The Murom Icon of the Mother
of God
Transferred to Murom from Kiev by the enlightener of this remote
region, the holy Prince Constantine (May 21), in the twelfth century.
St Constantine urged the pagans to accept Christianity, but they were stubborn
and decided to murder the prince. Learning of this, the saint came out to
the pagans with the Icon of the Mother of God he had brought from Kiev.
The grace issuing forth from Her countenance
touched the hearts of the pagans. They asked for the prince's forgiveness
and agreed to be baptized.
St Basil of Ryazan (July 3) sailed from Murom to Ryazan on
his mantiya, while carrying this icon.
The Murom icon was originally commemorated during the Apostles'
Fast, but the celebration was moved to April 12 (the Feast of St Basil).
In the Murom icon, Christ leans against His Mother's
shoulder,
and He holds a scroll which says, "I am the light of the world."
The Belynich Icon of the Mother of God initially
was in one of the Orthodox churches of the Mogilev district. After the emergence
of the Unia (1596) the icon passed into the hands of the Catholics and was
placed in a church of the Belynich Catholic monastery, founded in 1622-1624
by the hetman of Great Lithuania, Lev Sapega, on the banks of the River
Druta, 45 versts from Mogilev. The icon was venerated both by Catholics
and by Orthodox. In 1832 the monastery was dissolved, and the Catholic church
became a parish church.
In 1876 the icon was given to the Orthodox
after the restoration of the monastery. On April 12 of that year the first
Divine Liturgy was served in the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy
Theotokos on the altar table consecrated by an Orthodox bishop. The
Belynich Icon of the Mother of God is venerated throughout the Christian
world.
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On Bright Thursday
the Gospel reading is John 3:1-15, which mentions the Pharisee Nicodemus
who came by night to speak to Christ
The Lord told him that a man could not see the Kingdom of God unless he
were born again. Nicodemus, taking Him much too literally, could not understand
how such a thing was possible.
The Savior then clarified His words, saying that one must be born "of
water and the Spirit" (John 3:5), referring to Baptism. Nicodemus, however,
still found it difficult to understand Him.
The Lord said, "If I have told you of earthly things, and you
believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things?" (John
3:12).
The reading from Acts 2:38-41 also speaks of Baptism. St Peter
told the crowd, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you… and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
The main focus of today's readings is on Baptism, but they also point
to other things. We are to raise our mind and understanding from earthly
to heavenly things, and to seek the gift of the Holy Spirit."
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Agathonica, Papylus (Pamfilus),
Carpus & Companions MM (RM)
Died at Pergamum c. 170 or 250. Eusebius (History of the Church, iv, 15)
records that during the Decian persecution, Carpus, bishop of Gordus in
Asia Minor; Papylus, deacon of Thyatira; Agathonica, the sister of Papylus;
and Agathodorus, their servant, were arrested. They were brought before
Valerius, the Roman governor at Pergamos in Asia Minor, examined three times,
and required to sacrifice to the gods. The third time, Agathodorus, was
scourged to death in front of his masters.
Still the Christians remained resolute. Carpus answered the
proconsul Optimus:
"I am a Christian, I worship Christ, the Son of God, who came
in these latter times for our salvation and delivered us from the snares
of the devil. I will not sacrifice to such idols. The living do not sacrifice
to the dead . . . (the gods) look like men, but they are unfeeling. Deprive
them of your veneration . . . and they will be defiled by dogs and crows."
When the proconsul insisted, Carpus said:
"I have never before sacrificed to images that have no feeling or understanding
. . . I have pity on myself, choosing as I do the better part."
Carpus was hung up to be tortured with iron claws that flayed the skin
from his sides. He continued to answer steadfastly until the pain overcame
his voice.
The attention of the judges turned next to Papylus, a wealthy father of
many children according to his testimony. A bystander interpreted his words
as "He means he has children in virtue of the faith of the Christians." Papylus
agreed that this was correct. Like Carpus, he continued to refuse and was
treated in the same fashion as the bishop. After a time of silent endurance,
he said:
"I feel no pain because I have someone to comfort me: one whom you do
not see suffers within me."
The last words of Carpus were: "Blessed are You, Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of God, because You judged me, a sinner, worthy to have this part in
You!"
They refused to offer the oblations, and no arguments or ill
treatment could overcome their resistance. They were therefore burnt alive
in the amphitheater.
Saint Agathonica, a married woman, was admired by the crowd
for her physical beauty. When they urged not to make her children motherless
by her obstinacy, she replied, "God will look after them, but I will not
obey your commands nor will I sacrifice to demons." She, too, went to the
stake to be burnt to death. As the flames consumed her, she cried out: "Lord,
Lord, Lord, help me, for I fly to You." The Christian witnesses came and took
away the remains of the martyrs to cherish them.
Another version of the story relates that Agathonica was simply a woman
in the crowd at the death of Carpus and Papylus, who was moved to share in
their martyrdom, rather than the sister of the latter (Attwater, Attwater2,
Benedictines, Coulson, Farmer, Husenbeth).
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250 St. Vissia Virgin
and martyr put to death at Fermo near Ancona, Italy during the persecutions
of Emperor Trajanus Decius
Firmi, in Picéno, sanctæ Víssiæ, Vírginis
et Mártyris.
At Fermo, in Piceno, St. Vissia, virgin and martyr.
(r. 249-251).
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300 St. Victor Martyr
a catechumen put to death during the reign of Diocletian in Portugal.
Brácari, in Lusitánia, sancti Victóris Mártyris,
qui, adhuc catechúmenus, cum noluísset idólum adoráre,
et Christum Jesum magna constántia conféssus fuísset,
ídeo, post multa torménta, cápite abscísso,
méruit próprio sánguine baptizári.
At Braga in Portugal, the martyr St. Victor.
Although only a catechumen, he refused to adore an idol, and confessed Jesus
Christ with great constancy. After suffering many tortures, he was
beheaded, and thus merited to be baptized in his own blood.
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303
Maximus, Dadas & Quintilianus brothers from Dorostorum (now Silistraia
MM (RM)
Maximus, Dadas, and Quintilianus, brothers from Dorostorum (now Silistraia)
on the Danube, Bulgaria, were beheaded at Ozobia under Diocletian. Maximus
was a lector (Benedictines).
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336 St. Julius elected
Pope to succeed Pope St. Mark on February 6, 337 built several basilicas
and churches in Rome declared that Athanasius was the rightful bishop of
Alexandria and reinstated him
Romæ, via Aurélia,
natális sancti Júlii Papæ Primi, qui advérsus
Ariános pro fide cathólica plúrimum laborávit,
ac, multis præcláre gestis, sanctitáte célebris
quiévit in pace.
At Rome,
on the Aurelian Way, the birthday of Pope St. Julius, who vigorously defended
the Catholic faith against the Arians. After a life of brilliant accomplishments,
he rested in peace, famed for his sanctity.
352 ST JULIUS I, Pope
THE name of Pope St Julius stands in the Roman Martyrology to-day
with the notice that he laboured much for the Catholic faith against the Arians.
He was the son of a Roman citizen named Rusticus, and succeeded Pope St Mark
in 337. In the following year St Athanasius, who had been exiled at the instance
of the Arians, returned to his see of Alexandria, but found himself opposed
by an Arian or semi-Arian hierarch whose intrusion had been obtained by Bishop
Eusebius of Nicomedia. In response to the request of the followers of Eusebius,
Pope Julius convoked a synod to examine into the matter, but the very people
who had asked for the council refrained from attending it. The case of St
Athanasius was, however, very carefully examined in their absence and the
letter, which the pope subsequently sent to the Eusebian bishops in the East
has been characterized by Tillemont as “one of the finest monuments of ecclesiastical’
antiquity”, and by Monsignor Batiffol as “a model of weightiness, wisdom
and charity”. Calmly and impartially he meets their accusations one by one
and refutes them. Towards the end he states the procedure they ought to have
followed. “Are you not aware that it is customary that we should first be
written to, that from hence what is just may be defined whereas you expect
us to approve condemnations in which we had no part. This is not according
to the precepts of Paul or the tradition of the fathers. All this is strange
and new. Allow me to speak as I do: I write what I write in the common interest,
and what I now signify is what we have received from the blessed apostle
Peter.”
The council at Sardica (Sofia) convened in 342 by the emperors of the
East and West, vindicated St Athanasius, and endorsed the statement, previously
made by St Julius, that any bishop deposed by a synod of his province has
a right to appeal to the bishop of Rome. Nevertheless it was not until the
year 346 that St Athanasius was able to return to Alexandria. On his way
thither he passed through Rome, where he was cordially received by Pope Julius,
who wrote a touching letter to the clergy and faithful of Alexandria, congratulating
them on the return of their holy bishop, picturing the reception they would
give him, and praying for God’s blessing on them and on their children.
St Julius built several churches in Rome, notably the Basilica Julia,
now the church of the Twelve Apostles, and the basilica of St Valentine
in the Flaminian Way. He died on April 12, 352. His body was buried at first
in the cemetery of Calepodius, but was afterwards translated to Santa Maria
in Trastevere which he had enlarged and beautified.
The story
of the life of St Julius belongs to general church history and may best be
studied in such works as Hefele—Leclercq, Histoire des Conciles
Grisar, Geschichte Roms and der Päpste (Eng.
trans.); Duchesne in his edition of the Liber Pontificalis and
in his Histoire ancienne de l’Eglise (Eng. trans.); J. P.
Kirsch, Die Kirche in der antiken Griechischen Römischen
Kulturwelt; and P. Batiffol, La paix constantinienne.
Julius was the son of a Roman named Rusticus. He was elected
Pope to succeed Pope St. Mark on February 6, 337. Julius was soon involved
in the Arian controversy when Eusebius of Nicomedia opposed the return of
Athanasius to the See of Alexandria in 338. Eusebius and his followers elected
George, whereupon the Arians elected Pistus. Julius convened a synod in
Rome in 340 or 341 that neither group attended, and in a letter to the Eusebian
bishops, Julius declared that Athanasius was the rightful bishop of Alexandria
and reinstated him. The matter was not finally settled until the Council
of Sardica (Sofia), summoned by emperors Constans and Constantius in 342
or 343, declared Julius' action correct and that any deposed bishop had the
right of appeal to the Pope in Rome. Julius built several basilicas and churches
in Rome and died there on April 12.
Pope St. Julius I
(337-352).
The immediate successor of Pope
Silvester, Arcus, ruled the Roman Church for only a very short period —
from 18 January to 7 October, 336 — and after his death the papal chair
remained vacant for four months. What occasioned this comparatively long
vacancy is unknown. On 6 Feb., 337, Julius, son of Rustics and a native
of Rome, was elected pope. His pontificate is chiefly celebrated for his
judicious and firm intervention in the Arian controversies, about which
we have abundant sources of information. After the death of Constantine
the Great (22 May, 337), his son Constantine II, Governor of Gaul, permitted
the exiled Athanasius to return to his See of Alexandria (see ATHANASIUS).
The Arians in Egypt, however, set up a rival bishop in the person of Pistus,
and sent an embassy to Julius asking him to admit Pistus into communion
with Rome, and delivering to the pope the decisions of the Council of Tyre
(335) to prove that Athanasius had been validly deposed. On his side Athanasius
likewise sent envoys to Rome to deliver to Julius a synodal letter of the
Egyptian bishops, containing a complete justification of their patriarch.
On the arrival of the Athanasian envoys in Rome, Macarius, the head of the
Arian representatives, left the city; the two remaining Arian envoys, with
the Athanasian deputies, were summoned by Pope Julius. The Arian envoys now
begged the pope to assemble a great synod before which both parties should
present their case for decision.
Julius convened the synod at Rome, having dispatched two envoys
to bear a letter of invitation to the Eastern bishops. Under the leadership
of Eusebius, who had been raised from Nicomedia to the See of Constantinople,
the Arian bishops had meanwhile held a council at Antioch, and elected George
of Cappadocia Bishop of Alexandria in the place of Pistus. George was intruded
forcibly into his see, and Athanasius, being again exiled, made his way
to Rome. Many other Eastern bishops removed by the Arian party, among them
Marcellus of Ancyra, also came to Rome. In a letter couched in haughty terms,
however, the Arian bishops of the party of Eusebius refused to attend the
synod summoned by Julius. The synod was held in the autumn of 340 or 341,
under the presidency of the pope, in the titular church of the presbyter
Vitus. After a detailed examination of the documents, Athanasius and Marcellus
of Ancyra, who had made a satisfactory profession of faith, were exonerated
and re-established in their episcopal rights. Pope Julius communicated this
decision in a very notable and able letter to the bishops of the Eusebian
party. In this letter he justifies his proceedings in the case, defends
in detail his action in reinstating Athanasius, and animadverts strongly
on the non-appearance of the Eastern bishops at the council, the convening
of which they themselves had suggested. Even if Athanasius and his companions
were somewhat to blame, the letter runs, the Alexandrian Church should first
have written to the pope. "Can you be ignorant," writes the pope, "that this
is the custom, that we should be written to first, so that from here what
is just may be defined" (Julii ep. ad Antiochenos, c. xxii). After his victory
over his brother Constantine II, Emperor Constans was ruler over the greater
part of the Empire. He was entirely orthodox in his views, and, at the request
of the pope and other Western bishops, interceded with his brother Constantius,
Emperor of the East, in favour of the bishops who had been deposed and persecuted
by the Arian party. Both rulers agreed that there should be convened a general
council of the Western and Eastern bishops at Sardica, the principal city
of the Province of Dacia Mediterranea (the modern Sofia). It took place in
the autumn of 342 or 343, Julius sending as his representatives the priests
Archidamus and Philoxenus and the deacon Leo. Although the Eastern bishops
of the Arian party did not join in the council, but held their assembly separate
and then departed, the synod nevertheless accomplished its task. Through
the important canons iii, iv, and v (vii in the Latin text) of this council,
the procedure against accused bishops was more exactly regulated, and the
manner of the papal intervention in the condemnation of bishops was definitely
established.
At the close of its transactions
the synod communicated its decisions to the pope in a dutiful letter. Notwithstanding
the reaffirmation of his innocence by the Synod of Sardica, St. Athanasius
was not restored to his see by Emperor Constantius until after the death
of George, the rival Bishop of Alexandria, in 346. Pope Julius took this
occasion to write a letter, which is still extant, to the priests, deacons,
and the faithful of Alexandria, to congratulate them on the return of their
great pastor. The two bishops Ursacius of Singidunum and Valens of Mursia,
who, on account of their Arianism, had been deposed by the Council of Sardica,
now made a formal recantation of their error to Julius, who, having summoned
them to an audience and received a signed confession of faith, restored
to them their episcopal sees. Concerning the inner life of the Roman Church
during the pontificate of Julius we have no exact information; all agree,
however, that there was a rapid increase in the number of the faithful in
Rome, where Julius had two new basilicas erected: the titular church of Julius
(now S. Maria in Trastevere) and the Basilica Julia (now the Church of the
Twelve Apostles). Beside these he built three churches over cemeteries outside
the walls of Rome: one on the road to Porto, a second on the Via Aurelia,
and a third on the Via Flaminia at the tomb of the martyr St. Valentine.
The ruins of the last-mentioned have been discovered. The veneration of the
faithful for the tombs of the martyrs continued to spread rapidly. Under
the pontificate of Julius, if not earlier, catalogues of feast-days of saints
came into use — the Roman feast-calendar of Philocalus dates from the year
336.
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371 St. Zeno
Bishop 362 of Verona, Italy, theological writer ardent opponent of Arianism
promoted
discipline among the clergy and in liturgical life, built a cathedral,
and founded a convent wrote extensively on the virgin birth of Christ
Verónæ pássio sancti Zenónis Epíscopi,
qui inter persecutiónis procéllas eam Ecclésiam mira
constántia gubernávit, et, Galliéni témpore,
martyrio coronátus est.
At Verona, the passion of Bishop St. Zeno, who governed
that Church with great fortitude amid the storms of persecution, and was
crowned with martyrdom in the time of Gallienus.
371 ST ZENO, Bishop OF VERONA
IN the Dialogues of St Gregory and in several martyrologies St Zeno, bishop
of Verona, is styled a martyr, but St Ambrose, who was his contemporary,
in a letter addressed to his successor Syagrius speaks of his happy death.
Furthermore, in an ancient missal of Verona, St Zeno is honoured only as
a confessor. Living as he did in the days of Constantius, Julian and Valens,
he may well have merited the title of martyr by suffering in the persecutions
they waged, even if he did not die a violent death.
From a panegyric he delivered on St Arcadius, a Mauretanian martyr, it
has been conjectured that St Zeno was born in Africa; and from the excellent
flowing Latin of his writings and from the quotations he makes from Virgil,
it is evident that he received a good classical education. He seems to have
been made bishop of Verona in 362. We gather a number of interesting particulars
about him and about his people from a collection of his tractatus, short
familiar discourses delivered to his flock. We learn that he baptized every
year a great number of pagans, and that he exerted himself with zeal and
success against the Arians, who had been emboldened by the favours they had
enjoyed under the Emperor Constantius. When he had in a great measure purged
the church of Verona from heresy and heathenism, his flock increased to an
extent which necessitated the building of a large basilica. Contributions
flowed in freely from the citizens, whose habitual liberality had become
so great that their houses were always open to poor strangers, whilst none
of their fellow citizens ever had occasion to apply for relief, so promptly
were their wants forestalled. Their bishop congratulated them upon thus laying
up for themselves treasure in Heaven.
After the battle of Adrianople in 378, when the Goths defeated .Valens
with terrible slaughter, the barbarians made numerous captives in the neighbouring
provinces of Illyricum and Thrace. It appears to have been on this occasion
that, through the bountiful charity of the inhabitants of Verona, many of
the prisoners were ransomed from slavery, some rescued from a cruel death,
and others freed from hard labour. Though this probably occurred after the
death of St Zeno, the self-sacrifice of the townsmen may be traced to his
inspiring zeal and example.
St Zeno himself always chose to live in great poverty. He often speaks
of the clergy he trained and of the priests, his fellow-labourers, to whom
offerings were allotted at Easter. He alludes to the ordinations he performed
at the paschal season, as well as to the solemn reconciliation of penitents,
which also took place in Holy Week. St Ambrose makes mention of virgins, living
in Verona in their own houses and wearing the veil, who had been consecrated
to God by St Zeno, as well as of others who dwelt in a convent of which
he was both the founder and the director. This was before St Ambrose had
established anything of the kind in Milan. St Zeno inveighed against the
abuses of the agape or love-feast, which had become a scandal, and also
against the practice of interrupting funeral Masses by loud lamentations.
Many of the customs of the period are recorded in these discourses. It would
appear to have been still usual, at any rate in Verona, to immerse the whole
body at baptism, the water being warmed for the purpose, and St Zeno is
the only writer to allude to the habit of giving medals to the newly baptized.
St Gregory the Great describes a remarkable miracle which occurred two
centuries after St Zeno’s death, related to him by John the Patrician, who
was an eye-witness of it. In the year 598 the river Adige threatened to submerge
Verona. The people flocked to the church of their holy bishop and patron,
Zeno. The waters seemed to respect the building for, although they rose outside
as high as the windows, they never penetrated into the church but stood like
a solid wall. The people remained within in prayer until, after twenty-four
hours, the waters once more subsided. This miracle and others greatly increased
the general devotion to the saint, and in the reign of King Pepin, Charlemagne’s
son, a new church was built to contain his relics, which are still preserved
there in a subterranean chapel. St Zeno is usually represented with a fishing-rod,
from the end of which a fish is hanging. The emblem is accounted for locally
by the tradition that the saint was fond of fishing in the Adige, but the
fish may possibly be symbolical of baptism.
See the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. ii, and some other scattered biographical
materials which are duly registered in BHL., nn. 9001—9013. The best general
account is that of Bigelmair, Zeno von Verona (1904); but
cf. Bardenhewer, Geschichte der altkirchlichen
Literatur, vol. iii, pp. 478—481, and DCB., vol. iv.
A native of Africa, he was named bishop in 362 and proved an
ardent opponent of Arianism. He also promoted discipline among the clergy
and in liturgical life, built a cathedral, and founded a convent.
Zeno wrote extensively on the virgin birth of Christ and other
theological matters. He was the subject of numerous legends.
Saint Zeno, Bishop of Verona, was born a Greek and came from
Syria. In his youth he became a monk and devoted himself to the study of Holy
Scripture. Visiting several monasteries, the saint came to the city of Verona
and settled there. The people chose him as bishop of the city.
The emperors Constantius (353-361) and Valens (364-378), were advocates
of the Arian heresy, which had been condemned at the First Ecumenical Council
at Nicea in the year 325. Under their patronage the Arians began a persecution
against the Orthodox.
St Zeno bravely endured all the oppression from the heretics.
In his sermons and letters he firmly asserted the Orthodox
teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ as the Only-Begotten Son of God, born
of the Father before all ages.
St Zeno wrote sixteen long and seventy-seven short discourses
and directives. He died around the year 360.
St Gregory Dialogus (March 12) speaks of a miracle in the year
558 on St Zeno's Feast day. There were spring floods in Italy. The River
Tiber overflowed its banks and inundated the surrounding area. The River
Atesis flowing past Verona also flooded. The water reached the church built
in honor of the hieromartyr Zeno, and came up to the windows of the church.
The doors of the temple were open, but the water did not rush inside. It
stopped at the wall, and did not harm the church.
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372 St. Sabas &
50 others Goth converted to Christianity lector in Targoviste Romania
martyr in the area of modern Romania by pagan Goths
In Cappadócia sancti
Sabæ Gothi, qui, sub Valénte Imperatóre, cum Rex Gothórum
Athanarícus Christiános insequerétur, in flumen, post
dira torménta, projéctus est; quo étiam témpore
(ut sanctus Augustínus scribit) quamplúrimi ex Gothis orthodóxis
coróna martyrii sunt insigníti.
In Cappadocia,
in the reign of Emperor Valens, during the persecution raised against the
Christians by Atanaric, king of the Goths, St. Sabas, himself a Goth, who
was cast into a river after undergoing cruel torments. Many orthodox
Goths, as St. Augustine relates, received at that time the crown of martyrdom.
372 ST SABAS THE GOTH, MARTYR
THE Goth’s in the third century swarmed over the Danube and established
themselves in the Roman provinces of Dacia and Moesia, making expeditions
from time to time into Asia Minor, especially into Galatia and Cappadocia,
from which they brought back Christian slaves, priests and lay people. These
prisoners soon began to make converts amongst their conquerors, with the result
that Christian churches were founded. In 370 the ruler of one section of
the Goths raised a persecution against his Christian subjects, out of revenge,
it is supposed, for a declaration of war launched against him by the Roman
emperor. The Greeks commemorate fifty-one Gothic martyrs, the most famous
of whom were St Sabas and St Nicetas. Sabas, who had been converted to Christianity
in early youth, acted as cantor or lector to the priest Sansala. When, at
the outset of the persecution, the magistrates ordered the Christians to
eat meat sacrificed to idols, certain pagans, who had Christian relations
whom they wished to save, persuaded the officials to give them meat which
had not been offered to idols. Sabas loudly denounced this ambiguous proceeding:
not only did he himself refuse to eat, but he declared that those who consented
to do so had betrayed the faith. Some of the Christians applauded him, but
others were so much displeased that they obliged him to withdraw from the
town. He was, however, soon allowed to return. The following year, when
the persecution broke out again, some of the principal inhabitants offered
to swear that there were no Christians in the town. As they were about to
take the oath, Sabas presented himself and said, “Let no one swear for me
: I am a Christian!” The officer asked the bystanders how much he was worth,
and, upon learning that he had nothing but the clothes he wore, contemptuously
released him, remarking, “Such a fellow can do us neither good nor harm”.
A couple of years later the attacks upon the Christians were renewed.
Three days after Easter, there arrived in the town a band of soldiers under
the command of one Atharidus. They broke into the lodging of the priest
Sansala, with whom Sabas was staying after they had spent the festival together.
Sansala was surprised in his sleep, bound, and thrown into a cart, whilst
Sabas was pulled out of bed, dragged naked through the thorn-brakes, and
belaboured with sticks. In the morning he said to his persecutors, “Did
you not drag me naked over rough and thorny ground? Look and see if my feet
are wounded or if the blows you gave me have left bruises upon my body.”
They examined him, but could not perceive the slightest mark. Determined
to make him suffer, they took the axle-trees of a cart by way of a rack,
and having fastened his hands and feet to their extremities, tortured him
for a considerable part of the night. When at last they got tired, the woman
with whom they lodged, out of compassion, unbound Sabas but he refused to
escape. The following day he was suspended to a beam of the house by his
hands. Afterwards there was set before him and Sansala some meat that had
been offered to idols. Both refused to touch it, Sabas exclaiming, “This
meat is as impure and profane as Atharidus who sent it”. Thereupon one of
the soldiers struck at his breast with his javelin with such violence that
all thought he must have been killed. The holy man, however, remained unhurt,
and said, “Did you think you had slain me? I felt no more than if that javelin
had been a skein of wool.”
As soon as Atharidus heard what had happened he gave orders that Sabas
should be put to death, and he was accordingly led away to the river to be
drowned. When they reached the river bank, one of the officials said to the
others, “Why should we not let this man go? He is innocent, and Atharidus
would never be any the wiser!” Sabas, however, remonstrated with the man for
not carrying out his orders. “I can see what you cannot see”, he said. “I
perceive people on the opposite side of the river who are ready to receive
my soul and to conduct me to glory: they are only waiting for the moment when
it will leave my body.” The executioners then plunged him into the river,
and held him under the water with a plank which they had fastened about his
neck. The scene of the martyrdom of St Sabas seems to have been at Targoviste,
north-west of the city of Bucarest in what is now Rumania.
Although the account
of the martyrdom of St Sabas takes the form of a letter which in certain
phrases recalls the letter of the Smyrnaeans describing the death of St Polycarp,
Father Delehaye regards the substance of the document as authentic and reliable,
He printed a critical revision of the Greek text in the Analecta
Bollandiana, vol. xxxi (1912), pp. 216—221, and on pp. 288—295 of the
same article added some valuable comments. Amongst other things he has shown
(cf. Analecta Bollandiana, xxiii (1904), pp. 96—98)
that the suggestion of H. Boehmer-Romundt, in Neue Jahrbiicher,
etc., vol. xi, p. 275, assigning the composition of the passio to Ulfilas, cannot be accepted. The text may also be
found in 0. Kruger’s edition of R. Knopf’s Ausgewählte
Martyrerakten (1929).
Also
Sabbas the Goth, a martyr in the area of modern Romania. He was a Goth converted
to Christianity in his youth and became a lector in Targoviste, Romania,
to a priest named Sansala. He survived several persecutions of the local
Church under the pagan Goths, but finally was seized with Sansala by a group
of Gothic soldiers and ordered to eat meat which had been sacrificed to idols.
Brutally tortured with several other Christians, Sabas was finally drowned
in the Mussovo River, near Targoviste. About fifty others were put to death
with him.
|
396 Ursus Bishop of Ravenna for 20 years revived
the celebration of the feasts of the saints in that city B (RM)
(also known as Ours) , Ursus revived the celebration of the feasts
of the saints in that city. Beyond that little is known 11/3/09of him (Attwater2,
Benedictines, Encyclopedia). |
530 artius, Abbot (also
known as Mars) . A sober-minded and austere native of Auvergne, Martius
the hermit, attracted disciples.
For them he founded the friary of Clermont in 530 in the mountains
above the city. Some information about Martius is found in Saint Gregory
of Tours' Vitae Patrum (Attwater2, Coulson, Encyclopedia).
|
560 Isaak
der Syrer/Isaak vom Monte Luco Er kam (auf der Flucht vor den Monophysiten?)
aus Syrien nach Spoleto (Italien)
Orthodoxe Kirche: 12. April Katholische Kirche: 11. April
Der Mönch Isaak lebte im 6. Jahrhundert. Er kam (auf der
Flucht vor den Monophysiten?) aus Syrien nach Spoleto (Italien). Als er
in der Kirche einen bösen Geist austrieb, bestürmten ihn die Menschen,
ihnen zu helfen und ein Kloster zu gründen, aber Isaak zog sich in
die Berge zurück und lebte hier auf dem Monte Luco in einer Zelle.
Um seine Einsiedelei herum siedelten sich Schüler an und so entstand
eine Einsiedlerkolonie, wie sie in der Ostkirche üblich war. Isaak
lebte in franziskanischer Armut. Geschenke lehnte er mit der Begründung
ab: Ein Mönch der Geschenke annimmt, ist kein Mönch mehr. Ihm
wurde die Gabe der Prophetie verliehen und er konnte so sein Kloster mehrfach
vor Räubern und Betrügern bewahren. Isaak starb 550 oder 560.
In Spoleto wird sein Gedenktag
am 15. April begangen. Ein anderer Isaak der Syrer, der Bischof von Ninevah,
lebte im 7. Jahrhundert (Gedenktag 28.1.)
St Isaac the Syrian lived during
the mid-sixth century. He came to the Italian city of Spoleto from Syria.
The saint asked permission of the church wardens to remain in the temple,
and he prayed in it for two and a half days. One of the church wardens began
to reproach him with hypocrisy and struck him on the cheek. Then the punishment
of God came upon the church warden. The devil threw him down at the feet
of the saint and cried out, "Isaac, cast me out!" Just as the saint bent
over the man, the unclean spirit fled.
News of this quickly spread throughout the city. People began
to flock to the saint, offering him help and the means to build a monastery.
The humble monk refused all this. He left the city and settled in a desolate
place, where he built a small cell. Disciples gathered around the ascetic,
and so a monastery was formed.
When his disciples asked the Elder why he had declined the
gifts, he replied, "A monk who acquires possessions is no longer a monk."
St Isaac was endowed with the
gift of clairvoyance. St Gregory Dialogus (March 12) speaks of this in his
"Dialogues About the Lives and Miracles of the Italian Fathers." Once, St
Isaac bade the monks to leave their spades in the garden for the night,
and in the morning he asked them to prepare food for the workers. Some robbers,
equal to the number of spades, had come to rob the monastery, but the power
of God forced them to abandon their evil intent. They took the spades and
began to work. When the monks arrived in the garden, all the ground had been
dug up. The saint greeted the toilers and invited them to refresh themselves
with food. Then he admonished them to stop their thievery, and gave them
permission to come openly and pick the fruits of the monastery garden.
Another time, two almost naked men came to the saint and asked
him for clothing. He told them to wait a bit, and sent a monk into the forest.
In the hollow of a tree he found the fine clothes the travelers had hidden
in order to to deceive the holy igumen. The monk brought back the clothes,
and St Isaac gave them to the wanderers. Seeing that their fraud was exposed,
they fell into great distress and shame.
It happened that a certain man sent his servant to the saint
with two beehives. The servant hid one of these hives along the way. The saint
said to the servant, "I accept the gift, but be careful when you go back
for the beehive that you hid. Poisonous snakes have entered into it. If you
stretch forth your hand, they will bite you."
Thus the saint unmasked the sins of
people wisely and without malice, desiring salvation for all.
St Isaac died in 550. This saint should
not be confused with the other St Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of Ninevah, who
lived during the seventh century (January 28).
|
586
Hermenegild, King conversion to orthodox Christianity from Visigoth Arian
M (RM)
Died c. 583-586. Son of the Visigoth King Leovigild of Spain and his first
wife, Theodosia, Saint Hermenegild was raised in Arian court of Seville.
He married the Christian Inezonde (Ingunda), daughter of Sigebert of Austrasia.
His conversion to orthodox Christianity was the result of the fervent prayers
and virtuous example of his wife, as well as the teaching of Archbishop
Saint Leander of Seville.
At his conversion, his father disinherited him, whereupon he
rose in arms.
Hermenegild sent Saint Leander to Constantinople to garner
support. Finding no assistance there, he begged the help of the Roman generals
who still governed a strip of land along the Mediterranean coast. They took
his wife and son as hostages and made promises that they failed to fulfill.
After being besieged by his father's troops for a full year
at Seville, Hermenegild fled to the Roman camp, only to find that his father
had bribed them to betray him.
Almost without hope, Hermenegild sought refuge in a church
at the altar, where not even his father would violate the sanctuary. Instead,
Leovigild sent his son Reccared, another Arian, to offer Hermenegild forgiveness
if he would repent. Hermenegild believed his father and was reconciled for
a time. Some of his former dignities were restored until Leovigild's second
wife, Gosvinda, succeeded in estranging the two again.
This time Hermenegild was arrested for heresy, rather than
treason, and imprisoned at Tarragona. He was promised liberty if he would
recant his profession of faith.
On Easter Day, his father sent the Arian bishop to him, offering
to restore him to favor if he would receive the Eucharist from the prelate.
Hermenegild, fortified by prayer and penance since his arrest, refused absolutely.
Enraged, his father sent soldiers to behead him--which was accomplished
by one blow from an axe. Saint Gregory the Great attributes the conversion
of Reccared and the whole of Visigothic Spain to the witness of Hermenegild;
however, many dispute his entitlement to be honored as a martyr (Attwater2,
Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopedia, Walsh).
Saint Hermenegild is depicted in art as a young prince wearing armor and
being borne to heaven while contemplating the crucifix. Angels carry an
axe, chains, royal regalia, a palm, and a rose wreath. Heretical bishops
and king stand below. He might also be shown as a prince with an axe (Roeder).
Venerated in Spain (Roeder).
|
7th v. The Monk Martyrs
when Jerusalem was captured by the Arabs Menas, David and John lived in
Palestine
They were martyred in the seventh century by Arabs, who shot them through
with arrows (+ post 636, when Jerusalem was captured by the Arabs).
|
655 Martin I, Pope died
in the Crimea great intellect and charity the last pope to die a martyr M
(RM)
Born in Todi in Umbria, Italy; died in the Crimea, September 16, 655;
feast day was previously November 12 (November 10 in York); the Eastern
Church celebrates his feast on September 20.
Martin became a deacon in Rome. He displayed a great intellect and charity,
was sent by Pope Theodore I as nuncio (apocrisiarius) to Constantinople,
and was elected pope in 649 to succeed Theodore I. At once, he convened the
council at the Lateran that condemned Monothelitism (the denial that Christ
had a human will), the Typos--the edict of the reigning Emperor Constans
II, which favored it, and Heraclius's Ekethesis. Although he was supported
by the bishops of Africa, England, and Spain, the imperial wrath fell upon
the pontiff who was arrested by Constans and taken to Constantinople in 653.
He had taken refuge in the Lateran, but the officers broke in to capture
him. His own letters give an account of how his health broke down under
the long voyage and a three-month imprisonment on the island of Naxos en
route. He writes: "For forty-seven days, I have not been given water to
wash in. I am frozen through and wasting away with dysentery. The food I
get makes me vomit. But God sees all things and I trust in Him."
He was so ill when he arrived in Constantinople that he had to be carried
to jail on a stretcher. He was tried for treason, although he was clearly
being incarcerated for not accepting the Typos. He was condemned to death
during his trial without being able to speak in his own defense. He was
insulted publicly, flogged, and imprisoned.
The intercession of the dying Patriarch Paul of Constantinople
saved his life, but he was exiled to Kherson in the Crimea.
From exile he wrote of the bad treatment he received and berated
the Romans for forgetting him while he had prayed steadily for their faith
to remain in tact. It is likely that he died of starvation. He was the last
pope to die a martyr. He is portrayed in art vested as a pope, holding money
(alms); or with geese around him (possibly a confusion with Saint Martin
of Tours); or seen through prison bars (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines,
Bentley, Delaney, Farmer, White).
|
690
St. Wigbert Missionary An Anglo-Saxon went to Ireland and became a disciple
of St. Egbert before journeying to Friesland, the Netherlands, where he spent
time as a missionary. He died in Ireland.
|
707 St. Tetricus Benedictine
of the monastery of St. Gerrnanus at Auxerre and bishop of the city by popular
acclaim, as well, serving with much distinction
He was the abbot of the monastery of St. Gerrnanus at Auxerre. He was
made bishop of the city by popular acclaim, as well, serving with much distinction
until his murder by his crazed archdeacon.
|
710
St. Damian Bishop of Pavia, in Lombardy, Italy elected to that see mediator
between Lombards and emperors of the Byzantine Empire also opposed the heretical
Monotheists
Papíæ sancti Damiáni Epíscopi.
At Pavia, Bishop St. Damian.
Damien served as a mediator between the Lombards
and the emperors of the Byzantine Empire. He also opposed the heretical
Monotheists.
|
714 St. Erkemboden
Benedictine bishop of Therouanne France originally a monk of St. Sithin
at St. Omer France succeeding St. Bertinus as abbot
|
801 Saint Anthusa
of Constantinople an example of humility daughter of Iconoclast emperor
Constantine Copronymos (741-775) and his first wife
She and her brother, the future
emperor Leo the Khazar (775-780), were twins born on January 25, 750. The
empress suffered very much with their birth. Constantine Copronymos summoned
Abbess Anthusa of Mantinea (July 27) from prison and entreated her prayers.
The abbess predicted the birth of the twins and their fate,
and the daughter was named in her honor.
When she grew up, the emperor
began to urge her to marry. But from her youth St Anthusa yearned for monasticism
and would not agree to his suggestions. After the death of her father, she
used all her personal property to help the poor and the orphaned. The devout
empress Irene (780-802), wife of Leo the Khazar, regarded St Anthusa with
love and esteem and invited her to be a co-regent. St Anthusa, however,
did not desire worldly honors. Being at court, she wore clothes befitting
her position as an emperor's daughter, but underneath her finery she wore
a hair-shirt.
St Anthusa was tonsured by the holy Patriarch Tarasius (784-806).
She founded at Constantinople the Omonia monastery, known for
its strict rule. St Anthusa was herself an example of humility. She did
hard work, she cleaned the church and carried water. She never sat at table
during meals, but instead served the sisters. She saw to it that no one
left the monastery without a special need.
The humble and gentle ascetic
lived to the age of fifty-two, and died peacefully in 801.
Anthusa Orthodoxe Kirche: 12. April AnthusaAnthusa wurde um
750 geboren. Sie war eine Tochter des Kaisers Konstantin Kopronymos (741-775).
Ihr (Zwillings?)bruder war der spätere Kaisers Leo (775-780). Anthusa
beschloß sehr früh, nicht zu heiraten und ihr Leben Christus
zu weihen. Nach dem Tod ihres Vaters verteilte sie ihr Erbe an Arme. Sie
ließ auch Kirchen und Klöster restaurieren. Nach dem Tod ihres
Bruders bat Kaisern Irene (780-802), die zweite Ehefrau Konstantins, ihre
Stieftochter die Mitregentschaft zu übernehmen. Anthusa lehnte aber
ab und wurde 784 Nonne. Sie wurde von Patriarch Tarasios eingekleidet. Bis
zu ihrem Tod 801 verrichtete sie niedere Dienste im Kloster.
|
8th v.
St Basil the Confessor elected as bishop by the inhabitants of Parium icon
veneration suffered much persecution, hunger and deprivation
lived during the eighth century. He was elected as bishop by
the inhabitants of Parium, who venerated the saint as a true pastor of the
flock of Christ.
(the "Iniquitous Scroll" of the Council of 754 which was convened under
the emperor Constantine V Copronymos (741-775).
The saint avoided any contact
with the heretics and did not permit them into his diocese. For his zeal
he suffered much persecution, hunger and deprivation.
St Basil remained faithful to
the Orthodox Church until his death.
838 Guinoc of Scotland Bishop
commemorated in the Aberdeen breviary B (AC)
(also known as Guinochus) Bishop Guinoc of Scotland is commemorated
in the Aberdeen breviary and is especially venerated in Buchan. Some scholars
believe that Guinoc was a counsellor to King Kenneth.
It is said that Guinoc's prayers helped the king to vanquish
the Picts in seven battles on a single day (Benedictines, Farmer, Husenbeth).
860 Saint Athanasia abbess of a monastery on the island of
Aegina in the ninth century granted the gift of healing by God she built
three churches
She was born into a pious Christian family, and her parents
were named Nicetas and Marina. Already at seven years of age the girl studied
the PSALTER, which she read constantly and with feeling. Once, while working
at the weaver's loom, St Athanasia saw a shining star coming down to her
from above, which touched her bosom and lightened all her being, and then
disappeared.
From that moment, the maiden was illumined in soul and she
firmly resolved to enter a monastery.
When St Athanasia reached the
age of sixteen, her parents entreated her to marry. She consented, but after
sixteen days her husband was killed by barbarians who invaded Aegina.
St Athanasia decided to take advantage of her unexpected freedom
and dedicate herself to God.
Then the emperor Michael the
Stammerer (820-829) issued a decree ordering all young widows and virgins
to take husbands. Therefore, St Athanasia was forced to marry again. It
is said that her second husband was a Moslem, whom she converted by her
holy way of life. She led a pious and virtuous life. She did housework,
helped the sick and those in need, and took in wanderers. On Sundays and
feastdays she invited family and acquaintances to her home and read the
Holy Scriptures to them.
Under her influence, her husband entered a monastery, and progressed
in virtue and holiness. Soon, he departed to the Lord.
The saint gave away her property,
became a nun, and founded a women's monastery in a remote place. After four
years, the sisters asked St Athanasia to become the abbess of the small
community. 
In spite of her position, the saint surpassed all the others
in meekness and humility. She asked about the infractions of the sisters
with love, not anger.
Although St Athanasia had the
title of abbess, she regarded herself as the least of the sisters and always
had in mind the commandment of the Savior: "Whoever would be first among
you, let him be your servant" (Mt. 20:27). The saint never permitted the
sisters to wait on her, not even to pour water over her hands.
St Athanasia wore a hair-shirt, and over it clothes of coarse
sheep's wool. She slept very little, and prayed most of the night. By day
she labored together with the sisters. On most days she ate only bread and
water, and that in moderation, and only after the ninth hour of the day.
She never ate cheese or fish except on Pascha and on the twelve Great Feasts.
During Lent, she did not eat bread or drink water. She would
only eat some vegetables every other day.
On the island of Aegina lived
a certain monk named Matthew, who had been an igumen. Each night he read
the whole PSALTER, and also read prayers. The saint slept sitting up and
only for a short time. He could not refrain from tears when the Psalms were
chanted, while reading prayers, or offering the Bloodless Sacrifice.
He wore only a coarse hair-shirt, and through his temperance and struggles
his body became completely withered. He had a special love for St John the
Theologian. Once, during the the Divine Liturgy he saw the Apostle standing
by the altar table.
The saint healed a paralytic with his mantle; by making the
Sign of the Cross he corrected the face of a man distorted by the actions
of the devil; he cast out demons and worked many other miracles. St Matthew
blessed St Athanasia to go to a more isolated place with her sisters. She
built a monastery on a desolate hill of the island near an ancient church
of the Protomartyr Stephen.
St Athanasia was granted the gift
of healing by God.
After she healed a man afflicted
with a malady of the eyes, a crowd of people began to flock to her in order
to receive healing from their infirmities of soul and body. From the abundant
gifts brought to the monastery, she built three churches at the monastery:
one dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos, another to the holy Prophet John
the Forerunner, and the third to St Nicholas the Wonderworker. Her
increasing celebrity distressed the saint, and she took the two sisters closest
to her in spirit (Maria and Eupraxia) and went secretly to Constantinople.
There, as a simple nun, she entered one of the women's monasteries,
where she lived for seven years.
Again, her holy life attracted
attention. The sisters of the Aegina monastery learned where their abbess
had gone, and they went to her imploring her to return. Submitting to the
will of God, she returned to the monastery she founded. Soon after this
she had a vision of two radiant men, giving her a document which said: "Here
is your freedom, take it and rejoice."
St Athanasia spent the twelve
days before her death in unceasing prayer. On the eve of the Dormition of
the Most HolyTheotokos she summoned the sisters and said that she was able
to read the PSALTER only as far as the twelfth Psalm. The saint asked them
to continue reading the PSALTER for her in church. The sisters went to church
and there fulfilled her request, and then they came to bid the saint farewell.
She blessed them and asked them to celebrate the Feast of the Dormition
of the Most Holy Theotokos solemnly and joyfully, and also to provide a
meal for the poor and destitute. Then, after Divine Liturgy, they could
bury her body. With these words, St Athanasia fell asleep in the Lord on
August 14, 860.
The saint predicted that she would receive glory in Heaven
forty days after her death. On the fortieth day, two devout sisters were
granted to see St Athanasia and two radiant men standing before the royal
doors of the iconostasis. They clothed her with a purple robe embroidered
with gold, pearls, and precious stones. They set a crown on her head, handed
her a gleaming staff, and led her through the royal doors into the altar.
Before her death, St Athanasia
ordered the nuns to feed the poor for forty days. The sisters, however,
did not fulfill her request and set out the memorial meal for only ten days.
The saint appeared to some of the sisters and said, "Let everyone know that
alms given for a departed soul for forty days after death, and food offered
to the hungry, appease God. If the departed souls are sinful, they receive
forgiveness from God. If they are righteous, then the good deeds bring God's
mercy on the souls of those who perform them.
Then she thrust her staff into the ground and became invisible.
The staff left behind sprouted the next day and became a live tree. A year
after the saint's death, they led a possessed woman to the grave. When they
dug up the ground, they then noticed a fragrance and removed the coffin.
After she touched it, the demoniac was immediately healed. Then they opened
the lid of the coffin and saw the saint's incorrupt body, from which myrrh
flowed.
St Athanasia looked like she was asleep. Her face shone brightly,
her body was preserved incorrupt and soft, and even her hands were supple.
The priests decided to place her body in church. When they transferred the
body into a new coffin, the nuns removed the hair-shirt from her holy relics
and wanted to dress her in silken clothes, but the hands of St Athanasia
were so firmly clasped to her bosom, that the nuns could not dress her in
the silken garb. Even in death the saint displayed her love for poverty.
Then one of the sisters knelt down and began to pray to the saint, saying,
"O lady, hear us as you heard us when you lived with us. Now consent to be
dressed in these clothes, our humble gift to you." St Athanasia, as though
alive, lifted and extended her hands into the clothing.
The holy relics of St Athanasia
were put into a crypt and became a source of healings.
The Life of St Athanasia is found in Vatican codex 1660, which dates from
the year 916.
|
1050 St. Allerius
Hermit and founded the Benedictine Abbey of La Cavavowed to become a monk
if cured kept his oath when restored to good health
A noble of Salerno, Italy. A member of the powerful Pappacarboni family
of the region, Allerius was born in 930. He showed no disposition for the
religious life until he was stricken with an illness. He vowed to become a
monk if cured, and he kept his oath when restored to good health. He entered
the famous monastery in Cluny, in France. After a time, Duke Gisulf ordered
Allerius home to regulate the religious orders of Salerno. Allerius was not
able to instill much discipline into these religious houses, so he retired
to a hermitage just outside the city in 1011. Many hermits joined Allerius
there, and with twelve of them he founded the Benedictine Abbey of La Cava.
Records give him a life span of 120 years. |
1113 Blessed Ida of Boulogne,
Widow Died . Ida, daughter of Duke Godfrey IV (Dode) of Lorraine, descendent
of Blessed Charlemagne. (AC)
At age 17, she became the wife of Count Eustace II of Boulogne. She was
the mother of Godfrey and Baldwin de Bouillon.
After husband's death, Ida endowed several monasteries in Picardy, became
a Benedictine oblate under obedience of the abbot of Saint Vaast (Attwater2,
Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Gill). |
11th v. 13th v. SS. ALFERIUS
AND OTHERS, ABBOTS OF LA CAVA St Alferius,
the founder of the abbey, although his immediate successors, Leo I of Lucca,
Peter I of Polycastro and Constabilis of Castelabbate were all saints; whilst
eight later abbots, Simeon, Falco, Marinus, Benincasa, Peter II, Balsamus,
Leonard and Leo II all received the title of Blessed.
OF the holy abbots of La Cava
who are honoured upon April 12, November 16 and other dates a special notice
can only be given here of St Alferius, the founder of the abbey, although
his immediate successors, Leo I of Lucca, Peter I of Polycastro and Constabilis
of Castelabbate were all saints; whilst eight later abbots, Simeon, Falco,
Marinus, Benincasa, Peter II, Balsamus, Leonard and Leo II all received
the title of Blessed.
Alferius belonged to the Pappacarboni family which was descended from
the ancient Lombard princes. Sent by Gisulf, duke of Salerno, as ambassador
to the French court, he fell dangerously ill, and vowed that if he should
regain his health he would embrace the religious life. Upon his recovery
he entered the abbey of Cluny, then under the rule of St Odilo, but was
recalled by the duke of Salerno, who wished him to reform the monasteries
in the principality. The task appeared beyond his power, and he retired
about the year 1011 to a lonely spot, picturesquely situated in the mountainous
region about three miles north-west of Salerno, where he was soon joined
by disciples. Of these he would only accept twelve—at any rate at first—but
they formed the nucleus around which gradually grew the abbey of La Cava
which afterwards attained to great celebrity. Alferius is said to have lived
to the age of 120 and to have died on Maundy Thursday, alone in his cell,
after he had celebrated Mass and washed the feet of his brethren. Only a
very few years after his death there were, in south Italy and Sicily, over
30 abbeys and churches dependent upon La Cava and 3000 monks. Amongst his
disciples had been Desiderius, who subsequently became Pope Victor III and
a beatus. The cultus of the sainted abbots of La Cava was confirmed
in 1893, that of the beati in 1928.
There is a
somewhat legendary life of St Alferius, written by Abbot Hugh of Venosa,
C. 1140. It has been printed in the Acta Sanctorum, April,
vol. ii, and by Mabillon. A new edition of this and the lives of other abbots
by Hugh was printed at La Cava in 1912 and again, edited by D. M. Cerasoli,
at Bologna in 1941 (Rerum italicarum scriptores, vol. vi,
part 5). But see F. Sackur, Die Cluniacenser, vol. ii, pp. 472 seq. Very
little is known of the individual histories of the beati, though
they are mentioned in the Annales Cavenses,
of which an abridgement is printed in Ughelli, Italia Sacra,
vol. vii, cc. 520—522. Sec also Acta Sanctae Sedis,
vol. xxvi (1893), p. 369 and Acta Apostolicae Sedis,
vol. xx (1928), p. 304.
|
Apud Vapíngum óppidum, in Gállia,
sancti Constantíni, Epíscopi et Confessóris.
At the town of Gap in France, St. Constantine, bishop
and confessor.
|
1300 Blessed Ida
of Louvain, OSB Cist. V (PC)
Born in Louvain; Ida became a Cistercian at the convent of Rossendael
(Vallis Rosarum-Rosenthal), near Malines. According to a somewhat dubious
biography, she exhibited many amazing supernatural charisms. Her cultus
still survives in Louvain and among the Cistercians (Attwater2, Benedictines).
|
1320 Blessed Margaret
of Città di Castello born blind abandoned at 5 in church became influence
for good in any group of children number of miracles still incorrupt V (AC)
(also known as Margaret of Metola) Born in at Meldola (or Metola,
diocese of S. Angelo), Umbria, Italy, in 1287; cultus approved in 1609.
Margaret was born blind into a poor, mountain family, who were embittered
by her affliction. When she was five years old, they made a pilgrimage to
the tomb of a holy Franciscan at Castello to pray for a cure. The miracle
failing, they abandoned their daughter in the church of Città-di-Castello
and returned to their home.
Margaret was passed from family to family until she was adopted
by a kindly peasant woman named Grigia, who had a large family of her own.
Margaret's natural sweetness and goodness soon made themselves felt, and
she more than repaid the family for their kindness to her. She was an influence
for good in any group of children. She stopped their quarrels, heard their
catechism, told them stories, taught them Psalms and prayers. Busy neighbors
were soon borrowing her to soothe a sick child or to establish peace in
the house.
Her reputation for holiness was so great that a community of
sisters in the town asked for her to become one of them. Margaret went happily
to join them, but, unfortunately, there was little fervor in the house. The
little girl who was so prayerful and penitential was a reproach to their
lax lives, so Margaret returned to Grigia, who gladly welcomed her home.
Later, Margaret was received as a Dominican Tertiary and clothed
with the religious habit. Grigia's home became the rendezvous site of troubled
souls seeking Margaret's prayers.
She said the Office of the Blessed Virgin and the entire Psalter
by heart, and her prayers had the effect of restoring peace of mind to the
troubled.
Denied earthly sight, Margaret
was favored with heavenly visions. "Oh, if you only knew what I have in
my heart!" she often said. The mysteries of the rosary, particularly the
joyful mysteries, were so vivid to her that her whole person would light
up when she described the scene. She was often in ecstasy, and, despite
great joys and favors in prayer, she was often called upon to suffer desolation
and interior trials of frightening sorts. The devil tormented her severely
at times, but she triumphed over these sufferings.
A number of miracles were performed by Blessed Margaret. On
one occasion, while she was praying in an upper room, Grigia's house caught
fire, and she called to Margaret to come down. The blessed, however, called
to her to throw her cloak on the flames. This she did, and the blaze died
out. At another time, she cured a sister who was losing her eyesight.
Beloved by her adopted family and by her neighbors and friends,
Margaret died at the early age of 33. From the time of her death, her tomb
in the Dominican church was a place of pilgrimage.
Her body, even to this day, is
incorrupt.
After her death, the fathers
received permission to have her heart opened. In it were three pearls, having
holy figures carved upon them. They recalled the saying so often on the
lips of Margaret: "If you only knew what I have in my heart!" (Attwater2,
Benedictines, Dorcy).
In art, Margaret is pictured as a Dominican tertiary holding
a cross, lily, and heart with two flames offered to the crucifix (Roeder).
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1392 Blessed James
of Certaldo joined Camaldolese Benedictines at abbey Saints Clement and
Justus-example led father and brother to join the abbey as lay brothers
OSB Cam. (AC)
Born at Certaldo, Italy; James Guidi, son of a knight of Volterra, joined
the Camaldolese Benedictines at the abbey of Saints Clement and Justus in
his hometown. He spent 40 of his 60 years there as parish priest of the
abbey church. Twice he was offered and refused the abbacy. His example was
so powerful that both his father and his brother also joined the abbey as
lay brothers (Attwater2, Benedictines).
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1480 BD ANDREW OF MONTEREAL
Augustinian roll of honour describes him as “remarkable for his patience
in suffering, for his extraordinary austerity of life, for his great learning
and especially for his success in preaching the word of God” numerous were the miracles wrought beside the
bier
ANDREW of Montereale was born at Mascioni in the diocese of
Rieti and joined the Hermits of St Augustine when he was only fourteen. For
fifty years he preached the gospel in Italy and in France. The Augustinian
roll of honour describes him as “remarkable for his patience in suffering,
for his extraordinary austerity of life, for his great learning and especially
for his success in preaching the word of God”. It is recorded of him that
he never went to see any public show or spectacle, and that he never laughed.
We are also told that when he died the church bells began to toll of their
own accord and continued sounding at intervals for twenty-four hours. The
Augustinian Joseph Pamphili, who in 1570 was consecrated bishop of Segni,
states in his Chronica O.F.E.A. that in his day, a hundred years after Andrew’s
death, the body of the holy man, with the cloak that covered it, remained
as immune from decay as it was at the moment when he expired.
So great was the desire of those who had known Bd Andrew to visit his remains,
and so numerous were the miracles wrought beside the bier, that a whole
month elapsed before the interment actually took place. His cultus was confirmed
in 1764.
In the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. ii, a brief account of Bd Andrew,
published in Italian by S. Ricetelli (1614), has been translated
into Latin. See also L. Torelli, Ristretto dells Vite degli
Huomini . . . O.F.E.A. (1647), pp. 380—382.
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1495 BD ANGELO OF CHIVASSO;He
always een humble: even as vicar general he would only wear the cast-off
habits of others and delighted in doing the lowliest work. Now he begged
to he allowed to go and beg for the poor; Franciscan friary of
the Observance at Genoa
THE little town of Chivasso was the birthplace of Angelo Carletti,
whose parents belonged to the Piedmontese nobility. He was educated at the
University of Bologna, where he received the degrees of doctor of civil
and of canon law, and upon his return to his native Piedmont he was made
a senator. As long as his mother was alive he led an exemplary life in the
world, spending his time in his magisterial duties, in prayer and in visiting
the sick, but after her death he divided his possessions between his elder
brother and the poor, and retired into a Franciscan friary of the Observance
at Genoa.
Bd Angelo’s superiors soon realized that they had in him a recruit of
exceptional merit as well as of great missionary zeal, and it was not long
before he was admitted to the priesthood. At once he embarked upon a strenuous
evangelistic campaign. Full of eloquence and zeal, he made his way into
remote villages in the Piedmontese mountains and valleys, regardless of
weather and of the roughness of the way. The poor he greatly loved: he sought
them out, visited them in sickness, and would often beg on their behalf.
He helped them in many ways, notably by encouraging the introduction of monti
di pietà to save them from the clutches of money-lenders. His penitents,
however, were not confined to the poor. St Catherine of Genoa consulted him,
and Charles I, Duke of Savoy, chose him to be his confessor. His so-called
Summa Angelica, a book of moral theology which he wrote,
was much used. Bd Angelo filled a number of offices, and as superior he was
extremely zealous in preserving the purity of the rule; his outstanding capabilities
caused him to be three times re-elected vicar general.
When, after the taking of Otranto by the fleet of Mohammed II, Pope Sixtus
IV appealed for recruits to fight the threatening forces of Islam, the Observants
proved themselves specially zealous in rousing the people to meet the crisis,
but it was Bd Angelo who always chose the places of greatest danger for
his activities. Moreover, when in 1491, at the age of eighty, he had accepted
the office of commissary apostolic to evangelize the Waldensians in the
Piedmontese valleys, he displayed a fervour and intrepidity which were rewarded
by a surprising measure of success. Many heretics as well as lapsed Catholics
were brought back to the faith, so that Pope Innocent VIII wished to raise
him to the episcopate, but he could not be induced to consent.
At last, in 1493, Bd Angelo was able to lay down office and to prepare
his soul for death. He had always been humble: even as vicar general he would
only wear the cast-off habits of others and delighted in doing the lowliest
work. Now he begged to he allowed to go and beg for the poor. His last two
years were spent at the convent of Cuneo in Piedmont where he died at the
age of 84. His cultus was approved in 1753.
The external facts of Bd Angelo’s
career are duly recorded in Wadding’s Anna/es
Ordinis Minorum. The best available biography is that of C. Pellegrino,
Vita del beato Angelo Carletti
(1888). See
also Leon, Auréole Séraphique (Eng.
trans.), vol. ii, pp. 69—76. It is recorded that when Luther in 1520 publicly
burnt the papal bull of excommunication he also threw into the flames the
Summa of St Thomas and the Summa Angelica
of Angelo of Chivasso it was, Luther declared, a devilish
work. On this Summa Angelica see DTC., vol. i, cc.
1271—1272.
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1642 Blessed Edward
Catherick priesthood at Douai returned to the mission fields of England,
where he worked from 1635 until his execution M (AC)
Born at Carlton, Yorkshire, England; died at York in 1642; beatified in
1929. Blessed Edward was educated for the priesthood at Douai. Upon his ordination,
he returned to the mission fields of England, where he worked from 1635
until his execution (Benedictines).
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1642
Blessed John Lockwood English priesthood in Rome worked covertly in England
for 44 years M (AC)
Born at Sowerby, Yorkshire, England; died at York in 1642; beatified in
1929. During the persecution of Catholics in England, John Lockwood, alias
Lascelles, studied for the priesthood in Rome. After his ordination in 1597,
he worked covertly in England for 44 years until his arrest in 1642. He was
81 years old when he was hanged, drawn, and quartered for the treasonable
crime of being a Catholic priest (Attwater2, Benedictines).
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1730 Saint Acacius
the New monk at Holy Trinity monastery of St Dionysius of Olympus St Maximus
repeatedly appeared to the ascetic gifts of unceasing mental prayer and
divine revelation
(January 24) at Zagora. After visiting several monasteries
on Mount Athos, the saint on the advice of his father-confessor, Father
Galacteon, settled in the skete monastery of St Maximus the Hut-Burner ("Kavsokalyvites",
January 13), who repeatedly appeared to the ascetic.
The exploits of St Acacius were extremely severe: in place
of bread he ate dry grass, which he crushed with a piece of marble. When
asked how much a monk ought to sleep, he said that for a true monk half
an hour even was sufficient.
Once, when St Acacius had come on a Sunday to the skete church,
the igumen Neophytus handed him his own staff and said, "Father, take the
staff, and be the Superior for all these brethren until your last breath."
St Acacius kissed the hand of the igumen, and accepted the
staff with all humility. Although previously he had walked with a staff
because of his age, from that time forward the righteous one no longer held
a staff in his hand.
For his exalted exploits St Acacius was granted the gifts of
unceasing mental prayer and divine revelations. He fell asleep in the Lord
on April 12, 1730, being nearly a hundred years old.
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Saints of this Day April 12 Prídie Idus
Aprílis
Quote: Pope Paul VI’s 1969
Benedict
XVI met with Aram I Catholicos
of Cilicia, the highest
authority of the Orthodox
Church.
The Pope remembered
the martyrs of the Armenian
Church and the Armenian genocide,
without explicitly mentioning
it, and denounced the persecution
of Christians in modern
times. Benedict
XVI
Among
the most important titles we have in the Catholic
Church for the Blessed Virgin Mary are Our Lady of
Victory and Our Lady of the Rosary. These titles can be traced
back to one of the most decisive times in the history of the
world and Christendom. The Battle of Lepanto took place on
October 7 (date of feast of Our Lady of Rosary), 1571. This proved
to be the most crucial battle for the Christian forces against
the radical Muslim navy of Turkey. Pope Pius V led a procession around
St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City praying the Rosary. He showed
true pastoral leadership in recognizing the danger posed to Christendom
by the radical Muslim forces, and in using the means necessary
to defeat it. Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons, and
this more than anything was a battle that had its origins in the
spiritual order—a true battle between good and evil.