Et álibi aliórum plurimórum sanctórum Mártyrum et Confessórum, atque sanctárum Vírginum. And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins. Пресвятая Богородице спаси нас! (Santíssima Mãe de Deus, salva-nos!) R.
Deo grátias. R.
Thanks be to God.
April
is dedicated to devotion of the Holy Eucharist and to the Holy
Spirit. 
2023From 2007 to 2021 22,600 lives saved
Maximov Icon
of the Mother of God
On
APRIL 17, 1790, the son of a poor candle-maker died.
We are the defenders of true freedom. May our witness unveil the deception of the "pro-choice" slogan. Campaign saves lives Shawn Carney Campaign Director www.40daysforlife.com , Please help save the unborn they are the future for the world It is a great poverty that a child must die so that you may live as you wish -- Mother Teresa Saving babies, healing moms and dads, 'The Gospel of Life' Our Bartholomew Family Prayer List Acts of the Apostles Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque How do I start the Five First Saturdays? Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary. When we hear people talk of riches, honors and amusements of the world, let us remember that all things have an end, and let us then say: "My God, I wish for You alone and nothing more." -- St. Alphonsus Liguori On APRIL 17, 1790, the son of a poor candle-maker died. The 15th of 17 children, he apprenticed as a printer and published a popular almanac. Franklin wrote May 9, 1731: "There seems to me...to be great occasion for raising a United Party for Virtue, by forming the virtuous and good men of all nations into a regular body...Whoever attempts this aright, and is well qualified, cannot fail of pleasing God and of meeting with success." April 17 – Our Lady of Miracles (Italy, 1555) The Marian connection Between Catholics and Orthodox, the connection is both spiritual and Marian. After communism—"one of the worst persecutions the Christian world has ever known" according to the French theologian Olivier Clement—ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the religious revival in Russia resulted in a flowering of icons of the Virgin Mary, whose deep love is characteristic of the Russian soul. What is less known is that the current Patriarch of Moscow was very much influenced by Metropolitan Nicodemus, to whom he served as an assistant, and who died in the arms of Pope John Paul I after a trip to… Fatima! It is therefore probable that the Argentinian Pope Francis and the Patriarch are united by the same Marian piety, which in the words of the Swiss theologian Urs von Balthasar "governs the Church in a hidden way, like the woman in the home." Aymeric Pourbaix Famille Chrétienne Magazine – February 9, 2016 April 18 - Beatification of Sister Maria Faustina (1993) “Fear nothing. Be faithful to the end.” Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska was a nun from Krakow (Poland), known today as the ‘Apostle of Divine Mercy.’ She was born in 1905, and died in 1938. She reported in her diary about 20 apparitions of the Virgin Mary and 30 visions of Christ, angels and departed souls. On March 25, 1936, she wrote: A few months later, she wrote: "I saw her, so lovely and so beautiful that I have no words to express even a small part of this beauty. She was all in white, with a blue sash around her waist. Her cloak was also blue, and there was a crown on her head. Marvelous light streamed forth from her whole figure. I am the Queen of heaven and earth, but especially your mother. She pressed me to her Heart and said: I feel constant compassion for you." (Diary, 805).Adapted by MDN Team,Excerpt from Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska April 18 - Our Lady of Health (Italy, 1428) - Beatification of Saint Faustina (1993, canonized on April 30, 2000, d. 1938) Divine Mercy In My Soul O Mary, Immaculate Virgin, pure crystal for my heart, You are my strength, O sturdy anchor! You are the weak heart's shield and protection. O Mary you are pure, of purity incomparable; At once both Virgin and Mother, You are beautiful as the sun, without blemish, And your soul is beyond all comparison. Your beauty has delighted the eye of the Thrice Holy One. He descended from heaven, leaving His eternal throne, And took Body and Blood of your heart, And for nine months lay hidden in a Virgin's heart. O Mother, Virgin, purest of all lilies, Your heart was Jesus' first tabernacle on earth. Only because no humility was deeper than yours. You were raised above the choirs of Angels and above all Saints. O Mary, my sweet Mother, I give you my soul, my body and my poor heart. Be the guardian to my life, Especially at the hour of death, in the final strife. J.M.J Jesus I trust in You. Excerpt from The Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook One, January 1, 1937. Mary's Divine Motherhood Called in the Gospel "the Mother of Jesus," Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the Mother of my Lord" (Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.). In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos). Catechism of the Catholic Church 495, quoting the Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251. I enjoy life; but love of life does not make me afraid to die. There is waiting for me something better: eternal life, given to the person who has lived well on earth. Everyone must die and it was better to die for the sake of true belief and true God than to die of some ordinary disease because a martyr becomes the seed of new Christians. Christianity is superior by its concepts of death and life: death is a natural necessity which has nothing frightening about it, while the true life is the life of the soul. O Lord Jesus Christ, give us a measure of Thy spirit that we may be enabled to obey Thy teaching to pacify anger, to take part in pity,to moderate desire, to increase love, to put away sorrow, to cast away vain-glory not to be vindictive not to fear death ever entrusting our spirit to immortal God who with Thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth world without end. --Saint Apollonius (from part of his defense before Perennis) April 18 – Good Friday. Our Lady of Health (Italy, 1428) - Beatification of Saint Faustina (1993; Canonized on April 30, 2000) It is also Mary's Hour (…) The Hour of the Passion, the greatest of all loves and Jesus’ total gift of himself, is also Mary’s Hour. In this Hour Mary is intimately associated to the sacrifice of her Son, as she stands at the foot of the cross. She is not, as we sometimes represent her, crushed and collapsing on the ground. She is standing up, because she intensely participated in her Son’s sacrifice as he gave up his life and his blood. In the suffering of her heart, Mary offered up the life of her Son as the same time as he did. This is what Simeon had predicted to Mary at the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple: “A sword of suffering will pierce your soul”(Lk 2: 35). At the same time that the soldier's lance pierced Jesus' heart to release all mercy and forgiveness, a bitter sword pierced Mary's soul. Mary is so closely united to the sacrifice of her Son. It is the first meaning of this passage from the Gospel, the mystery referred to as Mary's compassion. We have Jesus’ Passion on one hand, and Mary's compassion on the other. Compassion means: “suffering with.” Brother Jean-Philippe REVEL Homily www.moinesdiocesains-aix.cef.fr |
| 138 St. Corebus
prefect of Messina Martyr convert of St. Eleutherius 138 St. Eleutherius & Anthia bishop in Illyria Dalmatia with mother Anthia 185 St. Apollonius the Apologist Roman senator Martyr whose Apologia or defense of the faith is considered one of the most priceless documents of the early Church St. Calocerus officer of Hadrian Martyr associated with Sts. Faustinus and Jovita 303 Holy Martyrs Victor, Zoticus, Acindynus, Zeno, Severian and Caesarius Medioláni sancti Galdíni, Cardinális et ejúsdem civitátis Epíscopi, qui, concióne advérsus hæréticos expléta, spíritum Deo réddidit. At Milan, St. Galdini, cardinal bishop of that city, who at the very end of a sermon against heretics, gave up his soul to God. 6th v. Bitheus and Genocus British monks Bitheus and Genocus accompanied Saint Finnian of Clonard 639 St. Laserian monk abbot Bishop papal legate brother of St. Goban ordained priest by Saint Gregory the Great 714 St. Agia Benedictine wife of St. Hiduiphus of Hainault 8th v. St. Cogitosus Monk biographer of St. Brigid 749 St. Wicterp Bishop devoted to assisting founding monasteries of Filssen 820 Saint John disciple of St Gregory of Decapolis born end of the eighth century opposition to Iconoclast heresy 820 Saint Cosmas, Bishop of Chalcedon, and his companion St Auxentius 851 St. Perfectus priest Spanish martyr by Moors on Easter Sunday 851 Messánæ, in Sicília, sancti Corébi Præfécti, qui, per sanctum Eleuthérium convérsus ad fidem, gládio percússuest. 1080 St. Gebuinus Archbishop of Lyons patron of the cathedral chapter of Langres 1145 The Departure of Pope Gabriel II, the 70th Pope of Alexandria who was known as Ibn Turaik transcribed many Arabic and Coptic books retained its contents and comprehended its interpretations. {Coptic} 1167 Idesbald of Dunes court of Flanders OSB Cist. Abbot (AC) incorrupt 450 years after death, now lies at Bruges. 1176 St. Galdinus Cardinal of Milan fierce opponent of the Lombards 13th v. Saint Basil Ratishvili prominent figures 13th-century Church gift of prophecy the Most Holy Theotokos called him to censure King Demetre’s impious rule. The Maximov Icon of the Mother of God was written in the year 1299 1404 BD JAMES OF LODI raised to the priesthood, after he had lived for some time an austere life of piety and good works with a band of friends who gathered round him. 1435 Saints Euthymius, Anthony, and Felix lived a life of asceticism in Karelia about the year 1410 1526 Holy Martyr John Kulikos born in the Greek district of Epirus Ioannina city apostates were filled with hatred for St John; Turks sentenced the martyr be burned alive went boldly into the midst of the flames torturers, seeing St John was prepared to die in the fire, pulled him out and beheaded him 1602 Blessed Andrew Hibernon converted many Moors by his frank simplicity OFM (AC) 1618 BD MARY OF THE INCARNATION, WIDOW 19 th v. Departure of Anba Isaac, Disciple of Anba Apollo "I was not fleeing from men but from Satan. If a man hold a lighted lamp in the wind, it will be extinguished. So, it is with us when our hearts and minds shine because of the prayers and the Liturgy then we talk with each other, our hearts and minds become dark." {Coptic} |
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him" (Psalm 21:28)
|
Following
Her appearance to St Maximus, Metropolitan of Vladimir (December 6).
A description of this vision was inscribed on the left side of his
crypt. The icon shows the Mother of God in full stature
with the Christ Child in Her left hand. With Her right hand, she offers
Metropolitan Maximus (depicted on his knees, or sometimes standing)
a bishop's omophorion. The Mother of God appeared to St Maximus when he arrived in Vladimir from Kiev. In the vision, She gave the omophorion to him saying, "My servant Maximus, it is good that you have
come to visit My city.
When the saint awoke, the omophorion lay in his hands.
Take this omophorion and shepherd the flock of My city." The appearance of the Mother
of God was a sign of approval for the transfer of the metropolitan
See from Kiev to Vladimir. The omophorion given by the Mother of
God was preserved at the Dormition cathedral in Vladimir for 112 years.
In 1412, during an incursion of the Tatars, the
omophorion was hidden by the cathedral's doorkeeper Patrick, who was
martyred by the Tatars. |
| 19
th v. The Departure of Anba Isaac, the Disciple of Anba Apollo "I
was not fleeing from men but from Satan. If a man hold a lighted lamp
in the wind, it will be extinguished. So, it is with us when our hearts
and minds shine because of the prayers and the Liturgy; then we talk with
each other, our hearts and minds become dark." On this day the holy father Anba Isaac the Disciple of the great father Anba Apollo, departed. This holy man renounced the world since his young age. He became a monk in the wilderness of Sheahat (Scetis), and a disciple of Anba Apollo for twenty five years. He fought a strenuous fight that weakened his body to kill his body desires, and control his will. He mastered the virtue of silence and quietness especially during the prayers and the Liturgies. He used to stand during the liturgy with his hands clasped and his head bent until the end of the prayer then he returned to his cell, shutting his door, and did not associate with any one that day. When they asked him: "Why do you not talk to anyone who wish to talk to you during prayers or the Liturgy?" He answered saying: "There is time for talking and there is time for praying." When his departure drew near the fathers the monks gathered around him to receive his blessing and they asked him: "Why did you flee from men." He answered them: "I was not fleeing from men but from Satan. If a man hold a lighted lamp in the wind, it will be extinguished. So, it is with us when our hearts and minds shine because of the prayers and the Liturgy; then we talk with each other, our hearts and minds become dark." And this holy father having finished his good spiritual strife, departed in peace. May his prayers be with us. Amen. |
| 138
St. Corebus prefect of Messina Martyr convert of St. Eleutherius Bríxiæ sancti Calóceri Mártyris, qui, a sanctis Faustíno et Jovíta convérsus ad Christum, sub Hadriáno Príncipe gloriósum confessiónis certámen complévit. At Brescia, the martyr St. Calocerus, who was converted to Christ by Saints Faustinus and Jovita, and who gloriously triumphed in the test of his confession, in the time of Hadrian. He was a prefect of Messina, on Sicily, martyred in the persecution of Emperor Hadrian. Corebus of Messina M (RM) Died c. 117-138. Saint Corebus, prefect of Messina, Sicily, is said to have been converted to Christianity by the witness of Saint Eleutherius (0418); however, the story seems to be entirely legendary (Benedictines). |
| St. Calocerus officer
of Hadrian Martyr associated with Sts. Faustinus and Jovita
Martyr associated with Sts. Faustinus (2/15) and Jovita. He was probably an officer in the army of Hadrian (117-138), stationed in Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy. Calocerus of Brescia M (RM) Date unknown. Reliable accounts of Saint Calocerus are unavailable because he acta belong to a much later period. These connect him with SS. Faustinus
and Jovita, and make him an officer of Hadrian at Brescia, Lombardy,
Italy (Benedictines).
|
138
St. Eleutherius & Anthia bishop in Illyria Dalmatia with mother
AnthiaMessánæ, in Sicília, natális sanctórum Mártyrum Eleuthérii, Epíscopi Illyrici, et Anthíæ matris. Ipse, cum esset vitæ sanctimónia et miraculórum virtúte illústris, sub Hadriáno Príncipe, lectum férreum ignítum, cratículam et sartáginem, óleo et pice ac resína fervéntem, súperans, projéctus quoque leónibus sed ab illis nil læsus, novíssime simul cum matre jugulátur. At Messina in Sicily, the birthday of the holy martyrs Eleutherius, bishop of Illyria, and Anthia, his mother. He was famous for holiness of life and the power of miracles. During the reign of Hadrian, he was placed on a bed of red-hot iron, on a gridiron, in a vessel filled with boiling oil, pitch, and resin, and also cast to the lions; but remaining unhurt through all of this, they finally cut his throat with a sword. His mother suffered the same torment SS. ELEUTHERIUS AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS THE story of St Eleutherius and his companions is one of those pious romances of Greek origin which were accepted as veracious in a subsequent uncritical age and attained to great popularity. It follows conventional lines and may be summarized as a specimen of such fables. Eleutherius was a Christian, the son of a Roman widow called Anthia, and was educated by a certain Bishop Dynamius. A deacon at sixteen, a priest at eighteen, the young man was consecrated bishop of Illyrium at the age of twenty. After having converted and baptized an imperial official sent to arrest him, Eleutherius was brought before the Emperor Hadrian, who caused him to be bound with outstretched limbs upon a red-hot iron bedstead. The martyr's bonds, however, broke spontaneously, and he stood up and harangued the people. Hadrian then sent for a large grid, and after promises and threats he offered Eleutherius the alternative of either recanting or being roasted to death. The young bishop never faltered, but the fire died out of itself and could not be rekindled. Thereupon he was shut up in a hot oven from which he emerged two hours later entirely unscathed. The enraged emperor ordered him to be tied by the feet behind a waggon drawn by wild horses, which took him up into a mountain where an angel released him and where the beasts of the forest gathered round him like lambs. There he remained until he was discovered by hunters and delivered to the imperial soldiers. During the public games he was exposed in the amphitheatre, but a lion and a lioness, let loose upon him, only licked his hands and feet. Eventually he was clubbed to death with eleven companions, his mother Anthia perishing by the sword soon afterwards. These fictitious acts may be read
in the Acta Sanctorum, April,
vol. ii, and cf. Delehaye, Les Légendes
Hagiographiques (3rd ed., 1927), p. 77.
Bishop in Illyria, Dalmatia, with his mother,
Anthia. He was a Roman, educated by Bishop Dynamius. At the age of twenty, Eleutherius himself became a bishop and was arrested for converting an imperial official. He was clubbed to death and Anthia was beheaded. Eleutherius und Anthea Orthodoxe Kirche: 15. Dezember Eleutherius, Sohn eines angesehenen römischen Bürgers, wurde von seiner Mutter Anthea im christlichen Glauben erzogen. Er soll so fromm gewesen sein, daß er mit 20 Jahren zum Bischof von Illyrien berufen wurde. Unter Kaiser Hadrian wurde er wegen seiner unerschrockenen Predigten gefangengenommen und nahe Rom mit seiner Mutter hingerichtet. Der Eparch Corivus, der Folterung und Hinrichtung angeordnet hatte, bekehrte sich zum christlichen Glauben und wurde ebenfalls hingerichtet. |
|
185 St.
Apollonius (der Apologet) Katholische und
Evangelische Kirche: 18. April
Apollonius,
the Apologist
Roman senator Martyr whose Apologia or defense of the faith is considered
one of the most priceless documents of the early ChurchRomæ beáti Apollónii Senatóris, qui, sub Cómmodo Príncipe et Perénnio Præfécto, a servo próditus quod Christiánus esset, jussúsque ut ratiónem fídei suæ rédderet, insígne volúmen compósuit, quod in Senátu legit; et nihilóminus pro Christo, senténtia Senátus, cápite truncátus est. At Rome, blessed Apollonius, a senator under Emperor Commodus and the prefect Perennius. He was denounced as a Christian by one of his slaves, and being commanded to give an account of his faith, he composed an able work which he read in the Senate. He was nevertheless beheaded for Christ by their sentence. Apollonius was not mentioned in the earliest Christian martyrologies, not being at first the object of individual commemoration. In the Middle Ages he was confused with two other saints, Apollo of Alexandria and the Apollonius who was martyred with Saint Valentine and whose feast is on 18 April. As a result, this date was attributed also to Saint Apollonius of Rome, even in editions of the Roman Martyrology, the latest editions of which have, however, restored the date of 21 April. 185 ST APOLLONIUS THE APOLOGIST, MARTYR THE Emperor Marcus Aurelius had persecuted the Christians on principle, but his son Commodus, who succeeded him about the year 180, although a vicious man, showed himself not unfavourably disposed towards them. During the cessation of active persecution under his reign, the number of the faithful greatly increased, many men of rank enlisting themselves under the banner of the cross. Amongst these was a Roman senator called Apollonius, who was well versed in philosophy as well as in the Holy Scriptures. In the midst of the peace which the Church was enjoying, he was denounced as a Christian by one of his own slaves to Perennis, the praetorian prefect. The laws against the Christians had not been repealed and, although the slave was promptly put to death as an informer, Perennis called upon Apollonius to renounce his religion. As the saint refused, the prefect referred him to the judgement of the Roman senate. In their presence the martyr who, possibly on account of his learning and social position, seems to have been treated with a certain exceptional consideration, debated with Perennis and boldly gave an account of his faith. As Apollonius persisted in his refusal to offer sacrifice, he was condemned and decapitated; another, less probable, account tells us that he was put to death by having his legs crushed. In the opinion of hagiographical scholars the dialogue between the martyr and his judge bears every mark of having been extracted from an authentic record taken down by a stenographer. Alban Butler in the eighteenth century could not have known of this recently discovered document, and a quotation from the fearless words, spoken on the threshold of death by the Christian apologist so many hundred years ago, may well supply the place of any later homily. We borrow the slightly contracted, but substantially exact, translation of the late Canon A. J. Mason. Death, said the martyr, was appointed for all; and Christians practised themselves for it in dying daily. So far were the heathen calumnies against Christianity from being true, that Christians would not allow themselves a single impure glance, nor listen to a bad word. He said that it was no worse to die for the true God than to die of fever, or dysentery, or any other disease. “Are you then bent upon death?” asked Perennis. “No” said Apollonius, “I enjoy life; but love of life does not make me afraid to die. There is nothing better than life—the life eternal, which gives immortality to the soul which has lived well here.” The prefect confessed that he did not understand. “I am heartily sorry for you”, said the prisoner; “so insensible are you to the beauties of grace. Only the seeing heart can appreciate the Word of God as the seeing eye the light.” Here a brother philosopher of the Cynic school interrupted Apollonius, and said that such language was an insult to the understanding, though Apollonius himself thought that he was uttering profound truths, “I have learned to pray, and not to insult," Apollonius answered, "only to the senseless does the truth appear to be an insult." The judge besought him to explain himself clearly. Then Apollonius answered with what Eusebius justly calls a most eloquent defence of the faith. " The Word of God ", he said, "who brought into existence men's souls and bodies, became man in Judea--our Saviour Jesus Christ. Perfectly righteous and filled with divine wisdom, He lovingly taught us what the God of all is like, and what is the end of virtue, befitting the souls of men with a view to social order and dignity. By His own suffering He put a stop to sins in their very beginning. He taught us to stop anger, to moderate desire, to chastise the love of pleasure. He taught us to relieve sorrow, to be generous, to promote charity, to put away vainglory, to abstain from taking revenge, to despise death-not when inflicted for wrongdoing, but in patient endurance of the wrongdoing of others. He taught us to obey the law laid down by Himself, to honour the king, to worship the immortal God, and Him only, to believe our souls to be immortal, to look forward to judgement after death, to expect the reward of the toils of virtue to be given by God after the resurrection of those who have lived good lives. All this He taught us plainly, and gave us convincing reasons for it; and won great glory for this excellence. But He incurred the envy of the un nurtured like the righteous men and philosophers before Him. For the righteous are unserviceable to the unrighteous; as the fools unjustly say in a
certain proverb "-here Apollonius refers to a passage in the Book of Wisdom-",
'Let us lie in wait for the righteous, because he is not for our turn.'
And not only so, but it was said by one of the Greeks" -a speaker in
the Republic of Plato-" , the righteous man shall be scourged, tortured,
bound, have his eyes put out, and at last be crucified.'
As the Athenian sycophants persuaded
the multitude and unjustly sentenced Socrates, so our Master and Saviour
was sentenced to death by some of the wicked who reproached Him as
they had reproached the prophets before Him .... We," he concluded,
" have hastened to honour Him because we have learned from Him lofty
commandments, of which we were ignorant before, and are under no delusion.
Yet if it were a delusion, as you say, which tells us that the soul is
immortal, and that there is a judgement after death, and a reward of
virtue at the resurrection, and that God is the Judge, we would gladly
be carried away by such a lie as that, which has taught us to live good
lives awaiting the hope of the future even while suffering adversities."
Although from Eusebius, Rufinus,
and St Jerome something was known of this discussion with Apollonius
in the presence of the senate, no accurate report was believed to survive
until F. C. Conybeare translated an Armenian text which had in 1874 been
printed by the Mekhitarist monks (see Conybeare, The Apology and Acts of Apollonius, etc.,
1894, pp. 29-48). Shortly afterwards the Bollandists found a copy of
the Greek text in a Paris MS. and edited it in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xiv (1895),
pp. 284-294. The two texts attracted great attention among scholars
and have been many times re-edited and translated. See the admirable
account of these acts which is furnished by Father Delehaye in his Les Passions des Martyrs et les genres littéraires
(1921), pp. 125-136. While he strongly upholds the substantial authenticity
of the dialogue, he points out how both in the Greek and the Armenian
the process of adaptation and falsification has already begun. He also
supplies a sufficient bibliography of the contribution made to the discussion
by Harnack, Mommsen, Klette, Geffcken, and others. See also A. J. Mason,
Historic Martyrs of the Primitive
Church (1905), pp. 70-75·
Apollonius was a Roman senator who was denounced
as a Christian by one of his slaves. The Praetorian Prefect, Sextus
Tigidius Perennis, arrested him, also putting the slave to death as an
informer. Perennis demanded that Apollonius denounce the faith, and when
he refused, the case was remanded to the Roman senate. There a debate
took place between Perennis and Apollonius that clearly outlines the beauty
and the value of Christianity. Despite his eloquent defense, Apollonius
was condemned and beheaded. Wenig ist über Apollonius
bekannt. Er war wohl ein hochgebildeter römischer Senator, der
sich für Religionen interessierte und auch das Alte Testament und
christliche Schriften las. Er bekannte sich in einer verfolgungsfreien
Zeit zu Christus und wurde um 180 von einem seiner Sklaven denunziert,
verhaftet und vom Prokonsul Perennius verhört. Apollonius bekannte
sich in mehreren Verhören freimütig zum Christentum und weigerte
sich, den heidnischen Göttern zu opfern. Ihm wurden die Beine gebrochen
und dann wurde er enthauptet. Seine Verteidigungsreden sind zweifach überliefert.
Apollonius the Apologist M (RM) Died April
21, c. 185-190; feast is recorded as April 18 in the Martyrology of
Jerome, but is kept in the East on July 23."O Lord Jesus Christ, give us a measure of
Thy spirit that we may be enabled to obey Thy teaching to pacify anger,
to take part in pity, to moderate desire, to increase love, to put away
sorrow, to cast away vain-glory, not to be vindictive, not
to fear death, ever entrusting our spirit to immortal God,who with Thee
and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth world without end."
--Saint Apollonius (from part of his defense
before Perennis)
Apollonius was a Roman senator, a man of high
social standing, and a very erudite. He was particularly well read
in the philosophy of the pagans. He also read the Old Testament and the writings of Christians. Under their influence Apollonius became a Christian during one of the periods of toleration. One of Apollonius's slaves, named
Severus, publicly denounced Apollonius as a Christian to Perennis, the praetorian
prefect. Though the slave's legs were broken and he was put to death as an
informer, the saint was brought before Perennis and told he must renounce
his faith or die. When the senator refused to apostatize,
the case was remanded to the Senate, where a remarkable dialogue took place
between Perennis and Apollonius. Because of his influence in society, those
judging him paid close attention to his defense of Christianity, which is
recorded in the Roman Martyrology.
"Are you bent on dying?" asked
Perennis.
"No," said Apollinius, "I enjoy life; but love of life does not make me afraid to die. There is waiting for me something better: eternal life, given to the person who has lived well on earth." Apollinius pointed out that everyone must die and that it was better to die for the sake of true belief and the true God than to die of some ordinary disease because a martyr becomes the seed of new Christians. He argued that Christianity is superior by its concepts of death and life: death is a natural necessity which has nothing frightening about it, while the true life is the life of the soul. He explained that paganism is futile because idols are human artefacts without life, automony, reason, or virtue. Saint Apollinius then took the opportunity to give the whole court a reasoned apology of his Christian faith, which is a moving, direct summary of the entire Christian creed. Above all, he reasoned, Christianity surpasses paganism through the salvific work of Jesus Christ, the revealing Word of God and teacher of moral life, who became man to destroy sin by his death. Apollonius continued that Christ's death was prophesied both by Scripture and by Plato. He remained steadfast in his
refusal to renounce Christianity and in his belief in eternal life.
Despite his eloquent defense, which remains one of the most priceless
documents of Christian antiquity, Apollonius's legs were crushed and
then he was beheaded. An authentic account of his examination by the magistrate
was discovered in 1874 in an Armenian text and more recently in Greek.
Saint Jerome, who had seen a copy of Apollonius's defense of the faith,
admired its eloquence and profound demonstration of sacred and profane
learning. He is also mentioned in the History of the Church (v. 21, 1-5)
by Eusebius (Attwater2, Benedictines, Bentley, Coulson, Delaney, Encyclopedia,
Farmer, Husenbeth).
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victor_zeno_zoticus_acindynus
303 The Holy Martyrs Victor,
Zoticus, Acindynus, Zeno, Severian and CaesariusAkindynos. 
They suffered under the emperor Diocletian (284-305) when
he began a fierce persecution against Christians. One of the first to suffer was the holy Great Martyr and Victory-Bearer George (April 23). St George's unshakable faith and bravery during his suffering led many pagans to Christ. The saints were struck with astonishment that St George suffered no harm from the wheel of torture, and they declared in the hearing of all that they also believed in Christ. At the judge's order, the holy martyrs were beheaded at Nicomedia in 303. |
|
639 St. Laserian
monk abbot Bishop papal legate brother of St. Goban ordained to the
priesthood by Saint Gregory the Great also listed
as Molaisse.
He succeeded Goban as abbot of the monastery of
Leighlin and is said to have founded Inishmurray in County Sligo..639 ST LASERIAN, LAISREN OR MOLAISSE, BISHOP OF LEIGHLIN THE early history of St Laisren is very uncertain in view of the discrepancy between the various accounts which have come down to us. He is said to have spent several years at Iona, and then to have proceeded to Rome where he received ordination from Pope St Gregory the Great. We next find him at Leighlin, on the banks of the Barrow, in a monastery presided over by its founder, St Goban. At a synod held at White Fields in the immediate vicinity, St Laisren was foremost in upholding the Roman date for keeping Easter as against the Columban usage still widely prevalent in Ireland. The conference, which was conducted with great courtesy on both sides, could come to no conclusion, and it was decided to send St Laisren with a deputation to refer the matter to the pope. On this second visit to Rome, the saint was consecrated bishop by Honorius and appointed papal legate for Ireland. In this capacity he would seem to have succeeded in practically settling the paschal controversy as far as the south of Ireland was concerned. About two years after the synod, St Goban resigned the government of the monastery to St Laisren, who ruled it until his death. His feast is kept throughout Ireland. Lamlash Bay and the sea-bathing resort of Lamlash on the island of Arran off the south-west coast of Scotland have been said to derive their name from St Lamliss, a hermit who, at some period in the seventh century, occupied a cell in the district where the present village stands. Although this is stated by Butler, who refers in support of his assertion to "memoirs in the Scottish College at Paris", it seems much more probable that the name commemorates the Irish bishop St Laisren of Leighlin. The Latin life of St Laisren, printed
in the Acta Sanctorum, April,
vol. ii, curiously says nothing of the saint's connection with the paschal
controversy, though this is much insisted on in other sources. See
Plummer, Irish Litanies (1925),
p. 120. The text in the Codex Salmanticensis
is only fragmentary. Cf. also O’Hanlon, US., vol. iv, pp. 203 seq., and
Forbes, KSS., pp. 407—409; but mainly W. J. Watson, History of the Celtic Place-Names of Scotland (1926),
pp. 305—307.
Laserian was born in Ireland
and was a monk on Iona, Scotland. He went to Rome and was ordained
by Pope St. Gregory I the Great.
Returning to Ireland, Laserian supported Roman liturgical images,
and he went back to Rome with a group to have Pope Honorius I settle
the dispute. Laserian was made a bishop and papal legate to Ireland.
In 637, he succeeded his brother, St. Goban, as abbot of Leighlin. Laserian of Leighlin B (AC) (also known as Laisren, Molaisse, Lamliss) Born in Ireland; died April 18, c. 639. Probably identical to Saint Lamliss, Saint Laserian was the grandson of King Aidan of Scotland, nephew of Saint Blane, and son of Cairel and Blitha. This noble Ulster couple entrusted the education of their precious son to Saint Murin at Iona. He is said to have travelled to Rome, where he was ordained to the priesthood by Saint Gregory the Great. Returning to Ireland, he settled near Saint Goban's abbey of in Carlow, built a cell, and gathered disciples around himself. At the national synod in March
630, held in the White Fields, he, Cummian of Clonfert, and others
advocated abandoning the Irish method of calculating Easter in deference
to the Roman tradition.
Because of the opposition to the change offered
by such luminaries as Saint Munnu,
a delegation with Laserian at its head was sent to Rome to investigate
the question more fully.As a result of the delegation's
report, all of Ireland, except Columba's monasteries, adopted the new
reckoning for Easter in 633. An additional outcome was Laserian's consecration
as bishop (either without a particular see or of Leighlin--this is disputed)
and appointment by Pope Honorius I as apostolic legate to Ireland,
where he strenuously upheld the Roman observance. (Leighlin was folded
into the diocese of Kildare in 1678, during the penal period following
the Reformation.)
Laserian returned to Ireland with the relics of Saint Aidan of Ferns. In the 11th century an intricately wrought shrine with blue glass insets and particolored enamel work was designed for the relics. Stokes details the beauty of the surviving portions of the piece which now resides in the National Museum. "Of an original 21 saints arranged in three rows, eleven figures and three pairs of feet survive. Three nuns in uniform habits with their hair hanging in long curls. Eight male figures are in varied dress and various postures, one with a sword, one 'standing in sorrow his cheek resting in his hand.'" According to one legend, Saint Laserian voluntarily offered himself as a victim soul. He accepted illness caused by 30 diseases simultaneously in order to expiate his sins and avoid purgatory after death. His current cultus is partially indebted to this legend. In 1330, at a synod held at Dublin, the feasts of Saints Patrick, Laserian, and Bridget were enumerated among the double festivals to be kept throughout the province of Dublin. His cultus center on Inishmurray, where there are notable monastic ruins and a series of praying-stations. He is also venerated in Scotland, where a cave hermitage bearing his name survives on Holy Island in Lamlash Bay, off Arran (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, D'Arcy, Farmer, Husenbeth, Kenney, Montague, Muirhead, Porter, Stokes). |
| 714 St. Agia Benedictine
wife of St. Hiduiphus of Hainault also called Aye or Austregildis. She entered the nunnery at Mons when St. Hidulphus became a monk. Agia of Mons, OSB Widow (AC) (also known as Aia, Austegildis, Aye) Saint Agia was the wife of Saint Hidulphus of Hainault, who, like her husband, desired the religious life. She entered the convent of Mons (Castrilocus) and he joined the monks at Lobbes. Agia is especially venerated by the Beguines of Belgium (Benedictines). |
| 8th v. St. Cogitosus
Monk biographer of St. Brigid Monk of Kildare, Ireland, and the biographer of St. Brigid. This work is invaluable because of its details of St. Brigid in the era in which she lived. Cogitosus of Kildare (AC) Saint Cogitosus may have been a monk at Kildare, Ireland. Traditionally, he is named as the author of the life of Saint Brigid, which provides the legends and miracles of Brigid, although little that can be trusted as biographical fact. More importantly, the work details the monastic life at Kildare and description of the church during his life, including the separate accommodation made in the church for monks and nuns. The original manuscript is in the Dominican convent at Eichstadt in Bavaria (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Kenney, Montague, O'Hanlon, Stokes, Tommasini). |
| 749
St. Wicterp Bishop devoted to assisting founding monasteries of Filssen also called Wicho. Elected abbot of Ellwangen Monastery, he devoted himself to assisting the founding of the monasteries of Filssen, Wessobrunn, and Kempten, all in Germany. He was later named bishop of Augsburg, Austria. Wicterp of Augsburg B (AC) (also known as Wiho, Wicho) Saint Wicterp, abbot of Ellwangen, actively worked on the foundation of the abbeys at Füssen, Wessobrünn, and Kempten--all of which became famous in Medieval Germany. Eventually, Wicterp was elected to the bishopric of Augsburg (Benedictines). |
|
820 Saint John
disciple of St Gregory of Decapolis; born end of the eighth century opposition
to Iconoclast heresy
At a young age he became a disciple of St Gregory of Decapolis (November 20) and accepted monastic tonsure from him at a monastery in Thessalonica. Under the guidance of this experienced teacher, St John attained great spiritual perfection. When the emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820) renewed the persecution against Orthodox Christians because they venerated the holy icons, St Gregory of Decapolis and St Joseph the Hymnographer (April 4) and his disciple St John went from Thessalonica to Constantinople, to raise opposition to the Iconoclast heresy. In spite of persecution, Sts Gregory and John fearlessly defended Orthodoxy for several years, and preached the veneration of icons. After many hardships St Gregory died (around 820), and soon after, his faithful disciple John also departed to the Lord. St Joseph the Hymnographer transferred the relics of Sts Gregory and John and placed them in the church of St Nicholas the Wonderworker. Johannes, Schüler des Gregor Dekapolites Orthodoxe Kirche: 18. April (auch 11. April) Johannes wurde Ende des 8. Jahrhunderts geboren. Er ging in jungen Jahren in ein Kloster in Thessaloniki. Hier wurde er ein Schüler von Gregor Dekapolites. Mit seinem Lehrer und Joseph dem Hymnenschreiber reiste er nach Konstantinopel, um seine Stimme gegen Leo den Armenier, der den Bildersturm wieder aufleben ließ, zu erheben. Kurz nach seinem Lehrer starb er hier (um 820). |
|
820 Saint Cosmas, Bishop
of Chalcedon, and his companion St Auxentius
They lived during the ninth century, at a time when the Iconoclasts oppressed the Orthodox. St Cosmas while still in his youth had entered a monastery and received monastic tonsure. Later, he was consecrated as Bishop of Chalcedon, and zealously defended the Orthodox Faith against the Iconoclast heretics. St Auxentius helped the saint in this struggle. The Iconoclasts tried in many ways to win the saint over to their side, but he remained faithful to Orthodoxy until the very end. St Cosmas did not obey the decree of Emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820) ordering the removal of the holy icons from the churches. For this he was expelled from his See and exiled to prison. When the saint returned from exile, he and St Auxentius continued to defend the veneration of holy icons. At the mitigation of the persecution, St Cosmas was weak in body, but remained strong in spirit. St Cosmas and St Auxentius steadfastly preserved
the Orthodox Faith until the end of their lives.
|
| 851 St. Perfectus
priest Spanish martyr by Moors on Easter Sunday Córdubæ, in Hispánia, sancti Perfécti, Presbyteri et Mártyris; qui a Mauris, eo quod inveherétur in Mahumétis sectam et fírmiter Christi fidem profiterétur, gládio trucidátus est. At Cordova, St. Perfectus, priest and martyr, who was slain with the sword by the Moors, because he argued against the sect of Mohammed and firmly insisted on the Catholic faith. He was a priest who served at Cordoba, Spain, and was slain by the Moors on Easter Sunday. Perfectus of Cordova M (RM) Saint Perfectus was a Spanish priest of Cordova, Spain, who was martyred by the Moors on Easter Sunday (Benedictines). |
| 851 Messánæ, in Sicília, sancti
Corébi Præfécti, qui, per sanctum Eleuthérium
convérsus ad fidem, gládio percússus est. At Messina in Sicily, St. Corebus, the prefect, who was converted to the faith by St. Eleutherius, and died by the sword. |
| 1080 St. Gebuinus
Archbishop of Lyons; patron of the cathedral chapter of Langres.
France, who is patron of the cathedral chapter of Langres. Gebuinus of Lyons B (AC) Saint Gebuinus, archbishop of Lyons, is the patron of the cathedral chapter of Langres (Benedictines). |
|
1167 Idesbald of
Dunes court of Flanders OSB Cist. Abbot (AC)
1167 ST IDESBALD, ABBOT incorrupt 450 years after his death, now lies at Bruges. THE celebrated abbey of our Lady of the Dunes arose from a small settlement formed in 1107 by a hermit called Ligerius on the sand-hills between Dunkirk and Nieuport. The monks followed the Savigny reform until 1137, when the monastery, which had been transferred to a neighbouring spot, became affiliated to the Cistercians. Thither there came one day from Fumes a canon of the church of St Walburga, Idesbald by name, asking to be given the monastic habit. He was a man no longer young, and with aristocratic connections, but it was not long before he won the affectionate esteem of the whole abbey by his meekness, his wisdom and his integrity. The post of cantor, which he held, was dear to him, for the Divine Office was his passion: he would become so much absorbed in it as to be oblivious to all things else. He eventually became abbot, and the monastery prospered greatly under his rule, his prestige being so great that outsiders eagerly assisted him in carrying out his schemes; and privileges were granted to the abbey by Pope Alexander III. When St Idesbald died, his brethren, in deference to his great sanctity, departed from the custom of the order and laid him in a coffin which they buried in their church. His body, which was found to be incorrupt 450 years after his death, now lies at Bruges. There seems
to be no early life of St Idesbald, but an account of him is given
in the Acta Sanctorum,
April, vol. ii. There is a good book in Flemish by J. De Cuyper, Idesbald van der Gracht (1946).
Born in Flanders, 1100; cultus confirmed
in 1894. Saint Idesbald spent his youth at the court of Flanders.
In 1135, he was made a canon of Furnes, but resigned his office to become
a Cistercian at Our Lady of the Dunes between Dunkirk and Nieuport.
He governed the foundation as its third abbot for 12 years (Attwater2,
Benedictines, Coulson).Saint Idesbald is portrayed in
art as a Cistercian abbot holding a sailing ship in his hand (Roeder). He
is the patron of sailors and invoked against rheumatism, gout, and fever (Roeder).
|
1176
St. Galdinus Cardinal of Milan fierce opponent of the LombardsMedioláni sancti Galdíni, Cardinális et ejúsdem civitátis Epíscopi, qui, concióne advérsus hæréticos expléta, spíritum Deo réddidit. At Milan, St. Galdino, cardinal bishop of that city, who at the very end of a sermon against heretics, gave up his soul to God. 1176 ST GALDINUS, ARCHBISHOP OF MILAN AND CARDINAL MILAN honours as one of its principal patrons the holy Galdinus, whose name appears associated with those of St Ambrose and St Charles Borromeo at the close of every litany of the Milanese rite. A member of the famous Della Scala family, he occupied the posts of chancellor and archdeacon under two archbishops of Milan, winning the confidence of clergy and people by the manner in which he shouldered his responsibilities at a very difficult epoch. When Pope Alexander III was elected in 1159, a few dissentient cardinals promptly elected a rival pope more favourable to the pretensions of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Milan had already offended the emperor by claiming the right to select its own magistrates, but when the citizens acknowledged Alexander III he became further incensed against them. Archbishop Hubert and his archdeacon Galdinus were obliged to withdraw into exile, and the following year Frederick, with a great army, invested the city, which surrendered after a siege. It was by his orders that the reputed bodies of the Three Magi were then removed from the church of St Eustorgius to Cologne, where the greater part of these “relics” still remain. In 1165 Galdinus was created cardinal, and the following year, upon the death of Archbishop Hubert, he was appointed his successor. In vain he pleaded the state of his health, enfeebled by the hardships he had undergone: Alexander consecrated him with his own hands. The new prelate made it his first care to comfort and encourage his distressed flock; the Lombard states had entered into in a league to rebuild Milan, and St Galdinus threw himself heart and soul into the new undertaking. Nor did the distracted state of the commonwealth hinder St Galdinus from attending assiduously to his pastoral duties. He preached constantly, and assisted the poor whom he sought out in their miserable homes. Amongst his clergy he enforced discipline, which had inevitably become relaxed during the troublous times through which they had been passing. His wisdom and eloquence, which had at first been mainly directed towards healing the schism, were afterwards exerted to confute the doctrines of the Cathari, then widely prevalent in Lombardy. On the last day of his life, although too weak to celebrate Mass, he succeeded in delivering an impassioned sermon against false doctrine. The effort was too much for him: he lost consciousness before he could leave the pulpit, and died as the Mass was ending. In the very year of St Galdinus’s death the imperial army was routed by the Lombard league at the battle of Legnano. And at the celebrated meeting which took place in Venice in 1177, Barbarossa abjured the schism, and made his peace with the Church. That the pope placed his foot upon the emperor’s neck in any but in a metaphorical sense is now discredited by all sober historians. The incident, which would have been utterly inconsistent with Alexander III’s magnanimous character, is not mentioned by any contemporary writer. A short
biography of early date is printed in the Acta Sanctorum
(April, vol. ii) with copious annotations. See also Ughelli,
Italia Sacra, vol. iv, cc. 219—226, and
U. Marazza, La Lega Lombarda e S. Galdino (1897).
b. 1100 Italy, a member of the noble Della Scala
family of that city. After serving in various clerical offices in Milan,
Galdinus was forced to flee in 1161 when Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa
took revenge on Milan in a dispute with the Holy See. He was elected
archbishop and created a cardinal in 1165. Gabildus rebuilt Milan after
Barbarossa’s occupation and was a fierce opponent of the Lombards. Galdinus of Milan B (RM) (also known as Galdimus) Born in Milan, Italy, 1100; Following his ordination, Galdinus, a member of the influential della Scala family became chancellor and archdeacon to Archbishop Hubert. In 1161, he fled Milan when Frederick Barbarossa approached the city. In his absence Galdinus was elected archbishop of Milan and named a cardinal (in 1165). After his return to Milan, he was instrumental in rebuilding the city, which had been razed by Barbarossa. He died immediately after delivering a sermon against a heretical doctrine in his cathedral. The Milanese always invoke Galdinus after SS. Ambrose(397) and Charles Borromeo(11/04/1584) because he is considered one of its finest bishops. He discharged his office with determination, despite the hardships imposed by his times and his health (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopedia). |
|
1145 The Departure
of Pope Gabriel II, the Seventy Pope of Alexandria who was known as
Ibn Turaik transcribed many Arabic and Coptic books retained its contents
and comprehended its interpretations.
On this day of the year 861 A.M. (April 5th., 1145 A.D.) the great and holy father Pope Gabriel II, the seventy Pope of the See of St. Mark, who was known as Ibn Turaik, departed. This Pope was from the nobles of Cairo, and he was a writer, scribe, distinguished scholar, with a commendable conduct. He transcribed with his hand many Arabic and Coptic books, he retained its contents and comprehended its interpretations. The elders of the people and the clergy chose him for the Patriarchal Chair, and his enthronement was on the 9th day of Amshir, 847 A.M. (February 3rd., 1131 A.D.). When he prayed his first Divine Liturgy in St. Macarius monastery as the custom of the previous Patriarchs, at the end of the Liturgy, he added to the profession after the saying: "I believe and confess to the last breath, that this is the life-giving Flesh that Thine Only-Begotten Son, our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, took from our Lady, the Lady of us all, the holy Mother of God, Saint Mary," this sentence "He made it one with His Divinity." The monks objected, lest it would be understood from that there was mingling between His Divinity and His Humanity, and asked him to refrain from using it. He refused saying: "This statement was added by a decree from the council of bishops." After a great and lengthy discussion, they decided to add this sentence: "Without mingling, without confusion, and without alteration," because of the fear of falling in the heresy of Eutyches, and he agreed with them. During his papacy, he ordained 53 bishops and many priests, he drew up Canons and laws concerning inheritance, and many other matters. He never took any money from anyone, nor he touched the revenue of the churches, or that of the religious endowments for the poor. When the governor of that time asked him for money, the nobles and people collected three hundred Dinars in gold and gave them to the governor on his behalf. He remained on the Episcopal Chair for fourteen years, two month and two days, then departed in peace. May his prayers be with us and
glory be to God forever. Amen.
|
Apud montem Senárium, in Etrúria, natális
sancti Amidǽi Confessóris, e septem Fundatóribus Ordinis
Servórum beátæ Maríæ Vírginis,
flagrantíssima in Deum caritáte præclári.
Ipsíus tamen ac Sociórum festum prídie Idus Februárii
celebrátur.On Mount Senario in Tuscany, St. Amadeo, confessor, one of the seven founders of the Order of Servites of the Blessed Virgin Mary, famous for his ardent love for God. His feast, together with that of his companions, is kept on the 12th of February. 1256 St. Buonfiglio Monaldo 1240 of Servants of Mary, or Servites inspired by vision on feast of the Assumption to a life of solitude and prayer february 12 |
13th
v. Saint Basil Ratishvili, one of the most prominent figures of the
13th-century Church Endowed with gift of prophecy vision the Most Holy
Theotokos called him to censure King Demetre’s impious rule.He was the uncle of Catholicos Ekvtime III. He labored with the other Georgian fathers at the Iveron Monastery on Mt. Athos. Endowed with the gift of prophecy, St. Basil beheld a vision in which the Most Holy Theotokos called upon him to censure King Demetre’s impious rule. (This is actually St. Demetre the Devoted, who in his youth lived profligately but later laid down his life for his nation.) Having arrived in Georgia and been brought before the king, the God-fearing father denounced the sovereign’s uncrowned marriage [i.e., a conjugal union without the blessing of the Church]. He promised the king that if he abandoned his present way of life, he would find great happiness and success. St. Basil also condemned the ungodly ways of Georgia’s apostate feudal lords. But the king and his court disregarded the virtuous elder’s admonitions, and in response St. Basil prophesied: “A vicious enemy will kill you, and your kingdom will remain without refuge. Your children will be scattered, your kingdom conquered, and all your wealth seized. Know that, according to the will of the Most Holy Theotokos, everything I have told you will come to pass unless you repent and turn from this way of life. Now I will depart from you in peace.” St. Basil returned to Mt. Athos and peacefully reposed at the Iveron Monastery. His vision was fulfilled. |
| 1404 BD JAMES OF LODI raised to the priesthood, after he
had lived for some time an austere life of piety and good works with a band
of friends who gathered round him. As a young man, James Oldi took a prominent part in the social gaieties of his native town, Lodi, concerning himself very little with religion; he painted, he sang, he played the lute, and there was no better dancer in all the land. Moreover he had married a lady, Catherine by name, who was equally addicted to amusement. A severe epidemic of plague destroyed the amenities of the town, and James went to stay with his father-in-law in the country. Happening to enter a local church which contained a reproduction of the Holy Sepulchre, James said to a companion, “Let us see which is the taller—Christ or I”. With these flippant words he lay down at full length on the tomb—but when he stood up again he was a changed man. From that moment he shunned all his former pleasures. He scourged himself, spent hours in church, painted sacred pictures, and undertook the care of a sick priest, who taught him Latin. The example of her husband, as well as the death of their two girls of plague, led to the conversion of Catherine. They took a vow, of continence, became Franciscan tertiaries, and converted their house into a church, Catherine’s dresses being cut up for vestments, whilst her jewels were given to adorn the sacred vessels. James himself was raised to the priesthood, after he had lived for some time an austere life of piety and good works with a band of friends who gathered round him. Misunderstandings with neighbouring Franciscan regulars, who suspected them of attempting to found a new branch of the order, obliged them to leave the town for the suburb of Old Lodi, where Bd James served a church. The upheaval caused by the civil war, however, eventually led to their return to Lodi, where this good priest spent his last years devoting himself to the sick and to the prisoners-of-war. He died of an illness contracted from a patient he was attending, and was buried in St Julian’s, the church which he had founded. You’ve heard rags-to-riches stories. Today, we celebrate the reverse. James of Oldo was born in 1364, into a well-to-do family near Milan. He married a woman who, like him, appreciated the comforts that came with wealth. But an outbreak of plague drove James, his wife and their three children out of their home and into the countryside. Despite those precautions, two of his daughters died from the plague, James determined to use whatever time he had left to build up treasures in heaven and to build God’s realm on earth. He and his wife became Secular Franciscans. James gave up his old lifestyle and did penance for his sins. He cared for a sick priest, who taught him Latin. Upon the death of his wife, James himself became a priest. His house was transformed into a chapel where small groups of people, many of them fellow Secular Franciscans, came for prayer and support. James focused on caring for the sick and for prisoners of war. He died in 1404 after contracting a disease from one of his patients. James Oldo was beatified in 1933. Comment: The death of those we love brings a troubling awareness of our own mortality. James had that experience when he gazed into his friend’s grave, and it brought him to his senses. He determined to use whatever time he had left to build up treasures in heaven and to build God’s realm on earth. Our time is limited, too. We can use it well or foolishly: The choice is ours. An Italian
life written by the confessor of Bd James is preserved in a Latin translation
in the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. ii. See the valuable
little book B. Giacomo Oldi da Lodi (1933), by P. M.
Sevesi.
|
| 1435
Saints Euthymius, Anthony, and Felix lived a life of asceticism in
Karelia about the year 1410 St Euthymius founded the Karelian Nikolaev monastery. Hardly had he completed the church of St Nicholas and several cells, than Norwegians descended upon the monastery, burned the church and killed several of the monks in 1419. St Euthymius decided to rebuild. The noble Martha asked prayers at the monastery for her sons who died in 1418 (they were the sons of Martha's first husband, Philip). Exploring the land, the young brothers perished at the mouth of the North Dvina River, and they were buried at the Karelian Nikolaev monastery. In life, they were distinguished for their works of charity. Their names were listed in the manuscript Lives of the Saints of the Karelian monastery. A chapel was built over the graves of the holy brothers, and in the year 1719, a church in honor of the Meeting of the Lord. St Euthymius was glorified for his apostolic labors in the enlightenment of the people of Karelia. He died in the year 1435, and his relics were uncovered in 1647. There is a service to Sts Euthymius, Anthony and Felix. St Euthymius is also listed under January 20 in the "Iconographic Originals" because of his namesake St Euthymius the Great. |
1526
The Holy Martyr John Kulikos born in the Greek district of Epirus Ioannina
city apostates were filled with hatred for St John Turks sentenced
the martyr to be burned alive went boldly into the midst of the flames
torturers, seeing St John was prepared to die in the fire, pulled him
out and beheaded himHis parents were pious, but he was orphaned at an early age, and he went to Constantinople. With the means left him by his parents, he built a small stall in the city bazaar and was occupied with trade. He loved to work, he honorably filled all his orders, and his business was successful. However, his soul did not yearn for earthly blessings, but for the Kingdom of Heaven. St John lived during difficult times. Constantinople was under the dominion of the Turks, and Christians were subjected to oppressions. Many Christian tradesmen and merchants went over to the Moslem religion. St John reproached them for their betrayal of Christ, and he also sustained the unwavering in their faith. The apostates were filled with hatred for St John, and they desired his ruin. The saint knew this, but was not afraid. He was willing to suffer for Christ. On Great and Holy Friday he went to his spiritual Father and asked his blessing to seek martyrdom. The priest counselled the youth to examine himself and to prepare himself by fasting and prayer, so that at the time of torture he would not deny Christ. St John prayed ardently to the Lord to strengthen him. At night on Great and Holy Saturday he saw himself in a dream, standing in a fiery furnace and singing praises to the Lord. Interpreting this vision as an indication to go to martyrdom, St John received the Holy Mysteries and asked the priest's blessing. When St John arrived at the market, the vexed tradesmen began to reproach him that he had promised to renounced Christ, but that he was not fulfilling his word. In reply, the martyr declared that he was a Christian and had never renounced, nor would he ever renounce Christ. Then the envious merchants had him arrested. The judge tried to persuade St John to accept Islam, for he respected him as a skilled master craftsman. But the martyr steadfastly confessed himself a Christian. For several days, they wearied him with hunger and thirst, and beat him without mercy. They sentenced the martyr to be burned alive. St John met his sentence with joy. When they led him to the blazing fire, he went boldly into the midst of the flames. The torturers, seeing that St John was prepared to die in the fire, pulled him out and beheaded him with the sword (+ 1526). They then threw the martyr's head and body into the fire. Christians gathered up the bones of the martyr which remained from the fire, and reverently brought them to the cathedral church. |
| 1602 Blessed Andrew
Hibernon converted many Moors by his frank simplicity OFM (AC) 1602 BD ANDREW HIBERNON God was pleased to glorify him by giving him the gifts of prophecy and of miracles ANDREW HIBERNON came of noble Spanish stock, but his parents, who lived at Alcantarilla, near Murcia, were so poor that at a very early age the boy hired himself out to an uncle, in order to contribute to the support of his family. He had gradually amassed a sum sufficient to provide a dowry for his sister, and was taking it home in triumph, when he was set upon by thieves who robbed him of all. Bitterly disappointed, he now began to realize the uncertainty of earthly riches compared with the heavenly treasure which is eternal. He entered a house of Conventual Franciscans which he soon left to pass to a convent of the Alcantarine reform, where he was professed as a lay-brother. He sought to live a hidden life of self-effacement, humility and prayer, but God was pleased to glorify him by giving him the gifts of prophecy and of miracles. Many owed their conversion to him. The holy man foretold the date of his own death, which occurred at Gandia when he was in his sixty-eighth year. St Pascal Baylon and Bd John de Ribera made Andrew’s name widely known; but he had been locally honoured as a saint even in his life-time, and he was beatified in 1791. There is a
life by Fr Vincent Mondina, the postulator of the cause, Vita del B. Andrea Ibernon (1791),
and see also Fr Léon, Auréole Séraphique (Eng. trans.), vol. ii, pp. 77—83.
Born at Alcantarilla (near Murcia), Spain, in
1534; died at Gandia (Candia), Spain, in 1602; beatified in 1791.
Born of impoverished nobility, Andrew worked in order to help his sister financially, but was robbed of his savings. Disillusioned, he joined the Franciscans as a lay brother. In 1537, Andrew migrated to the Alcantarine Reform monastery at Elche. He converted many Moors by his frank simplicity, and died while helping to introduce the reform at Gandia (Attwater2, Benedictines). |
1618
BD MARY OF THE INCARNATION, WIDOW . To St. Barbara Acarie—la belle Acarie—afterwards
known as Bd Mary-of-the Incarnation, is due the credit of having introduced
into France the Carmelites of the reform initiated in Spain by St Teresa.
She also had some part in establishing in Paris the Ursulines and the
Oratorians.
The daughter of Nicholas Avrillot, a high
government official, Barbara showed unusual piety and astonished the
nuns of her aunt’s convent at Longchamps, where she was educated, by
her austerities when, as a girl of twelve, she was preparing for her first
communion. She would fain have embraced the religious life, preferably
as a Franciscan at Longchamps, or failing that as a nursing sister of the
poor at the Hotel-Dieu in Paris, but her parents had other plans for
the only one of their children they had been able to rear. She complied
with their wishes, saying resignedly, “If I am unworthy through my sins
to be the bride of Christ, I can at least be His servant”. At the age
of seventeen she was given in marriage to Peter Acarie, an aristocratic
young advocate who held an important post in the treasury. He was a man
of piety and charity who did much to help the exiled English Catholics reduced
to poverty by the penal laws of Queen Elizabeth; but though so well-meaning
he was also rather foolish, and he caused his wife no little suffering.
However, the marriage was on the whole a happy one, and Madame Acarie proved
herself a devoted wife and mother. She took so much trouble over the spiritual
training of her six children that she was asked if she intended them all
for the religious life. “I am preparing them to carry out God’s will . .
.” was her reply. “A religious vocation can only come from God.”
Eventually all her three daughters
entered the Carmelite Order, whilst of her three sons one became a
priest and the other two maintained throughout their careers in the
world the principles they had imbibed in childhood. Her glowing piety
seems to have communicated itself to her whole household, whose welfare
she constantly sought and whom she nursed with the utmost tenderness
when they were ill. Her personal maid, Andrée Levoix, in particular
became her associate in her devotions and charities. Great temporal
trials were in store for this happy family circle. Peter Acarie had been
a prominent supporter of the Catholic League, on whose behalf he had incurred
heavy financial liabilities. After the accession of Henry IV he was
banished from Paris, and his property was immediately seized by his creditors.
Madame Acarie and her children were at one time reduced to such extremities
that they had not enough to eat.
The intrepid wife rose to the occasion. Herself conducting the defence of her husband in the courts, she proved his innocence of the charge of conspiracy against the king, and was able to help him to compound with his creditors. She even obtained leave for him to return to Paris, with a diminished fortune indeed but with an untarnished name. Madame Acarie’s far-reaching but discriminating
charity became so widely known that she was entrusted by many people
with the distribution of their alms. Mary of Medici and Henry IV themselves
honoured her with their esteem, and she was able to obtain from them
the sanction and help required to bring the Carmelite nuns to Paris.
Her sympathies were so wide that they included every kind of person: she
fed the hungry, she befriended the fallen, she assisted “decayed” gentlefolk,
she watched beside the dying, she instructed heretics, she encouraged
religious of every order.
Madame Acarie was moved to work
for the introduction of the Teresian Carmelites into France by two
visions of St Teresa; it was nearly three years from the second of these
to the opening of the convent of Spanish nuns in Paris in November 1604.
Four more foundations elsewhere followed during the next five years. Madame
Acarie was not only the prime mover in bringing all this about: she
also trained young women for the Carmelite life—she was, in fact, a
sort of unofficial married novice-mistress. Among her advisers and helpers
at this time were St Francis de Sales and Peter de Bérulle, the
founder of the French Oratorians.
It was not then surprising that soon after her husband died in 1613 she asked to be received among the Carmelites, as a lay-sister. But she was a nun for only four years; Barbara Acarie was essentially a woman who attained holiness in the married state’—she was a saint before ever she put on the habit of Carmel. Taking the name of Mary-of-the-Incarnation, she entered the convent at Amiens, where her eldest daughter was shortly after appointed sub-prioress. Sister Mary was the first to promise her obedience, and she was happy to scour the pots and pans in the house she had helped to found—yet she could walk only with difficulty add great pain, through having three times broken a leg over twenty years before. Afterwards, owing to regrettable disagreements with Father de Bérulle, she was transferred to Pontoise. Underlying the outward activities of Bd Mary was a mystical life of a high order. Great spiritual truths were revealed to her whilst she was in a state of contemplation bordering upon ecstasy. These effects of the life of grace already showed themselves in the early years of her married life, and occasioned misunderstandings in her family and grave trials for her. Among the well-known spiritual directors who helped her was that Capuchin from Canfield in Essex, Father Benet Fitch. In February 1618 she developed symptoms of apoplexy and paralysis which showed that her end was near. When the prioress asked her to bless the nuns gathered about her bedside she first raised her eyes and hands to Heaven with the prayer, “Lord, forgive me the bad example I have set”. After giving her blessing she added, “If it should please Almighty God to admit me to eternal bliss I will ask that the will of His divine Son should be accomplished in each one of you”. At three o’clock on Easter morning she received her last communion, and died whilst being anointed. She was fifty-two years old. Barbara Acarie was beatified in 1791. There are many
biographies of Madame Acarie, beginning with that of André du Vat
(1621 1893). It will be sufficient to mention those of Boucher, Cadoudal,
Griselle, and the summary by E. de Brogue in the series “Les Saints”.
But Fr Bruno’s La belle Acarie (1942) is by far the
best life, and it contains a very full bibliography. Mother Mary’s influence
upon her generation was sufficiently great to claim notice in such works
as Pastor’s Geschicte der Pupae, vols. xi and xii,
and in H. Bremond, Histoire littéraire du sentiment
religieux en France, vol. ii (Eng. trans.), pp. 193—262.
There is an excellent life in English, Barbe Acarie (1953),
by L. C. Sheppard.
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