THE DEDICATION OF THE ARCHBASILICA
OF THE MOST HOLY SAVIOUR, COMMONLY CALLED ST JOHN LATERAN
THE whole Western church Celebrates to-day the anniversary of
the consecration to divine worship of the basilica of St John Lateran, on
whose façade is carved the proud title
OMNEUM URBIS ET 0RBIS ECCLESIARUM MATER ET
CAPUT:
The Mother and Head of all churches of the City and of the World;
For this church is the cathedral of Rome and
the pope’s permanent cathedra stands in its apse.
It is senior in dignity to St Peter’s itself, and is in some sort the cathedral
of the world.
In the earliest days of Christianity
worship was carried out in private houses and the
Holy Sacrifice was offered at an ordinary table (doubtless a special one
was often kept for the purpose); but so early as the first quarter of the
third century we hear of a building in Rome specially set apart as a Christian
church, at the beginning of the fourth century there are said to have been
many there, and Constantine’s decree of freedom was naturally followed
by great activity in the building of new churches. Following the example
of the Jews with their Temple (and indeed of the pagans with theirs), these
places of worship were set apart for their purpose by a dedication of them
to the service of Almighty God. Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical
History speaks of the solemn dedication of the church at Tyre in the
year 314, and several historians make reference to the magnificence with
which Constantine’s basilica at Jerusalem was dedicated in 335, on the anniversary
of the finding of the true cross. For long the dedicatory rite consisted
simply in the consecration of the altar by the solemn celebration of Mass
thereat, to which the deposition of relics was added when there were any,
and later certain prayers, sprinklings and anointings, modifications which
arose in respect of buildings that had formerly been used for pagan worship
and had to be purified. But the developments which went to form the
long, complex and imposing ceremony that is now found in the Pontificale
Romanum hardly began before the eighth century.
The
annual celebration of the anniversary of a church’s dedication is a practice
probably as old as that of the dedication itself, and certainly far older
than our present rite of consecration. It was undeniably a custom of the
Jews, for such a feast was instituted by Judas Machabeus in 164 B.C., when
the Temple had been purified after its pollution by Antiochus Epiphanes;
St John in his gospel (x 22) speaks of our Lord walking in Solomon’s porch
at the time of this feast. This Jewish festival was, and is, kept with an
octave and was celebrated not only in the Temple at Jerusalem but in every
synagogue as well, somewhat as every Western Catholic church observes the
dedication of St John Lateran. These things are referred to in the sixth
lesson at Matins in the common office of the octave-day of a dedication anniversary,
which is said in the Roman Breviary to be taken from a letter to Pope
St Felix IV (III), who died in the year 530. Actually the piece belongs
only to the ninth century, but its words represent a much older discipline.
In Sozomen’s time, the early part of the fifth century, the anniversary of
the dedication of the Martyrion at Jerusalem, referred to above, was observed
with an octave and other solemnities. This custom of commemorating the dedication
of a church is responsible for the existence of several feasts in the Church’s
calendar, and determines the date of others, e.g. St John
before the Latin Gate (May 6), St Peter in Chains (August 1), and St Michael
the Archangel (September 29).
The
mansion of the Laterani at Rome came into the hands of the Emperor Constantine
through his second wife, Fausta, and by him it was given to the Church. It
was the principal residence of the popes from that time until the exile to
Avignon at the beginning of the fourteenth century, a period of a thousand
years. The church made there was in all likelihood an adaptation of the great
hall of the house, but the famous baptistery was founded and newly built,
in its main lines as we see it today. The basilica was dedicated to our Most
Holy Saviour and the baptistery in honour of St John the Baptist.*[*It may be here noted that all churches and ecclesiastical buildings
are dedicated to God and to God only. Other names by which they may be known
are those of saints or mysteries of religion in whose honour or under whose
patronage they are dedicated. Nevertheless, custom allows the loose expression
“dedicated to such-and-such a saint”.]
The
now universal practice of calling the church itself St John Lateran arose
at a time when it was served by monks from an adjoining monastery of St John
the Baptist and St John the Divine.*[ *The Canons Regular
of the Lateran are so called because they represent a reformed congregation
of Augustinian canons which originated at the Lateran in the eleventh century,
when the basilica was served by canons regular.]
In its fifteen hundred years of Christian history the basilica
has undergone numerous vicissitudes, from pillage by the barbarians, from
earthquakes, from fire; but it retained its ancient basilican form till the
seventeenth century, when Francesco Borromini made of it the church that
we see today. The apse was enlarged into a choir, in more happy fashion,
in 1878. The high altar of St John Lateran, encased in marble, is the only
altar in the Western church made not of stone but of wood. It is a relic of
the days of persecution, and is believed by some to have been used by St Peter
himself. In the ciborium over the altar are enshrined the
reputed heads of SS. Peter and Paul.
“As
often as we celebrate the dedication festival of an altar or church,” says
St Augustine, “if we assist with faith and attention, living holily and righteously,
that which is done in temples made with hands is done also in us by a spiritual
building. For he lied not who said, ‘The temple of God, which you are, is
holy’; and again, ‘Do you not know that your bodies are the temple of the
Holy Ghost, who is in you?’ Therefore, since we are made worthy to become
the temple of God-—not by any foregoing worth of our own but by His grace—let
us work, as hard as we are able with His help, that our Lord find not in
His temple, that is, in us, anything whereby the eyes of His majesty may
be offended. . . . If no one in dirty garments would dare to approach the
table of an earthly ruler, how much the more ought one who is infected with
the poison of envy or hate, or full of unrighteous anger, reverently and
humbly to draw back from the table of the eternal King, that is, from the
altar of God? For it is written, ‘Go first and be reconciled with thy brother,
and then come and offer thy gift’; and again, ‘Friend, how camest thou in
hither not having on a wedding-garment?’”
Much has been
written about the Lateran basilica and its history, as well as upon the rite
of the consecration of churches. Concerning this last topic the reader may
be conveniently referred to Duchesne, Christian Worship
(1919), pp. 399—418; cf. also The Month, June 1910, pp. 621—631. Among the many works dealing
with the Lateran that of P. Lauer, Le palais du Latran, Étude
historique et archéologique (1911) is perhaps the most comprehensive;
and in special relation with the subject of this notice consult also Lauer
on the “Date de Ia dédicace de la basilique du Latran” in the Bulletin de la Soc. nat. des antiquaires de France for 1924,
pp. 261—265. A very long article on the Lateran with a vast bibliography has
been contributed by H. Leclercq to DAC., vol. viii, cc. 1529—1887, in which
see especially cc. 1551—1553.
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3rd century St. Ursinus first bishop of Bourges
France
Apud Bitúricas, in Aquitánia, sancti Ursíni Confessóris,
qui, Romæ ordinátus a successóribus Apostolórum,
primus eídem Bituricénsi urbi destinátur Epíscopus.
At Bourges in Aquitaine, St. Ursinus, confessor, who was
ordained at Rome by the successors of the apostles and appointed first bishop
of that city.
The. According to legend, he
was a disciple of the Apostles and was sent by them to preach the faith in
Gaul; however, he is now positively dated to the third century.
Ursinus of Bourges B (RM) (also known as Ursin). Ursin was actually
the first bishop of Bourges and lived during the third century. Yet it has
been claimed that Ursin was once called Nathaniel, that he was a friend of
the apostle Philip, that he read at the Last Supper, that he was present
at the martyrdom of Saint Stephen, and that he was one of the many missionaries
sent to Gaul by Saint Peter. All of which only proves that Christians have
never like doctrinal innovators.
Is all this a lie? Not really. Throughout the ages Christians
have gone to great lengths to hold on to Jesus Christ by every possible means.
Pseudo-Christs have never been very frequent, nor have they enjoyed much
success. The life of Christ is so transcendent that in all ages people have
tried to come close to Him, and to the lives of the Apostles, even if in
doing so they have had to stretch the historical truth. While it is good
and helpful to know the historical truth, it is more important that the stories
of the saints convey the Truth, as does the tale of Ursin at Bourges, than
that they should be accurate.
What the people at Bourges and elsewhere are saying is that the
new religion was not Ursin's, nor Nathaniel's, nor Stephen's, but Jesus Christ's;
it seems intelligent of them to have aged Ursin by several centuries to bring
him closer to Jesus Christ, and so bring us nearer to Him, too.
When Ursin went to Bourges, he stayed with a poor family. He wasn't
a popular orator, nor did he find fault with the great or attack anyone. He
didn't prepare learned discourses. Instead he went to live with a poor family,
worked during the day and in the evening told them all that he knew about
Jesus Christ: This was the first church at Bourges.
Guess who spread the Gospel
there? Gossips! Think about it. We who call ourselves Christians often mentally
condemn those who would spread every rumor, adding details as they go. Condemnation
doesn't belong to the Christian, however, Jesus can use even the sins of
others for good.
The poor family where Ursin lived must have repeated his story
to their neighbors, who retold it to others, so that within a few days everyone
in the area knew the story of Jesus Christ. They all wanted to see this man
Ursin, who worked with his hands and wasn't proud--and who listened to them.
And so they came to the poor family to hear the Gospel. He retold the story
countless times and everyone was impressed. His gossips succeeded as well
as Paul and his rhetoricians!
But as generally happens to prophets, Ursin drew the attention
of the jealous who soon spread malicious gossip about him, causing him to
be scorned by nearly everyone--but Jesus, who wanted Ursin for himself. One
day Ursin was chased out of town by dogs, street urchins, and the rabble.
It was all over he thought. Ursin was a gentle man, so he didn't reproach
the gossips or defend himself. Instead he went to live in a hut in the woods,
and waited to see what would happen.
Not long afterwards people came to find him. There had been a
change of opinion as people asked themselves why they had let him go because
he was such a good man who had done no harm. Everybody knew him well and had
a story to tell about his kindness.
So Ursin was persuaded to return and began retelling the story
of Jesus Christ. They saw that he didn't ask money from them and he didn't
play the prophet, so the again started listening. They even looked for another
bigger place for their meetings. Senator Leocade spent only a few days each
year in Bourges, so messengers were sent to ask him for the loan of his stables.
Leocade agreed, and that was the second church in Bourges.
Everything went so well that
soon the stables were too small. Another place had to be found--perhaps Leocade's
palace? Ursin didn't like the idea; Leocade was an important man and his
palace would be too grand. But he was persuaded to go to Lyons and ask Leocade
to allow them to use his palace.
Leocade not only agreed but also converted and gave all his property
in the district to found new churches. Ursin then returned to Bourges and
moved his church into the palace--the third church in Bourges.
Ursin died, not a martyr, but greatly venerated by the gossips
and everybody else.
It was the same Jesus Christ that he taught in the humble cottage,
in the big stables, and in the grand palace; and it is the same Jesus Christ
that is preached today from the bishop of Bourges in his magnificent cathedral:
and that is the most wonderful thing of all (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
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300 St. Agrippinus
Bishop of Naples
Neápoli, in Campánia, sancti Agrippíni Epíscopi,
miráculis clari.
At Naples in Campania, St. Agrippinus, bishop, renowned
for miracles.
He has been venerated in that
city since the earliest times. His remains are in the Naples cathedral,
beside Sts. Eutychius and Aucutis.
Agrippinus of Naples B (RM) (also known as Arpinus) 2nd or 3rd
century. Bishop Agrippinus of Naples has been highly venerated in that city
from time immemorial. His relics are enshrined under the high altar of the
cathedral together with the bodies of Saints Eutychius and Acutius, companions
of Saint Januarius (Benedictines).
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304 St. Orestes
Martyr of Cappadocia
Tyánæ, in Cappadócia, pássio sancti Oréstis,
sub Diocletiáno Imperatóre.
At Tyana in Cappadocia, the martyrdom of St. Orestes under
Emperor Diocletian.
who was put to death by torture under
co-Emperor Diocletian.
Orestes of Cappadocia M (RM). A martyr of Cappadocia, tortured to death under
Diocletian (Benedictines).
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304 Onesiphorus and Porphyrius
of Ephesus Holy Martyrs
suffered during the persecution against Christians by the emperor Diocletian
(284-305).
They beat them and burned them. After this, they tied the saints to wild
horses, which dragged them over the stones, after which the Martyrs Onesiphorus
and Porphyrius died. Believers gathered the remains of the saints and reverently
buried them.
310 St. Alexander fourth century Martyr
in Salonica
Thessalonícæ sancti Alexándri Mártyris, sub Maximiáno
Príncipe.
At Thessalonica, under Emperor Maximian, St. Alexander,
martyr.
Alexander was executed during the reign
of co-Emperor Maximian.
Alexander of Salonica M (RM) 4th century. A martyr of Salonica under Maximian
Herculius (Benedictines).
The Martyr Alexander of Thessalonica was arrested by pagans for confessing
the Christian Faith. Under the emperor Maximian (284-305)he not only admitted
being a Christian, but when told to offer sacrifice to the gods, he overturned
the idolatrous sacrifice in indignation. The emperor gave orders to behead
the saint.
When the execution was done, the emperor and the executioner saw how an angel
came forth bearing the soul of the holy Martyr Alexander up to the heavens.
The emperor permitted Christians to bury the body of the saint with honor
in the city of Thessalonica, which they did with joy.
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306 St. Theodore Tyro
Roman martyr recruit (tiro) in the Roman army at Pontus, on the Black
SeaAmaséæ, in Ponto, natális sancti Theodóri mílitis,
qui, témpore Maximiáni Imperatóris, pro Christiánæ
fídei confessióne, fórtiter cæsus et in cárcerem
missus; deínde, Dómino sibi apparénte ac monénte
ut constánter et viríliter ágeret, relevátus
est; novíssime, postquam in equúleo suspénsus et úngulis
ita excarnificátus est, ut ejus interióra apparérent
nuda, ardéntibus ígnibus comburéndus tráditur.
Ipsíus vero laudes sanctus Gregórius Nyssénus præcláro
encómio celebrávit.
At Amasea
in Pontus, the birthday of St. Theodore, a soldier, in the time of Emperor
Maximian. For the confession of Christ he was severely scourged and
sent to prison, where he was comforted by an apparition of our Lord, who
exhorted him to act with courage and constancy. He was finally stretched
on the rack, lacerated with iron hooks until his bowels were laid bare, then
cast into the flames to be burned alive. His glorious deeds have been
celebrated in a eulogy by Gregory of Nyssa.
considered to be virtually identical
with St. Theodore Stratelates. According to custom, he was a recruit (tiro)
in the Roman army at Pontus, on the Black Sea. After refusing to participate
in a pagan ceremony, he was brought before the tribune of the legion and
the governor of the region. Freed temporarily, he immediately went out and
set fire to the temple of Cybele near Amasea in Pontus. For this crime, he
was burned to death in a furnace. Beyond the legend of his martyrdom, little
is known with certainty of his death. Nevertheless, he was greatly venerated
in the Eastern Church as one of the three "Soldier Saints," with George and
Demetrios.
306 ST THEODORE TIRO, MARTYR
An early panegyric, attributed to St Gregory of
Nyssa, pronounced upon this martyr on his festival, begins by ascribing to
his intercession the preservation of Pontus from the inroads of the Scythians,
who had laid waste all the neighbouring provinces. Imploring his patronage,
it says, “ As a soldier defend us; as a martyr speak for us—ask peace. If
we need stronger intercession, gather together your brother martyrs, and
with them all pray for us. Stir up Peter, Paul and John, that they be solicitous
for the churches which they founded. May no heresies sprout up, but may the Christian commonwealth become, by your
and your companions’ prayers, a fruitful field.” The panegyric
says that by St Theodore’s intercession devils were expelled and distempers
cured; that many resorted to his church and admired the actions of the saint
painted on the wall; then approached the tomb, whose touch, they believed,
imparted a blessing, and carried away the dust of the sepulchre as a treasure;
if any were allowed to touch the sacred relics, they reverently applied them
to their eyes, mouth and ears. “Then they address themselves to the martyr
as if he were present, and pray and invoke him, who is before God and obtains
gifts as he pleases.” The panegyrist then refers to St Theodore’s life and
passion.
The martyr whose shrine at
Euchaita was so great a centre of devotion was a young man, newly enlisted
in the Roman army, whence he was surnamed Tiro, “the Recruit” (or more probably
because he belonged to the Cohors tironum). According to
his earliest legend his legion was sent into winter quarters in Pontus, and
he was at Amasea when he refused to join his comrades in idolatrous observances.
He was presented to the governor of the province and the tribune of his legion
and asked how he dare to profess a religion which the emperors punished with
death. He boldly replied, “I know not your gods. Jesus Christ, the only Son
of God, is my God. If my words offend you, cut out my tongue; every part
of my body is ready when God calls for it as a sacrifice.” They dismissed
him for the present, but Theodore, being resolved to convince his judges
that his resolution was inflexible, set fire to a pagan temple which stood
in the city. When he was carried a second time before the governor and his
assistant he was ready to anticipate their questions by his confession. They
endeavoured to terrify him with threats, and allure him by promises, but he
refused to be seduced. He was therefore unmercifully torn with whips, but
under all manner of torments maintained his tranquillity. The martyr was
remanded to prison, where in the night he was wonderfully comforted by angels.
After a third examination, Theodore was condemned to be burnt alive in a furnace
and was so executed. His ashes were begged by a lady named Eusebia, who gave
them burial at Euchaita.
This account of St Theodore
Tiro cannot be relied on, but it has reference to a real martyr who may or
may not have been a soldier. In the course of time his “acts” were embellished
by further fictitious and fantastic additions, until he became one of the
best known of the “warrior-saints” and included in the East among the Great
Martyrs. So complicated and contradictory did his story become that, in order
to make it less inconsistent, a second soldier St Theodore had to be posited
and so we have the St Theodore Stratelates of February 7. St Theodore Tiro’s
former popularity in the West is illustrated by thirty-eight of the famous
thirteenth-century windows of Chartres cathedral, those in the choir, which
depict scenes from his legend. The church of San Teodoro (“Toto”) at the foot of the Palatine hill in Rome is named after
him. When in 971, on February 17 (Theodore’s
feast-day in the East), the Emperor John Zimiskes gained a great victory
over the Russians at Dorystolon, it was attributed to the personal leadership
of the martyr; the emperor rebuilt his church at Euchaita and renamed the
city Theodoropolis. St Theodore Tiro is still greatly venerated in the
East and is mentioned in the “preparation” of the Byzantine Liturgy, together
with his fellow dragon-slayer, St George, and a third “warrior”, St Demetrius.
Theodore with
a long preliminary discussion. The most ancient evidence of the cultus of the saint is to be found in the sermon attributed
to St Gregory of Nyssa. We cannot be quite sure that Gregory was really the
author, but it is unquestionably of early date. It is printed in Migne, PG.,
vol. xlvi, pp. 736—748, as well as in the Acta Sanctorum, November,
vol. iv, where Delehaye has again dealt at length with the story of both Theodore
the recruit and Theodore the general, editing also as much of these varied
“acts”, partly in Greek, partly in ancient Latin versions,- as would serve
best to illustrate how the fictitious developments have diverged as they
multiplied. Theodore the general has already been noticed separately herein
under February 7, which see. Doubt has been cast upon Mgr Wilpert’s identification
of the two figures in the mosaic of the church of St Theodore in Rome, which
he holds to represent separately the recruit and the general. Consult on
this the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xlii (1925),
p. 389, and see in the same volume, pp. 41—45, an account of further miracles
of St Theodore. In Anatolian Studies presented to Sir W. M. Ramsay
(1923) is another paper by Delehaye, on “Euchaita et St Theodore”
(pp. 129—134). Kunstle, Ikonographie (vol. ii, pp. 551—552), discusses
St Theodore in art, but much might be added from the fuller study of oriental
mosaics, etc., by Diehl, Bréhier, Fr de Jerphanion, and other experts.
Theodore Tiro (RM) (also known as Theodore the Recruit)
Died . Theodore was a young man newly enlisted (tiro means recruit)
in the Roman army when severe regulations were published continuing under
the new rulers of the empire the persecutions that had been started by Diocletian.
His legion was wintering at Amasea in Pontus on the Black Sea when orders
came that everyone should join in pagan worship. The recruit refused to do
so. Though his life was seriously at risk, Theodore made no attempt to conceal
his faith in Christianity.
The tribune of the legion and
the governor of Pontus summoned the soldier before them, asking why he proclaimed
belief in Jesus Christ when the Roman authorities threatened anyone who did
so with death. "Jesus Christ is my one God," replied Theodore. "Since you
dislike my words so much, why not cut out my tongue. There is no limb that
I am not ready to sacrifice when God demands it."
Both the tribune and the governor had no desire to put their new
recruit to death. They sent him back to his quarters, resolved to try to
convert him to paganism later. Theodore, believing that the time had now
come for a public demonstration of his hatred for the pagan idols, went to
the center of nearby Euchaïta, where a temple to Cybele, the mother-goddess,
had been erected and set fire to it.
Even now the governor and the tribune were disposed to be lenient.
They bribed the young soldier with the promise that he would be made a priest
of Cybele, if only he would recant and deny Jesus. Theodore pointed out that
the pagan priests were the most reprehensible of all, since they misled the
rest.
At this the authorities sentenced
Theodore to be whipped. He made no cry of pain as his skin was lashed. He
spent a further time in jail awaiting sentence, which was that he should
be burned alive in the place where he incinerated the temple. On February
17, 306, the young recruit was thrown into a furnace and perished. A good
Christian woman name Eusebia buried the ashes.
The story is untrustworthy, and its later forms so contradictory
and complicated by incredible embroideries that another Saint Theodore Stratelates,
'the General,' was invented to account for them. There is good evidence that
there was a martyred Theodore in Pontus; he was venerated from the fourth
century and his burial place at Euchaïta was an important religious
center.
He became the third of the highly venerated 'soldier-saints' of
the East, with Saint George and Saint Demetrius. A contest with a dragon (metaphoric
for evil) seems to have been attributed to Theodore before it was to George
(Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney).
Saint Theodore is represented as a young warrior with a lance.
Pictured may be (1) Saint Acacius (in Byzantine art); (2) Theodore setting
fire to the temple with a torch; (3) Christ appearing to him in prison; (4)
a crown of thorns; (5) a funeral pyre; or (6) a dragon or crocodile at his
feet (Roeder).
Anonymous Byzantine mosaics,
Russian icons of Saints Theodore Stratelites and Theodore the Tyro.
He is greatly venerated in the Eastern Church as the patron of soldiers.
He is invoked against storm (Roeder).
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466 St. Benignus
Bishop of Ireland son of Sechnaa
the psalm singer of St, Patrick. Sechnan was a chief in Meath,
Ireland, converted by St. Patrick. Benignus became a disciple of St. Patrick
and succeeded him as the chief bishop of Ireland. He converted the Irish
in Clare, Kerry, and Connaught. Benignus served as the superior of an abbey
at Drumlease, erected by St. Patrick.
467 ST BENIGNUS,
OR BENEN, BISHOP
WHILST St Patrick
was on his way to Tara from Saul it is said he passed some days at the house
of a chieftain named Sechnan, in Meath. This man and his family were converted
by the teaching of Patrick, and the gospel made a particular impression
on his son Benen (latinized as Benignus). The boy, we are told, would scatter
flowers over Patrick as he slept, and when the apostle would continue his
journey clung to his feet and implored to be allowed to go too. So he was
taken, and became Patrick’s dearest disciple and eventually his successor.
St Benen was noted for gentleness and charm of disposition and for his good
singing, wherefore he was known as “Patrick’s psalmodist”. The first
evangelization of Clare and Kerry is attributed to him, and from thence he
went north into Connaught. It is also claimed that St Patrick founded a church
at Drumlease, in Kilmore diocese, of which Benen was given charge, and that
he ruled it for twenty years. It seems certain that Benen was St Patrick’s
right-hand, man, their names are coupled in the composition of the code of
law called Senchus Mor, and after Patrick’s death he became
the chief bishop of the Irish church.
William
of Malmesbury relates that St Benen resigned his office in the year 460, and
came to Glastonbury, where he found St Patrick, who had preceded him thither.
His old master sent him out to live as a hermit, telling him to build his
cell at the spot where his staff should burst into leaf and bud. This happened
at a swampy place called Feringmere, and there St Benen died and was buried,
till in 1091 his relics were removed
to Glastonbury Abbey. No doubt somebody’s relics were translated on that
occasion, but there is no truth in the legend of the association of St Patrick
and St Benen with Glastonbury.
It may be
said that in the Acta Sanctorum, November, vol. iv, pp. 145—188, a serious attempt has for the first
time been made (by Fr Paul Grosjean) to piece together a consistent account
of the history of St Benignus. He has printed the previously inedited life
in Irish, the only manuscript copy of which, made by Michael O’Clery, is
preserved in Brussels. This, which is rather a panegyric than a biography,
is interspersed with fragments of verse and consists mainly of extravagant
miracles. It is consequently not very informative. The facts of St Benignus’s
career have mainly to be learnt from the Patrician documents published in
such collections as Whitley Stokes, The Tripartite Life (Rolls
Series). The contributions made to the subject by William of Malmesbury and
John of Tynemouth are plainly of little value; they are based largely on
the Glastonbury fictions, now completely discredited, as Dean Armitage Robinson
has shown in his book, Two Glastonbury Legends. - On The Book Father Delehaye devoted great attention to this martyr.
In 1909, in his book Les
légendes grecques des saints militaires, he edited five different
texts of the passio and miracles of St of
Rights, attributed
to St Benignus, see Eoin MacNeill, Celtic Ireland, pp. 73—95;
on the Senchus Mor, Haddan and Stubbs, Councils,
vol. ii, pp. 339 seq.; and Bury, Life
of St Patrick, pp. 355—357. It is curious that there
seems to be no mention of St Benignus in the Félire of
Oengus. See Fr P. Grosjean, “An Early Fragment on St Patrick .
. . in the Life of St Benén”, in Seanchas Ardmhacha, vol.
i, no. i (Armagh, 1954), pp. 31—44.
Benen of Ireland B (AC) (also
known as Benignus) Died c. 468. Son of the Meath chieftain Sechnan (Sessenen
or Sesgne), Benen grew up in the district around Duleek. He and his family
were converted in his childhood and baptized by Saint Patrick. The story
is told that Benen worshipped Patrick as a hero. He had heard the tale of
the great saint's chariot driver laying down his life to save Patrick. He
was in awe, but too young to do much. So when after baptizing Benen, Patrick
fell into an exhausted sleep in a quiet corner of the family's garden, he
wondered what he could do to honor the saint. He noticed the dust of the
road on Patrick's clothes was attracting insects, so he scattered some strongly
scented flowers over the sleeping man. When the boy was chastised for doing
this, Patrick responded: "Don't send him away. He's a good boy. It may be
that he will yet do wonderful things for the Church."
At that moment Benen became the apostle's disciple and companion.
We are told that when the apostle wanted to continue his journey, Benen rolled
himself into a ball in Patrick's chariot, clung to the saint's feet, and
begged to accompany him to Tara. Patrick agreed to take the youngster with
him, although everyone else thought he was too immature. Patrick assured
them that Benen would be fine-- and he was. He never returned home.
And so, as Benen matured, he became Patrick's confidant, 'Psalmsinger,'
and right-hand man. He sang for every Mass said by Patrick, thereby learning
how to teach and preach the faith. Eventually Benen was ordained priest,
and in time succeeded Patrick as archbishop of Ireland. Benen is known for
his gentleness, charm, and beautiful singing voice.
The story is told that once
on an Easter Sunday when Saint Patrick, his eight companions, and the boy
Benignus were going from Slane to Tara to confront the high king, Laoghaire,
they were miraculously turned into deer and so avoided the attempts of the
king's guards to intercept them en route. The fawn in the rear, according
to the legend, was Benignus. The Tripartite Life tells it this way:
"Patrick went with eight young clerics and
Benen as a gillie with them, and Patrick gave them his blessing before they
set out. A cloak of darkness went over them so that not a man of them appeared.
Howbeit, the enemy who were waiting to ambush them, saw eight deer going
past them, and behind them a fawn with a bundle on its back. That was Patrick
with his eight, and Benen behind them with his tablets on his back."
He is credited with evangelizing Clare, Kerry, and Connaught,
and reportedly headed a monastery at Drumlease in Kilmore, built by Patrick,
for some 20 years.
Benen's connection with Glastonbury has no historical basis; however,
William of Malmesbury relates that Benen resigned his see in 460, and went
to Glastonbury, to seek out his old master. Patrick is said to have sent
him out to live as a hermit at the first place where his staff should burst
into leaf and bud. It is related that this happened in the swampy environs
of Feringmere, which is where Benen died and was buried. In 1091, someone's
relics were translated from that site to Glastonbury Abbey, but they were
not Benen's because there is no truth in the association of Saint Patrick
and Saint Benen with Glastonbury (Benedictines, Bieler, Concannon, D'Arcy,
Delaney, Curtayne, Healy, Montague, Ryan) .
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5th v. Saint John the Dwarf
of Egypt struggled in the Egyptian desert in the monastery of St Pimen the
Great
(August 27). From the name of
this monastery, wilderness monasteries began to be called "sketes," in which
monks pursued asceticism in strict solitude and silence. St John was a gentle,
humble and work-loving monk. It was to this monastery that the young John
came with his brother Daniel.
Once, St John told his elder brother that he did not want to be
concerned about clothing and food, and that he wished to live like the angels
in Paradise. Daniel allowed him to go to a deserted place, so that he would
be afflicted. He removed his clothing, John went out from the cell. It was
very cold at night, and after a week John became hungry.
One night John went back to the monastery and began to knock on
the door of the cell. "Who is it?" Daniel asked.
"It is I, your brother John."
Daniel replied, "John has become an angel, and is no longer among
men."
John continued to knock, but Daniel would not let him in until
morning. Then he said, "You are a man and must work again if you want to
eat." St John wept bitterly, asking for forgiveness.
After being brought to his senses St John went to St Pimen, known
for his firm and steadfast will, and having asked guidance, he promised to
be obedient in all things. Testing the patience of the young monk, St Pimen
gave him an unusual obedience. For three years St John carried water and
poured it on a dry stick, until it became covered with leaves and bore abundant
fruit. His Elder took the fruit to the brethren saying, "Take and eat the
fruit of obedience."
Later, Abba John himself became a guide of many people on the
way of salvation, among whom were St Arsenius the Great (May 8) and St Thais
(May 10).
St John was the author of the Life of St Paisius the Great (June
19).
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5th v St Anthony The Holy
Martyr a Syrian started to build a
church dedicated to the Holy Trinity
lived during the fifth century and was a stone-mason. With the
blessing of the bishop of the Syrian city of Apamea, he started to build
a church dedicated to the Holy Trinity. When the pagan townspeople learned
of this, they rushed into his house by night and murdered him with a sword.
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510 St. Pabo Early
Scottish monastery founder island of Anglesey
He was originally a warrior and perhaps the son of a Scottish or Pictish
chieftan who gave up his life of combat and embarked on a spiritual life.
Pabo of Brittany (AC). Surnamed 'Post-Prydain,' Pabo was the son of a chieftain
on the Scottish border and at first a soldier. Later he came to Wales and
founded the monastery called after him Llanbabon, in Anglesey. Britain and
Brittany are often confused in old hagiographical records (Benedictines).
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525 St. Vitonus
Bishop Verdun, France credited with many miracles from
about 500, also listed as Vanne or Vaune.
<>525 ST VITONUS, OR VANNE, BISHOP
OF VERDUN
ST Firminus
having died while his episcopal city was being besieged by Clovis, it is
said that the king, on taking Verdun, nominated an old priest, St Euspicius,
to the vacant see. Euspicius refused the office because he wanted to be a
monk, and suggested his nephew Vitonus, who was found acceptable. His episcopate
lasted over twenty-five years, during which he is said to have converted
the remaining pagans of his diocese, but all the information that we have
about his life is legendary: as, for example, that he destroyed a dragon
by drowning it in the Meuse. St Vitonus is now chiefly remembered by the
great congregation of Benedictines which bore his name. The foundation of
a college of clergy outside the walls of Verdun is attributed to St Vitonus,
whose buildings in the year 952 were handed over to Benedictine
monks and re-dedicated in honour of the founder as the abbaye de Saint-Vanne.
In 1600 the prior, Dom Didier de la Cour, began a thorough-going reformation
of the monastery, which with Moyenmoutier became the centre of a group of
reformed houses in Lorraine, Champagne and Burgundy. They were united officially
as a new congregation, “de Saint-Vanne et Saint-Hydulphe”, in 1604, the French monasteries withdrawing to form the congregation
of St Maur fourteen years later. They were both suppressed at the Revolution,
but were nominally revived (with Cluny) in 1837 to form the new congregation
of Solesmes. The feast of St Vitonus is therefore observed by that congregation
as well as at Verdun.
There
is a Latin life, still in manuscript, of which Mabillon speaks in the Acta Sanctorum O.S.B. (vol. vi, Pt I, pp. 496—500); but, written
as it was five hundred years after the death of Vitonus, he apparently deemed
it not worth printing, though he has published a short collection of miracles
worked at the shrine. A compendium of this life was, however, printed by
Surius. See also Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux, vol.
iii, p. 70. On Moyenmoutier and its reform, consult Gallia Christiana,
vol. xiii, pp. 1165 seq., and L. Jerome, L’Abbaye de Moyenmoutier (1902).
The Benedictine abbey of Lorraine which served as the chief
community of the Congregation of St. Vannes was dedicated to him. Vitonus
eradicated paganism in the area and started a college for clergy, probably
the foundation for St. Vanne's.
Vitonus of Verdun B (AC) (also known as Vanne, Vaune). It is said that Vitonus
took the monastic habit in his youth, and then was chosen to be bishop of
Verdun about 498. He shepherded his flock for about 26 years until his death--never
slacking in his zeal or practice of austerity. Though little is known of
his life, Vitonus is credited with many miracles. At a later period a great
Benedictine abbey of Lorraine was dedicated to him, which in 1604 became
the center of the Congregation of Saint-Vannes. He is the patron of Verdun
(Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
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6th v. Saint Matrona,
Abbess of Constantinople born in Perge Pamphylia (Asia Minor) 5th v. 
They gave her in marriage to a wealthy man named Dometian. When her daughter
Theodota was born, they resettled in Constantinople. The twenty-five-year-old
Matrona loved to walk to the temple of God. She spent entire days there,
ardently praying to the Lord and weeping for her sins.
At the church the saint met two pious Eldresses, Eugenia and Susanna,
who from their youth lived there in asceticism, work and prayer. Matrona
began to imitate the God-pleasing life of an ascetic, humbling her flesh
by abstinence and fasting, for which she had to endure criticism by her husband.
Her soul yearned for a full
renunciation of the world. After long hesitation, St Matrona decided to leave
her family and entreated the Lord to reveal whether her intent was pleasing
to Him. The Lord heard the prayer of His servant. Once, during a light sleep,
she had a dream that she had fled from her husband, who was in pursuit of
her. The saint concealed herself in a crowd of monks approaching her, and
her husband did not notice her. Matrona accepted this dream as a divine directive
to enter a men's monastery, where her husband would not think to look for
her.
She gave her fifteen-year-old daughter to be raised by the Eldress
Susanna, and having cut her own hair and disguised herself in men's attire,
she went to the monastery of St Bassion (October 10). There the Nun Matrona
passed herself off as the eunuch Babylos and was accepted as one of the brethren.
Apprehensive lest the monks learn that she was a woman, the saint passed
her time in constant quietude and much work. The brethren marveled at the
great virtue of Babylos.
One time the saint was working in the monastery vineyard with
the other monks. The novice monk Barnabas noted that her ear-lobe was pierced
and asked about it. "It is necessary, brother, to till the soil and not watch
other people, which is not proper for a monk," answered the saint.
After a certain while it was revealed in a dream to St Bassion,
the igumen of the monastery, that the eunuch Babylos was a woman. It was
also revealed to Acacius, igumen of the nearby Abraham monastery. St Bassion
summoned St Matrona and asked in a threatening voice why she had entered
the monastery, to corrupt the monks, or to shame the monastery.
With tears the saint told the igumen about all her past life,
about her husband, hostile to her efforts and prayers, and about the vision
directing her to go to the men's monastery. Convinced that her intent was
pure and chaste, St Bassion sent St Matrona to a women's monastery in the
city of Emesa. In this monastery the saint dwelt for many years, inspiring
the sisters by her high monastic achievement. When the Abbess died, by the
unanimous wish of the nuns the Nun Matrona became head of the convent.
The fame of her virtuous activities, and miraculous gift of healing,
which she acquired from the Lord, spread far beyond the walls of the monastery.
Dometian also heard about the deeds of the nun. When St Matrona learned that
her husband was coming to the monastery and wanted to see her, she secretly
went off to Jerusalem, and then to Mount Sinai, and from there to Beirut,
where she settled in an abandoned pagan temple. The local inhabitants learned
of her seclusion, and began to come to her. The holy ascetic turned many
from their pagan impiety and converted them to Christ.
Women and girls began to settle by the dwelling of the nun and
soon a new monastery was formed. Having fulfilled the will of God, revealed
to her in a dream, the saint left Beirut and journeyed to Constantinople
where she learned that her husband had died. With the blessing of her spiritual
Father, St Bassion, the ascetic founded a women's monastery in Constantinople,
to which sisters from the Beirut convent she founded also transferred. The
Constantinople monastery of St Matrona was known for its strict monastic
rule and the virtuous life of its sisters.
In extreme old age St Matrona had a vision of the heavenly Paradise
and the place prepared for her there after 75 years of monastic labor. At
the age of one hundred, St Matrona blessed the sisters,and quietly fell asleep
in the Lord.
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610 Saint Eustolia, a native
of Rome, had come to Constantinople and entered one of the women's monasteries
The virtuous and strict monastic life of the saint gained her the love and
respect of the sisters. Not only monastics, but also many laypeople came
to her for advice and consolation. St Eustolia died in the year 610.
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625 Saint Sopatra of Constantinople
transformed palace building
into a monastery known for strict monastic Rule
The daughter of the emperor Mauricius (582-602). She was inclined
towards monasticism, and met St Eustolia in the church of the Most Holy Theotokos
at Blachernae. After speaking with the saint, Sopatra finally decided to
leave the world and submit her will to her guide, St Eustolia. She transformed
the palace building, which her father had given her, into a monastery known
for its strict monastic Rule. St Sopatra died in the year 625.
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7th v. Eustolia
and Sopatra daughters of Emperor Maurice of Constantinople (582-602) VV (RM)
Constantinópoli sanctárum Vírginum Eustóliæ
Románæ, et Sópatræ, fíliæ Maurítii
Imperatóris.
At Constantinople, the holy virgins Eustolia, a Roman
maiden, and Sopatra, the daughter of Emperor Maurice
It is uncertain whether both of these virgins were
daughters of Emperor Maurice of Constantinople (582-602) or only one of them.
They were from the first revered as saints (Benedictines).
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| 9th v. Saint Theoctiste
dwelt on the island of Paros 35 years
was born in the city of Methymna
on the island of Lesbos. At an early age she was left a complete orphan,
and relatives sent her to a monastery to be raised. The girl was happy to
be removed from the world of sin, and she liked the monastic life, the long
church services, monastic obedience, the strict fasting and unceasing prayer.
She learned much of the singing, prayer and psalmody by heart.
In the year 846 when she was already eighteen years old, she set
off with the blessing of the abbess, on the Feast of the Resurrection of
Christ, to a neighboring village to visit her sister and she remained there
overnight. Arabs invaded the settlement, and they took captive all the inhabitants,
loaded them on a ship, and by morning they were at sea.
The brigands took the captives
to the desolate island of Paros so that they might examine them in order
to assign a value to each when they were sold at the slave-market. The Lord
helped the young maiden to flee, and the Arabs did not catch her. From that
time St Theoctiste dwelt on the island for 35 years. An old church in the
name of the Most Holy Theotokos served as her dwelling, and her food was
sunflower seeds. All her time was spent in prayer.
Once, a group of hunters landed upon the island. One of them,
pursuing his prey, went far off from the coast into the forest and suddenly
he saw the church. He went into the church so as to offer up a prayer to
the Lord. After the prayer the hunter saw what looked like a human form in
a dim corner, not far from the holy altar table, through thick cobwebs. He
went closer and heard a voice, "Stay there, fellow, and come no closer to
shame me, since I am a naked woman." The hunter gave the woman his outer
clothing and she came out from concealment. He beheld a grey-haired woman
with worn face, calling herself Theoctiste. With a weak voice she told of
her life fully devoted to God.
When she finished her story, the saint asked the hunter, if he
happened to come to this island again, that he should bring her a particle
of the Presanctified Gifts. During all her time of living in the wilderness
she not once was granted to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
A year later, the hunter again arrived upon the island and brought
a small vessel with a particle of the Holy Mysteries. St Theoctiste met the
Holy Gifts in the church, fell down to the ground and prayed long with tears.
Standing up, she took the vessel and with reverence and in the fear of God
she received the Body and Blood of Christ.
On the following day the hunter saw the dead body of the nun Theoctiste
in the church. After digging a shallow grave, the hunter placed the venerable
body of the nun in it. As he did so, he impudently cut off her hand, so as
to take with him part of the relics of the great saint of God. All night
the ship sailed upon a tempestuous sea, and in the morning it found itself
at the very place from which it began. The man then perceived that taking
the relic was not pleasing to God.
He returned to the grave and placed the hand with the body of
the saint. After this the ship sailed off unhindered. On the journey the
hunter told his companions everything that had happened on the island. Listening
to him, they all decided immediately to return to Paros, to venerate the
relics of the great ascetic, but they could not find her holy body in the
grave.
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10th v. Saints Euthymius
and Neophytus, Founders of the Docheiariou Monastery on Mt Athos, an uncle
and his nephew
belonged to the highest Byzantine
aristocracy. St Euthymius, while still in the world, was the friend of St
Athanasius of Mt. Athos (July 5), and he later became a novice and disciple
of the great ascetic. For his sincere love of the brethren, gentleness and
his particular zeal in the ascetic life, St Athanasius granted the monk the
duty of steward, which St Euthymius fulfilled as though entrusted to him
by God Himself.
St Euthymius settled with several of the monks in the locale of
Daphne, where he founded a monastery dedicated to Saint Nicholas, which he
called Docheiariou in memory of his obedience. Guiding his own younger brethren,
St Euthymius taught the necessity of attention towards self, to all the stirrings
of the soul, explaining that the struggle of Christians, according to the
Apostle Paul, is not "against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
and against powers, and against the world-rulers of this darkness" (Eph 6:12).
The peaceful ascetic life of the monks was disturbed by the Saracens.
The monk led all the brethren into the forest. Returning, they found the
monastery razed to its very foundations. St Euthymius did not lose heart,
and the monastery was rebuilt. St Neophytus, in the world, was a companion
of the emperor Nicephorus Phocas (963-969). Upon the death of his parents
he came to Mt Athos, where he was tonsured in the monastery of his uncle
St Euthymius. Before his death, St Euthymius handed over the administration
of the monastery to his nephew.
Under the spiritual guidance
of St Neophytus, the small monastery grew into a Lavra. Asking the emperor
Nicephorus to become a benefactor of the monastery, St Neophytus enlarged
the monastery to its present size. St Neophytus was deigned to be chosen
"protos" (head of the governing Council of Elders of the Holy Mountain) and
for many years he labored there. After taking leave of the Council in his
declining years, he returned to the Docheiariou monastery, where peacefully
he fell asleep in the Lord.
The Icon of the Mother
of God, "Quick to Hear" an ancient wonderworking icon, is located
on Holy Mount Athos at the Docheiariou monastery. The monastery tradition
suggests that it was painted in the tenth century, in the time of the igumen
St Neophytus (November 9). In the year 1664 the cook Nilus, came to the kitchen
at night with a burning torch. He heard a voice from the icon of the Mother
of God which hung over the door, warning him in future not to walk here with
a torch and not to darken the icon with soot. The monk thought that this
was a prank of one of the brethren, so he disregarded the warning and continued
to walk into the kitchen with the sooty torch.
Suddenly he fell blind. With fervent repentance Nilus prayed before
the icon of the Mother of God, begging forgiveness. When the brethren heard
what had happened, they placed a lamp before the icon, and censed it every
night. Again he heard the wondrous voice saying that he had been forgiven,
and that his sight would return. The All-Pure One commanded him to announce
to all the brethren that She was the protector and guardian of the monastery."Let
them and all Orthodox Christians come to Me in their necessities, and I shall
not forsake them. All their petitions will be granted by My Son, because
of My intercession with Him. My icon shall be called "She who is Quick to
Hear, for I shall speedily fulfill the petitions of those who hasten to it."
The Most Holy Theotokos then fulfilled and continues to fulfill Her promise
of quick help and consolation for all those who come to Her with faith.
In Russia, copies of the wonderworking Athonite image "She who
is Quick to Hear" were always venerated with great love and fervent prayer.
Many of them were glorified by miracles. In particular, there were cases
of healing from the plague and from demonic possession.
In 1938, the Docheiariou monastery presented a copy of the wonderworking
Icon of the Mother of God "Quick to Hear" to the Russian Spiritual Mission
at Jerusalem.
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1148 Saint Onesiphorus the Confessor of the Kiev Caves,
Near Caves gift of clairvoyance
pursued the ascetic life in the Kiev Caves monastery. He was a
presbyter and had the gift of clairvoyance. He died in the year 1148 and
was buried in the Near Caves beside St Spyridon (October 31). His memory
is also celebrated on September 28 and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
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1270 Blessed Ilona
of Hungary mistress Vesprim Dominican convent trained Saint Margaret
of Hungary
contemplative prayer often
led to ecstasy crufixes would come to life for her first Dominican marked
with the stigmata The lilies of light that appeared during her prayer is
unique in the annals of the Church When Ilona was at the point of death,
she was rapt in ecstasy. Her body glowed with a radiance that made it impossible
for her sisters to determine the exact moment of her passing. At some point
she also received wounds in her side and feet, which healed; however, when
her tomb was opened 17 years after her death, the wound in her side reopened
of its own volition and rays of light poured forth from it.OP V (PC)
(also known as Helen).
Ilona was the novice mistress of the Dominican convent of Vesprim,
where she trained the future Saint Margaret of Hungary in the ways of holiness.
She was one of the first sisters in the community founded by Paul of Hungary
in 1222. Ilona was known for her gift of contemplative prayer that often
led to ecstasy.
Sometimes God gave visible signs of her sanctity, which were not
always understood by her community. Once she was watched by another sister
as she prayed alone. The corpus on the crucifix came to life, reached down,
and took her hand in His. It took a full day for the sisters to pry her hand
from that of the corpus. Another time the large crucifix from the altar suspended
itself over her until she finished her prayer, at which time she replaced
it.
Ilona is reputed to have been the first Dominican marked with
the stigmata. Before 1237, she received a mark in her right hand on the Feast
of Saint Francis about 10 years after his death as she prayed for some of
the saint's intense love for heavenly things. As she went into a state of
ecstasy, her hand sparkled and gave off rays of light. In the center of her
palm a circle of gold appeared and from this a dazzlingly bright lily grew.
When she returned to a normal state of consciousness, she prayed that the
wound would be invisible. Later a similar wound appeared in her left hand.
God did not answer that prayer until near the time of her death. The lilies
of light that appeared during her prayer is unique in the annals of the Church.
Ilona was dearly loved within
her community, which she served as novice mistress and then as prioress.
Her great desire was that her sisters might remain faithful to the rule and
the offering of penance. She also had a "green thumb" with houseplants --her
touch could restore withered plants. Other miracles are recorded of her:
she levitated; candles lit themselves on the altar at her passing; and she
revived a dead, pet goat. Saint Ilona lived for 30 years after Saint Margaret
was removed to the more protected monastery at Budapest.
When Ilona was at the point of death, she was rapt in ecstasy.
Her body glowed with a radiance that made it impossible for her sisters to
determine the exact moment of her passing. At some point she also received
wounds in her side and feet, which healed; however, when her tomb was opened
17 years after her death, the wound in her side reopened of its own volition
and rays of light poured forth from it.
Ilona is venerated in Hungary and within the Dominican Order although
she has never been formally beatified (Benedictines, Dorcy, Harrison).
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1610 Blessed George
Napper educated at Corpus Christi College labored in Oxfordshire M (AC)
Born at Holywell Manor, Oxford, England; died at Oxford; beatified
in 1929. George Napper was educated at Corpus Christi College and then studied
for the priesthood at Douai where he was ordained in 1596. Sent to the English
mission, he labored in Oxfordshire and was finally condemned for his priesthood
and executed (Benedictines).
<> 1610 BD GEORGE NAPPER, MARTYR
THE history of
the passion of this martyr has been preserved in a letter written by a fellow
prisoner in Oxford jail. George Napper (Napier) was born in 1550 at Holywell
manor, Oxford, his mother being a niece of Cardinal William Peto. He was entered
at Corpus Christi College when he was fifteen and three years later was ejected
as a recusant. At the end of 1580 he was imprisoned and remained so for nearly
nine years, when he obtained his release by recognizing the royal supremacy.
He repented of this weakness and entered the English College at Douay, where
he was ordained in 1596. He was not sent on the mission till 1603, and then worked for seven years in Oxfordshire. Early in
the morning of July 19, 1610,
he was arrested in the fields at Kirtlington. He had on him at the time a
pyx containing two consecrated Hosts and a small reliquary; these in an extraordinary
way escaped the notice of his searchers, but a breviary and oil-stocks were
found, and these were sufficient evidence to secure his condemnation as a
priest at the next assizes.
His friends obtained a stay
of execution and it is likely that he would have been reprieved altogether,
but for the fact that in jail he ministered to a condemned felon, who died
declaring himself a Catholic. “The people stormed; the ministers threw all
the blame upon the condemned priest, made a heavy rout, called for justice,
and went straight away to Abingdon to make complaint to the judges.” When
he was examined on the matter by the high sheriff and the vice-chancellor
of the university, Mr Napper agreed he had reconciled the man and offered
“to do as much for their lordships”. There was a further reprieve, but the
prisoner strenuously refused to take the oath of allegiance in the form stigmatizing
the pope’s deposing power as “impious, heretical and damnable” (the treatise
of the Arch-priest Blackwell approving it was given him to read), and his
execution took place on November 9 at Oxford. Before
he died he prayed publicly for the king, James I. “His charity was great,
for if any poor prisoner wanted either meat to fill him or clothes to cover
him he would rather be cold himself than they should”; while on the mission
“he was remarkably laborious in gaining souls to God”.
A rather full
account of this martyr is preserved by Challoner in MMP., pp. 307—317. It
is based upon the letter of a fellow prisoner, who goes into much detail.
See also Stapleton, Oxfordshire Missions J. Morris, Troubles . . ., p. 302 ; and especially
Bede Camm, Forgotten Shrines, pp. 149—182.
1610 Bl. George Napper, Martyr 1550-1610
When Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne
in 1588, she set her British kingdom against the pope by declaring herself
"Supreme Governor" in matters spiritual and temporal, and denouncing loyalty
to the Bishop of Rome as an act of treason. Thenceforth all Christians in
the realm were required to follow the state religion or else ...
Many Catholics, motivated by stark fear
of the monarch, did enroll in the Church of England, but a good many refused
to do so. These were branded as "recusants" (that is, "refusers"), and subjected
to various discriminatory laws.
George Napper (or Napier) belonged to
a Catholic recusant family of considerable prominence, (and was grand nephew
of the English Franciscan cardinal, William Peyto). Born at Holywell Manor
in Oxfordshire, he managed to secure entrance in 1565 at Corpus Christi College,
Oxford, but was expelled in 1568 as a recusant. In 1580 he was arrested as
a recusant and imprisoned for over eight years.
Weary of imprisonment at the end of that
time, Napper decided to capitulate, and declared his acceptance of the religious
supremacy of the Queen. But after his release from jail, he became increasingly
ashamed of having given in. Determined to make generous amends for having
rejected the pope, he decided to study for the Catholic priesthood. God had
given him a second chance.
Crossing the English Channel to Douay
in Flanders, he now sought admission to the English College there. Ordained
a Catholic secular priest in 1596, he was sent back to England in 1603 and
spent the remaining seven years of his life on the mission in his native
Oxfordshire.
English Catholics abroad had begun in
the 1570s to establish schools on the European continent like the English
College in Rome and the English College in Douay for the training of young
British Catholics for work as priestly missionaries in the homeland. Upset
by this undertaking, Queen Elizabeth had enacted in 1585 new anti-Catholic
legislation, which established as an act of treason punishable by traitor's
execution the return of any native-born men ordained Catholic priests outside
of Britain to carry on in England a Catholic ministry. Many more English
recusants would die for their faith thereafter, not only the courageous priests
but the lay people who abetted them.
Father Napper naturally followed the
policy of working in secrecy, but like many another brave priest, he was
at one point apprehended by the police as a suspect. They caught up with
him outside a village near Oxford early in the morning of July 19, 1610. Those
who had stalked him failed in searching him to find two Eucharistic hosts
and a small reliquary that he carried concealed on his person. They did find,
however, his breviary and set of holy oils. These provided evidence enough
to his priesthood to present at the next court session.
Napper's
friends managed to obtain a stay of his execution when he was arraigned,
and were working for a total reprieve. But while in prison Father George
ministered to a certain condemned criminal, who died declaring himself a
Catholic. Now, "reconciling" a fallen-away Catholic was a particularly heinous
crime according to the current anti-Roman legislation. The Anglican clergy
therefore raised a row with the court, demanding capital action against the
prisoner. Under cross-examination, Napper admitted that he had reconciled
the man in question. He even said, wittily, that he would be glad to do the
same for the judges. Somehow he was again reprieved. But then he refused
to take the oath of allegiance that described the pope's power to depose
as "impious, heretical and damnable". That was too much for the court to
take. George Napper was condemned to death.
"Seminary priest" Napper was executed
at Oxford on November 9, 1610. Elizabeth herself was by then seven years dead,
but the victim priest in his last remarks, prayed publicly for her successor,
James 1.
A fellow prisoner later wrote about Father
Napper's missionary career, that he had been "remarkably laborious in gaining
souls for God." Even in prison he had been the soul of compassion. "His charity
was great, for if any poor prisoner wanted either meat to fill him or clothes
to cover him he would rather be cold himself than they should."
It is clear that Blessed George Napper
fully deserved the second chance that God had seen fit to give him.--Father
Robert F. McNamara
|
1920 Nectarius Kephalas
B canonized by the Orthodox Church many miracles There are more churches
dedicated to St Nectarius than to any other modern Orthodox saint.
Born in Greece, 1846; died on Aegina, Greece; canonized by the
Orthodox Church. While rector of the Rhizarion ecclesiastical college, Nectarius
began restoring a convent on the island of Aegina in 1904. After 1908, he
used his energies full-time on this project. He died on the island where
he was revered during his lifetime and where he was buried. His relics at
the restored convent have been the destination of pilgrims since 1953 (Attwater).
Saint Nectarius, the great wonderworker
of modern times, born Anastasius Kephalas in 
Selebria, Thrace October 1, 1846.
Since his family was poor, Anastasius
went to Constantinople when he was fourteen in order to find work. Although
he had no money, he asked the captain of a boat to take him. The captain
told him to take a walk and then come back. Anastasius understood, and sadly
walked away. The captain gave the order to start the engines,
but nothing happened. After several unsuccessful attempts, he looked up into
the eyes of Anastasius who stood on the dock. Taking pity on the boy, the
captain told him to come aboard. Immediately, the engines started and the
boat began to move.
Anastasius found a job with a tobacco merchant in Constantinople,
who did not pay him very much. In his desire to share useful information
with others, Anastasius wrote down short maxims from spiritual books on the
paper bags and packages of the tobacco shop. The customers would read them
out of curiosity, and might perhaps derive some benefit from them.
The boy went about barefoot and in ragged clothing, but
he trusted in God. Seeing that the merchant received many letters, Anastasius
also wanted to write a letter. To whom could he write? Not to his parents,
because there were no mail deliveries to his village. Not to his friends,
because he had none. Therefore, he decided to write to Christ to tell Him
of his needs.
"My little Christ," he wrote.
"I do not have an apron or shoes. You send them to me. You know how much
I love you."
Anastasius sealed the letter and wrote on the outside: "To the
Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven." On his way to mail the letter, he ran into
the man who owned a shop opposite the one in which he worked. The man asked
him where he was going, and Anastasius whispered something in reply. Seeing
the letter in his hands, the man offered to mail it for him, since he was
on his way to the post office.
The merchant put the letter in his pocket and assured Anastasius
that he would mail it with his own letters. The boy returned to the tobacco
shop, filled with happiness. When he took the letter from his pocket to mail
it, the merchant happened to notice the address. Astonished and curious,
the man could not resist opening the letter to read it. Touched by the boy's
simple faith, the merchant placed some money in an envelope and sent it to
him anonymously. Anastasius was filled with joy, and he gave thanks to God.
A few days later, seeing Anastasius dressed somewhat better than
usual, his employer thought he had stolen money from him and began to beat
him. Anastasius cried out, "I have never stolen anything. My little Christ
sent me the money." Hearing the commotion, the other merchant
came and took the tobacco seller aside and explained the situation to him.
When he was still a young man,
Anastasius made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
During the voyage, the ship was in danger of sinking in a storm.
Anastasius looked at the raging sea, and then at the captain. He went and
stood beside the captain and took the helm, praying for God to save them.
Then he took off the cross his grandmother had given him (containing a piece
of the Cross of Christ) and tied it to his belt. Leaning over the side, he
dipped the cross into the water three times and commanded the sea,
"Silence! Be still." At once,
the wind died down and the sea became calm.
Anastasius was saddened, however, because his cross had fallen
into the sea and was lost. As the boat sailed on, sounds of knocking seemed
to come from the hull below the water line. When the ship docked, the young
man got off and started to walk away. Suddenly, the captain began shouting,
"Kephalas, Kephalas, come back here." The captain had ordered some men into
a small boat to examine the hull in order to discover the source of the knocking,
and they discovered the cross stuck to the hull. Anastasius was elated to
receive his "Treasure," and always wore it from that time forward. There
is a photograph taken many years later, showing the saint in his monastic
skufia. The cross is clearly visible in the photo.
On November 7, 1875, Anastasius
received monastic tonsure at the Nea Moni Monastery on Chios, and the new
name Lazarus. Two years later, he was ordained a deacon. On that occasion,
his name was changed to Nectarius.
Later, when he was a priest, Fr Nectarius left Chios and went
to Egypt. There he was elected Metropolitan of Pentapolis. Some of his colleagues
became jealous of him because of his great virtues, because of his inspiring
sermons, and because of everything else which distinguished St Nectarius
from them.
Other Metropolitans and bishops of the Patriarchate of Alexandria
became filled with malice toward the saint, so they told Patriarch Sophronius
that Nectarius was plotting to become patriarch himself. They told the patriarch
that the Metropolitan of Pentapolis merely made an outward show of piety
in order to win favor with the people. So the patriarch and his synod removed
St Nectarius from his See. Patriarch Sophronius wrote an ambiguous letter
of suspension which provoked scandal and speculation about the true reasons
for the saint's removal from his position.
St Nectarius was not deposed from his rank, however. He was still
allowed to function as a bishop. If anyone invited him to perform a wedding
or a baptism he could do so, as long as he obtained permission from the local
bishop.
St Nectarius bore his trials with great patience, but those who
loved him began to demand to know why he had been removed. Seeing that this
was causing a disturbance in the Church of Alexandria, he decided to go to
Greece. He arrived in Athens to find that false rumors about him had already
reached that city. His letter of suspension said only that he had been removed
"for reasons known to the Patriarchate," and so all the slanders about him
were believed.
Since the state and ecclesiastical authorities would not give
him a position, the former Metropolitan was left with no means of support,
and no place to live. Every day he went to the Minister of Religion asking
for assistance. They soon tired of him and began to mistreat him.
One day, as he was leaving the
Minister's office, St Nectarius met a friend whom he had known in Egypt.
Surprised to find the beloved bishop in such a condition, the man spoke to
the Minister of Religion and Education and asked that something be found
for him. So, St Nectarius was appointed to be a humble preacher in the diocese
of Vitineia and Euboea. The saint did not regard this as humiliating for
him, even though a simple monk could have filled that position. He went to
Euboea to preach in the churches, eagerly embracing his duties.
Yet even here, the rumors of scandal followed him. Sometimes,
while he was preaching, people began to laugh and whisper. Therefore, the
blameless one resigned his position and returned to Athens. By then some
people had begun to realize that the rumors were untrue, because they saw
nothing in his life or conversation to suggest that he was guilty of anything.
With their help and influence, St Nectarius was appointed Director of the
Rizarios Seminary in Athens on March 8, 1894. He was to remain in that position
until December of 1908.
The saint celebrated the services in the seminary church, taught
the students, and wrote several edifying and useful books. Since he was a
quiet man, St Nectarius did not care for the noise and bustle of Athens.
He wanted to retire somewhere where he could pray. On the island of Aegina
he found an abandoned monastery dedicated to the Holy Trinity, which he began
to repair with his own hands.
He gathered a community of nuns, appointing the blind nun Xenia
as abbess, while he himself served as Father Confessor. Since he had a gift
for spiritual direction, many people came to Aegina to confess to him. Eventually,
the community grew to thirty nuns. He used to tell them, "I am building a
lighthouse for you, and God shall put a light in it that will shine forth
to the world. Many will see this light and come to Aegina." They did not
understand what he was telling them, that he himself would be that beacon,
and that people would come there to venerate his holy relics.
On September 20, 1920 the nun Euphemia brought an old man in black
robes, who was obviously in pain, to the Aretaieion Hospital in Athens. This
was a state hospital for the poor. The intern asked the nun for information
about the patient.
"Is he a monk?" he asked.
"No, he is a bishop."
The intern laughed and said, "Stop joking and tell me his name,
Mother, so that I can enter it in the register."
"He is indeed a bishop, my child. He is the Most Reverend Metropolitan
of Pentapolis."
The intern muttered, "For the
first time in my life I see a bishop without a panagia or cross, and more
significantly, without money."
Then the nun showed the saint's credentials to the astonished
intern who then admitted him. For two months St Nectarius suffered from a
disease of the bladder. At ten thirty on the evening of November 8, 1920,
he surrendered his holy soul to God. He died in peace at the age of seventy-four.
In the bed next to St Nectarius was a man who was paralyzed. As
soon as the saint had breathed his last, the nurse and the nun who sat with
him began to dress him in clean clothing to prepare him for burial at Aegina.
They removed his sweater and placed it on the paralyzed man's bed. Immediately,
the paralytic got up from his bed, glorifying God.
St Nectarius was buried at the Holy Trinity Monastery on Aegina.
Several years later, his grave was opened to remove his bones (as is the
custom in Greece). His body was found whole and incorrupt, as if he had been
buried that very day.
Word was sent to the Archbishop of Athens, who came to see the
relics for himself. Archbishop Chrysostomos told the nuns to leave them out
in the sun for a few days, then to rebury them so that they would decay.
A month or two after this, they opened the grave again and found the saint
incorrupt. Then the relics were placed in a marble sarcophagus.
Several years later, the holy relics dissolved, leaving only the
bones. The saint's head was placed in a bishop's mitre, and the top was opened
to allow people to kiss his head.
St Nectarius was glorified by God, since his whole life was a
continuous doxology to the Lord. Both during his life and after his death,
St Nectarius has performed thousands of miracles, especially for those suffering
from cancer. There are more churches dedicated to St Nectarius than to any
other modern Orthodox saint.
|
1846, May 10,
- 1847 Our Lady of America Immaculate
Conception Patroness of the US.
1854 December 8: Pope Pius IX defines dogma “ Immaculate Conception
” Apostolic Constitution, Ineffabilis Deus.
1858 March 25, Our Lady would confirm that dogma
by identifying herself to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, as “I
am the Immaculate Conception,” that singular privilege that flows from her
Divine Maternity announced by the Angel Gabriel.
What is God’s plan for the role of Our Lady of America in
the redemption of mankind and the renewing of the face of the earth in these
troubled times?
The story of Our Lady of America truly began on May 10, 1846 when one Archbishop
and 22 US Bishops met in Baltimore, MD, the first Catholic diocese in the
US, for the 6th Provincial Council of Baltimore. On that date they petitioned
Rome to have the Blessed Virgin, under the title of the Immaculate Conception,
named as Patroness of these United States, 28 at the time. In 1847 that petition
was granted by Pope Pius IX and Mary, under the title of her Immaculate Conception,
became Patroness of the US.
It was not until eight years later, on December 8, 1854, that Pope Pius IX
would define the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in his Apostolic Constitution,
Ineffabilis Deus. Less than four years later, on the feast of the Annunciation,
March 25, 1858, Our Lady would confirm that dogma by identifying herself
to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, as “I am the Immaculate Conception,”
that singular privilege that flows from her Divine Maternity announced by
the Angel Gabriel.
Moved by the great devotion to Mary of Bishop John Carroll, the first Catholic
bishop of these United States who had placed this young Nation under Mary’s
protection, Bishop Thomas J. Shahan, rector of Washington, DC’s Catholic
University of America, presented his hope for a national shrine to Mary to
Pope Pius X in 1913. The Pope was so enthusiastic about the shrine that he
made a personal contribution of $400. Later in 1913 the University actually
donated the land so the effort toward construction of the shrine could begin.
Father Bernard McKenna of Philadelphia assisted Bishop Shahan and was made
the first director of the National Shrine in 1915.
Archbishop Giovanni Vincenzo Bonzano, the Apostolic Delegate, blessed the
site on May 16, 1920, honoring the first American prelate Archbishop John
Carroll, who is the Father of the American Hierarchy, by wearing his vestments
and using the “Carroll Altar” for the celebration. On September 23 of that
year, James Cardinal Gibbons of the archdiocese of Baltimore laid the cornerstone.
The lower crypt church was completed in 1926 but the Great Depression and
World War II halted work on the Upper Church until 1953. The Marian Year
of 1954 ushered in a huge campaign for donations from America’s Catholics.
Washington’s Archbishop Patrick O’Boyle, assisted by Archbishop John Noll
of Fort Wayne, IN, brought the Upper Church to completion and America’s Patronal
Church, a magnificent hymn to Mary in stone, was dedicated on November 20,
1959. The body of Bishop Thomas J. Shahan is entombed in that great Upper
Church to revere him as the Founder of this National Shrine of America’s
Catholics. In 1990 Pope John Paul II, the first Pope to visit the United
States, raised this Shrine to the level of a Basilica. This beautiful Act
of Consecration to Our Blessed Mother was written by Bishop Thomas Grady
for the dedication ceremony of the Shrine. It is such an appropriate prayer
for our times and touches on the message of Our Lady of America, with its
emphasis on the Blessed Trinity and the Christian Family, even though Bishop
Shahan would most likely not have heard about the message of Our Lady of America
at that time.
Act of Consecration to Our Blessed Mother
Most Holy Trinity: Our Father in Heaven, who chose Mary as the fairest of
your daughters; Holy Spirit, who chose Mary as your spouse; God the Son,
who chose Mary as your Mother; in union with Mary, we adore your majesty
and acknowledge your supreme, eternal dominion and authority.
Most Holy Trinity, we put the United States of America into the hands of
Mary Immaculate in order that she may present the country to you. Through
her we wish to thank you for the great resources of this land and for the
freedom which has been its heritage. Through the intercession of Mary, have
mercy on the Catholic Church in America. Grant us peace. Have mercy on our
President and on all the officers of our government. Grant us a fruitful
economy born of justice and charity. Have mercy on capital and industry and
labor. Protect the family life of the nation. Guard the innocence of our
children. Grant the precious gift of many religious vocations. Through the
intercession of our Mother, have mercy on the sick, the poor, the tempted,
sinners – on all who are in need.
Mary, Immaculate Virgin, our Mother, Patroness of our land, we praise you
and honor you and give ourselves to you. Protect us from every harm. Pray
for us, that acting always according to your will and the Will of your Divine
Son, we may live and die pleasing to God.
Imprimatur: Patrick A. O’Boyle, Archbishop of Washington
|
BERLIN WALL
FALLS! 20 YEARS AGO 
Quote: Pope Paul VI’s 1969
Benedict XVI met with Aram
I Catholicos of Cilicia, the highest
authority of the Orthodox Church.
The Pope remembered
the martyrs of the Armenian Church and the Armenian
genocide, without explicitly mentioning
it, and denounced the persecution of Christians
in modern times. Benedict
XVI
As we watch the spectacle
of the world seeming to self-destruct
before our eyes, we can’t help but be saddened
and even frightened by so much evil run
rampant. Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Somalia,
North Korea—It is all a disaster of epic proportions
displayed in living color on our television
screens.