 1st
century St.
Anathalon Bishop Milan companion of St. Barnabas
Brixiæ deposítio sancti Anathalónis
Epíscopi, qui, beáti Barnabæ Apóstoli
discípulus, in ejus locum Epíscopus Ecclésiæ
Mediolanénsis successit.
At Brescia, the death of St. Anathalo, bishop.
He was a disciple of the blessed apostle Barnabas, and succeeded him as
bishop of the Milanese church.
Anathalon was sent to Milan by Barnabas. He spent many
years laboring
in Milan and in nearby Brescia.
At Brescia, the death of St. Anathalo, Bishop; he was a disciple of the
blessed Apostle Barnabas and succeeded him as bishop of the Church of
Milan.
|
 1st
v. Thekla The Holy Protomartyr
and Equal of the Apostles; after
the preaching of holy Apostle Paul about the
Savior, came to love the Lord Jesus
Christ, and resolved not to enter into marriage, rather to devote all
her life to preaching the Gospel.
Thekla was born in the city of Iconium daughter of
rich and illustrious parents, and distinguished by extraordinary
beauty. At eighteen they betrothed her to an eminent youth. But after
she heard the preaching of the holy Apostle Paul about the Savior, St
Thekla with all her heart came to love the Lord Jesus Christ, and she
steadfastly resolved not to enter into marriage, but rather to devote
all her life to preaching the Gospel.
St Thekla's mother was opposed to her daughter's plans and insisted
that she marry her betrothed. St Thekla's fiancé also complained
to the prefect of the city about the Apostle Paul, accusing him of
turning his bride against him. The prefect locked up St Paul in prison.
During the night St Thekla secretly ran away from her house, and she
bribed the prison guards, giving them all her gold ornaments, and so
made her way into the prison to the prisoner. For three days she sat at
the feet of the Apostle Paul, listening to his fatherly precepts.
Thekla's disappearance was discovered, and servants were sent out
everywhere looking for her. Finally, they found her in the prison and
brought her home by force.
At his trial St Paul was sentenced to banishment from the city. Again
they urged St Thekla to consent to the marriage, but she would not
change her mind. Neither the tears of her mother, nor her wrath, nor
the threats of the prefect could separate St Thekla from her love for
the Heavenly Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Her mother in a insane rage demanded from the judges a death sentence
against her unyielding daughter, and St Thekla was sentenced to be
burned. Without flinching, the holy martyr went into the fire and made
the Sign of the Cross over herself. At this moment the Savior appeared
to her, blessing her present deed, and inexpressible joy filled her
holy soul.
The flames of the fire shot up high, but the martyr was surrounded by a
light and the flames did not touch her. Thunder boomed, and a strong
downpour of rain and hail extinguished the fire. The torturers
scattered in fear. St Thekla, kept safe by the Lord, left the city and
with the help of a certain Christian youth, searched for the Apostle
Paul. The holy apostle and his companions, among whom was St Barnabas,
were hidden in a cave not far from the city, praying fervently, that
the Lord would strengthen St Thekla in her sufferings.
After this, St Thekla went with them preaching the Gospel in Antioch.
In this city she was pursued by a certain dignitary named Alexander,
who was captivated by her beauty. St Thekla refused his offer of
marriage, and so she was condemned to death for being a Christian.
Twice they set loose hungry wild animals upon her, but they would not
touch the holy virgin. Instead, they lay down meekly and licked her
feet.
The Providence of God preserved the holy martyr unharmed through all
her torments. Finally, they tied her to two oxen and began to chase her
with red-hot rods, but the strong cords broke asunder like cobwebs, and
the oxen ran off, leaving St Thekla unharmed. The people began
shouting, "Great is the God of the Christians!" The prefect himself
became terrified, realizing that the holy martyr was being kept safe by
the Almighty God, Whom she served. He then gave orders to set free the
servant of God Thekla.
With the blessing of the Apostle Paul, St Thekla then settled in a
desolate region of Isaurian Seleucia and dwelt there for many years,
constantly preaching the Word of God and healing the sick through her
prayer. St Thekla converted many pagans to Christ, and the Church
appropriately names her as "Equal- to-the-Apostles." Even a pagan
priest, trying to assault her purity and punished for his impudence,
was brought by her to holy Baptism. More than once the Enemy of the
race of man tried to destroy St Thekla through people blinded by sin,
but the power of God always preserved this faithful servant of Christ.
When St Thekla was already a ninety-year-old woman, pagan sorcerers
became incensed at her for treating the sick for free. They were unable
to comprehend that the saint was healing the sick by the power of the
grace of Christ, and they presumed that the virgin-goddess Artemis was
her special helper. Envious of St Thekla, they sent their followers to
defile her. When they came near her, St Thekla cried out for help to
Christ the Savior, and a rock split open and hid the holy virgin, the
bride of Christ. Thus did St Thekla offer up her holy soul to the Lord.
The holy Church glorifies the Protomartyr Thekla as "the glory of
women and guide for the suffering, opening up the way through every
torment." From of old many churches were dedicated to her, one of which
was built at Constantinople by the holy Equal of the Apostles
Constantine (May 21). The Protomartyr Thekla, a prayerful intercessor
for ascetics, is also invoked during the tonsure of women into
monasticism.
|
2nd
century St.
Andochius Priest martyr sent to Gaul by St. Polycarp
Augustodúni natális sanctórum Mártyrum
Andochii Presbyteri, Thyrsi Diáconi, et Felicis. Hi, a
beáto Polycarpo, Smyrnénsi Episcopo, ab Oriénte
directi ad docéndam Gálliam, ibídem flagellis
duríssime cæsi, ac tota die inversis mánibus
suspénsi, et in ignem missi sunt, sed non combusti; tandem
eórum colla véctibus feriúntur, et ita
Mártyres gloriosíssime coronántur.
At Autun, the birthday of the holy martyrs
Andochius, a priest, Thyrsus, a deacon, and Felix, who were sent from
the East by blessed Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, to preach in
France. There they were severely scourged, hanged by the hands
for a whole day, and cast into the fire. Remaining uninjured,
they had their necks broken with heavy bars, and thus won a most
glorious crown.
Andochius and a deacon named Thyrsus went to
Autun. There
they
converted a merchant, Felix, while staying with him. The three were
arrested, tortured, and put to death by the Romans because they would
not deny Christ.
Disciple of Saint Polycarp who sent him with Saint Benignus, Saint Andochius, and Saint Thyrsus to evangelize the Vivarais
in Gaul.
|
303
St. Paphnutius martyr of Egypt
In Ægypto pássio sanctórum Paphnutii et
Sociórum Mártyrum. Ipse, vitam in solitúdine
agens, cum audíret multos Christiános in vínculis
retineri, sponte, divino Spíritu concitus, Præfecto se
offert, et Christiánam religiónem líbere
profitétur; a quo primum catenis férreis constringitur,
et in equuleo diutíssime torquétur, deínde cum
áliis plurimis ad Diocletianum mittitur, cujus jussu, ipse
palmæ affígitur, ceteri autem ferro necántur.
In Egypt, the holy martyrs Paphnutius and his
companions. While leading a solitary life, St. Paphnutius heard
that many Christians were kept in bonds. Moved by the spirit of
God, he voluntarily offered himself to the prefect, and freely
confessed the Christian faith. He was bound by him with iron
chains, and for a long time tortured on the rack. Then, being
sent with many others to Diocletian, by his order he was fastened to a
palm tree, and the rest were struck with the sword.
with companions. No details of
this
martyrdom are extant.
|
394
49 Martyrs of Chalcedon members of the choir in the church of
Chalcedon
Chalcédone sanctórum quadragínta novem
Mártyrum, qui, post martyrium sanctæ
Euphémiæ, sub Diocletiáno Imperatóre,
damnáti ad béstias, et, cum ab iis divínitus
líberi evasíssent, demum, gládio percússi,
migravérunt in cælum.
At Chalcedon, under Emperor Diocletian, after the
martyrdom of St. Euphemia, forty-nine holy martyrs who were condemned
to be devoured by the beasts, but being miraculously delivered, were
finally struck with the sword and went to heaven.
A group of forty-nine Christians slain in
Chalcedon during the reign of
Emperor Diocletian. Records indicate that the martyrs were members of
the choir in the church of Chalcedon.
|
446 St.
Rusticus
present also at the Council of Arles
Chalcédone sanctórum quadragínta novem
Mártyrum, qui, post martyrium sanctæ
Euphémiæ, sub Diocletiáno Imperatóre,
damnáti ad béstias, et, cum ab iis divínitus
líberi evasíssent, demum, gládio percússi,
migravérunt in cælum.
At Chalcedon, under Emperor Diocletian, after the
martyrdom of St. Euphemia, forty-nine holy martyrs who were condemned
to be devoured by the beasts, but being miraculously delivered, were
finally struck with the sword and went to heaven.
Born either at Marseilles or at
Narbonnaise, Gaul; died 26 Oct., 461.
According to biographers, Rusticus is the one to whom St. Jerome (about
411) addressed a letter, commending him to imitate the virtues of St. Exuperius of Toulouse and to follow
the advice of Procule,
then Bishop of Marseilles.
When he completed his education in Gaul, Rusticus went to
Rome,
where he soon gained a reputation as a public speaker, but he wished to
embrace the contemplative life. He wrote to St. Jerome, who advised him
to continue his studies. Thus Rusticus entered the monastery of St.
Vincent of Lérins. He
was ordained at Marseilles, and on 3 Oct., 430 (or 427) was consecrated
Bishop of Narbonne. With all his zeal, he could not prevent the
progress of the Arian heresy which the Goths were spreading abroad. The
siege of Narbonne by the Goths and dissensions among the Catholics so
disheartened him that he wrote to St. Leo,
renouncing the bishoporic, but St. Leo dissuaded him. He then
endeavoured to consolidate the Catholics. In 444-448, he built the
church in Narbonne; in 451, he assisted at the convocation of
forty-four bishops of Gaul and approved St. Leo's
letter to Flavian, concerning Nestorianism; he was present also
at the Council of Arles, with thirteen bishops, to decide the debate
between Theodore, Bishop of Fréjus, and the Abbey of
Lérins. A letter from Ravennius, Bishop of Arles, sent to
Rusticus, proves the high esteem in which he was held. His letters are
lost, with the exception of the one to St. Jerome and two others to St.
Leo, written either in 452 or 458.
|
658 ST GEREMARUS, OR
GERMER; ABBOT
This saint was one of the
numerous Frankish noblemen of whom we are
told that, after marrying and following a secular career, they left the
world and became distinguished in the monastic or other ecclesiastical
life of their time. He belonged to the territory of
Beauvais, and was attached in his youth to the court of Dagobert I,
where he met his wife Domana, who was herself venerated as a saint in
the diocese of Evreux. Their two girl children
predeceased them, and their boy being grown up they, under the
influence of St Audoenus, Bishop of Rouen, determined to embrace the
religious life. Géremarus had already built a monastery near his
birthplace, but he himself chose to receive the monastic habit at
Pentate on the Risk, near Brionne. He was a model religious and became
abbot of the house. But strictness and regularity which are
admired in a subject are not always so popular in a superior, and some
of the monks at Pentale were very discontented under their new
father. They were themselves such bad religious and
even bad men that it is said they attempted to take the life of St
Geremarus by fastening a sharp knife point upwards in the boards of his
bed under the blanket-though unless he were a heavy man or in the habit
of throwing himself into his bed, such a device was not likely to
inflict a mortal wound. hether for this reason or because of his
unpopularity and lack of success in improving discipline, the abbot
resigned his office and went to live as a hermit in a cave on the banks
of the river. Here he passed five contented years, communing with God,
working with his hands, and ministering to his neighbours, until one
day news was brought to him of the death of his only son,
Amalbert. "0 my God", he cried,"I thank thee.that thou
hast shown thy mercy towards me by calling my son to thy glory". With
the young man's estate which now reverted to him he founded a monastery
at Flay, on the river Epte between Beauvais and Rouen, which was
afterwards called Saint-Germer.
St Geremanas abandoned the
solitary
life to direct the new monastery till his death.
The
Life of St
Geremarus printed in the Acta
Sanctorum (September, vol. vi)
is not the earliest. That which B. Krusch has edited for MGH.,
Scnptores Merov. (vol. iv, pp. 626-633), is of older date, but Krusch
shows that even this can only have been written a little before 851,
and that as a source of history it is quite untrustworthy. That
printed by the Bollandists was compiled in the eleventh century.
There are other accounts such, for example, as that written by Guibert
of Nogent, but all are legendary.
|
7th v. 675 St. Chuniald
& Gislar missionaries so Germany Austria
Irish or Scottish missionaries to southern Germany and Austria. They
labored as disciples of St. Rupert Salzburg.
|
733
St. Bercthun Benedictine abbot disciple of St. John of Beverley
He was appointed the first abbot of Beverley, in France, and worked
ceaselessly to establish monastic life and cultural development in the
region. He died there. |
 1046
St. Gerard,
bishop of Chzonad and martyr, patrician of Venice, called the apostle
of the Hungarians
In Pannónia sancti
Gerardi, Epíscopi Morisenæ sedis et Mártyris,
Hungarórum Apóstoli nuncupati, patricii Veneti; qui, cum
e Chanadiénsi oppido Albam Regalem se conferret, prope flumen
Danubium ab infidelibus impetitus, lapídibus obrutus ac tandem
lancea transfixus occubuit, sicque primus pátriam nobili
martyrio illustrávit.
In
Hungary,
St. Gerard, bishop of Chzonad and martyr, patrician of Venice, called
the apostle of the Hungarians. During a journey from the town of
Chzonad to Alba Regalis he was attacked by the pagans near the river
Danube, stoned by them, and then pierced with a lance. He was
thus the first to adorn his native land with a noble martyrdom.
ST GERARD, sometimes
surnamed Sagredo, the apostle of a large district
in Hungary, was a Venetian, born about the beginning of the eleventh
century. At an early age he consecrated himself to the service of God
in the Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore at Venice, but
after some time left it to undertake a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. While
passing through Hungary he became known to the king, St Stephen, who
made him tutor to his son, Bd Emeric, and Gerard began as well to
preach with success. When St Stephen established the episcopal see of
Csanad he appointed Gerard to be its first bishop. The greater part of
the people were heathen, and those that bore the name of Christian were
ignorant, brutish and savage, but St Gerard laboured among them with
much fruit. He always so far as possible joined to the perfection of
the episcopal state that of the contemplative life, which gave him
fresh vigour in the discharge of his pastoral duties. But Gerard was
also a scholar, and wrote an unfinished dissertation on the Hymn of the
Three Young Men (Daniel iii), as well as other works which are lost.
King Stephen seconded the zeal of the good
bishop so long as he lived,
but on his death in 1038 the realm was plunged into anarchy by
competing claimants to the crown, and a revolt against Christianity
began. Things went from bad to worse, and eventually, when celebrating
Mass at a little place on the Danube called Giod, Gerard had prevision
that he would on that day receive the crown of martyrdom. His party
arrived at Buda and were going to cross the river, when they were set
upon by some soldiers under the command of an obstinate upholder of
idolatry and enemy of the memory of King St Stephen. They attacked St
Gerard with a shower of stones, overturned his conveyance, and dragged
him to the ground. Whilst in their hands the saint raised himself on
his knees and prayed with St Stephen, "Lord, lay not this sin to their
charge. They know not what they do." He had scarcely spoken these words
when he was run through the body with a lance; the insurgents then
hauled him to the edge of the cliff called the Blocksberg, on which
they were, and dashed his body headlong into the Danube below. It was
September 24, 1046. The heroic death of St Gerard had a profound
effect, he was revered as a martyr, and his relics were enshrined in
1083 at the same time as those of St Stephen and his pupil Bd Emeric.
In 1333 the republic of Venice obtained the greater part of his relics
from the king of Hungary, and with great solemnity translated them to
the church of our Lady of Murano, wherein St Gerard is venerated as the
protomartyr of Venice, the place of his birth.
- The most reliable source for the history of St Gerard
is, it
appears,
the short biography printed in the Acta Sanctorum, September, vol. vi
(pp. 722-724). Contrary to the opinion previously entertained, it is
not an epitome of the longer life which is found in Endlicher, Monumenta Arpadiana (pp. 205-234),
but dates from the twelfth, or even the end of the eleventh, century.
This, at least, is the conclusion of R. F. Kaindl in the Archiv f. Oesterreichische Geschichte,
vol. xci (1902), pp. 1-58. The other biographies are later expansions
of the first named, and not so trustworthy. St Gerard's story and
episcopate have also been discussed by C. Juhász in Studien und Mittheilungen O.S.B.,
1929, pp. 139-145, and 1930, pp. 1-35; and see C. A. Macartney, in Archivum Europae centro-orientalis,
vol. iv (1938), pp. 456-490, on the Lives of St Gerard, and his Medieval Hungarian Historians
(1953).
|
1048 St.
Ysarn
Benedictine abbot native of Toulouse
France, he entered the Benedictines, served as a monk, and then was
abbot of the monastery of St. Victor's at Marseilles.
|
1218 Bd
Robert Of Knaresborough; Like his fellow hermit and
fellow Yorkshireman Richard Rolle, Robert
Flower, the Holy Hermit of Knaresborough", enjoyed a
considerable cultus in medieval England which was never confirmed or
made public by canonization. His name has not been found in calendars,
but the Trinitarian church at Knaresborough was called St Robert's, and
Matthew Paris mentions him with St Edmund of Abingdon and St Elizabeth
of Hungary as one of the holiest persons of his time.
He was born
about the year iióo at York, of which city his father was a
citizen and at one time aspired to be a priest. But he never
proceeded beyond the subdiaconate, "for what cause God best knoweth",
as Leland says. His brother was a Cistercian in Newminster Abbey
at Morpeth and Robert followed him there, but four and a half months of
novitiate was enough to demonstrate that his vocation was not to the
cenobitical life. He was convinced that God was calling him to a
dedicated life of some sort, and so, forgoing his patrimony as eldest
son, he went to live in a cave adjoining a poor chapel called St
Giles's below a cliff by the river Nidd, near Knaresborough. This cave
was already occupied by a knight who, it is stated, was hiding from the
wrath of his king rather than seeking the love of God, for immediately
on the death of Richard I he deserted his cave and his companion and
went home to his wife. Robert remained there till the offer of a cell
and chapel of St Hilda at Rudfarlington enticed him further into the
forest; his life here was rudely interrupted by the burglary and
destruction of his hermitage by robbers. So he moved a few miles away
to Spofforth, under the protection of the Percys, but he was beginning
to become known as a holy man, and to avoid the people who insisted on
coming to see him he fled in desperation to the priory of Hedley, near
Tadcaster. But Robert was no more successful as a Black than as a
White monk, and when he took the liberty openly to criticize their
interpretation of the Rule of St Benedict the monks dismissed
him. He now went back to Rudfarlington, where his
patroness gave him a barn and other buildings, some land, and four
hinds to help him work it, and all went well for a year till he
attracted the attention of William de Stuteville, constable of
Knaresborough. He suspected the hermit of giving shelter to
thieves and outlaws and had his buildings pulled down about his ears.
Robert fled back to St Giles's chapel where he had started, but was
pursued by the wrath of the constable who found him there and intended
to have him ejected. However, he changed his mind, because he had a
dream in which three demons of most terrifying aspect threatened his
life on account of his wrongs to the man of God.
De Stuteville
gave to Robert all the land between his cave
and Grimbald's Crag, and also two horses, two oxen and two cows, which
he was to farm for his own sustenance and the relief of the poor.
Robert was now well provided for and left in peace, except that people
of all degrees came to visit him "for to be edified". Another
brother, Walter, a prosperous burgess and mayor of York, urged him to
go into a monastery-perhaps he thought a hermit brother, however holy,
did not consort with his own dignity-but Robert replied in the words of
the psalmist, "Hic habitabo, quoniam elegi cam". So Walter
agreed to send workmen to build a
chapel of the Holy Cross, traces of which still remain beside the cave
which the hermit enlarged by his own labour.
Unhappily the place is now more associated with the crime of
Eugene Aram in 1745 than Robert Flower, for in
it the body of the murdered Daniel Clark was hidden.
Several miracles
of the hermit passed into the memory of the countryside and he was
popularly esteemed to have waged long warfare with visible
manifestations of the Devil; he also had a vision of
his mother, asking him to pray for her in Purgatory and afterwards
assuring him that his prayers were efficacious.
Robert had
a disciple called Yve who, after an early attempt to run away was
spoiled by his breaking his leg, persevered in this solitary life and
succeeded to Robert's hermitage after his death. From his master he
learnt that a hermit's first duty, after his own sanctification, is to
care for the poor and oppressed; Robert sheltered all unfortunates,
whether "deserving" or not, who came to him, and collected alms
and worked hard on his land for the relief of the
needy.
He refused to pay tithes of corn and hay
to the parson of Knaresborough, pointing out in rather forcible
language that his land was already the patrimony of the poor.
When King John was staying at Knaresborough Castle he
visited
the hermit, and is said to have found him at prayer. When Sir Brian de
lisle called him to the king's presence, Robert presented him with an
ear of corn, saying, "My lord king, can you with all your power make
such a thing as this out of nothing?" John accepted the lesson in
silence, but sycophantic (or kindly tactful) bystanders were quick to
point out that Robert was mad. The king asked if
there was anything he could give him, and the hermit replied there was
nothing. But directly John was gone Yve rebuked his master
for missing an opportunity of benefiting the poor; Robert
ran after the king, and a plow-land of the adjoining wood was
granted.
While Robert lay dying, monks came from Fountains
Abbey, offering him the Cistercian habit, which he refused, warning Yve
what would happen after his death. And directly he was dead the
monks again came, and wished to have his body for burial in their great
minster. But Robert had said that he was to be buried in
his own chapel of Holy Cross, and soldiers were sent from the castle to
guard the body until it was buried in the appointed place in the
presence of crowds of weeping people, mourning the "devout, debonair
and discreet man, than whom a milder could not be met".
After the death of Yve, Robert's hermitage
came into the hands of the Trinitarian order, whose canons seem
eventually to have removed his body into their own church at
Knaresborough.
In Analecta
Bollandiana,
vol. lvii (1939), pp. 364-400, Fr P. Grosjean printed the prose life
from the B.M. manuscript Egerton 3143, and an earlier but fragmentary
life from Harleian Ms. 3775. These texts (with other matter) sre given
in a slightly shortened form in the appendices to the Metrical Life of
St Robert of Knaresborough (E.E.T.S. 1953), ed. by Joyce Bazire; this
Middle English metrical life is also from Egerton 3143, which has
been dated as late fifteenth century. See also A. F. Pollard in
DNB., vol. xlviii; R. M. Clay, Hermits
and Anchorites of England (1914); and Abbot J. I. Cummins in Yorkshire Archaeological Journal,
vol. xxviii (1926), pp. 80-88, and his Legends, Saints and Shrines of Knaresborough
(1928). Robert Flower (who is often called Saint) has sometimes
been confused with St Robert, Abbot of Newminster (d. 1159).
|
 1581
Saint Nicander of Pskov (in
Baptism Nikon); By power of
prayer this monk conquered the weakness of flesh, human failings and
diabolical apparitions.
Nicander was born 24 July 1507 into the peasant family of Philip and
Anastasia in the village of Videlebo in the Pskov lands. From
childhood he dreamed of continuing the ascetic exploits of his fellow
villager, St Euphrosynus of Spasoeleazar, the original Pskov
wilderness-dweller (May 15). The first in Nikon's family to accept
monasticism was his older brother Arsenius. After death of his father,
the seventeen-year-old Nikon was able to convince his mother to dispose
of the property and withdraw into a monastery, where she lived until
her own end.
After visiting the monasteries of Pskov, and having venerated at the
relics of St Euphrosynus and his disciple St Sava of Krypetsk (August
28), Nikon became firmly convinced of his calling to the solitary life.
In order to have the possibility of reading the Word of God, Nikon was
employed as a worker for the Pskov resident Philip, who rewarded his
ardor by sending him to study with an experienced teacher. Seeing the
zeal of the youth, the Lord Himself directed him to the place of his
ascetic effort. Intensely praying in one of the Pskov churches, he
heard a voice from the altar commanding him to go to the wilderness
place which the Lord would point out through His servant Theodore. The
peasant Theodore led him off to the River Demyanka, between Pskov and
Porkhov. Afterwards, both Philip and Theodore, who helped St Nicander
attain his goal, were themselves to enter upon the path of monasticism,
and were tonsured at the Krypetsk monastery with the names Philaret and
Theodosius.
After several years of silence and severe ascetic deeds, emaciating his
flesh, Nikon went to the monastery founded by St Sava of Krypetsk. The
igumen, seeing his weakened body, would not agree to accept him at
once, fearing that the difficulties of monastic life would be too much
for him. Nikon fell down at the crypt of St Sava, and spoke to him as
if to one alive, entreating him to take him into his monastery. The
igumen relented and tonsured Nikon with the name Nicander.
St Nicander endured many temptations and woes on the path of
asceticism. Blessed Nicholas (February 28) while still at Pskov
predicted St Nicander's "wilderness sufferings." Through the prayers of
all the Pskov Saints and St Alexander of Svir (August 30 and April 17),
who twice appeared to him, guiding and strengthening him, and with the
help of the grace of God, he overcame all the manifold snares of the
Evil One.
By the power of prayer the monk conquered the weakness of flesh, human
failings and diabolical apparitions. Once, robbers nearly killed him,
running off with the hermit's stole, very precious possessions, his
books and icons. Through the prayers of the saint, two of them, taking
fright at the sudden death of one of their comrades, repented of their
wicked deeds and received forgiveness from the Elder.
St Nicander did not long live at the Krypetsk monastery, and he
obtained a blessing to return to his own wilderness. Later, he came to
live at the Krypetsk monastery once again, where he fulfilled the
obediences of ecclesiarch and cellerer, and then he went into the
wilderness again and lived there in fasting and prayer, meditating on
the Word the God.
Once a year, during Great Lent, St Nicander came to the Damianov
monastery, where he made his confession and received the Holy Mysteries
of Christ. Eight years before his death he received the Great Schema.
Many people began to come to the monk "for benefit," since in the words
of St John of the Ladder, "monastic life is a light for all mankind."
Believers turned to St Nicander for prayerful help, since the Lord had
bestown on him many gifts of grace.
The wilderness-dweller had regard for all the needs of the visitors and
even built lodging for them, "the guest-house at the oak," for which he
provided heat. The monk did not permit himself to show off his
spiritual gifts. Going secretly to his cell, people always heard him
praying with bitter tears. When he noticed there were people nearby, he
immediately began to pray, concealing from them the gift of tears that
he had received.
St Nicander to the end of his life remained a wilderness-dweller, but
he gave final instructions that after his death the place of his
ascetic efforts should not be forsaken, promising his protection to the
settlers of a future monastery. The saint gave final directions to the
deacon Peter of the Porkhov women's monastery to build a church at his
grave and transfer there the icon of the Annunciation of the Most Holy
Theotokos from the Tishanka church cemetery.
He foresaw his own death, predicting that he would die when enemies
invaded the fatherland, and foretelling this immanent assault. On
September 24, 1581, during an invasion by the army of the Polish king
Stephen Bathory, a certain peasant found the monk dead. He lay on his
cot with his hands crossed on his chest. From Pskov came clergy and
people who revered the monk, and among whom was also the deacon Peter,
and they performed the rite of Christian burial.
In 1584 at the place of St Nicander's ascetic deeds, sanctified by
almost half a century of prayer, a monastery was built, which they
began to call the Nikandrov wilderness-monastery. The builder of this
monastery was St Isaiah, who had been healed through prayer to the
saint.
The glorification of St Nicander occurred under Patriarch Joachim in
1696, and the feastdays in his memory were established for September
24, the day of his repose, and on the temple feast of the monastery,
the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos. During a reconstruction of
the monastery cathedral church the relics of St Nicander were
discovered, concealed in a wall. June 29 is celebrated as the day of
the uncovering of his holy relics. At present, strong bonds of prayer
connect believers with St Nicander, who is deeply venerated in the
Pskov area.
|
 Feast of Our Lady of Ransom
Festum beátæ Maríæ Vírginis de
Mercéde nuncupátæ, Ordinis redemptiónis
captivórum sub ejus nómine Institutrícis, de cujus
Apparitióne ágitur quarto Idus Augústi.
The feast of our Lady of Ransom, Foundress of the
Order for the Redemption of Captives. The apparition of the same
Blessed Virgin occurred on the 10th of August.
24 September, a double major, commemorates
the foundation of
the
Mercedarians.
On 10 August, 1223, the Mercedarian Order was legally
constituted at
Barcelona by King James of Aragon and was approved by Gregory IX on 17
January, 1235. The Mercedarians celebrated their institution on the
Sunday nearest to 1 Aug. (on which date in the year 1233 the Blessed
Virgin was believed to have shown St. Peter Nolasco the white habit of
the order), and this custom was approved by the Congregation of Rites
on 4 April, 1615 (Anal. Juris Pont., VII, 136). But the calendar of the
Spanish Mercedarians of 1644 has it on 1 Aug., double. Proper lessons
were approved on 30 April, 1616. The feast was granted to Spain (Sunday
nearest to 1 Aug.) on 15 Feb., 1680; to France, 4 Dec., 1690. On 22
Feb., 1696, it was extended to the entire Latin Church, and the date
changed to 24 September. The Mercedarians keep this feast as a double
of the first class, with a vigil, privileged octave, and proper Office
under the title: "Solemnitas Descensionis B. Mariæ V. de
Mercede". Our Lady of Ransom is the principal patron of Barcelona; the
proper Office was extended to Barcelona (1868) and to all Spain (second
class, 1883). Sicily, which had suffered so much from the Saracens,
took up the old date of the feast (Sunday nearest to 1 Aug.) by
permission of the Congregation of Rites, 31 Aug., 1805 (double major),
Apparition of Our Lady to St. Peter Nolasco in the choir of Barcelona,
on the Sunday after 24 Sept. In England the devotion to Our Lady of
Ransom was revived in modern times to obtain the rescue of England as
Our Lady's Dowry .
OUR LADY OF RANSOM
THE first entry in the
Roman Martyrology today is, "The feast of
blessed Mary the Virgin, called of Ransom, institutress of the Order
for the Redemption of Captives under that title. Her Appearing is
mentioned on August 10", and accordingly under that date we find, "The
Appearing in Spain of blessed Mary, etc. In the account of
St Peter Nolasco on January 28 we referred to difficulties
surrounding history of the foundation of this order (vulgo
Mercedarians), particularly the unsatisfactory nature of the evidence
for the apparitions of our Lady to St Peter and others. The date
of the order's first foundation in Spain was August 10 (in 1218 or 1223
or 1228), but the feast commemorating this event, under the name of the
Solemnity of the Coming-down of Our Lady of Ransom, was kept by the
Mercedarians on the Sunday nearest to August 1. The feast
was granted to Spain at large in 1680, and extended to the whole
Western church, for its present date, in 1696.
The invocation of our Lady under this title for the
conversion
of England has nothing to do with the historical and liturgical aspects
of the feast. Our Lady of Pity was an old name for her in this
country, expressing a cognate idea to "ransom", and she may be regarded
as interceding for our country's release from the bonds of religious
error, just as in the prayer of the Mass today we ask for the
deliverance of the faithful people from the bonds of sin.
See F. G. Holweck, Calendarium
festorum Dei et Dei Matris (1925), p. 327, who seems to accept
the Mercedarian traditions a little too trustfully he also
appeals to D. Perez Sanjulian, Historia
de La SS. Virgen Maria
(1912), vol. ii, p. 645. It was a project of Pope Benedict
XIV's commission for the reform of the Roman Breviary to suppress this
feast of our Lady of Ransom, a project to which effect has been given
in the calendar approved for the Benedictines in 1915.
|
 1721
ST PACIFICO
OF SAN SEVERINO
Septémpedæ, in Picéno, deposítio
sancti Pacífici, Sacerdótis ex Ordine Minórum et
Confessóris, exímiæ patiéntiæ viri et
solitúdinis amóre præclári, quem
Gregórius Papa Décimus sextus in Sanctórum
cánonem rétulit.
At San Severino in Piceno, the death of St.
Pacificus, priest and confessor of the Order of Friars Minor of St.
Francis of the Reformed Observance. Illustrious for his great
patience and his love of solitude, he was enrolled in the canon of the
saints by Pope Gregory XVI.
At Mass he was often rapt in ecstasy; gift of
prophecy ability to read the consciences of his penitents Miracles took
place at his tomb, as they had done in his lifetime; "Moreover, I
advise and admonish the friars that in their preaching, their words
should be examined and chaste. They should aim only at the advantage
and spiritual good of their listeners, telling them briefly about vice
and virtue, punishment and glory, because our Lord himself kept his
words short on earth" (St. Francis, Rule of 1223, Ch. 9).
IN the year 1653 there was born to Antony Divini and Mary
Bruni, at San
Severino in the March of Ancona, a son, who was baptized under the
names of Charles Antony. When he was about five both his parents
died, leaving him to the care of his maternal uncle, a harsh and
disagreeable man. He used the boy simply as a servant about the
house and treated him with something less than the consideration due to
a servant, all of which Charles bore with patience and humility until,
in his seventeenth year, he offered himself to the Friars Minor of the
Observance. In 1670 he was clothed in their monastery at Forano and
received the name of Pacifico. After the usual course of studies
he was ordained at the age of twenty-five. For the two following years
he taught philosophy to the junior friars and then, representing to his
superiors that preaching was a more suitable employment for him, he was
sent out on mission work in the neighbouring villages and
hamlets. His sweet and simple discourses were everywhere well
received, and were strengthened in their effect by his ability to read
the consciences of his penitents. He reminded one James
Sconocchia at Cingoli that he had forgotten to confess two sins of
profanity, and another penitent said that the friar had brought back to
his memory occasions on which he had been unkind to his mother and had
entertained unchaste thoughts. But the public apostolate of
Brother Pacifico was destined to last only for six or seven years, for
when he was thirty-five he was overtaken by both deafness and blindness
and by a chronic ulceration of his legs which almost crippled him. He
continued to live at Forano, passing his time in prayer, penance and
almsdeeds, but having for a short time filled the offices of vicar and
guardian of the friary of San Severino, he was in 1705 transferred to
that house where, amid the friends and scenes of his childhood, he
passed the rest of his life.
On several
occasions St Pacifico displayed the gift of
prophecy, as, for example, in 1717 when he foretold the victory of
Prince Eugene of Savoy over the Turks at Belgrade. As though his
natural bodily afflictions were not enough, he still further mortified
himself with hair-shirt and discipline, and his superiors had to
interfere to limit his fasts. At Mass he was often rapt in
ecstasy, sometimes for several hours. During the month of July 1721 he
received a visit from the bishop of San Severino, and as he was leaving
St Pacifico suddenly cried out "My lord-Heaven, Heaven I And
I shall soon follow you." Within fifteen days the bishop was dead, and
on the following September 24 St Pacifico died also. Miracles
took place at his tomb, as they had done in his lifetime, and in 1752
his cause was begun; Cardinal Henry of York was ponente and Mgr
(afterwards Cardinal) Erskine promoter of the faith. He was
canonized in 1839.
Several
biographies have been published since
the saint
was canonized, notably those of Melehiorri (1839), Bernardino da Gajoli
(1898), and Diotallevi (1910). See also Léon,
Auréole
Séraphique (Eng. trans.), vol. iii, pp. 224-229.
St. Pacifico of San Severino 1653-1721
Pacifico was born into a distinguished family in San
Severino in the
Marche of Ancona in central Italy. After joining the Friars Minor, he
was ordained. He taught philosophy for two years and then began a
successful preaching career. Pacifico was an ascetic man. He
fasted perpetually, eating no more than bread, soup or water. His "hair
shirt" was made of iron. Poverty and obedience were two virtues for
which his confreres especially remembered him.
At the age of 35, Pacifico contracted an illness that eventually left
him deaf, blind and crippled. He offered his sufferings for the
conversion of sinners, and he cured many of the sick who came to him.
Pacifico also served as the superior of the friary in San Severino. He
was canonized in 1839.
Comment: Pacifico lived out the words of St. Francis cited below. His
preaching and ministry were linked to his life of penance.
Francis urged his brothers to proclaim the Word of
God without fanfare or self-interest. In that way, their words were
truly God’s and directed toward the welfare of their listeners. The way
Pacifico lived made his preaching all the more effective, for his
listeners knew the power present in his words.
Quote: "Moreover, I advise and admonish the friars that in their
preaching, their words should be examined and chaste. They should aim
only at the advantage and spiritual good of their listeners, telling
them briefly about vice and virtue, punishment and glory, because our
Lord himself kept his words short on earth" (St. Francis, Rule of 1223,
Ch. 9).
|
1794 On the anniversary of the arrival of the
Russian missionaries in Alaska, we remember the New Martyrs St Peter
the Aleut, Protomartyr of America, and St Juvenal.
 Saint Peter the
Aleut is mentioned in the Life of St Herman of Alaska (December 13).
Simeon Yanovsky (who ended his life as the schemamonk Sergius in the St
Tikhon of Kaluga Monastery), has left the following account:
"On another occasion I was relating to him how the Spanish in
California had imprisoned fourteen Aleuts, and how the Jesuits
(actually Franciscans) were forcing all of them to accept the Catholic
Faith. But the Aleuts would not agree under any circumstances, saying,
'We are Christians.' The Jesuits argued, 'That's not true, you are
heretics and schismatics. If you do not agree to accept our faith then
we will torture all of you to death.' Then the Aleuts were placed in
prisons two to a cell. That evening, the Jesuits came to the prison
with lanterns and lighted candles. Again they tried to persuade two
Aleuts in the cell to accept the Catholic Faith. 'We are Christians,'
the Aleuts replied, 'and we will not change our Faith.' Then the
Jesuits began to torture them, at first the one while his companion was
a witness. They cut off one of the joints of his feet, and then the
other joint. Then they cut the first joint on the fingers of his hands,
and then the other joint. Then they cut off his feet, and his hands.
The blood flowed, but the martyr endured all and firmly repeated one
thing: "I am a Christian.' He died in such suffering, due to a loss of
blood. The Jesuit also promised to torture his comrade to death the
next day.
But that night an order was received from Monterey stating that the
imprisoned Aleuts were to be released immediately, and sent there under
escort. Therefore, in the morning all were sent to Monterey with the
exception of the dead Aleut. This was related to me by a witness, the
same Aleut who had escaped torture, and who was the friend of the
martyred Aleut. I reported this incident to the authorities in St
Petersburg. When I finished my story, Father Herman asked, 'What was
the name of the martyred Aleut?' I answered, 'Peter. I do not remember
his family name.' The Elder stood reverently before an icon, made the
Sign of the Cross and said, "Holy New Martyr Peter, pray to God for usl"
We know very little about St Peter, except that he was from Kodiak, and
was arrested and put to death by the Spaniards in California because he
refused to convert to Catholicism. The circumstances of his martyrdom
recall the torture of St James the Persian (November 27).
Both in his sufferings and in his steadfast confession of the Faith, St
Peter is the equal of the martyrs of old, and also of the New Martyrs
who have shone forth in more recent times. Now he rejoices with them in
the heavenly Kingdom, glorifying God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, throughout all ages.
 Saint Juvenal, the
Protomartyr of America, was born in 1761 in Nerchinsk, Siberia. His
secular name was John Feodorovich Hovorukhin, and he was trained as a
mining engineer. In a letter to Abbot Nazarius of Valaam (December 13,
1819), St Herman says that St Juvenal "had been an assistant at our
monastery and was a former officer."
After his wife died in 1791, John entered a monastery
at St Petersburg (St Herman's Letter of December 13, 1819) and was
tonsured with the name Juvenal. Three years later, he went to Alaska as
a missionary.
During 1794, the hieromonks Juvenal and Macarius spent two months in
the area around Kodiak teaching the inhabitants about Christ and
baptizing them. They traveled in small boats of hide in all sorts of
weather, dividing up the territory among themselves. St Herman tells of
a conversation he heard one day as he walked with the hieromonks to a
small hill on the south side of the harbor. They sat down facing the
sea, and spoke of various things. Soon they began to discuss where each
of them should go to preach. Aflame with zeal and eager to set out on
their journey, a friendly argument ensued between Fr Macarius and Fr
Juvenal. Fr Macarius said he intended to go north to the Aleutian
Islands, and then make his way to the Alaskan mainland, where the
inhabitants had invited him to visit. The monks had a map of Captain
Cook's which indicated that some Russians were living near a certain
river in that particular area, and Fr Macarius hoped to find them.
Fr Juvenal interrupted, saying that he believed that the Alaskan
mainland was his territory. "I beg you to yield to me and not offend me
in this," he told Fr Macarius, "since the ship is leaving for Yakutan.
I shall begin preaching in the south, proceeding north along the ocean,
cross the Kenai peninsula, then from the port there I shall cross to
Alaska."
Fr Macarius became sorrowful and said, "No, Father. Do not restrict me
in this way. You know the Aleutian chain of islands is joined to
Alaska, therefore it belongs to me, and also the whole northern shore.
As for you, the southern part of America is sufficient for your whole
lifetime, if you please."
As he listened to their apostolic fervor, St Herman
says he "went from joy to rapture" (Letter to Abbot Nazarius, May 19,
1795).
In 1795, Father Juvenal baptized over 700 Chugatchi at Nushek, then he
crossed Kenai Bay and baptized the local people there. In 1796,
according to native oral tradition, St Juvenal came to the mouth of the
Kuskokwim near the present village of Quinahgak, where he was killed by
a hunting party (There is a forged diary attributed to Ivan Petroff
which gives a slanderous version of Fr Juvenal's death, and alleges
that he was martyred at Lake Iliamna).
The precise reason for St Juvenal's murder by the natives is not known.
However, they later told St Innocent something about his death. They
said that St Juvenal did not try to defend himself when attacked, nor
did he make any attempt to escape. After being struck from behind, he
turned to face his attackers and begged them to spare the natives he
had baptized.
The natives told St Innocent that after they had killed St Juvenal, he
got up and followed them, urging them to repent. The fell upon him
again and gave him a savage beating. Once more, he got to his feet and
called them to repentance. This happened several times, then finally
the natives hacked him to pieces. Thus, the zealous Hieromonk Juvenal
became the first Orthodox Christian in America to receive the crown of
martyrdom. His unnamed guide, possibly a Tanaina Indian convert, was
also martyred at the same time.
It is said that a local shaman removed St Juvenal's brass pectoral
cross from his body and attempted to cast a spell. Unexpectedly, the
shaman was lifted up off the ground. He made three more tries with the
same result, then concluded that there was a greater power than his own
at work here. Years later, a man showed up at the Nushagak Trading Post
wearing a brass pectoral cross exactly like the one worn by St Juvenal.
A column of light arose from his holy relics and reached up to Heaven.
It is not known how long this phenomenon continued.
St Juvenal, in his tireless evangelization of the native peoples of
Alaska, served the Church more than all the other missionaries combined.
|
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.