalmatic, a fact which pointed to episcopal consecration. See also
Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux, vol. ii, pp. 269
and 390; LBS., vol. i, p. 288; du Bois de la Villerabel, Vie
de Saint Brieuc; Gougaud, Christianity in Celtic Lands
(1932), p. 115. Most valuable of all, however, is the essay of G. H.
Doble, St Brioc (1929). At least one Cornish church is
dedicated in honour of St Brieuc, viz. St Breoke (but not Breage); one
in Cardiganshire, Llandyfriog; and one in Gloucestershire, St Briavels.
He is believed to have been born in Dyfed
or Cardiganshire, Wales, circa 420. Ordained in France, Brieuc returned
to England as a missionary. Known also as Briocus, Briomaglus, or
Brioc, he converted his parents and became known for his miracles.
He also converted Conan, a local ruler of Brittany, France, and founded
a monastery near the present site of the town of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany.
He remained in Brittany, dying at the age of ninety. Brieuc is venerated
in Cornwall, England, and is credited with stopping a plague.
|
523
ST. SIGISMUND He met death
by being drowned in a well, and was afterwards famous for his miracles. St. Avitus made St. Sigismund realize
that his behavior was anything but Christian and he tried to make amends.
Sigismund listened to the voice of his conscience and found that it led to
martyrdom. We, too, may have to suffer for trying to live our faith. It is
one of the consequences of following Christ.
from the Lives of
Saintes by Alban Butler
ST. SIGISMUND, KING OF BURGUNDY, M.
WONDERFUL is the providence of God
in the means by which he preserves his elect from the contagion of vice,
and conducts them to eternal life. This saint was son of Gondebald,
the Arian king of the Burundians, but embraced the Catholic faith through
the instructions of St. Alcimus Avitus, bishop of Vienne. He succeeded
to the kingdom of his father in 516 and in the midst of barbarism lived humble,
mortified, penitent, devout, and charitable, even on the throne a station
in which the very name of true virtue is too often scarce known.
Before the death of his father, he built the famous monastery of Saint St.
Maurice at Agaune, in the Valais, in the year 515, where many holy hermits
lived before that time in scattered cells. God permitted this good prince
to fall into a snare. He suffered his son Sigeric to be put to death,
upon an accusation forged by his second wife, of a conspiracy against his
life but afterwards discovering the calumny, and pierced to the quick with
remorse, he retired to Agaune, where he did penance in tears and sackcloth.
He made it his prayer to God that he might be punished in this life to escape
the divine vengeance in the next. His prayer was heard. For being
taken prisoner by Chlodomir, the barbarous king of the F ranks, he was, by
his order, drowned in a well at Columnelle, four leagues from Orleans, after
he had reigned one year. His body was kept honorably at Agaune, till
it was removed to the cathedral of Prague by the emperor Charles IV.
It has been famous for many miracles. See St.
Gregory of Tours, Hist Fr. 1. 3, c. 5 and 6, and Henschenius
Collections, t. 1. maij. p. 83.
Apud Colúmnam vicum, in Aurelianénsi
Gálliæ território, pássio sancti Sigismúndi,
Regis Burgundiónum, qui in púteum demérsus occúbuit,
ac póstea miráculis cláruit. Sacrum vero
ipsíus corpus, e púteo tandem extráctum, ad Ecclésiam
Agaunénsis monastérii, intra Sedunénsis diœcésis
términos siti, delátum est ibíque honorífice
collocátum.
In the town of Columna, in the province
of Orleans in France, the martyrdom of St. Sigismund, king of Burgundy.
He met death by being drowned in a well, and was afterwards famous
for his miracles.
His venerable body was later recovered and taken to
the monastery of Agaune in the diocese of Sitten where it was honorably
entombed.
The kingdom of Burgundy at the beginning
of the sixth century comprized a great portion of south-eastern France and
of south-western Switzerland. It was ruled by a prince of Vandal extraction
named Gundebald, who was an Arian, but a year before his death his son and
successor, Sigismund, was converted to the Catholic faith by St Avitus, Bishop
of Vienne.
But Sigismund seems to have remained something of a barbarian—subject
at times to uncontrollable fits of rage. On one occasion, when worked
upon by the false accusations of his second wife, he ordered his son
Sigeric to be strangled. No sooner had the deed been perpetrated than
Sigismund came to his senses and was overpowered with horror and remorse.
Perhaps the greatest service Sigismund rendered to the Church was the
virtual refounding of the monastery of St Maurice at Agaunum in the present
canton of Valais; he endowed it liberally and, in order that the laus
perennis, the unbroken chant, should be celebrated within its walls,
he brought to it monks from Lérins, Gigny, Ile-Barbe and Condat.*
* The law perennis was an arrangement in certain religious
houses by which the praises of God never ceased. Relays of monks or nuns
were so timed to succeed each other that the chanting of the divine office
went on night and day without intermission; this was only practicable
where communities contained an unusually large number of members.
The practice seems to have been of eastern origin, but it found much favour
in houses in which the Celtic traditions were strong, and it was also
particularly associated with Agaunum. In the course of centuries this
observance died out everywhere. Cf. St Alexander Akimetes
(January 15).]
When the church
was dedicated St Avitus preached a sermon of which fragments are
still preserved.
Sigismund in his repentance had prayed that
God would punish him in this life, and his prayer was granted. The
three kings of France, sons of Clovis, declared war against him with
the avowed intention of avenging their maternal grandfather, Chilperic,
whom Sigismund’s father had put to death, and of conquering Burgundy.
Sigismund, after he had been defeated in battle, escaped in the direction
of Agaunum. For a time he lived as a hermit in the vicinity of St Maurice,
but eventually he was captured and taken to Orleans. There he was put
to death by King Clodomir, in spite of the remonstrances of St Avitus.
His body was thrown into a well, from which it was recovered, and his
relics are now preserved at Prague in Bohemia. St Sigismund is not only
named in the Roman Martyrology but is even called a martyr.
There is a Passio Sancti Sigismundi which is a valuable
historical document compiled by a monk of Agaunum. It is printed
in the Acta Sanctorum,
May, vol. i, but more critically edited by Bruno Krusch in MGH., Scriptores
Merov., vol. ii, pp. 333—340. We also learn something from
Gregory of Tours, both in his Historia Francorum, bk. iii, and
in his De Gloria Martyrum, ch. 74. A full bibliography is
available in H. Leclercq’s article on Agaunum in the DAC., vol. i, cc. 850—871,
and in Hefele-Leclercq, Histoire des Conciles, vol. ii,
pp. 1017—1022 and pp. 1031—1042.
The era of
the Merovingian kings of France was brutal and barbaric, and these
kings were especially noted for their savagery and cruelty. But it
was also a period of high sanctity, some saints martyred and others
converting or converted St. Sigismund was the king of Burgundy, whose
father had been an Arian, and he was converted to the Catholic faith
by St. Avitus, bishop of Vienne. But at heart he remained a barbarian,
subject to violent, uncontrollable rages, like many kings of the period.
He succeeded to the throne in 516 and, in 522, in one of his fits of rage,
ordered his own son to be strangled.
The shock of this barbaric act brought him to his senses
and in reparation he founded the monastery of St. Maurice in present-day
Switzerland, bringing monks from Lerins, Gigny, Ile-Barbe, and St.
Claude. He arranged that the <laus perennis>, the perpetual chanting
of the canonical hours, should take place there and endowed the monastery
liberally.
He also asked that God punish him in this life for his
barbaric behavior; soon after, the kings of France declared war upon
him to avenge the death of their grandfather, Chilperic, who had been
put to death by Sigismund's father. Sigismund was defeated in battle,
escaped, and fled to Agaunum, where he began to live as a hermit near
the monastery of St. Maurice, which he had founded. He was later captured
by King Clodomir and, even though Bishop Avitus begged for Sigismund's
life to be spared, he was killed by being drowned in a well.
The dead king was revered as a martyr from the day of
his death and his relics were taken to St. Maurice. In 1354, part
of his relics were brought to the cathedral in Prague, Czechoslovakia,
and others were transported to Freising in Germany.
Thought for the Day: Power can intoxicate, and kings in
their lust for power have often lacked a sense of decency and justice.
Association with St. Avitus made St. Sigismund realize that his behavior
was anything but Christian and he tried to make amends. Sigismund listened
to the voice of his conscience and found that it led to martyrdom. We,
too, may have to suffer for trying to live our faith. It is one of the
consequences of following Christ.
From 'The Catholic One Year Bible': . . . "Do you believe
all this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree?
You will see greater proofs than this. You will even see heaven open
and the angels of God coming back and forth to me, the Messiah."—John
1:50-51
|
6th v. St. Ceallach Disciple
of St. Kiernan bishop 6th century
sometimes called Kellach or Celsus. He was a bishop of
Killala, Ireland, but ended his life as a hermit. Some records lists
him as a martyr. |
558 St. Marculf missionary
work hermit patron who cured skin diseases attracted numerous disciples
built monastery Egyptian model
558 St Marculf, or Marcoul, Abbot; St
Marcoul was regarded as a patron who cured skin diseases, and as
late as 1680 sufferers made pilgrimages to his shrine at Nanteuil
and bathed in the springs connected with the church. The shrine was
completely destroyed by the revolutionaries in 1793.
The name of St Marcoul was formerly celebrated throughout
the length and breadth of France because for centuries it was usual
for the king, after his coronation at Rheims, to proceed to Corbeny
to venerate the relics of St Marcoul, in whose honour a novena was
observed by the sovereign in person or, vicariously, by his grand-almoner.
It was through St Marcoul that the king was popularly believed to derive
the gift of healing known as “touching for the King’s Evil”, or scrofula.
As recently as 1825, after the coronation of Charles X at Rheims,
the relics were brought to the hospital of St Marcoul at Rheims, and
the novena was kept. Afterwards the monarch laid his hands on a
number of patients, making the sign of the cross and saying: “Le roi
te touche: Dieu te guérisse”.
Marcoul was born at Bayeux of noble parents.
At the age of thirty he was ordained by Possessor, bishop of Coutances,
who sent him forth to preach as a kind of diocesan missioner. Although
successful in winning souls, Marcoul always longed for solitude and
closer union with God, and would retire to a lonely island, where
he would spend his days as a hermit. After some time he obtained from
King Childebert a grant of land at Nanteuil, on which he built some
huts for a few disciples who also wished to live a retired life. From
this small nucleus there soon grew a great monastery. Many of the monks
continued to live, like their founder, the eremitic life, and several
of them, including St Helier, went to settle in the island of Jersey.
We read that St Marcoul at one period stayed there with them, and by
his intercession saved the inhabitants from a raid of marauding Saxons.
So violent a storm arose when he prayed that the invaders were dashed
to pieces on the rocks. Marcoul died about the year 558 on May 1, and
tradition says that his two most faithful disciples, St Domardus and St
Cariulfus (St Criou), passed away on the same day. St Marcoul was regarded
as a patron who cured skin diseases, and as late as 1680 sufferers made
pilgrimages to his shrine at Nanteuil and bathed in the springs connected
with the church. The shrine was completely destroyed by the revolutionaries
in 1793.
Mabillon and the
Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum (May, vol. i) have printed
an ancient life of St Marculf, which, however, as B. Baedorf has shown,
can hardly be older than the early ninth century. A somewhat expanded
recension is also included in the same collection. Consult further F.
Duine, Memento des sources hagiographiques de Bretagne, p.
44. Popular accounts have been published by C. Gautier (1899)
and H. Scholl (1932).
Marculf is also known as Marcoul. He was born
at Bayeux, Gaul, of noble
parents. He was ordained when he was thirty, and did missionary work
at Coutances. Desirous of living as a hermit, he was granted land by
king Childebert at Nanteuil. He attracted numerous disciples, and built
a monastery, of which he was abbot. It became a great pilgrimage center
after his death on May 1. St. Marculf was regarded as a patron who cured
skin diseases, and as late as 1680, sufferers made pilgrimages to his shrine
at Nanteuil and bathed in the springs connected with the church.
Marculf, Abbot (AC) (also known as Marcou, Marcoul, Marculfus)
Born at Bayeux, Gaul; died May 1, 558. Born of noble parents, Marculf
was ordained by Bishop Possessor of Coutances when he was 30 and did
missionary work in Coutances. Desirous of the eremitical life, he was
granted land by King Childebert at Nanteuil in Normandy. Unfortunately,
solitude was not in store for him. He soon attracted numerous disciples
and built a monastery in the Egyptian model over which he governed as abbot,
which became a great monastery and an important pilgrimage center after
his death.
Although the monastery grew, many of Marculf's monks continued
to live as hermits. Several of them, including Saint Helier(
6th century), settled on the island of Jersey. Marculf is said
to have stayed there with them and saved the inhabitants from a raid
of marauding Saxons by praying for a violent storm, which dashed the
invaders against the rocky shore. It is said the two of Marculf's most
faithful disciples Saints
Domardus and Cariulfus (Criou)--died on the same day that he did.
In 898, Marculf's relics were enshrined at Corbigny, diocese
of Laon, to where the kings of France would proceed after their coronation
at Rheims. There the new king would observe a novena in person or
through his almoner. After touching the relics of the saint they
were able to heal those afflicted with "the king's evil" (scrofula;
a skin disease). He is commemorated in the martyrologies of Coutances
and Evreux among others. His shrine was destroyed during the Reformation
(Benedictines, Delaney, Farmer, Husenbeth, Walsh).
In art, Saint Marculf is portrayed as an abbot touching
the chin or elbow of a suppliant (curing the king's evil). At times
he may be depicted (1) confirming the king with power to touch for scrofula;
(2) holding a plantain (herbe Saint Marcoul); (3) as a woman with devil's
foot stands before him or is put to flight as he blesses bread; or (4)
with Saint Cloud (605-696) (Clodoaldus) (Roeder). His relics
lie at Corbigny. Marculf is invoked against scrofula and all skin diseases
(Roeder). |
600
St. Asaph First bishop of Asaph Wales also called
Asa.
Elviæ,
in Anglia, sancti Asaphi Epíscopi, cujus nómine ipsa
cívitas Episcopális póstmodum est insigníta.
At Llanelwy in Wales, Bishop St. Asaph,
in whose memory the cathedral city was later named.
From the Lives
of Saintes by Alban Butler
ST. ASAPH, BISHOP, C.
ST. KENTIGERN, bishop of Glasgow, in Scotland, being driven from
his own see, founded a monastery and episcopal chair on the banks of the river
Elwy, in North Wales. Bishop Usher writes, from John of Tinmouth,
that, in this abbey, nine hundred and sixty-five monks served God in great
continence. Three hundred who were illiterate, this holy abbot appointed
to till the ground, and take care of the cattle: other three hundred to do
necessary work within the monastery; and three hundred and sixty-five he
deputed to celebrate the divine office. These last never went out of
the monastery, unless upon some urgent necessity, but attended continually
in God's sanctuary, being divided into companies, one of which began the divine
office in the choir as another had finished it, and went out, as among the
Acaemetes, at Constantinople: by this means the divine praises suffered no
interruption in the church. Among these monks St. Asaph shone
as a bright light, most illustrious for his birth, virtues, and miracles.
When St Kentigern was called back to Glasgow, he appointed St. Asaph, the
most distinguished for learning and piety among his disciples, abbot and bishop
at LIan-Elwy. Our saint was a diligent preacher, and had frequently
this saying in his mouth "They, who withstand the preaching
of God's word, envy the salvation of men." St. Asaph wrote
certain canons or ordinances of his church, the life of St. Kentigern, and
some other works. He died about the close of the sixth century; for he flourished
about the year 590.
From him the see of EIwy took the name of St. Asaph's: though it continued
long vacant; for we find no mention of any other bishop of St. Asaph's before
the twelfth century, when Geoffrey of Monmouth was advanced to that episcopal
chair. Wharton gives him a predecessor named Gilbert. See Le Neve's
Fasti, p. 20; Dr. Brown Willis, and principally Leland de Script. Angl.
He is believed to have lived in
a hemitage near Tenegel, near Holywell. He is also described in a
life of St. Kentigern, or Mungo.
While still young, Asaph served Kentigern. Asked to bring
Kentigern a piece of wood for the fire, Asaph brought live coals
in his apron, an event that alerted Kentigern to Asaph's sanctity.
When Kentigern left the area in 573, Asaph was consecrated a bishop.
Asaph's relatives, Deiniol, Tysilo, and others were honored
as saints. |
604 St. Arigius Bishop
20 yrs greatest priest pastor of his era
of Gap, France. He served as bishop for twenty years after
earning a reputation as one of the greatest priest pastors of his
era. His cult was confirmed by Pope St. Pius X. |
680 St. Bertha abbess-foundress
martyr
Bertha was the abbess-foundress of Avenay, near Chalons-sur-Marne, in France.
She was murdered and is deemed a martyr. |
893 St. Theodard Benedictine
bishop rebuilt churches ransom captives selling treasures spending
his own money to feed poor suffering practiced severe austerities
also called Audard.
893 St Theodard, Archbishop or Narbonne
The birthplace of St Theodard (“Audard”) was Montauriol,
a little town which formerly occupied a site covered by the present
city of Montauban. He appears to have studied law at Toulouse, for
we first hear of him as the advocate retained by the cathedral authorities
in a curious suit brought against them by the Jews of Toulouse, who,
not unnaturally, objected to a sort of religious pageant in the course
of which a Jew was publicly struck on the face before the cathedral doors.
This ceremony took place three times a year—at
Christmas, on Good Friday, and on the feast of the Assumption.
Archbishop Sigebold, who came to Toulouse for the hearing
of the case, was so greatly taken with the young lawyer that he took him
back with him to Narbonne. Soon afterwards Theodard received holy orders
and became Sigebold’s archdeacon.
The Montauban breviary describes him as “an eye to the blind, feet
to the lame, a father of the poor, and the consoler of the afflicted”.
Greatly beloved by all, he was unanimously chosen archbishop of Narbonne
at the death of Sigebold, who had nominated him as his successor. The perils
which then beset travellers did not deter the newly-elected prelate from
undertaking a visit to Rome, where he received the pallium.
As an archbishop he worked unremittingly
to repair the ravages wrought by the Saracens and to revive the drooping
faith of the people. He practically rebuilt his cathedral, and in 886 restored
the bishopric of Ausona (now Vich) which had long fallen into abeyance. To
buy back those who were taken captive by the Saracens in their raids, and
to feed the hungry during a three years’ famine, he not only spent his whole
income, but also sold some of the vessels and other treasures of
his church. The strenuous life he led and his anxieties for his flock
seriously impaired his health; he could not sleep and suffered from
continual fever. It was thought that he might recover in his native
air, and he accordingly returned to Montauriol. The monks of St Martin
received him joyfully, but they soon realized that he had only come back
to die. After making a general confession in the presence of all the
brethren St Theodard passed peacefully away as if in sleep. Afterwards
the abbey was renamed St Audard in his honour.
The life of St
Theodard printed in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. i, dates
only from the close of the eleventh century. See also Gallia Christiana,
vol. vi, pp. 19—22, and Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux,
vol. i, p. 306. A popular account of the saint has been
written in French by J. A. Guyard (1887).
Born at Montauban (Monlauriol), France, he
studied law at the University of Toulouse and then at the Benedictine
abbey of Montauban before becoming a lawyer.
Appointed secretary to Archbishop Sigebold of Narbonne,
he soon was named an archdeacon and finally succeeded Sigebold as
archbishop. He devoted much of his effort to repairing the damage,
physical and spiritual, caused by the raids of Saracens, including
rebuilding churches, ransoming captives, selling off treasures, and
spending his own money to feed the poor and suffering. His death at
St. Martin's Abbey (where he received the Benedictine habit) was probably
hastened by the severe austerities he practiced. |
1012 St. Benedict of
Szkalka hermit martyr gifted mystic of Hungary
Benedict was a recluse on Mount Zabor, near a Benedictine
monastery, trained by St. Andrew Zorard.
A gifted mystic, Benedict was murdered by a mob in 1012.
He was canonized in 1083 Gregory
VII 1073-1085. |
1200
Tamar In 1166 a daughter, Tamar, was born to King George III (1155–1184)
and Queen Burdukhan of Georgia.
The king proclaimed that he would share the
throne with his daughter from the day she turned twelve years of age.
The royal court unanimously vowed its allegiance
and service to Tamar, and father and daughter ruled the country together
for five years. After King George’s death in 1184, the nobility recognized
the young Tamar as the sole ruler of all Georgia. Queen Tamar was
enthroned as ruler of all Georgia at the age of eighteen. She is called
“King” in the Georgian language because her father had no male heir
and so she ruled as a monarch and not as a consort.
At the beginning of her reign, Tamar convened
a Church council and addressed the clergy with wisdom and humility:
“Judge according to righteousness, affirming good and condemning evil,”
she advised. “Begin with me—if I sin I should be censured, for the
royal crown is sent down from above as a sign of divine service. Allow
neither the wealth of the nobles nor the poverty of the masses to hinder
your work. You by word and I by deed, you by preaching and I by the law,
you by upbringing and I by education will care for those souls whom
God has entrusted to us, and together we will abide by the law of God,
in order to escape eternal condemnation.… You as priests and I as ruler,
you as stewards of good and I as the watchman of that good.”
The Church and the royal court chose a suitor
for Tamar: Yuri, the son of Prince Andrei Bogoliubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal
(in Georgia Yuri was known as “George the Russian”). The handsome George
Rusi was a valiant soldier, and under his command the Georgians returned
victorious from many battles. His marriage to Tamar, however, exposed
many of the coarser sides of his character. He was often drunk and inclined
toward immoral deeds. In the end, Tamar’s court sent him away from Georgia
to Constantinople, armed with a generous recompense. Many Middle Eastern
rulers were drawn to Queen Tamar’s beauty and desired to marry her, but
she rejected them all. Finally at the insistence of her court, she agreed
to wed a second time to ensure the preservation of the dynasty. This time,
however, she asked her aunt and nurse Rusudan (the sister of King George
III) to find her a suitor. The man she chose, Davit-Soslan Bagrationi,
was the son of the Ossetian ruler and a descendant of King George I (1014–1027).
In 1195 a joint Muslim military campaign against
Georgia was planned under the leadership of Atabeg (a military commander)
Abu Bakr of Persian Azerbaijan. At Queen Tamar’s command, a call to
arms was issued. The faithful were instructed by Metropolitan Anton
of Chqondidi to celebrate All-night Vigils and Liturgies and to generously
distribute alms so that the poor could rest from their labors in order
to pray. In ten days the army was prepared, and Queen Tamar addressed
the Georgian soldiers for the last time before the battle began. “My brothers!
Do not allow your hearts to tremble before the multitude of enemies,
for God is with us.… Trust God alone, turn your hearts to Him in righteousness,
and place your every hope in the Cross of Christ and in the Most Holy
Theotokos!” she exhorted them.
Having taken off her shoes, Queen Tamar climbed
the hill to the Metekhi Church of the Theotokos (in Tbilisi) and knelt
before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. She prayed without ceasing
until the good news arrived: the battle near Shamkori had ended in the
unquestionable victory of the Orthodox Georgian army.
After this initial victory the Georgian army
launched into a series of triumphs over the Turks, and neighboring
countries began to regard Georgia as the protector of the entire Transcaucasus.
By the beginning the 13th century, Georgia was commanding a political
authority recognized by both the Christian West and the Muslim East.
Georgia’s military successes alarmed the Islamic
world. Sultan Rukn al-Din was certain that a united Muslim force
could definitively decide the issue of power in the region, and
he marched on Georgia around the year 1203, commanding an enormous
army.
Having encamped near Basiani, Rukn al-Din sent
a messenger to Queen Tamar with an audacious demand: to surrender
without a fight. In reward for her obedience, the sultan promised
to marry her on the condition that she embrace Islam; if Tamar were
to cleave to Christianity, he would number her among the other unfortunate
concubines in his harem. When the messenger relayed the sultan’s demand,
a certain nobleman, Zakaria Mkhargrdzelidze, was so outraged that he
slapped him on the face, knocking him unconscious. At
Queen Tamar’s command, the court generously bestowed gifts upon the
ambassador and sent him away with a Georgian envoy and a letter of reply.
“Your proposal takes into consideration your wealth and the vastness
of your armies, but fails to account for divine judgment,” Tamar wrote,
“while I place my trust not in any army or worldly thing but in the right
hand of the Almighty God and the infinite aid of the Cross, which you
curse. The will of God—and not your own—shall be fulfilled, and the judgment
of God—and not your judgment—shall reign!” The Georgian
soldiers were summoned without delay. Queen Tamar prayed for victory
before the Vardzia Icon of the Theotokos, then, barefoot, led her army
to the gates of the city. Hoping in the Lord and the fervent
prayers of Queen Tamar, the Georgian army marched toward Basiani. The
enemy was routed. The victory at Basiani was an enormous event not only
for Georgia, but for the entire Christian world.
The military victories increased Queen Tamar’s
faith. In the daytime she shone in all her royal finery and wisely
administered the affairs of the government; during the night, on bended
knees, she beseeched the Lord tearfully to strengthen the Georgian
Church. She busied herself with needlework and distributed her embroidery
to the poor.
Once, exhausted from her prayers and needlework,
Tamar dozed off and saw a vision. Entering a luxuriously furnished
home, she saw a gold throne studded with jewels, and she turned to
approach it, but was suddenly stopped by an old man crowned with a
halo. “Who is more worthy than I to receive such a glorious throne?”
Queen Tamar asked him.
He answered her, saying, “This throne is intended
for your maidservant, who sewed vestments for twelve priests with
her own hands. You are already the possessor of great treasure in this
world.” And he pointed her in a different direction. Having
awakened, Holy Queen Tamar immediately took to her work and with her
own hands sewed vestments for twelve priests.
History has preserved another poignant episode
from Queen Tamar’s life: Once she was preparing to attend a festal
Liturgy in Gelati, and she fastened precious rubies to the belt around
her waist. Soon after she was told that a beggar outside the monastery
tower was asking for alms, and she ordered her entourage to wait. Having
finished dressing, she went out to the tower but found no one there.
Terribly distressed, she reproached herself for having denied the poor
and thus denying Christ Himself. Immediately she removed her belt, the
cause of her temptation, and presented it as an offering to the Gelati
Icon of the Theotokos.
During Queen Tamar’s reign a
veritable monastic city was carved in the rocks of Vardzia, and
the God-fearing Georgian ruler would labor there during the Great
Fast. The churches of Pitareti, Kvabtakhevi, Betania, and many others
were also built at that time. Holy Queen Tamar generously endowed the churches
and monasteries not only on Georgian territory but also outside her borders:
in Palestine, Cyprus, Mt. Sinai, the Black Mountains, Greece, Mt. Athos,
Petritsoni (Bulgaria), Macedonia, Thrace, Romania, Isauria and Constantinople.
The divinely guided Queen Tamar abolished the death penalty and all
forms of bodily torture.
A regular, secret observance of a strict ascetic
regime—fasting, a stone bed, and litanies chanted in bare feet—finally
took its toll on Queen Tamar’s health. For a long time she refrained
from speaking to anyone about her condition, but when the pain became
unbearable she finally sought help. The best physicians of the time
were unable to diagnose her illness, and all of Georgia was seized with
fear of disaster. Everyone from the small to the great prayed fervently
for Georgia’s ruler and defender. The people were prepared to offer not
only their own lives, but even the lives of their children, for the sake
of their beloved ruler.
God sent Tamar a sign when He was ready to
receive her into His Kingdom. Then the pious ruler bade farewell
to her court and turned in prayer to an icon of Christ and the Life-giving
Cross: “Lord Jesus Christ! Omnipotent Master of heaven and earth! To
Thee I deliver the nation and people that were entrusted to my care
and purchased by Thy Precious Blood, the children whom Thou didst bestow
upon me, and to Thee I surrender my soul, O Lord!”
The burial place of Queen Tamar has remained
a mystery to this day. Some sources claim that her tomb is in Gelati,
in a branch of burial vaults belonging to the Bagrationi dynasty,
while others argue that her holy relics are preserved in a vault at
the Holy Cross Monastery in Jerusalem.
St. Tamara is commemorated on Sunday of the
Myrrh-beating Women in addition to her regular commemoration on May
1.
|
1219 St. Aldebrandus
Bishop reformer sermons roused many preached against baneful corrupting
influences
also known as Hildebrand. He was born in Sorrivoli, Italy. Appointed provost of
Rimini, he preached against the baneful and corrupting influences
of his era. His sermons roused many, and Aldebrandus had to flee on
one occasion to avoid an angry mob. In 1170 he was named the bishop
of Fosombrone, Italy. He is patron of that city. |
1345 Peregrine
Laziosi received a vision of Our Lady who told him to go to Siena, Italy,
and there to join the Servites; healed by Jesus, incorrupt, fervant
preacher, excellent orator, and gentle confessor Also
known as Peregrinus
Foro Lívii
sancti Peregríni, ex Ordine Servórum beátæ
Maríæ Vírginis.
At Forli, St. Peregrinus of the Order
of Servites of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
1345 St Peregrine Laziosi; he spent hours upon
his knees in the chapel of our Lady in the cathedral. One day the
Blessed Virgin herself appeared to him in that place, and addressed
him, saying, “Go to Siena: there you will find the devout men who call
themselves my servants: attach yourself to them”. The
only son of well-to-do parents, St Peregrine Laziosi was born in 1260
at Forli, in the Romagna. As a young man he took an active part in
the politics of his native city, which belonged to the anti-papal party.
On the occasion of a popular rising, St Philip Benizi, who had been
sent by the pope to act as a mediator, was severely mishandled by the
popular leaders, and Peregrine himself struck him on the face with his
fist. The holy Servite’s only reply was to offer the other cheek—an action
which brought his assailant to immediate repentance, and from that time
Peregrine was a reformed character.
Turning away from his worldly companions, he spent hours upon
his knees in the chapel of our Lady in the cathedral. One day the Blessed
Virgin herself appeared to him in that place, and addressed him, saying,
“Go to Siena: there you will find the devout men who call themselves my
servants: attach yourself to them”. Peregrine instantly obeyed. Having received
the Servite habit, he set about following with zeal the path of perfection.
It became his guiding principle that one must never rest in the way of virtue,
but must press on to the appointed goal. It is said that for thirty years
he never sat down, and as far as he could he observed silence and solitude.
After he had spent some years in Siena, his
superiors sent him to Forli to found a new house for the order.
By this time he had been ordained and had proved himself to be an
ideal priest—fervent in the celebration of the holy mysteries, eloquent
in preaching, untiring in reconciling sinners. A great affliction
now befell him in the form of cancer of the foot, which, besides being
excruciatingly painful, made him an object of repulsion to his neighbours.
He bore this trial without a murmur. At last the surgeons decided that
the only thing to do was to cut off the foot. St Peregrine spent the
night before the operation in trustful prayer; he then sank into a light
slumber, from which he awoke completely cured—to the amazement
of the doctors, who testified that they could no longer detect any trace
of the disease. This miracle greatly enhanced the reputation which the
holy man had already acquired by his exemplary life. He lived to the age
of 80, and was canonized in 172 6.
The Bollandists in the Acta
Sanctorum, April, vol. iii, were able to print some portion of
the documents presented in the cause of the canonization of St Peregrine.
Many Italian accounts of the saint have been published, mostly devotional
rather than historically critical; for example, B. Albicini, Vita
e Morte del B. Pellegrino Laziosi (1648); F. A. Monsignani,
Notizie della Vita, Morte e Miracoli, etc. (1727). See also
Giani, Annales FF. Servorum B.V.M., vol. i, pp. 285
seq.
Born wealthy, he spent a worldly youth, and became involved
in politics. Peregrine was initially strongly anti-Catholic. During
a popular revolt, he struck the papal peace negotiator, Saint Philip
Benizi, across the face. Saint Philip calmly turned the other cheek,
prayed for the youth, and Peregine converted.
He received a vision of Our Lady who told him
to go to Siena, Italy, and there to join the Servites. After training
and ordination, they assigned him to his home town. He lived and
worked, as much as possible, in complete silence, in solitude, and
without sitting down for 30 years in an attempt to do penance for his
early life. When he did speak, he was known as a fervant preacher, excellent
orator, and gentle confessor. Founded a Servite house at Forli.
A victim of a spreading cancer in his foot,
Peregrine was scheduled for an amputation. The night before the operation,
he spent in prayer; that night received a vision of Christ who healed
him with a touch. The next morning, Peregrine found his cancer completely
healed.
Born 1260 at Forli, Italy Died
1345 at Forli, Italy of natural causes; body incorrupt
St. Peregrine Laziosi 1345
Peregrine Laziosi was born of a wealthy family at Forli, Italy,
in 1260. As a youth he was active in politics as a member of the anti-papal
party. During one uprising, which the Pope sent St. Philip Benizi
to mediate, Philip was struck in the face by Peregrine. When Philip
offered the other cheek, Peregrine was so overcome that he repented
and converted to Catholicism. Following the instructions of the Virgin
Mary received in a vision, Peregrine went to Siena and joined the Servites.
It is believed that he never allowed himself to sit down for thirty
years, while as far as possible, observing silence and solitude. Sometime
later, Peregrine was sent to Forli to found a new house of the Servite
Order. An ideal priest, he had a reputation for fervent preaching and
being a good confessor. When he was afflicted with cancer of the foot
and amputation had been decided upon, he spent the night before the operation,
in prayer. The following morning he was completely cured. This miracle
caused his reputation to become widespread. He died in 1345 at the age of
eighty-five, and he was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. St. Peregrine,
like St. Paul, was in open defiance of the Church as a youth. Once given
the grace of conversion he became one of the great saints of his time. His
great fervor and qualities as a confessor brought many back to the true
Faith. Afflicted with cancer, Peregrine turned to God and was richly rewarded
for his Faith, enabling him over many years to lead others to the truth.
He is the patron of cancer patients.
|
1383 St. Panacea
Child martyr of Quarona struck while at prayer
b. 1378 near Novara, Italy. Also called Panassia and Panexia,
she was killed by her stepmother, who struck her while she was at
prayer. |
1477 Saint Paphnutius
of Borov; monk 30 years at the Protection Monastery as igumen, Elder,
and Father-confessor earned deep respect and love of the brethren
of his own monastery & other monasteries
Born in 1394 in the village of Kudinovo, not
far from Borov named Parthenius at Baptism. His father John was
the son of a baptized Tatar, a "baskak" ("tax-collector") named Martin,
and his mother was named Photina. At the age of twenty, Parthenius left
his home and received monastic tonsure in 1414 with the name Paphnutius
at the Vyosky-Protection Monastery near Borov under its abbot, Marcellus.
St Paphnutius struggled for many years at the monastery, and when Igumen
Marcellus died, the brethren chose him as his successor.
St Photius, Metropolitan of Kiev
(July 2), ordained him to the priesthood around the year 1426.
The monk spent thirty years
at the Protection Monastery, where he was igumen, Elder, and Father-confessor.
At fifty-one years of age he fell grievously ill, gave up his position
as igumen and was tonsured into the Great Schema. After recovering
his health on April 23, 1444 (the Feast of the holy Great Martyr George
the Victory-Bearer), he left the monastery and settled with one monk
on the left bank of the River Protva, where it meets the River Isterma.
Soon brethren began to gather to him at this new place, and the number
of the monks quickly grew. A new stone church was built in place of the
former wooden one, in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.
The finest iconographers of those times,
Dionysius, Metrophanes, and their assistants were invited to adorn
the church with icons and frescoes. St Paphnutius was an example to
the brethren, leading a strict life. His cell was the poorest of all,
and he chose the worst morsels of food. On Mondays and Fridays he ate
nothing at all, and on Wednesdays he only ate dry food. He did the most
difficult tasks himself. He chopped and carried fire wood, dug and cultivated
the garden, yet he was always the first to arrive for church services.
Paphnutius_of_Borov.jpg
St Paphnutius earned the deep respect and love
not only of the brethren of his own monastery, but also of other
monasteries. Through the providence of God a twenty-year-old youth,
John Sanin was guided to the monastery. After testing him for a time,
Paphnutius tonsured him into monasticism with the name Joseph. Later
on St Joseph of Volokolamsk (Sept. 9) defended the purity of the Orthodox
Faith and entered into struggle against the heresy of the Judaizers,
condemned at the Council of 1504. St Paphnutius blessed the young man
in his endeavors.
A
week before his death, the saint foretold his end. After he had prayed
and blessed the brethren, he fell asleep in the Lord on May 1, 1477.
St Paphnutius was a disciple of St Sergius of Radonezh (Sept. 25).
|
1497 The Hieromartyr Macarius,
Metropolitan of Kiev, was earlier the archimandrite of the Vilensk
Holy Trinity monastery.
In 1495, after the death of Metropolitan Jonah
of Kiev, Macarius was chosen and ordained in his place by an assembly
of hierarchs; Vassian of Vladimir, Luke of Polotsk, Vassian of Turov
and Jonah of Lutsk. Papers of blessing were sent from Constantinople
by the Patriarch Niphon, confirming the election of St Macarius to
the metropolitan See of Kiev.
On May 1, 1497 Tatars invading Russia killed
Metropolitan Macarius of Kiev and All Rus in the village of Strigolovo,
at the River Vzhischa, where the saint was conducting divine services.
Many of his flock were killed with him, or taken into captivity .
The holy incorrupt relics of St Macarius, glorified
by God with miracles, rest now at Kiev at the Vladimir cathedral church.
|
1537 Saint
Zosimas of Kumurdo lived and labored from the end of the 15th century
through the first half of the 16th century
To the world he was known as Zebede. He was
raised by Princess Ketevan, the daughter of King George VIII (1446–1466).
In 1515 Zebede was tonsured a monk and given
the new name Zosimas. It is believed that in the same year he was
also consecrated a bishop. An inscription at Kumurdo Church attests
to his hierarchical rank: “May the Lord have mercy on Zosimas, bishop
of Kumurdo. Amen.” St. Zosimas is credited with compiling a handwritten
anthology of prayers, homilies, and other writings in the year 1537.
The anthology concludes with two of the holy father’s own wills.
In addition to his pastoral, educational and
church-building activity in the Kumurdo diocese, St. Zosimas also
performed many important works in the Holy Land of Jerusalem. In
the 15th and 16th centuries the struggle between Orthodox Christians
and Roman Catholics over whom God had appointed heir to the holy hill
of Golgotha became particularly acute, and the Orthodox Church was forced
to defend the rights that it had acquired in previous centuries. At
that time St. Zosimas arrived in the Holy Land and joined the struggle
to liberate Golgotha from the Catholics.
In honor of his valiant efforts, two vigil
lamps were later hung in his name in the churches at Golgotha and
the Holy Cross Monastery.
It is significant to note that
from the 15th century the names of the bishops of Kumurdo have been
inscribed in an important chronicle called Ertgulebis Tsigni, or
The Book of Faith. Throughout history the hierarchs of Kumurdo have
defended the unity of the Georgian Church and stood steadfast as pillars
of national-religious sentiment and examples of faith.
On October 17, 2002, the Georgian Church canonized
the holy hierarch Zosimas of Kumurdo and reinstated the bishopric
of ancient Kumurdo.
|
1554 Saint Gerasimus
of Boldino, whose secular name was Gregory a strict ascetic founded
monasteries
Born in 1490 at Pereslav-Zalessk. In his early
childhood, he often went to church to attend the divine services.
When he heard about the holy life of St Daniel of Pereyaslavl (April
7), the thirteen-year-old Gregory tearfully begged the Elder to permit
him to join him. The Elder accepted the boy as a novice and, after a
short time, gave him monastic tonsure with the name Gerasimus. The new
monk zealously fulfilled the labors of fasting and prayer, and soon he
was known in Moscow as a strict ascetic. He even traveled to the capital
with his teacher, and met the Tsar.
Worldly fame was a burden for the ascetic and,
after twenty-six years under St Daniel's guidance, St Gerasimus
obtained the blessing of his Elder to live the solitary life in the
region of Smolensk. He settled near the city of Dorogobuzha in a wild
forest inhabited by snakes and wild animals.The holy ascetic restrained
his body ("the wild beast") by subjecting it to heat and cold. The saint
often had to endure the intrusion of brigands, but he bore all their
outrages meekly and patiently, and he prayed for the malefactors.
In a vision, he was instructed to go to Boldino
Hill, where an immense oak stood by a spring. The local inhabitants
beat him with sticks and wanted to drown him, but they became frightened
and handed him over to the administrator of Dorogobuzha, who threw him
into jail for vagrancy. St Gerasimus patiently endured the ridicule,
keeping silence and devoting himself to prayer.
During this time an imperial emissary from
Moscow came to visit the administrator. Seeing St Gerasimus, he bowed
down before him and asked his blessing. He recognized him because he
had seen the saint before, with St Daniel, in the presence of the Tsar.
The administrator became terrified, and immediately begged the saint's
forgiveness and promised to build an enclosure to protect him from robbers.
Besides the Boldino monastery, St Gerasimus
founded another monastery in honor of St John the Forerunner at the
city of Vyazma, and later on, in the Bryansk forest at the River Zhizdra,
a monastery in honor of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the
Temple. Peter Korostelev, a disciple of St Gerasimus, was made igumen
of this monastery. Several ascetics were under the spiritual guidance
of St Gerasimus: the igumen Anthony, who later became the Bishop of Vologda
(Oct. 26), and Arcadius, a disciple of St Gerasimus, struggled as a hermit
and was buried at the Boldino monastery.
Before his death, St Gerasimus summoned the
igumens and monks of the monasteries he had founded, told them of
his life, and gave them his final instructions. This oral narrative
of the saint was included in his Life, which was composed by St Anthony
at the request of the Elders. The Rule, or Testament, of St Gerasimus
is similar to the "Spiritual Deed" of St Joseph of Volokolamsk (September
9, October 18, February 13). From St Joseph he also borrowed the practice
of having twelve Elders govern the monastery.
There is an oral tradition that he may have
converted Opta, the founder of Optina Monastery. It seems that he
would convert the criminals in a given area, and then establish a
monastery there.
St Gerasimus reposed on May 1,
1554. He is also commemorated on July 20.
|
1814 St Euthymius
This holy New Martyr of Christ was born in Demitsana in the Peloponnesos;
apostasized recantded and asked for martyrdom martyred for
the faith by moslems
His
parents were Panagiotes and Maria, and he was given the name Eleutherius
in Baptism. Eleutherius was the youngest of five children (the others
were George, Christos, John, and Katerina).
After attending school in Demetsana, Eleutherius
and John traveled to Constantinople to enroll in the Patriarchal
Academy. Later, they went to Jassy, Romania where their father and
brothers were in business. Some time afterwards, Eleutherius decided
to go to Mt. Athos to become a monk. Because of a war between Russia
and Turkey, he was able to travel only as far as Bucharest. There he
stayed with the French consul, then with an employee of the Russian
consul.
Eleutherius began to pursue a life of pleasure,
putting aside his thoughts of monasticism. When hostilities ceased,
Eleutherius made his way to Constantinople in the company of some
Moslems. On the way, he turned from Orthodoxy and embraced Islam. He
was circumcised and given the name Reschid. Soon his conscience began
to torment him for his denial of Christ. The other Moslems began to notice
a change in his attitude, so they restricted his movements and kept a
close watch on him. One day Eleutherius was seen wearing a cross, so the
others reported him to the master of the house, Rais Efendi. The master
favored Eleutherius, which made the others jealous.
He told them it was still too early for Eleutherius
to give up all his Christian ways.
Rais Efendi and his household
journeyed to Adrianople, arriving on a Saturday. Metropolitan Cyril,
who later became Patriarch of Constantinople, was serving Vespers
in one of the city's churches. Eleutherius pretended to have letters
for Metropolitan Cyril, but he send someone else to receive them. When
Eleutherius told this man that he wanted Christian clothes, he became
suspicious and sent him away.
Back in Constantinople, Rais Efendi gave Eleutherius
costly presents, hoping to influence him to remain a Moslem. Eleutherius,
however, prayed that God would permit him to escape. He ran off at
the first opportunity, seeking out a priest from the Peloponnesos
who lived near the Patriarchate. After relating his story, Eleutherius
asked the priest to help him get away. The priest refused to assist
him, fearing reprisals if he should be caught. He gave Eleutherius
some advice, then sent him away.
With some assistance from the Russian embassy,
Eleutherius boarded a ship and sailed to Mt. Athos. At the Great
Lavra Eleutherius was chrismated and received back into the Orthodox
Church, and also became a monk with the name Euthymius.
Euthymius read the NEW MARTYROLOGION of St
Nicodemus (July 14), and was inspired by the example of the New
Martyrs.
He then became consumed with
a desire to wipe out his apostasy with the blood of martyrdom.
St Euthymius went to Constantinople
with a monk named Gregory, arriving on March 19, 1814. A few days
later, on Palm Sunday, he received Holy Communion. Removing his monastic
garb, he dressed himself as a Moslem and went to the palace of the
Grand Vizier, Rusud Pasha. St Euthymius, holding palms in his hand,
confessed that he was an Orthodox Christian, and wished to die for Christ.
He denounced Mohammed and the Moslem religion, then trampled upon the
turban he had worn on his head, which led the Vizier to believe that
he was either drunk or crazy.
The valiant warrior of Christ assured the Vizier
that he was in his right mind, and was not drunk. Euthymius was thrown
into a dark cell and bound with chains. After an hour or so, they brought
him out again. With flattery and promises of wealth, the Vizier tried
to convince Euthymius to return to the Moslem faith.
The saint boldly declared that Islam was a
religion based on fables and falsehood, and that he would not deny
Christ again even if he were to be tortured and slain. The Grand Vizier
ordered the saint to be beaten and returned to prison. After three hours,
St Euthymius was brought before Rusud Pasha, who said to him, "Have
you reconsidered, or do you remain stubborn?"
Euthymius replied, "There is only one true
Faith, that of the Orthodox Christians. How can I believe in your
false prophet Mohammed?"
Now the Vizier realized that he would never
convince Euthymius to return to Islam, so he ordered him to be put
to death by the sword.
When the executioner attempted to tie the saint's
hands he said, "I came here voluntarily, so there is no need to bind
my hands.Allow me to meet my death untied."
St Euthymius was allowed to walk to the place
of execution unbound. He went joyfully and unafraid, holding a cross
in his right hand, and palms in his left. When they arrived at the
site, Euthymius faced east and began to pray. He thanked God for making
him worthy of martyrdom for His sake. He also prayed for his family and
friends, asking God to grant all their petitions which are unto salvation.
Then St Euthymius kissed the cross he was holding,
then knelt and bent his neck. The executioner struck a fierce blow
with the sword, but this did not behead him. He struck again, and failed
to kill him. Finally, he took a knife and slit the martyr's throat.
St Euthymius was killed about noon on March
22, 1814 in Constantinople, thereby earning a place in the heavenly
Kingdom where he glorifies the holy, consubstantial, and life-creating
Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, forevermore.
The head of St Euthymius is in
the Monastery of St Panteleimon on Mt. Athos.
|
1814 The holy New Martyr
Ignatius martyred for the faith by moslems
Born in the village of Eski Zagora in the Trnovo
region of Bulgaria, and was named John in Baptism. While he was still
a young child, his parents George and Maria moved to the city of Philippopolis
and enrolled him in a school there. Although he did well at school,
he had a strong desire for the monastic life. Upon reaching adulthood,
he entered the Rila monastery in western Bulgaria. There he was assigned
to an Elder, with whom he lived in obedience for six years. When the
Elder's strictness became unbearable, John returned home.
About that time the Serbs rose in revolt against
the Moslem government. John's father was asked to take command of
an Ottoman brigade, but he refused to fight against other Orthodox
Christians. The Moslems attacked George with furious anger. He was stabbed
and then beheaded. John's mother and sisters were also taken by the
Hagarenes, and they ultimately agreed to convert to Islam. John fled
and hid in the home of an elderly Orthodox woman. His mother and sisters
learned where he was hiding, and they told the Moslems. Those sent to capture
him did not know what he looked like, so the old woman told them she did
not know him. The woman helped him escape to Bucharest, Romania, where he
became acquainted with St Euthymius, who would also endure martyrdom.
John did not wish to stay in Bucharest, however,
and so he left for Mt. Athos. On the way he visited the village of
Soumla, where he ran into his friend Fr Euthymius again. Learning
that Euthymius had denied Christ and beome a Moslem, John became very
sad and left the village. He had not gotten very far when Turkish soldiers
stopped him and took all his possessions. They demanded that he convert
to Islam, and in his fright he told them that he would do so. Satisfied
with this reply, they let him go. John reached the village of Eski Zagora,
where he met an Athonite monk from the monastery of Grigoriou. They journeyed
to the Holy Mountain together, and John settled in the Skete of St
Anna. There he met Fr Basil.
One day John and Fr Basil traveled to Thessalonica
on monastery business. While they were there the monks David and
Euthymius of Demetsana suffered martyrdom because they were Christians.
John was inflamed with the desire for martyrdom. Fr Basil, however,
urged him to postpone his intention, and so they returned to the Holy
Mountain. A short time after this, Fr Basil died. When a monk from the
Skete of St Anna told him of the martyrdom of the New Martyr Euthymius
(March 22), John was once more filled with zeal for martyrdom. He was placed
under the spiritual direction of the Elder Acacius, who prescribed for
him prayer, prostrations, and reading the Gospel.
In time, John was found worthy of monastic
tonsure, and was given the new name Ignatius. The Elder Acacius blessed
him to travel to Constantinople with the monk Gregory in order to bear
witness to Christ. After receiving the Holy Mysteries in Constantinople,
Ignatius felt he was ready for his ordeal. Dressed in Moslem garb, Ignatius
went before the kadi and proclaimed his faith in Christ. He told him how
he had promised to become a Moslem when he was younger, but now he threw
his turban at the kadi's feet and said that he would never deny Christ.
Thinking that Ignatius was insane, the kadi warned him that if he did
not come to his senses he would endure horrible torments before being
put to death. On the other hand, if he embraced Islam, he would receive
rich gifts and great honor from them. The courageous martyr told the kadi
to keep his gifts, for they were merely temporal gifts. "Your threats of
torture and death are nothing new," he said, "and I knew of them before
I came here. In fact, I came here because of them, so that I might die for
my Christ."
St Ignatius went on to call
Mohammed "a false prophet, a teacher of perdition, and a friend of the devil."
Then he invited the Moslems to believe in Christ, the only true God.
The kadi then became so angry he could not
speak, so he motioned for a servant to lead St Ignatius out of the
room. Ignatius turned and struck the servant, then knelt before the
kadi and bent his neck, as if inviting him to behead him then and there.
Other servants entered the room, however, and dragged him off to prison.
Later, Ignatius was brought before the kadi
for questioning. When asked who had brought him to Constantinople,
he replied, "My Lord Jesus Christ brought me here." Again the kadi urged
him to reconsider, for he was about to experience unimaginable tortures.
"Do not expect to be beheaded so that the Christians can collect your blood
as a blessing," he said, "for I intend to hang you."
Ignatius replied, "You will be doing me a great
service whether you hang me or put me to the sword. I accept everything
for the love of Christ."
Seeing that he could not turn Ignatius from
his Christian Faith, the kadi ordered him to be hanged. He was taken
to a place called Daktyloporta, where the sentence was carried out.
The martyr's body remained hanging there for three days, then some
pious Christians paid a ransom for it and took it to the island of Prote
for burial.
St Ignatius gave his life for Christ on October,
1814. He is also commemorated on May 1 together with Sts Acacius
and Euthymius.
The head of St Ignatius is in
the Monastery of St Panteleimon on Mt Athos.
|
1816 The holy New Martyr
Acacius was born at Neochorion, Macedonia near Thessalonica in the
eighteenth century martyred for the faith by moslems
The oldest son of Bulgarian peasants, he was
named Athanasius at his baptism. When he was nine years old, his
family moved to the city of Serres. Athanasius was apprenticed to a
cobbler, who frequently beat him. On the night of Holy Friday, after
a particularly severe beating, he wandered onto the street and two Moslem
women comforted him, brought him home and fed him. Pretending sympathy,
they urged him to deny Christ, the bread which came down from heaven
(John 6:41). They took the boy to Yusuf Bey, who adopted him, gave him
a Moslem name, and had him circumcised. He lived in that home for nine
years.
At first, the wife of Yusuf Bey treated Athanasius
with maternal love, but this later turned into a lustful passion.
Just as the righteous Joseph (March 31) rejected the advances of
Potiphar's wife (Genesis 39:8-10), so did Athanasius spurn the advances
of the Moslem woman. So she told her husband that Athanasius had tried
to force himself on her. His Turkish father threw him out of the house,
and the young man returned to Thessalonica to find his real parents.
His mother told him it was too dangerous for him to stay with them, and
so he went to Mt Athos.
At first he lived at the Hilandar Monastery
for a while, but he spent time in other monasteries as well. He confessed
his apostasy to Fr Nicholas at the Xenophontos Monastery, who read the
prescribed prayers and received him back into the Church through Chrismation.
Athanasius returned to Hilandar for about a year, then went to Iveron.
While at the skete at Iveron he heard of Sts Euthymius and Ignatius,
and desired to imitate their feat of martyrdom. He became filled with
the desire to wipe out his sin by shedding his blood for Christ in the
same place where he had denied Him. Athanasius revealed all this to Fr
Nikephorus, who had been the spiritual Father of Sts Ignatius and Euthymius.
He was placed under the direction of the monk Acacius, who was to prepare
him for his difficult struggle. Athanasius spent his time in ceaseless
prayer, vigil, and fasting. This, of course, aroused the hatred of the devil,
who sowed the seeds of doubt and uncertainty in his soul. After thirty-five
days Athanasius became faint-hearted and ran away in the middle of the night.
Athanasius went to Simonopetra Monastery, but
found no peace there. He returned to Hilandar Monastery, but as a penance
he had to live in the vineyard rather than in a cell. He soon became
ill and was taken to Karyes, the capital of the Holy Mountain, but he
refused medical treatment. Those who had brought him there were upset
by this, and they said that he was neither a Christian nor a Moslem.
Stung by their rebuke, Athanasius went into seclusion for forty days. At
the end of that time, Athanasius returned to Fr Nikephorus at Iveron and
Elder Acacius was assigned to look after him again. He entered upon an
intense program of prayer, prostrations, and vigil, and was granted the
gift of tears. On the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent, seeing his repentance
and progress in virtue, the Elder Acacius tonsured him with the name
Acacius.
Soon he left for Constantinople
with the Elder Gregory, who had also accompanied Sts Ignatius and
Euthymius on their way to martyrdom. They left Mt Athos on a ship,
arriving in Constantinople thirteen days later. On April 22, St Acacius
received Holy Communion at a church in Galata, then returned to the
ship. He changed into Moslem clothing and went with Fr Gregory to
the Porte, where a doorkeeper asked them what they wanted.
St Acacius related his story, saying that he
had been deceived into renouncing Christianity and accepting Islam,
but now he had come to his senses. Denouncing Mohammed as a false prophet,
he loudly proclaimed that he was a Christian. Then he threw his turban
on the floor, trampled it under his feet, and spit on it.
St Acacius was seized, beaten, and thrown into
prison. That night he was promised wealth and high position if he
would return to Islam. When he refused, they began to beat him again.
The next day, St Acacius was brought before
the vizier and repeated his story, then was returned to prison. Fr
Gregory was able to send a messenger to bring Acacius a pyx containing
the Holy Gifts, and he partook of the life-giving Mysteries of Christ.
Soon after this, the holy martyr was led to
a place called Parmak Kapi, where he was beheaded. St Acacius gave
his life for Christ on May 1, 1816 at six o'clock in the evening. Some
pious Christians ransomed the saint's body from the Turks, and Fr
Gregory brought it back to Mt Athos. The holy relics were brought to
Iveron and buried in a church dedicated to Sts Ignatius and Euthymius.
Although some sources give the year of the
saint's martyrdom as 1815, there is a letter from St Acacius to a
certain spiritual Father on Mt Athos dated April 27, 1816 which states
that he is on his way to martyrdom. Thus, the year is 1816.
The heads of Sts Acacius, Euthymius,
and Ignatius are in the Russian monastery of St Panteleimon on the
Holy Mountain.
|
1821
Saint Nicephorus, the "most luminous star of the Church of Christ,"
who delighted the hearts of the faithful "with divinely inspired
teachings," grace of working miracles
Born around 1750 at Kardamyla on the Greek
island of Chios, and his family name was Georgios, or Georgos. When
he was still very young, he became sick with a pestilential disease.
His parents vowed that if he recovered, they would offer him to the
Mother of God to serve Her at the famous Byzantine monastery of Nea Moni,
which was dedicated to Her. He did get well, and so the parents took
him to the monastery, where he was placed under the guidance of the venerable
Elder Anthimus Hagiopateritis.
Later, he was sent to the city of Chios to
be educated in its schools by the priest Fr Gabriel Astrakaris. St
Nicephorus remained close to this priest throughout the period of
his education in the city, where he developed a love for learning,
and a respect for those who taught others. He also met St Athanasius
Parios (June 24), who was the Director of the school in the city of
Chios. The greatest influence on his life was St Macarius of Corinth
(April 17), whom he met even before he met St Athanasius. St Macarius
was at Chios in 1780, left for a time, then returned in 1790. St Nicephorus
saw St Macarius frequently, and learned much from him. After finishing
his education, St Nicephorus returned to the monastery and was ordained
a deacon.
When St Athanasius Parios reorganized the school
of Chios, he appointed Nicephorus as one of its teachers. At the
same time, he was also given a blessing to preach the Word of God
at Nea Moni and elsewhere. While serving as a teacher, St Nicephorus
was called to become the Igumen of Nea Moni. Until 1802, the monks
had managed the monastery's affairs without any audits. In that year,
however, the monastery was fined 600, 000 piasters, and some of the
monastery's estates had to be sold to pay the amount. Suspecting that
the affairs of the monastery were not being properly administered, the
citizens asked that Fr Nicephorus be made Igumen. They knew he despised
worldly possessions, and so they had full confidence in him. They also
decided that an audit of the monastery accounts would be made every year.
It was not easy for St Nicephorus to assume
this burden, for he was not familiar with the many responsibilities
of a Superior. He would have prefered solitude and study, but he applied
himself to his new duties. During the next two years, he tried to resolve
conflicts, and to raise the moral spirit of the monks by teaching and
by personal example. There were many people above him and below him who
did not appreciate his efforts, however, and they plotted against him.
Unaccustomed to quarrels and intrigues, he was unable to complete his
two year term in office. Therefore, he left and sought refuge in the
Hermitage of St George at Resta.
Although he was unable to govern
these monks, St Nicephorus did excel in his personal life, and in
guiding many people to virtue. He also composed church services and
hymns to various saints, including Sts Niketas, John, and Joseph (May
20), and St Matrona of Chios (October 20). The companions of St Nicephorus
at Resta were a retired priest (who had also been a teacher) called
Fr Joseph, and St Macarius of Corinth.
Fr Joseph had lived on Mount Athos for a while, then settled on Chios.
He also composed church services, including one to the New Martyr St Nicholas
the New (October 31), which had been published in Venice in 1791. In
1812, St Athanasius Parios retired as Director of the schools of
Chios, and joined St Nicephorus and the others at Resta.
St Nicephorus devoted himself to spiritual
struggles, study, and writing. He also engaged in physical work
of an agricultural nature. He planted olive and fig trees, cypresses,
and pines. He also encouraged others to plant trees, for he understood
that a lack of trees led to poverty, and that by planting trees one's
material resources could be improved. The saint would sometimes tell
those who came to him for Confession to plant so many trees as a penance.
In 1805, on his deathbed, St Macarius entrusted St Nicephorus with
the task of completing and publishing his book THE
NEW LEIMONARION. This book contained the Lives and church
services of various martyrs, ascetics, and other saints. It is remarkable
in that three saints collaborated on this book about saints, St Macarius, St Nicephorus, and St Athanasius
Parios. By writing so many saints' Lives and church services,
St Nicephorus showed that he considered them important and beneficial.
Not only did he provide the biographical details about these saints,
he also expressed the Orthodox view of God and man, the beauty of the virtues,
and spiritual concepts such as theosis (divinization), inner attention,
ceaseless prayer, purification, and asceticism in general.
Like St Macarius of Corinth,
St Nicephorus was also known as a trainer of martyrs.
Those who abandoned Christianity
and embraced Islam, and later repented of their actions, went to
him to confess their sin. He helped them to prepare to wash away their
apostasy by shedding their blood as martyrs. Mindful of the Lord's
words, "Whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before
My Father Who is in heaven" (Mt. 10:33) they believed that only after
a public reaffirmation of their faith in Christ before the Moslem authorities
(which inevitably resulted in a sentence of death) could their sin be
forgiven. St Nicephorus prepared them with prayer, fasting, prostrations,
and by encouraging them to remain strong when they went to their deaths.
Thus fortified, they endured the most horrible tortures with astonishing
courage. Not only did the martyrs themselves receive grace and forgiveness
from God, but their example encouraged others to remain firm in the Orthodox
Faith. In addition to those whom he perpared personally, many others were
also inspired to martyrdom through his published Lives and services to
the martyrs.
Although St Nicephorus had the grace of working
miracles, this is not the only reason that he is venerated as a saint.
His holy life and character are also important considerations. A saint
is one who is free from all vice and possesses all the virtues through
divine grace. The people of Chios recognized that St Nicephorus was humble,
gentle, free from anger, and filled with love for others. That is why,
even in his lifetime, they regarded him as a saint.
St Nicephorus was of medium height, with a
pale and gentle face, and a large black beard. Although St Nicephorus
probably reposed in the summer of 1821, his Feast Day is designated
as May 1. He died in a home near the church of St Paraskeve, where he
sometimes stayed overnight when he was unable to get back to Resta.
His body was brought back to Resta, and was placed in a grave where both
St Athanasius Parius and the monk Nilus had once been buried. The holy
relics of St Nicephorus were uncovered in 1845 and brought to the metropolitan
church of Chios. Many years later, the Guild of Tanners asked for the relics
and placed them in the church of St George. In 1907, an icon of St Nicephorus
was painted, and a church service was composed in his honor.
|
1852
St. John-Louis Bonnard, priest; Martyr of Vietnam
Born at St. Christot-en-Jarret, France, he became a priest
of the Paris Society of Foreign Missions and was ordained in 1850.
Sent to western Vietnam, he was arrested in a persecution and beheaded.
Pope John Paul II canonized him in 1988. |