Saint Peter Damian

Cardinal Bishop (988-1072)

Feast – February 23

“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Matt 5:13)

The words of a holy priest, supported with a good example, has the power to change hearts. The words of a hypocrite have no force, this is why earthly powers work hard to influence and corrupt the Church. It is a constant struggle.

To combat evil influences causing corruption from within, the Church has gradually made a series of adjustments. One of the largest were the eleventh century (1050–80) Gregorian Reforms, which are also known as the Hildebrand Reforms. To pave the way for these reforms, God sent St. Peter Damian.

Born around 1007 in Ravenna, the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, St. Peter was the youngest of a large noble family. He lost both his parents at an early age. Left in the hands of his eldest brother, he was mistreated and used as a swineherd. When his other brother, Damian, who was archpriest (pastor of the principal parish among several local parishes) at Ravenna, learned about this he took St. Peter away to be educated. Having found a father in this brother he adopted from him the surname of Damian. He made rapid progress in his studies, first at Ravenna, then at Faenza, and finally at the University of Parma. At the age of 25, he became highly regarded for his knowledge and piety among the professor at Parma. He had already begun to inure himself to fasting, watching and prayer, and wore a hairshirt under his clothes to arm himself against the allurements of pleasure and the wiles of the devil. Not only did he give away much in alms, but he was seldom without some poor persons at his table and took pleasure in serving them. Tired of the distractions at a busy university, he decided to retire from the world and give himself completely to prayer. While meditating on his resolution he encountered two hermits. Charmed with their spirituality and detachment, he joined them on a forty-day retreat in a small cell. After the experience St. Peter Damian left his friends secretly and made his way to the Benedictines of the reform of Saint Romuald hermitage of Fonte Avellana (The Venerable Hermitage of the Holy Cross) in the Marche region of Italy.

The monks lived two to a hermitage and occupied themselves chiefly in prayer and reading. Both as a novice and as a monk, St. Peter’s fervor was remarkable but led him to such extremes of self-mortification in penance that he developed severe insomnia, which was cured with difficulty and taught him to use more moderation. Acting upon this experience, he now devoted considerable time to Sacred studies, and became so proficient in the Holy Scriptures that was appointed to lecture to his fellow monks and often requested to talk in the neighboring monasteries. About 1042 he wrote a biography on the life of St. Romuald.

By the unanimous consent of the hermits, he was ordered to take upon himself the government of the Community in the event of the superior’s death. St. Peter’s extreme reluctance obliged the abbot to make it a matter of obedience. Accordingly, after the abbot’s death about the year 1043, he assumed the direction of that holy family, and remained in charge until his death in February 1072. His chief care was to foster in his disciples the spirit of solitude, charity, and humility. A zealot for monastic and clerical improvements, leading by his own example he introduced a more-severe discipline, including the regular practice of flagellation (used in moderation) into the house. This custom quickly became a model for other foundations, among them the great abbey of Monte Cassino. The daily siesta, to make up for the fatigue of the night office was added to monks’ daily routine.

During his tenure, a cloister was built, silver chalices and a silver processional cross were purchased, and many books were added to the library. He also founded hermitages at San Severino, Gamogna, Acerreta, Murciana, San Salvatore, Sitria and Ocri, in which he placed Priors under his own general direction.

Although living in the seclusion of the cloister, St. Peter was aware of the problems and challenges the Church was facing, so he wrote over 170 letters addressing corruption (simony), lack of discipline, doctrinal ignorance of the clergy as well as intrusion of local civil authorities into Church matters. In letters he preferred examples and stories rather than pure theory, which make them persuasive. One of his first letters was written in 1045 to the new pope, Gregory VI, in which he hailed the change with joy and urged him to deal with the scandals of the church in Italy, singling out the wicked bishops of Pesaro, Città di Castello and Fano. About 1051, he wrote Liber Gomorrhianus, a book addressed to Pope Leo IX, containing a scathing indictment of the practice of sodomy, which was threatening the integrity of the clergy.

The Holy See began to view St. Peter Damian as a peacemaker. He would be called to settle disputes between two abbeys or clerics, as well as disagreements with government officials. Soon, the most delicate and difficult missions were placed in his hands. Seven Popes in succession made him their constant adviser.

In 1057, Cardinal Frederick of Lorraine, abbot of Monte Cassino, was elected Pope as Stephen IX. He determined to make St Peter a cardinal. St Peter resisted the offer but eventually was forced to accept, being consecrated Cardinal Bishop of Ostia on the 30th of November, 1057. This came with the charge of administrating the Diocese of Gubbio. He would later solicity Nicholas II to grant him leave to resign his bishopric and return to solitude, but the Pope had always refused.

The new Cardinal wished to restore primitive discipline among religious and priests, warning against needless travel, violations of poverty, and living too comfortably. He encouraged his priests to observe celibacy, urged them to live together and maintain scheduled prayer and religious observance. He also wrote a letter to his brother-cardinals, exhorting them to shine by their example before all. When four months later Pope Stephen died in Florence, St. Peter Damian, as a vigorous opponent to the antipope Benedict X, had to temporarily retire to Fonte Avellana. After Benedict’s surrendering the papacy in the autumn of 1059, Pope Nicholas II sent St Peter Damian with Bishop Anselm of Lucca as legates to Milan where benefices were openly bought and sold, and clergy being publicly married became normal. The party of the irregular clerics denied Rome’s authority over Milan. St. Peter boldly confronted them in the cathedral and proved to them the authority of the Holy See with such effect that all parties submitted to his decision.

In 1061 He withstood Henry IV of Germany and labored in defense of the newly elected Pope Alexander II against the antipope Cadalous. His long argument by was read at council in Augsburg and greatly contributed to the decision in favor of Alexander II.

In 1063 he was appointed legate to settle the dispute between the Abbey of Cluny and the Bishop of Mâcon. He proceeded to France, summoned a council at Chalon-sur-Saône, resolved the issues and returned in the autumn to Fonte Avellana. In 1067, he was sent to Florence to settle the dispute between the bishop and the monks of Vallombrosa. Having served the papacy as legate to France and to Florence, he was finally was allowed to resign his bishopric in 1067, but Pope Alexander II reserved the power to employ him in Church matters of importance, as he might hereafter have need of his help.

In 1069 he proceeded as papal legate to Germany and persuaded emperor Henry IV to give up his intention of divorcing his wife, Bertha. Then in early in 1072 he was sent to adjust the affairs of the Church at Ravenna. After completing these tasks, upon his return he was seized with fever and lay ill for a week in a monastery outside Faenza. On the night of the feast of the Chair of St. Peter on February 22, 1072, with the monks gathered around him saying the Divine Office, he died.

St. Peter is one of those stern figures who seem specially raised up, like St. John Baptist, to remind men in a lax age of the error of their ways and to bring them back to the narrow path of virtue.

He often condemned philosophy. He argued that monks should not have to study philosophy, because Jesus did not choose philosophers (theoreticians) as disciples, and so philosophy concerned with the validity of argument, rather than the full nature of reality is unnecessary and may become an obstacle for salvation. He was a man of great vehemence in all he said and did; it has been said of him that “his genius was to exhort and impel to the heroic, to praise striking achievements and to record edifying examples…an extraordinary force burns in all that he wrote.”

In 1828, Pope Leo XII declared St Peter Damian as a Doctor of the Church.

Pope Benedict XVI described him as “one of the most significant figures of the 11th century, … a lover of solitude and at the same time a fearless man of the Church, committed personally to the task of reform.”

References and Excerpts:

[1]          F. Media, “Saint Peter Damian,” Franciscan Media, Feb. 21, 2020. https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-peter-damian/ (accessed Feb. 10, 2023).

[2]          C. Online, “St. Peter Damian – Saints & Angels,” Catholic Online. https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=780 (accessed Feb. 10, 2023).

[3]          “Saint Peter Damian, Cardinal Bishop.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_peter_damian.html (accessed Feb. 10, 2023).

[4]          “Optional Memorial of St. Peter Damian, bishop and doctor – February 21, 2015 – Liturgical Calendar.” https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2015-02-21 (accessed Feb. 10, 2023).

[5]          “CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Peter Damian.” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11764a.htm (accessed Feb. 10, 2023).

[6]          “Peter Damian,” Wikipedia. Nov. 26, 2022. Accessed: Feb. 10, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Damian&oldid=1123860394

 

Saint John Bosco

Founder (1815-1888)

Feast- January 31

One day St. Francis of Assisi went to city of Arezzo. He beheld the demons dancing with joy on the walls of the city, and exciting in the hearts of its people the fire of hatred against each other. Calling to him Brother Sylvester, a man of dove-like simplicity, he said, “Go to the gate of the city, and in the name of Almighty God command the devils, in virtue of holy obedience, to depart immediately.” The Brother hastened to fulfil his orders, and cried out in a loud voice, “All you evil spirits who are gathered together in this place, I command you, in the name of Almighty God and of His servant Francis, depart hence.” No sooner had he uttered these words than the discordant voices were hushed, the people’s angry passions were calmed, the fratricidal feud ceased, and peace was restored to Arezzo. The wisdom of the humble St. Francis saved the city from destruction. The wisdom of the humble St. John Bosco saved the city kids.

Farming has always been physically demanding work. All year long, from sunrise to sunset, in the scorching sun, rain or snow there is always something to do on farm. In 1764 James Watt made a critical improvement to the fuel efficiency of Thomas Newcomen’s steam engine. With this change, factories were no longer limited by the availability of waterpower and could spring up in more convenient locations. These factories offered job opportunities with the promise of a better life, leading many to move to urban areas. Two new classes of citizens, wealthy businesses owners – the Bourgeoisie – and working class – the Proletariat – grew rapidly. In the countryside people knew each other and knew what to expect from their neighbors; in the city it was easy to stay anonymous, and this anonymity attracted many questionable characters. This anonymity coupled with high population density created opportunities for sinful activities leading to a decline in morality among the general public. Then came the French Revolution of 1789, followed by the Napoleonic Wars in 1803–1815, and finally the Communist Revolutions of 1848 (the Springtime of Nations) further entrenching this degradation. Cities were flooded with homeless, fatherless kids raised by the streets. Many youths, especially boys, would be incarcerated with adults and the resulting abuse would further strip them of morality. but good God didn’t give them life and Jesus didn’t suffer and die on the cross to let them waste such a great gift, so He sent St. John Bosco to the rescue.

Giovanni Melchior Bosco was born as the youngest of three sons of a poor farmer in a little cabin at Becchi, a hill-side hamlet near Castelnuovo in the Piedmont district of Italy on 16 August 1815 and was raised on his parents’ small farm. St. John’s knowledge of poverty was firsthand. He was little more than two years old when his father died; Margaret Bosco and her three sons found it harder than ever to support themselves, and while John was still a small boy he had to join his brothers working the farm. His early years were spent as a shepherd. Although his life was hard, he was a happy, imaginative child.

He received his first instruction at the hands of the parish priest who taught him to read and write. He possessed a ready wit, a retentive memory, and as years passed his appetite for study grew stronger.

A dream that little Giovanni had at the age of nine revealed to him his vocation. He seemed to be surrounded by a mob of fighting and swearing children whom he tried in vain to pacify, at first by arguments and then by hitting them.

Suddenly there appeared a mysterious woman who said: “Softly, softly . . . if you wish to win them! Take your shepherd’s staff and lead them to pasture.” Even as she spoke, the children were transformed first into wild beasts and then into gentle lambs. From that time on, Giovanni concluded his duty was to lead and help other boys.

St. John found innocent fun compatible with religion. He would grab the attention of the local kids with acrobatic and conjuring tricks and then teaching them the Catechism and bringing them to church.

As he grew older, he considered becoming a priest, but poverty and the lack of a formal education made this seem impossible. By taking odd jobs in the village and with the combined help of the local priest, his mother, and some neighbors, St. John managed to get through school. In 1835 he entered the diocesan seminary at Chieri nearby Turin. When, he entered the seminary he was so poor that the village mayor contributed a hat; one friendly person gave him a cloak; another a pair of shoes and money for his maintenance; and his remaining clothes were supplied by charity.

As a seminarian he devoted his spare time to looking after the ragamuffins who roamed the slums of the city. Every Sunday, he taught them catechism, supervised their games and entertained them with stories and tricks. Before long his kindness had won their confidence, and his Sunday School became a ritual with them. In 1841 after six years of study St. John was ordained a priest on the eve of Trinity Sunday by Archbishop Luigi Franzoni of Turin.

After taking Holy Orders, his first appointment was as an assistant chaplain for a home for girls, founded by the Venerable Marchesa (marquis) Juliette Colbert Falletti de Barolo, a wealthy and philanthropic woman.

This post left St. John free on Sundays to devote himself to his group of boys. He set up for them a sort of combined Sunday School and recreation center on grounds belonging to the orphanage which he called “the festive Oratory.” In 1842, the Oratory numbered twenty boys, in March of the same year, thirty, but this position was short-lived. St. John resigned his post after permission to use the orphanage grounds by the boys was annulled.

One of St. John’s duties was to accompany his spiritual director St. Joseph Cafasso upon his visits to the prisons of the city. After witnessing the condition of the children confined in these places, abandoned to the most evil influences, he redoubled his effort to save their souls and began looking for a permanent home for them. Unfortunately, no decent neighborhood would accept the noisy crowd. For more than a year the group was regarded as a nuisance and sent from pillar to post. No property owner would put up with them for long.

Eventually, in a rather tumbledown section of the city where no one was likely to protest, upon the site of an old shed St. John established an oratory named after Saint Francis de Sales. St. John went to live in some poor rooms adjoining the new Oratory. At the new place he was joined by his mother known as “Mama Margaret.” She gave the last ten years of her life in devoted service to the little inmates of this first Salesian home, which quickly reached seven hundred members.

The Sunday gathering would start with Mass at the local church with a short instruction on the Gospel; breakfast would then be eaten, followed by games. In the afternoon Vespers would he chanted, a lesson in Catechism given, and the Rosary recited. It was a familiar sight to see St. John in the field surrounded by kneeling boys preparing for confession. His next step was to build for his flock a small church which he placed under the patronage of his favorite saint, Francis de Sales. Once completed, he started to build a home for his steadily growing family. No one knew just how he managed to raise the money for these various projects. Enrollment grew so rapidly that by 1849 he had to opened two more youth centers in other parts of Turin.

Some teachers volunteered their time and a night school took shape. St. John knew that pure academic learning was insufficient, so he planned programs that combined prayer, play, song, study, and manual work. In this way, he could manage them without any formal punishment.

The evening classes swelled and gradually dormitories were provided for many who desired to live at the Oratory. Those enrolled as boarders in the school were of two sorts: young apprentices and craftsmen, and other youths in whom St. John discerned future helpers, with, possibly, vocations to the priesthood. At first, they attended classes outside, but, as more teachers were enlisted, academic and technical courses were given at the house. By 1856 a hundred and fifty boys were in residence; there were four workshops, including a printing shop, and four Latin classes, with ten young priests as instructors. Urbano Rattazzi, a local liberal, anti-clerical politician and the future Prime Minister of Italy saw an opportunity to accelerate his career by advocating for St. John’s work; and although an Italian law forbade the founding of religious communities at that time, he promised government support.

For a long time, St. John Bosco had considered founding an Order to carry on his work. On the night of January 26th, 1854, in his room he met with small group of coworkers, among them were Bl. Michael Rua and future Cardinal Giovanni Cagliero. From that evening, the name of Salesian was given to all who embarked on that form of apostolate of practical works of charity to help neighbors.

In 1858 St. John, in assistance to Bl. Michael Rua, went to Rome and received preliminary approbation from Pope Pius IX. Four years later he founded an Order for women, The Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, to care for abandoned girls. Then to supplement the work of both congregations, he organized an association of lay people interested in aiding their work. Sixteen years later in 1874 he obtained full sanction, together with permission to present candidates for Holy Orders. The new society grew rapidly. Within five years there were thirty-nine Salesians; at the time of the founder’s death there were eight hundred, and by 1929 the number had increased to about eight thousand priests.

In 1868, to meet the needs of the Valdocco quarter of Turin, St. John resolved to build a church. Accordingly, a plan was drawn in the form of a cross covering an area of 1,500 sq. yards. The church was consecrated on the 9th of June, 1868, and placed under the patronage of Our Lady, Help of Christians.

Later he found means to put up another spacious and much-needed church in a poor quarter of Turin, and placing it under the patronage of St. John the Evangelist.

During the last years of Pope Pius IX, plans were drawn up to build a church in Rome in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Pius himself had donated money to buy the site. His successor, Leo XIII, was eager for the work to be carried forward, but there was difficulty in raising funds. It was suggested to the Pope that this was something that St. John Bosco did better than anyone else, and when he was asked to undertake it, he accepted the challenge. After obtaining a considerable sum in Italy, he went to France, where devotion to the cult of the Sacred Heart was particularly intense at this time. He was successful in his appeals, money came flowing in, and the early completion of the church was assured.

St. John Bosco accomplished what many people considered an impossibility; he walked through the streets of Turin, Italy, looking for the dirtiest, roughest urchins he could find, then made good men of them. His understanding of young people and their needs and dreams gave him great influence. He lived to see twenty-six houses started in the New World and thirty-eight in the Old. His outgoing personality made him popular as a preacher, and there were many requests of his time to speak to various congregations. In the few hours that remained to him, he wrote useful and popular books for boys, stories based on history, and sometimes popular treatises on the faith. In that day there were few attractive reading materials written specifically for young people.

Exhausted from touring Europe to raise funds for a new church in Rome, Don Bosco died on January 31st, 1888, but his work continues today in over a thousand Salesian oratories throughout the world. No modern Saint has captured the heart of the world more rapidly than this smiling peasant-priest from Turin, who believed that to give complete trust and love is the most effective way to nourish virtue in others.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          “Saint John Bosco, Founder.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_john_bosco.html (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).

[2]          “Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church of Picayune, MS – Devotion – Patron Saints – St. John Bosco.” http://www.scborromeo.org/saints/bosco.htm (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).

[3]          “St. John Bosco | EWTN,” EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/saints/john-bosco-631 (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).

[4]          “St. Francis of Assisi and his confrontations with the Devil.” http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/St.%20Francis%20of%20Assisi%20and%20the%20Devil.html (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).

Saint Dominic of Silos

Abbot († 1073)

Feast – December 20

For the past two thousand years, the rich and the poor, kings and peasants, have been donating to the Holy Catholic Church. Beautiful churches and monasteries were built, while numerous schools, universities and hospitals were opened. The rulers of this world don’t like this prosperity, so when given the opportunity, they will rob the church. We’ve all witnessed the sexual abuse lawsuits which bankrupted many dioceses. Lawyers are suing while judges, instead of punishing guilty individuals, choose to redistribute the property of the Church and donations of the faithful. Likewise, the sixteenth century protestant revolution would not have occurred without the support of greedy local rulers. Another example: in the eleventh century, García Sánchez III, after the death of his father Sancho III in 1035, bypassed the late king’s eldest, illegitimate son Ramiro, and inherited the crown of Pamplona (Spain). In 1037, he joined his brother Ferdinand, the nominal Count of Castile, at the battle of Tamarón, near the river Pisuerga, against Bermudo III in which the King of León, the last scion of Peter of Cantabria, was killed and Ferdinand become new King of León. As a reward for his help Garcia took over the Castilian territories from Oca to the gates of Burgos, from Briviesca to the valley of Urbel, from Castrobarto to Bricia, and from the Nervión River to Santander. A few years later, in his greed García Sánchez III decided to annex the San Millán de la Cogolla monastery’s lands, but he met fierce resistance from its Abbot, who was not afraid of a powerful king and would not surrender. His name is St. Dominic of Silos.

St. Dominic was born in 1000 AD in Cañas, La Rioja Spain to a humble peasant family. In his youth, Dominic worked as a shepherd on his family’s farm. It is said that while caring for his father’s flocks in the foothills of the Pyrenees, he grew to love silence and solitude. Some suggest his lineage traces back to the ancient kings of Navarre. Through his life he proved to have the qualities of both a good shepherd and good king. St. Joseph, a poor carpenter, was a descendent of the King David, it’s possible that royal blood flowed in St. Dominic’s veins as well.

While watching over his father’s flock he began his own to religious studies, having virtually no teacher but the Holy Spirit. Early in his life he decided to become a monk and joined the Benedictine Monastery of San Millan de la Cogolla. Quickly he became known for his holiness. Shortly after being ordained a priest, he became master of novices and eventually elected abbot. When King García Sánchez III of Navarre tried to seize the monastery’s land, St. Dominic refused to surrender it, so the king exiled him with two other monks. In 1041 they settled in Silos in Castile. When King Ferdinand I of Leon heard of St. Dominic’s arrival, he welcomed him with open arms, took him under protection and appointed him Abbot of St. Sebastian at Silos monastery.

The monastery of St. Sebastian was founded in 954 AD and was located in a remote part of the diocese of Burgos. At the time the monastery had only six monks in residence and was in a state of decay. When St. Dominic entered the church the monk Licinian was offering Holy Mass, and by the special permission of God, when the priest turned towards the people at the Offertory to chant, “Dominus vobiscum,” he said instead, “Behold, the restorer cometh!” and the choir responded, “It is the Lord who has sent him!”

Since St. Dominic was named Abbot by the king he became fully in charge of their new home. He quickly realized that a complete makeover was necessary to restore the physical presence of the monastery, but more importantly the spiritual lives of the monks. Under St. Dominic’s leadership they immediately started refurbishing the monastery: the cloisters were rebuilt, and a scriptorium, where the bible and ancient books were copied and painted by hand, was added. This addition turned the monastery into a place of learning and knowledge. There was a gold and silversmith shop added and this brought in needed funds to help the monks in their charitable works. He renewed the Rules of Saint Benedict, which emphasized traditional monastic life, promoted sacred music, encouraged devotion to Mary and focused on the celebration of the Mass as the liturgy of heaven. The monastery became one of the centers of the Hispano-Mozarabic Rite (a variant of the Latin rite) liturgy.

Meanwhile, St. Dominic’s gift of miracles drew to the convent the blind, the sick, and the lame, curing them by the hundreds. It was said that there were no diseases known to man which had not been cured by his prayers, as it is still evident today from the ex-votos of the chapel where his relics are conserved.

Over time monastery of St. Sebastian became the most famous in Spain, like Cluny in France. Wealthy patrons of the monastery endowed St. Dominic with the funds to ransom Christians taken prisoner by the Spanish Moors (Muslims). The ball-and-chains, iron handcuffs and similar implements which are seen suspended from the vault there, demonstrate his special charity for the poor Christians held captive whom he often went to console and pay their ransom. There were even stories about the captives seeing a bright light, and the prison doors opening by themselves so the prisoners could flee. Over three hundred slaves were liberated.

After many years of good works, St. Dominic felt the moment of recompense approaching, and was advised of it by the Blessed Virgin. I spent the night near the Queen of Angels, he said one day to his religious. She has invited me to come in three days where She is; therefore, I am soon going to the celestial banquet to which She invites me. In effect, he fell ill for three days, and then his brethren saw his soul rise in glory to heaven. At the time of Dominic’s death on December 20, 1073, the monastery had been turned into a center for scholarship, learning, and liturgical preservation, as well as a place of rescue and safety. The number of monks active in the monastery had grown from six to 40, but he was done there, about a hundred years later he appeared to Blessed Juana of Aza praying at his tomb and announced her that she will have son and that he would be a shining light to the Church. She did, indeed, have a son whom she named Dominic, St. Dominic of Guzman, Founder of the Order of Preachers, known as the Dominicans.

Interestingly, from the time of the birth of Joan’s son, Dominic, up until the Spanish Communist Revolution of 1931, it was customary for the Abbot of Silos to always bring the staff of St. Dominic of Silos, the patron saint of pregnant women, to the royal palace when a queen was about to give birth.

By the way, the greedy king García Sánchez III perish on the 1st of September 1054, in battle against his own brother, the protector of St. Dominic and future King of Spain, Ferdinand I in the valley of Atapuerca.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          catchlight, “St Dominic of Silos,” C A T C H L I G H T. https://catchlight.blog/category/people/st-dominic-of-silos/ (accessed Nov. 25, 2022).

[2]          kathleensenior, “The fascinating story of two St. Dominics and a faith-filled mom,” Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture, Feb. 19, 2019. https://aleteia.org/2019/02/19/the-fascinating-story-of-two-st-dominics-and-a-faith-filled-mom/ (accessed Nov. 25, 2022).

[3]          L. Tiblis, “St. Dominic of Silos: the Modern Ancient Saint,” The Miraculous Medal Shrine, Nov. 30, 2021. https://miraculousmedal.org/inspire/st-dominic-of-silos-the-modern-ancient-saint/ (accessed Nov. 25, 2022).

[4]          “Saint Dominic of Silos, Abbot.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_dominic_of_silos.html (accessed Nov. 25, 2022).

[5]          “Saint Dominic of Silos, Abbot.” http://traditionalcatholic.net/Tradition/Calendar/12-20.html (accessed Nov. 25, 2022).

[6]          “Dominic of Silos,” Wikipedia. Mar. 30, 2022. Accessed: Nov. 25, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dominic_of_Silos&oldid=1080146971

 

Saint John Berchmans

Jesuit Seminarian (1599-1621)

Feast – November 26

The French Revolution of 1789 may appear like a botched recreation of the American Revolution, but there is a major difference between them. The American Revolutionary War was a war for independence rooted in God-given rights, while the French Revolution was a coup orchestrated by opportunistic, power-hungry, atheist, anti-Catholic politicians. The American Revolution brought freedom, peace, and prosperity to millions, while the French Revolution brought bloodshed and war to the entire European continent. Many people viewed this as a terrible one-time event, one that would never recur. The devil on the other hand, viewed this as a successful attempt to divide humanity and inflict massive pain and suffering on humanity.

Fifty years later, Karl Heinrich Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto, laying the groundwork for modern Communism. The same year their international secret society, the Communist League, started the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history, the Springtime of Nations. Over 50 countries were affected. Caught off-guard at first, the aristocracy and their allies organized a counter-revolution in Autumn 1848. The Communists suffer a series of defeats in the summer of 1849, and revolutionary Communist regimes were overthrown. During this time Pope Pius IX had to leave Rome. He was able to return after the revolts were suppressed by the French army in 1850. His policies and doctrinal pronouncements became increasingly conservative, seeking to stem the revolutionary tide.

In 1848, thirty-eight-year-old Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, future Pope Leo XIII, was the popular and successful Archbishop of Perugia. He had spent ten years fighting corruption and liberalism while restoring local economies, first as legate to the small papal province of Benevento, then to Perugia, the capital of Umbria in central Italy, and finally as Nuncio to Belgium where for his work the King granted him the honorary orders of knighthood in the Order of Leopold. During this time, Vincenzo witnessed firsthand the atrocities of the Communist Revolution. In 1849 he called a provincial council that met in Spoleto to reform religious life in his diocese, and during this council the need for a Syllabus of Errors was first discussed.

In 1854, Pope Pius IX promulgated the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Ten years later, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of 1864, the Holy See issued the Syllabus of Errors which condemns a total of 80 errors or heresies, articulating the Catholic Church’s teachings on many philosophical and political questions, among them communism socialism, liberalism, modernism, moral relativism, secularization, and other Enlightenment era ideas. At first the problem appeared solved, but on October 13th, 1884, Pope Leo XIII, the successor of Pius IX, after celebrating Mass had a vision of Satan approaching the throne of God, boasting that he could destroy the Church. The Lord reminded him that his Church was imperishable. Satan then replied, “Grant me one century and more power over those who will serve me, and I will destroy it.” Our Lord granted him 100 years. The Lord then revealed the events of the 20th century to the Pope. He saw wars, immorality, genocide, and apostasy on a large scale. Immediately following this disturbing vision, he sat down and wrote the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel and ordered a series of prayers to be said after Low Mass, including the prayer to St Michael.

Seeing the necessity of an ideology to oppose the evils of Socialism and Communism, Pope Leo XIII wrote the Encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” which was issued to all Catholic patriarchs, primates, and bishops on the 15th of May, 1891. Rerum Novarum addressed social inequality and social justice focusing on the rights and duties of capital and labor in the spirit of love, mutual respect, and service. The Pope declared that the role of the government is to promote justice through the protection of people rights, while the Church’s duty is to teach correct social principles to ensure class harmony.

However, Leo XIII went further; to sustain a healthy society he sought out passionate examples of faith in the Catholic Church. On January 15th, 1888 he canonized the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, who were devoted to serving the Virgin Mary, and three Jesuits: Peter Claver, Alphonsus Rodriguez and John Berchmans. All these saints were soldiers of God who desired to serve the Lord and the Church. They publicly preached to defend and propagate the faith, encouraged others to grow in the Catholic life, and performed charitable works for the glory of God and for the good of those around them. Now to review the life of St. John Berchmans, one of several canonized by Pope Leo XIII as a call to action against Modernism, Communism, and the faithless brutality that had swept the European continent during and after the French Revolution.

St. John Berchmans was born on the 13th of March, 1599, named in honor of John the Baptist. He was the oldest of five children of John Charles and Elizabeth Berchmans, a very religious family of hardworking shoemakers in Diest, a northern town near Brussels, which is now the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Two of his three brothers and his father, after the death of John’s mother, became priests.

Beginning at the age of seven, he studied for three years at the local communal school with an excellent professor. He was a brilliant student manifesting piety which far exceeded the ordinary. His father placed him, when still very young, under the direction of Father Peter Emmerich, a monk of the Premonstratensian Order. Father Emmerich oversaw the Church of Our Lady of Diest, training boys who wished to become priests. St. John’s greatest pleasure was to serve the Mass. In priests, he saw the representatives of Jesus Christ and always conducted himself towards them with veneration. He was sometimes known to leave his bed before daybreak, and to have the blessing of God in his studies he would serve two or three Masses before going to school (beginning in the seventh century, priests were celebrating daily private Masses – Missa private – in a low voice at the side altars with the assistance of two servers, regardless of the presence of a congregation or religious community).

After residing there for three years, the family’s financial situation had declined owing to the long illness of the mother, and St. John was told he would have to return and learn a trade.

He pleaded to be allowed to continue his studies that he might accomplish his desire of becoming a priest. His aunts, who were nuns, found a solution through their chaplain; he proposed to take St. John into his service and lodge him with the privilege of attending school, so at the age of fifteen he went to Mechelen, not far from Diest, to fill the position. He was usually first in his classes at the large school, a sort of minor seminary, even when he had to redouble his efforts in order to catch up to his fellow students, all of whom had excellent talent and sometimes preceded him for a year or more in an assigned discipline.

In 1615, when the Fathers of the Society of Jesus opened a college in Mechelen, St. John was sent with the other boys from the Cathedral to attend classes. He soon distinguished himself in his studies, and much more by his unusual piety. Brought into contact with the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, he became acquainted with their mode of life, and found that it corresponded with all his own aspirations. First, however, he had recourse to prayer, had Masses said, and gave in alms whatever little pocket-money he had, that he might receive light from Heaven and asked the advice of his confessor to decide the important matter of his vocation. At length it became clear to him what God’s will is, then he wrote his parents that he wished to join the Society of Jesus “the hammer of all heresies, the vessel of virtue and perfection” offering himself to “Jesus Christ to fight under His colors.” His father was disappointed because a diocesan priest could contribute to the family while a Jesuit could not, but he gave his son permission to pursue his goal. On the feast of Our Lady of Mercy, September 24, 1616, a good lay brother who was busy working in the garden around the old palace of Charles V, which was now the noviceship for the Society of Jesus at Mechelen, was surprised to receive two youthful and voluntary assistants. On seeing the good brother at work, St. John suggested to his companion that they could not better begin than by the practice of charity and humility, and so set to work with the brother until the Father Rector came out to welcome them. Already as a novice he was wining souls for Christ. He became famous in Mechelen and the surrounding area for his catechism classes to the children. He made his instructions so lively and interesting that parents would stay with their kids to hear his lessons. Children would visit the novitiate, where he distributed holy pictures and rosaries to them.

On the 24th of January 1618, he made his first vows and went to Antwerp to begin studying philosophy. After only a few weeks the decision was made to send him to Rome to continue the same studies. Before departure he was allowed to spend few days at home where he learned that his father had died a week earlier. After making the necessary arrangements to provide for the younger brothers and sister he advised them, with a premonition that he would perhaps never see them again, to “Increase in piety, in fear of God and in knowledge.” With a fellow novice, with his belongings on his back he began the two-month journey on foot to Rome, by way of Paris, Lyons. On Christmas eve the pilgrim caught the first view of the dome and towers of Loretto, and it was his privilege to assist at the midnight Mass, beneath the same roof that sheltered Mary and the child Jesus. The young Jesuits arrived in Rome on December 31st and joined the community at the Roman College. St. John, being as faithful to his studies and religious life as he had been in the novitiate, was selected by the prefect of studies to defend the entire course of philosophy in a public disputation at the end of his third year, in 1621. His health had suffered from the effort he had put into studying for his final exam, and he became steadily weaker as he prepared for the public disputation, held on July 8th.

Later, in August of the same year, he was selected again to participate in a discussion of philosophy, this time at the Greek College, which at the time was administered by the Dominicans. During an intense heat wave, he participated splendidly in discussion, debating with great clarity and profoundness, despite the fact he did not feel well. The two events sapped too much energy out of his weakened condition, and after returning to his own quarters, on August 7th he suffered an attack of dysentery, and then was seized with the Roman fever. His lungs became inflamed, and his strength diminished rapidly.

In a residence of several hundred priests and students, there was none who did not follow, with anxiety and compassion, the progress of his illness. When other scholastics came to visit, he spoke of Paradise as if he would soon be there.

When the infirmarian told his patient that he should probably receive Communion the next morning — an exception to the rule prescribing it for Sundays only, in those times — St.  John said, In Viaticum? and received a sad affirmative answer. He himself was transported with joy and broke into tears. A priest who knew him well asked him next morning if there was anything troubling or saddening him, St. John replied, absolutely nothing.

When the Rector came to give him Holy Communion he rose from his couch, dressed in his habit, and threw himself on his knees. Two lay brothers supported him, and as he knelt he made the following act of faith: “I declare that there is here really present the Son of God, the Father Almighty, and of the most Blessed Mary, ever Virgin; I protest that I wish to live and die a true son of our Holy Mother, the Catholic Apostolic, Roman Church, a true son of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a son of the Society.” He then received Viaticum and Extreme Unction. At eight o-clock on Friday morning, August 13th, 1621, with his eyes on his crucifix and with the holy names of Jesus and Mary on his lips, he went to his reward.

During three years in Rome St. John had given unceasing proofs of his already perfected sanctity. Nothing that he did was left to chance, but instead everything was entrusted to the intercession of his Heavenly Mother, to whom his devotion continued to increase day by day, (to him is owed the Little Rosary of the Immaculate Conception) so his death was followed by an outburst of devotion in Rome. A large crowd gathered for several days to view his remains and to invoke his intercession. That same year, Phillip-Charles, Duke of Aarschot, sent a petition to Pope Gregory XV with a view to begin the process leading to St. John Berchman’s beatification.

He was beatified by Pope Pius IX on May 3, 1865, and canonized on January 15, 1888, by Pope Leo XIII.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          “Saint John Berchmans, Jesuit Seminarian.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_john_berchmans.html (accessed Nov. 05, 2022).

[2]          “Saint John Berchmans | The Society of Jesus.” https://www.jesuits.global/saint-blessed/saint-john-berchmans/ (accessed Nov. 05, 2022).

[3]          “Our Patron: St. John Berchmans,” Cathedral of St. John Berchmans. https://sjbcathedral.org/our-patron-st-john-berchmans/ (accessed Nov. 05, 2022).

[4]          “John Berchmans,” Wikipedia. Nov. 03, 2022. Accessed: Nov. 05, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Berchmans&oldid=1119803426

[5]          “Pope Pius IX,” Wikipedia. Oct. 31, 2022. Accessed: Nov. 05, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pope_Pius_IX&oldid=1119203191#Encyclicals

[6]          “Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order,” Wikipedia. Jul. 04, 2022. Accessed: Nov. 05, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Seven_Holy_Founders_of_the_Servite_Order&oldid=1096514681

[7]          “Pope Leo XIII,” Wikipedia. Nov. 05, 2022. Accessed: Nov. 05, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pope_Leo_XIII&oldid=1120200719

Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez

Confessor, Jesuit Coadjutor (1531-1617)

Feast – October 30

The Lombards were a Germanic people who conquered and ruled most of the Italian Peninsula starting in 568, establishing a Lombard Kingdom in north and central Italy. In 751, Aistulf, king of the Lombards, conquered what remained of the exarchate of Ravenna, the last vestige of the Roman Empire in northern Italy. He demanded the submission of Rome and a tribute of one gold solidus (about 4.5 grams of highly pure gold coin) per capita.

Pope Stephen II and a Roman envoy tried through negotiations to convince Aistulf to back down. When this failed, the Pope sent envoys to Pepin the Short, Mayor of the Palace of Neustria, (the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks) whom, on the 28th of July, 754, he anointed in the Basilica of Saint-Denis as king of the Franks and patrician of the Romans. In the spring of 755, Pepin summoned the army and sent envoys ahead to offer Aistulf an indemnity if he restored the Roman territories he had taken. The Frankish army crossed the Mont Cénis and defeated the Lombard army near Susa. Defeated, Aistulf submitted to some form of Frankish overlordship and promised under oath to return Ravenna and the other cities he had occupied to the Pope. The peace treaty was signed by the “Romans, Franks and Lombards” As soon as the Frankish army left Italy, he disregarded the treaty. On the 1st of January 756, Aistulf besieged Rome. The Pope appealed again to the Franks. After three months, Aistulf abandoned the siege. In April, a Frankish army once again invaded Italy and defeated the Lombards. Aistulf was forced to give hostages and pay annual tribute to the Franks. He also had to promise in writing to return the occupied territories to the Pope. The territories specified in the treaty of 756 had belonged to the Roman Empire. Envoys of the Empire met Pepin in Pavia and offered him a large sum of money to restore the lands to the Empire, but he refused, saying that they belonged to St Peter and the Roman church. The official Donation of Pepin followed extending the temporal rule of the popes beyond the duchy of Rome and provided a legal basis for the creation of the Papal States.

The creation of the Papal State, its security and security of its people forced Popes to get involved in international affairs, taking sides and positions in conflicts and wars, creating coalitions to maintain balance in Catholic Europe. Few kings and local rulers were saints, so times without military conflict were rare and even during times of peace the jealousy, greed and struggle for power continued.

In 1489, Pope Innocent VIII, in conflict with King Ferdinand I of Naples, excommunicated and deposed Ferdinand and offered the Kingdom of Naples to Charles VIII of France, grandson Marie of Anjou of the Angevin dynasty of Naples. Pope Innocent later settled his quarrel with Ferdinand and revoked the bans before dying in 1492, but this didn’t dissuade the French from invading. In July 1494, 30,000 men under Louis d’Orleans followed by another 25,000 troops under King Charles VIII entered the territories of the Duchy of Milan, advancing into the long Italian peninsula towards Naples. As a response to the speed of the greedy and brutal French advance, Pope Alexander VI formed an alliance of opponents of French hegemony in Italy. These included the Papal States, Republic of Venice, Kingdom of Naples, Kingdoms of Spain, Duchy of Milan, Holy Roman Empire, Republic of Florence known as the Holy League of 1495, or as the League of Venice which forced the French out of Italy in 1496.

In October 1511 Pope Julius II (the Warrior Pope) formed another Holy League against France.

In 1512 Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Regent of the Crown of Castile (the Iberian Peninsula), initiated a series of military campaigns to seize the Iberian part of the Kingdom of Navarre and move the Spanish border into the Pyrenees, which were easier to defend against French aggression.

On the 20th of May, 1521, a French-Navarrese expedition force stormed the fortress of Pamplona. At the Battle a cannonball ricocheting off a nearby wall crushed the leg of knight Inigo Lopez de Loyola. After the battle the Navarrese so admired his bravery that they carried him all the way back to his father’s castle in Loyola. He underwent several surgical operations to repair the leg, where his bones were rebroken and set.

His meditations during his long recovery set him on the road of conversion, from a regular knight to a Knight of Christ, today known as St. Ignatius of Loyola. In 1540 with St. Peter Faber and St. Francis Xavier, he founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits).

The purpose of the Society of Jesus, says the Summary of the Constitutions, is “not only to apply oneself to one’s own salvation and to perfection with the help of divine grace, but to employ all one’s strength for the salvation and perfection of one’s neighbor.”

Jesuit missions have generally included medical clinics, schools, and agricultural development projects as ways to serve the poor or needy while preaching the Gospel. Their educational institutions often adopt mottoes and mission statements that include the idea of making students “men and women for others.”

In addition to the vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty of other religious orders in the church, St. Ignatius instituted a fourth vow for Jesuits of obedience to the Pope, to engage in projects ordained by the pontiff.

In 1541 after attending the Diet of Ratisbon, St. Peter Faber was called by his superior “Father General” St. Ignatius Loyola to Spain. He visited Barcelona, Zaragoza, Medinaceli, Madrid, and Toledo.

When St. Peter Faber had given a mission in the city Segovia northwest of Madrid, in central Spain to preach, the Rodríguez family, a successful wool and cloth merchant family, provided him with hospitality. While staying with them he prepared the third of eleven children, then ten years old St. Alphonsus Rodriguez for his First Communion. This brought great joy to the entire family and especially to St. Alphonsus, who enjoyed serving the Jesuits when they lodged in his father’s country home. A few years later, he and his older brother were sent to the recently founded Jesuit college at Alcalá, but their studies unexpectedly ended when his father died two years later. His brother, after family affairs were settled, returned to school, but Alphonsus was obliged to remain at home to help his mother run the family business, which eventually he took over. In 1557 he married Maria Suárez with whom he had three children, a daughter and two sons. Five years later he was already a widower, with only one little boy of three years remaining for him to raise. A year later his mother died. From then on, he offered himself entirely to God and began a life of prayer and mortification. In his distress on the death of his third child, he turned to the Jesuits and offered himself as a candidate for priesthood, but his advanced age of 35, poor health and limited education made him unsuitable in the eyes of the Jesuits who interviewed him for entrance.

In 1568 St. Alphonsus left Segovia and went to Valencia where his spiritual father had been transferred and spent two years seeking the education necessary to become a priest employed as a preceptor of the young by two families of that city. When he renewed his request for admission willing to become a Jesuit brother if priesthood was out of the question the fathers who examined him came to the same negative conclusion as before. The provincial, however, recognized his holiness and said that if Alphonsus was not qualified to become a brother or a priest, he can enter to become a saint. He was admitted into the Society of Jesus as a lay brother on 31 January 1571, at the age of 40. After six months, in the midst of novitiate he was sent to college of Montesion in Palma on the island of Majorca where he remained in the humble position of porter for 46 years. His duties as doorkeeper were to receive visitors who came to the college; search out the teachers or students who were wanted in the parlor; deliver messages; and run errands. Each time the bell rang, St. Alphonsus envisioned that it is Our Lord standing outside seeking admittance. Always cheerful he distributed alms to the needy, consoled and gave advice to the troubled, and greeted students with encouragement. Numerous people came to hear the porter’s advice and this trend grew. For many he became a spiritual father, among them was the patron of missionary work among black slaves, St. Peter Claver.

He had a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially as the Immaculate Conception, and would produce copies of the complete text of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the private recitation of people who asked.

The Jesuit doorkeeper was always appreciated for his kindness and holiness, but only after his death did his memoirs and spiritual notes reveal the quality and depth of his prayer life. The humble brother had been favored by God with remarkable mystical graces, ecstasies and visions of our Lord, our Lady and the saints. Maxims of his life was “In the difficulties which are placed before me, why should I not act like a donkey? When one speaks ill of him — the donkey says nothing. When he is mistreated — he says nothing. When he is forgotten — he says nothing. When no food is given him — he says nothing. When he is made to advance — he says nothing. When he is despised — he says nothing. When he is overburdened — he says nothing… The true servant of God must do likewise and say with David: Before You I have become like a beast of burden.”

For twenty years he had contented himself with a few hours of sleep on a table or in a chair until in 1591 he received an order to sleep a bed. The bodily mortifications which he imposed on himself were extreme. The demons would not leave alone this holy man. They tortured him mentally through frequent scruples and mental agitations as well as physical trauma. Twice he was thrown down a cement staircase by enemies of man’s salvation. He was afflicted with various illnesses, which plunged him into a sort of preliminary purgatory, but by casting himself into the abyss of the love of Jesus Crucified he did not change his life of modesty and service. He served a chapel where the elderly or infirm fathers celebrated late Masses. The extraordinary holiness shone out of the very ordinariness of his work as the Jesuit doorkeeper of a school.

His superiors, seeing the good work he was doing among the townspeople, were eager to have his influence spread far among his own religious community. So, on feast days they often let him into the pulpit of the refectory to have him give a lecture where entire community was sitting quietly past dinner to hear St. Alphonsus finish his preaching.

Out of obedience to his superiors in 1604 he began to write the story of his life.

He left a considerable number of manuscripts after him, they were not written with a view to publication, but put down by St. Alphonsus himself, or dictated to others.

St. Alphonsus died in 1617, already known and loved as a Saint by the population. In 1825 he was beatified and then canonized on the same day, the 15th of January, 1888, with his spiritual son St. Peter Claver, by Pope Leo XIII.

The Jesuits were instrumental in leading the Counter-Reformation, a comprehensive effort composed of apologetic and polemical documents and ecclesiastical configuration as decreed by the Council of Trent. By the mid-18th century, a flourishing Society had acquired a reputation in Europe for political maneuvering and economic success. Eager for more power, monarchs in many European states and their associates running shady businesses using slave labor in the colonies were unable to compete against areas run by the Jesuits, where bosses always cared more for workers material and spiritual wellbeing that their own, treating everybody the way St. Alphonsus did with love and kindness. The Jesuits were accused of being supranational, too autonomous, and too strongly allied to the papacy. Instead of adjusting the ways the colonies were run, political leaders pressured the papacy which reluctantly acceded to the anti-Jesuit demands of various Catholic kingdoms while providing minimal theological justification for the suppressions. The Portuguese Empire expelled Jesuits from their states in 1759, France in 1764, the Two Sicilies, Malta, Parma, the Spanish Empire in 1767, and the Society’s accumulated wealth and possessions were confiscated.

With his Papal brief, Dominus ac Redemptor on the 21st of July, 1773, Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society, however, the order did not disappear. It continued underground operations in China, in Poland controlled by Russia and Prussia during the Partition era, and the United States. In 1814, a subsequent Pope, Pius VII, acted to restore the Society of Jesus to its previous provinces, and the Jesuits began to resume their work in those countries.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          T. Modica, “Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, pray for us – Good News Ministries,” Go!GoodNews Network, Oct. 30, 2019. https://gogoodnews.net/posts/saint-alphonsus-rodriguez/ (accessed Oct. 15, 2022).

[2]          “Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, Confessor, Jesuit Coadjutor.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_alphonsus_rodriguez.html (accessed Oct. 15, 2022).

[3]          “Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez | The Society of Jesus.” https://www.jesuits.global/saint-blessed/saint-alphonsus-rodriguez/ (accessed Oct. 15, 2022).

[4]          “Alphonsus Rodriguez,” Wikipedia. Sep. 07, 2022. Accessed: Oct. 15, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alphonsus_Rodriguez&oldid=1109067328

[5]          “Jesuits,” Wikipedia. Oct. 14, 2022. Accessed: Oct. 15, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jesuits&oldid=1115974369

Saint Vincent Strambi

Passionist Priest, Bishop of Macerata and Tolentino (1745-1824)

Feast – September 25

In tough times, times of war and persecution, God gives his children holy people, prophets in the Old Testament days and saints in our modern times, using them to restore faith, give hope and grant victories to those who put their trust in Him. One of these saints is St. Vincent Strambi.

In 1689, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the Visitation Order nun and mystic, received a private request from Jesus to urge the King of France, Louis XIV, to consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart, so that He may be “triumphant over all the enemies of Holy Church.” Louis XIV, along with his successors, refused to consecrate the nation.

In May 1789, 100 years after St. Alcoque’s vision, King Louis XVI wanted to raise taxes to fill the hole in his budget, so he called the convocation of the Estates General-the general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. With the idea of Taxing the Rich, Louis XVI acceded to popular demand that the Commons be allocated twice as many delegates as each of the other two Estates. In the elections of early spring 1789, the First Estate was allocated 303 delegates, the Second Estate 282, and the Third Estate 578. A majority of the Third Estate were ambitious local leaders, community organizers and lawyers seeking a quick elevation in ranks. On June third the Estate formed the National Assembly and invited the other two estates to join, many of which opposed the monarchy and high taxes. This shifted the balance in the assembly.

Continuing unrest, political conflict and economic distress culminated in the Storming of the Bastille on the 14th of July, which led to a series of radical measures by the Assembly, including the abolition of feudalism and imposition of state control over the Catholic Church in France. The next three years were dominated by the fight for political control between the Girondists, a loosely knit political faction of classical liberals mostly active in the Legislative Assembly campaigning for the end of the monarchy, and the Montagnards, a group of the most radical members of the highest benches in the National Convention.

On the 27th of August, 1791, Frederick William II of Prussia and the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II declared joint support for King Louis XVI of France. Eight months later, following a vote of the revolutionary-led Legislative Assembly, France declared war on Austria. Prussia, having allied with Austria in February, declared war on France in June 1792 and in July an army of Prussians joined the Austrian side and invaded France. The capture of Verdun by Prussians on 2 September 1792 triggered the September massacres in Paris. On the same day, around 1:00 pm, Georges Danton (French Minister of Justice) delivered a speech in the assembly, stating: “We ask that anyone refusing to give personal service or to furnish arms shall be punished with death”. Within the first 20 hours more than 1,000 prisoners (enemies of the revolution) were killed, among them women, children and over 170 Catholic priests. On the 20th of September, France counterattacked with victory at Valmy and two days later the Legislative Assembly proclaimed the French Republic. In January 1793 king Louis XVI was executed.

In May Jean-Paul Marat, one of the leading figures in the September massacres, with the support of the Paris commune (government of Paris) demanded that the Girondin representatives in the National Convention, who in January had voted against the execution of the king, must be brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal. A mob of thousands of armed citizens surrounded the Convention and forced the deputies to deliver the 29 representatives and two Ministers denounced by the Commune. The Montagnards took control over Convention and created the Committee of Public Safety, headed by Maximilien Robespierre. The Reign of Terror to eradicate alleged “counter-revolutionaries” started.  By the time it ended in July 1794, at least 300,000 suspects were arrested, and over 16,600 had been executed throughout France of which 2,639 were in Paris alone.  An additional 40,000 may have been summarily executed or died awaiting trial. As the Terror accelerated, members of Convention felt more and more threatened. In his speech on the 26th of July, 1794, Robespierre spoke of the existence of internal enemies, conspirators, and calumniators within the Convention and the governing Committees. The next day Robespierre (useful idiot) was arrested with 90 of his closest comrades and executed by guillotine on the 28th of July, 1794. The reign of the Committee of Public Safety was ended, but the exceptional revolutionary measures continued. The period of the less intensive “White Terror” followed. In July 1794, the Convention established a committee to draft the Constitution, which was presented to the Convention and formally adopted on 22 August, 1795.

The new Constitution was officially proclaimed on the 23rd of September, 1795, but the new Councils had not yet been elected, and the Directors had not yet been chosen. The leaders of the royalists and constitutional monarchists chose this moment to try to seize power.

The members of the Convention were aware that the planning was underway and created a group of five deputies, led by Paul Barras, as an unofficial directory to deal with rebellion.

On the 5th of October, 1795, the armed royalist insurgents march in two columns along both the right bank and left bank of the Seine toward the Tuileries. They were confronted by the artillery of sous-lieutenant Joachim Murat at the Sablons and by Napoleon Bonaparte’s soldiers and artillery in front of the church of Saint-Roch. Over the next two hours, Bonaparte’s cannons and the gunfire of his soldiers brutally killed some four hundred insurgents and ended the rebellion. Bonaparte was promoted to General of Division and General in Chief of the Army of the Interior. Shortly after, in November 1795 the French Directory was created and took power. After six years of revolutionary government ruling, France faced a shortage of food and necessities. Strict distribution, price control and inflation lead to a situation when the fixed prices could not cover the cost of production, and supplies dropped even more. In this situation, conquering neighboring regions that had not been ruined by revolution and robbing them was a quick fix. A series of military victories, many won by Napoleon Bonaparte who demanded gold or silver from each city he conquered, threatening to destroy the cities if they did not pay, made him a national hero. In November 1799, the Directory was replaced by the Consulate with Bonaparte as First Consul and in 1804 Napoleon I was declared the Emperor of the French. In 1808 Napoleon Bonaparte used the French alliance with Spain to force King Ferdinand VII to abdicate, giving the throne to Bonaparte’s brother Joseph. This started large-scale guerrilla style war that lasted six years. The result was that France lost an ally and control over the Iberian Peninsula.

In the summer of 1812 Napoleon launched an invasion of Russia. The Russians unable to stop the advancing 600,000 men, including foreign recruits, of Bonaparte’s Grande Armée employed a scorched-earth military strategy that aimed to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. the Grande Armée reached Moscow on the 14th of September, 1812, but was ultimately forced to march back westward. Due to constant harassment by Russian partisans, the frigid cold, starvation, and diseases, the army of 600,000 dwindled to only 120,000 who survived to leave Russia. After defeating Napoleon in the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, the army of the Sixth Coalition against France invaded France and captured Paris in late March 1814. Under the Treaty of Paris, signed on the 30th of May, 1814, Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba. However, on the 26th of February, 1815, Napoleon escaped from Elba in the French brig the Inconstant and two days later, landed at Golfe-Juan with 607 Grenadiers of the Old Guard, 118 Polish Lancers, 300 Corsicans, 50 Elite Gendarmes, and 80 civilians, he reached Paris on the 20th of March. By June, his armed forces numbered 200,000. The Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition. A number of battles were fought leading to Napoleon’s final defeat at Waterloo.

Upon Napoleons’ return to France his brother-in-law, Joachim-Napoleon Murat, King of Naples quickly raised a 50,000-man army and declared war on Austria on March 15th.

Advancing north, he won a series of victories over the Austrians but, once defeated on April 8th or 9th at Occhiobello was forced to fall back. Retreating, he ended the siege of Ferrara and reconcentrated his forces at Ancona. Pursued by Austrian forces, Murat set up his headquarters at Macerata, near Tolentino, planning to use that location for battle.

The people, out of fear for their lives and the certain devastation facing Macerata, turned to their Bishop for guidance. His response was to gather priests and seminarians in his private chapel to beg for God’s intercession and after one and a half hours he rose and declared that Macerata would be saved through the intercession of the Mother of God. He met with the King of Naples and begged him not to enter the town, to which Murat agreed. Then he secured the assurances of the Austrian generals that Murat’s soldiers would not be slaughtered.

The Battle started on 2 May 1815 near Tolentino. After two days of fight, the Austrian army had 11,938 men 1,452 horses and 28 artillery pieces after losing 700 killed 100 wounded, but had successfully routed Murat’s forces, which numbered, 25,588 men, 4,790 horses 58 artillery pieces and had suffered 1,120 killed, 600 wounded and 2,400 captured.

The Holy Bishop who saved Macerata and Tolentino and lives of many soldiers and civilians is St. Vincent Strambi.

St. Vincent Strambi was born in 1745 in Civitavecchia, Italy, as the last of four children to a pharmacist, Giuseppe Strambi, known for his charitable works, and Eleonora Gori, noted for her piety. His three elder siblings all died in childhood. He was a troublesome child who liked to play practical jokes on his friends, but at the same time his good nature inspired him to give away his own overcoat or shoes to any homeless child he encountered. The Friars Minor oversaw his education. In his teenage years he started to teach his younger fellow students the catechism. It was at this time that he became quite attracted to the notion of the religious life. His parents seeing his religious fervor encouraged him to become diocesan priest. At age 15 he entered the seminary at nearby Montefiascone and in 1762 received clerical “tonsure.” Noted for his oratorical gifts, he was sent to Rome for studies in Sacred Eloquence and then continued his theological studies with the Dominicans at Viterbo. After his ordination as a deacon in 1767, he made a retreat amid the Passionists of Monte Fogliano, led by St. Paul of the Cross, founder of the order. In the Passionist house he found his vocation and decided to enter that religious community instead. He asked the founder to be admitted into the order, but he was refused. Ordained to the priesthood on the 19th of December, 1767, he returned to Rome to further his theological studies. The life of contemplation, essential for any fruitful works, was his desire.

He still felt called to the Passionists and made several trips to see St. Paul of the Cross. In September 1768 the founder relented, and St. Vincent began his novitiate. He made his profession on the 24th of September, 1769. St. Vincent had just six years to absorb the spirit of the congregation from St. Paul of the Cross. He was sent to Vetralla for two further years of studies with a particular emphasis on the Church Fathers, on Sacred Scripture and sermon writing.

His studies of religion continued throughout his lifetime; he knew by heart Sacred Scripture and all the works of Saint Thomas Aquinas. As he studied, he seemed to see around his desk the faces of his spiritual children, waiting for the bread of life he was destined to break for them. This method of thinking about and praying for your future spiritual children before they study has been preserved among his followers in the Order. His preaching was so simple that all could easily understand. He never used notes but lectured according to the needs of his listeners. When he preached missions – a focal point of the Passionist charism – he drew large crowds. On several occasions he preached before Bishops and Cardinals.

In 1773 he was made a professor of theological studies in charge of the training of young students who were selected for future missionary preaching at the newly acquired order’s house in Rome, at Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Here he would eventually write a manual on Sacred Eloquence, and it was here that in October 1775 he was present at the death of St. Paul of the Cross. The founder said to St. Vincent on his deathbed: “You will do great things! You will do great good! I recommend to you this poor Congregation!”

In 1780 he became rector of the Community of Saints John and Paul. In 1781 he was elected provincial, serving as provincial and general consultor at the same time, preaching missions as often as possible. St. Vincent published a biography on St. Paul of the Cross, and the testimonies of eyewitnesses used in the biography were also used during the canonization process. It is said that he wrote the life of St Paul of the Cross on his knees, out of reverence for the founder.

On the 29th of August, 1799, Pope Pius VI died. In 1801 the new Pope Pius VII appointed St. Vincent as the Bishop of Macerata-Tolentino, becoming the first bishop to come from the Passionists. He rushed to Rome in an effort to get the appointment cancelled before it become official. He took his case to the pope who listened and told St. Vincent that the decision to name him bishop was “a divine inspiration” and is final. His friend Cardinal Antonelli presided over his episcopal consecration at Santi Giovanni e Paolo.

Loyal to the pope and Holy See as bishop of Macerata and Tolentino he was a true pastor of souls, full of zeal and discipline. St. Vincent Strambi in heart was always Passionist, in private he would wear the Passionist habit. As a man of prayer he regretted being unable to dedicate more than five hours to prayer each day, and as a community observance he took great care in the education and ongoing formation of diocesan priests, paying close attention to the teaching standards in the diocesan seminaries. He visited every religious house of his diocese, then the Canons and the parish priests. He preached for his clergy a beautiful mission, then organized specialized services for the various professions of the laity. He reduced his diocesan expenditures to a minimum, to be able to give more to the poor. He was especially attentive to the people in his care during a typhoid epidemic and when a famine struck the city. He called in the poor and gave them alms; he visited the hospitals and the prisoners, blessed, embraced and helped them, established orphanages and homes for the aged. Occasionally he was seen begging on poor’s behalf.

The Napoleonic invasion of the Papal States and the anti-religious decrees forced St. Vincent to flee Rome in 1798, but he managed to return to Rome shortly thereafter. In March 1808, the puppet of France, the Kingdom of Italy invaded the papal provinces Ancona, Macerata, Fermo, and Urbino and by Napoleonic decree the annexed provinces became part of the French empire. The French ordered that this decree be read in all churches, but St. Vincent refused to do so. He also refused to provide the French with a list of all the men in his diocese who would be suitable for service in the armed forces. The French arrested him in September 1808 for refusing to take the oath of allegiance to the French invaders and was then exiled and cut off from his diocese. He was first sent to Novara, then in October 1809 to Milan. From there he continued to guide his people through correspondence. He returned to his see in 1814 with vast crowds lining the route of his return.

Six years of French occupation had a negative influence on the infrastructure, and morality of the residents. St. Vincent instituted strict reforms to end corruption, which were met with resistance to the point that he received death threats, but after St. Vincent single-handedly saved Macerata and Tolentino from devastation a year later, the opposition vanished. Pope Pius VII on 10 March 1823 made him Cardinal.

He wished to resign as bishop at the age of seventy-eight, and Pope Leo XII ceded to his wish, but asked him to come to Rome as his counselor. That his life was soon to end was revealed to him, and when the Holy Father was about to die that same year, he offered his life to save that of the Vicar of Christ. He did not say so directly, but told everyone not to be anxious, because the Pope would live. Someone he knew had offered his life for him, he added. The prayer was answered on the very day he said this, December 24th; the Pope rose, suddenly cured. Three days later St. Vincent was struck by apoplexy and died on January 1st, 1824.

Pope Pius XI beatified him in 1925 and St. Vincent Strambi was canonized on 11 June 1950 by Pope Pius XII.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          “Napoleon,” Wikipedia. Sep. 05, 2022. Accessed: Sep. 05, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Napoleon&oldid=1108706226

[2]          “French Revolution,” Wikipedia. Aug. 26, 2022. Accessed: Sep. 05, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=French_Revolution&oldid=1106806819

[3]          “Battle of Tolentino,” Wikipedia. Aug. 08, 2022. Accessed: Sep. 05, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Tolentino&oldid=1103041691

[4]          “Saint Vincent Strambi, Passionist Priest, Bishop of Macerata and Tolentino.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_vincent_strambi.html (accessed Sep. 05, 2022).

[5]          “St Vincent Strambi | Passionists Ireland and Scotland.” https://passionists.ie/st-vincent-strambi/ (accessed Sep. 05, 2022).

[6]          “Vincent Strambi,” Wikipedia. Mar. 07, 2022. Accessed: Sep. 05, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vincent_Strambi&oldid=1075762366

Saint Philip Benizi

Servite Priest (1233-1285)

Feast- August 23

Henry IV was born in 1050, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry III and grandson of St. Henry II of the Salian dynasty. By the will of his father, at the age of two the boy became Duke of Bavaria, then in 1054 King of Germany, and subsequently in 1056 King of Italy and Burgundy. After his father’s death on the 5th of October, 1056, Henry was placed under his mother’s, Agnes of Poitou, guardianship. Unlike her late husband, she could not control the election of popes. This created an opportunity to restore the liberty of the Church during her rule. In 1062, in a conspiracy to remove Agnes from the throne, young Henry IV was abducted by a group of men, including Archbishop Anno II of Cologne (chaplain to Henry’s father) and Otto of Nordheim (Duke of Bavaria). Archbishop Anno II administered Germany until Henry came of age in 1065. As king, Henry, in his attempt to recover the royal estates that had been lost during his minority and expand his power surrounded himself with low-ranking but loyal officials to carry out his new policies. He insisted on his royal prerogative to appoint individuals to the highest church offices, which enabled him to demand benefices from the wealthy, bishops, and abbots. When Henry appointed a Milanese nobleman, Gotofredo, to the Archbishopric of Milan in 1070, Pope Alexander II excommunicated the new archbishop. In 1070 the local clerics appealed to the Holy See to prevent the installation of Henry’s candidate, Charles of Magdeburg, to the episcopal see of Constance. Henry denied Charles had bribed him, but he publicly admitted that his advisors may have received money from Charles. Pope Alexander II decided to investigate and summoned all German bishops who had been accused of simony or corruption to Rome, but he died in two months. On the death of Alexander II on 21 April 1073, as the obsequies were being performed in the Lateran Basilica, there arose a loud outcry from the clergy and people: “Blessed Peter has chosen Hildebrand the Archdeacon! Let Hildebrand be pope!”

In 1049 Pope Leo IX had named Hildebrand as deacon and papal administrator. Ten years later under Pope Nicholas II he was made archdeacon of the Roman church and become the most important figure in the papal administration. Out of admiration for Pope St. Gregory the Great, upon being elected by acclamation Hildebrand chose the name Gregory VII. As the new Pope he was well aware, and up to date with the challenges facing the Catholic Church. At the time the strength of the German monarchy had been seriously weakened; King Henry IV had to contend with great internal difficulties. This state of affairs was of material assistance to the Pope’s effort to restore the moral integrity and independence of the clergy and eradicate corruption in the Church. In a series of reforms initiated by St. Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, a ban on lay investiture was a key element. To liberate the Church from secular rulers it declared that the Pope alone could appoint or depose bishops and abbots or move them from one see to another. Reforms were finally confirmed by council held in the Lateran Palace on 28 February 1075.

In the meantime, Henry was forced by the Saxon Rebellion to come to amicable terms with the Pope at any cost. Consequently, in May 1074 he did penance at Nuremberg—in the presence of the papal legates—to atone for his continued friendship with excommunicated members of his council. He pledged obedience to the Pope and promised his support in the work of reforming the Church. This attitude was abandoned as soon as he defeated the Saxons at the First Battle of Langensalza on the 9th of June, 1075. Henry then tried to reassert his rights as the sovereign of northern Italy without delay. He nominated the cleric Tedald to the archbishopric of Milan. On December 8, 1075, Pope Gregory VII replied with a letter in which he accused Henry of breaching his word with his continued support of excommunicated councilors. At the same time the Pope suggested that the enormous crimes which would be laid to his account rendered him liable, not only to being barred from the Church, but to the deprivation of his crown.

Infuriated, Henry and his court convened national council in Worms, Germany, which met on the 24th of January 1076. The higher ranks of the German clergy and a Roman cardinal, Hugo Candidus, voted against Pope Gregory VII, calling him unfit for the Papacy. Henry IV wrote a letter to Gregory and told him that he was fired. Pope wrote back and declared the excommunication of Henry IV and informed all of his subjects that they no longer owed him any loyalty and could elect someone else as their new ruler.

Many German aristocrats called for the Pope to hold an assembly in Germany to hear Henry’s case. To prevent the Pope from sitting in judgement on him, Henry went to Italy as far as Canossa to meet with him in January 1077. His penitential “Walk to Canossa” was a success and Gregory VII had no choice but to absolve him. After squashing rivals and consolidating his position, Henry continued to appoint high-ranking clerics, for which the Pope again excommunicated him on 7 March 1080. In response the German and northern Italian bishops loyal to Henry elected the antipope, Clement III.

This started a war between the papacy and its supporters, the “church party” named the Guelphs, and the emperor with his “imperial party” known as the Ghibellines. The conflict officially ended when Pope Callixtus II and Emperor Henry V agreed on the Concordat of Worms in 1122, but the division amongst the people lasted much longer. In 1279, one hundred fifty-seven years later St. Philip Beniz was sent to Forli, Italy. He was heckled by Ghibellines and then physically attacked while preaching. His non-violent way of turning the other cheek caused a conversion in St. Peregrine Laziosi, the only son of the Peregrine’s family, the key supporters of the anti-papal faction. This conversion finally ended the conflict.

St. Philip was born of the renowned Benizi and Frescobaldi families in Florence on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1233—the same day upon which the Blessed Virgin appeared to the seven noblemen of Florence, Saints Bonfilius, Alexis Falconieri, John Bonagiunta, Benedict dell’Antella, Bartholomew Amidei, Gerard Sostegni, and Ricoverus Uguccione, the founders of the Servite Order (Ordo Fratrum Servorum Sanctae Mariae /Order of Friar Servants of St. Mary).

From his very cradle St. Philip gave signs of his future sanctity. When he was scarcely five months old, he received the power of speech by a miracle. On beholding St. Alexis and St. Buonagiunta, two of the Seven Holy Founders, approaching in quest of alms, he exclaimed: “Mother, here come our Lady’s Servants; give them alms for the love of God.”

Amid all the temptations of his youth, he longed to become a Servant of Mary, but obedient to his father’s wish began to study medicine. A brilliant student, he studied at Paris, France, and Padua, Italy, receiving his doctorates in medicine and philosophy by age 19. The love of God was very strong in him, so that by self-discipline, praying, and particularly by reciting each day the office of the Holy Virgin he fulfilled the divine law to perfection. He practiced medicine for about a year, bringing help to the poor of Christ. In 1254 following a vision of the Virgin Mary, his doubts were solved. He quit everything and saying nothing of his studies and state he joined the Servites at Monte Scenario as a lay brother. In this humble state he led an austere and penitential life, sweetened by meditation on the sufferings of Our Lord. He couldn’t hide his great talents, wisdom, and knowledge, persuaded by superiors to use his gifts and background to further the Servite mission. He was ordained priest at Siena, Italy in 1258. Four years later in 1262 he become novice master at Siena and then superior of several Servite friaries. On the 5th of June 1267, in the Order’s General Chapter of Florence, St. Philip much against his protests was elected prior general of the order, an office he held for eighteen years, almost to the time of his death.

He watched over the Order of Our Lady with great care, in both its doctrine and its holiness. Like a father he would visit all the communities making long and arduous journeys. Once when ravaged by war and a subsequent famine in the province of Arezzo, the local friars, at the prayers of St. Philip to the Virgin Mary, by a miracle were provided with food. Under his leadership the number of communities and provinces in the Order increased significantly. As a follower of the Apostles, he was tireless in proclaiming the word of God. He sent some of his brethren to preach the Gospel in Scythia while he himself journeyed from city to city, travelling to Italy, the Netherlands and Germany, repressing civil dissensions and returning many to the obedience of the Roman Pontiff. His unremitting zeal for the salvation of souls won many, including the most unrepentant sinners. He was often seen rapt in ecstasy. Some of the saint’s miracles became well known. One day he met a half-naked leper, when this poor leper begged alms of him at Camigliano, a village of Siena, St. Philip having no money gave him his tunic. When the leper put it on, he was instantly cured.

The fame of this miracle spread far and wide and many of the Cardinals who were assembled at Viterbo for the election of a successor to Pope Clement IV considered him a candidate for the papacy.

When he heard the rumor, he went into hiding on Mount Tuniato until Pope St. Gregory X was chosen.

In the wake of the Second Council of Lyons of 1274 which put restrictions on mendicant orders he codified the Servite rules and applied his great gifts of wisdom in the Roman Curia along with Blessed Lotharingus and succeeded in preparing the way for definitive approval of the Order in the Church. For this reason, St. Philip is often called a holy Father of the Order.

He worked with Blessed Andrew Dotti, helped Saint Juliana of Cornillon found the Servite third order, and dispatched the first Servite missionaries to the East in 1284.

St. Philip lived his last few months in retirement in a Servite house in Todi, Italy.

Free from every stain of mortal sin, he was never weary of beseeching God’s mercy. From the time he was ten years old he daily prayed the Penitential Psalms. On his deathbed he recited verses of the Miserere, his cheeks streaming with tears; during his agony he went through a terrible contest to overcome the fear of damnation. A few minutes before he died, all his doubts disappeared and were succeeded by a holy trust. He uttered the responses to the final prayers in a low but audible voice; and when at last the Mother of God appeared before him, he lifted up his arms with joy and breathed a gentle sigh, as if placing his soul in Her hands. He died on the Octave of the Assumption, 1285.

The blind and lame were healed at his tomb, and the dead were brought back to life. His name having become illustrious by these and many other miracles, Pope Clement X in 1671, enrolled him among the saints.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          “Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor,” Wikipedia. Jun. 08, 2022. Accessed: Aug. 05, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_IV,_Holy_Roman_Emperor&oldid=1092152379

[2]          “Pope Gregory VII,” Wikipedia. Jul. 16, 2022. Accessed: Aug. 05, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pope_Gregory_VII&oldid=1098614260

[3]          ossm1236, “About St. Philip Benizi, OSM,” secularservites, Aug. 30, 2018. https://secularservites.org/about-st-philip-benizi-osm (accessed Aug. 05, 2022).

[4]          “Saint Philip Benizi, Servite Priest.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_philip_benizi.html (accessed Aug. 05, 2022).

[5]          “CatholicSaints.Info » Blog Archive » Saint Philip Benizi.” https://catholicsaints.info/saint-philip-benizi/ (accessed Aug. 05, 2022).

[6]          “St. Philip Benizi.” https://www.salvemariaregina.info/SalveMariaRegina/SMR-169/Benizi.htm (accessed Aug. 05, 2022).

Saint Eugenius

Bishop of Carthage († 505)

Feast – July 13

Carthage, which was located on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia, was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classical world. After being conquered, it became a major city of the Roman Empire in the province of Africa and the final destination of St. Epenetus, one of the Seventy-two disciples and the first Bishop of Carthage.

The bishops of Carthage exercised an informal primacy in the Early African Church, in the region which used to be the Carthaginian empire, and to some extent over the Church in Numidia (modern-day Algeria expanding across Tunisia, Libya, and some parts of Morocco) and Mauretania (from central Algeria westwards to the Atlantic, covering northern Morocco, and southward to the Atlas Mountains). The provincial primacy associated with the senior bishop in the province was of little importance in comparison to the authority of the bishop of Carthage, who could be appealed to directly by the clergy of any province. Not much is known about the bishops of Carthage and difficulties they had faced. The first certain historically documented bishop is Agrippinus around the 230s. During his episcopacy the question arose in the African Church as to what should be done with regard to converts from schism or heresy. If they had previously been Catholics, ecclesiastical discipline held them subject to penance, but if it were a question of receiving those who had been baptized outside the Church, was their baptism to be regarded as valid? Agrippinus convoked the bishops of Numidia and Africa for the First Council of Africa c. 215-217 which resolved the question negatively. He consequently decided that such persons should be baptized, not conditionally but absolutely.

In 250 the Roman Emperor Decius in his pursue for absolute power had issued an edict ordering everyone in the Empire to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods and the well-being of the emperor. The sacrifices had to be performed in the presence of a Roman magistrate and be confirmed by a signed and witnessed certificate from the magistrate. As bishop, St. Cyprian faced opposition within his own diocese over the question of the proper treatment of the lapsi who had fallen away from the Christian faith under persecution, a division in the church that came to be known as the Donatist controversy. He held a council sometime after Easter 251 AD, in which lapsi were classified into five categories; Sacrificati (Those who had actually offered a sacrifice to the idols), Thurificati (Those who had burnt incense on the altar before the statues of the gods), Libellatici (Those who had drawn up attestation, or had, by bribing the authorities, caused such certificates to be drawn up for them, representing them as having offered sacrifice, without, however, having actually done so), Acta facientes (Those that made false statements or other acts to save their lives) and Traditores (Those who gave up sacred scriptures, artifacts and/or revealed names of fellow Christians), with assign penance appropriate to each.

The Donatists stressed the holiness of the church and refused to accept the authority to administer the sacraments of those clergy who had surrendered the sacred scriptures when they were forbidden under the emperor Diocletian. The most articulate critic of the Donatist heresy was St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, who pointed that the unworthiness of a minister did not affect the validity of the sacraments because their true minister was Christ. Although the dispute was resolved by a decision of an imperial commission in the Council of Carthage 411, Donatist communities continued to exist as late as the 6th century.

In 257 Emperor Valerian started his persecution of Christians. First, he commanded the clergy to perform sacrifices to the Roman gods or face banishment. This was followed by the execution of Christian leaders, then confiscation of property and lastly reducing to slavery members of imperial households who would not worship the Roman gods and to send them to work on the imperial estates. Persecution, sacrifice of Christians and internal struggle inside the episcopal see of Carthage brought “surprising” effects, by the end of the 4th century, the settled areas had become Christianized, and local tribes had converted in masse.

In August 431, the Vandals (Germanic immigrants who settled in the Iberian Peninsula) under their leader Genseric crossed the Strait of Gibraltar into Africa and captured Hippo Regius, which they made the capital of their kingdom. In October 439 they made a surprise attack against Carthage and after capturing the city made it the new capital. The Vandals, who were Arians, had the practice of persecuting the Catholics, especially bishops. They plundered and destroyed Carthage’s churches, monasteries and burned two bishops alive. They banished to the desert to die Bishop St. Quodvultdeus, along with other Prelates and clergy as well as 5,000 lay people.

King Genseric protected his Catholic subjects since his relations with Rome or Constantinople required that, but left the see of Carthage empty for 14 years. In 454, at the request of the Roman Emperor Valentinian III, St. Deogratias was appointed bishop of Carthage. He remained on the seat until his death three years later. After St. Deogratias’ reign ended, the Vandals would not allow Carthage to have a Catholic bishop for another twenty-three years. King Genseric died on the 25th of January 477, at the age of around 88 years. According to the law of succession his oldest son Huneric became the new king.

In 481 at the request of the Eastern Roman emperor Zeno and Placidia, daughter of Valentinian III, wife of western Roman Empire Olybrius and sister of Huneric’s wife Eudocia, allowed the vacant seat to be filled, and St. Eugenius, famous for his learning, zeal, piety and prudence, was unanimously elected by the citizens of Carthage and consecrated Bishop.

St. Eugenius as a bishop refused himself the slightest convenience, in order to be able to give all he had to the poor and distressed. His austere lifestyle, charity, courage and clarity of his teaching won him the admiration and conversion of many Arians. King Huneric, seeing the growing popularity of the Catholic bishop while his own influence and power decline among his people, sent St. Eugenius an order to never sit on the episcopal throne, preach to the people, or admit into his chapel any Vandals, even if Catholic.

The Saint courageously replied that the laws of God commanded him not to shut the door of His church to any who desired to serve Him there. His popularity grew further after Felix, a blind man of Carthage, had a dream that Bishop Eugenius would pray for him, and he would be healed. Twice the man ignored the dream, but he had it again. On the third time he roused himself and sought out the bishop. The legend continues that Felix went to the bishop and told his story. The bishop protested his ability to heal but eventually acquiesced with the words “I have already told you I am a sinful man; but may he who has deigned to visit you act in accordance with your faith and open your eyes.” While he was praying Felix’s sight was restored. When news of the miracle reached the Vandal king, Huneric unsuccessfully tried to kill Felix, then after St. Eugenius had admitted a number of Vandals into the Catholic Church, and successfully engaged in argument against Arian theologians, enraged the Vandal king who persecuted Catholics in various ways. On February 24, 484 he forcibly removed the Catholic bishops from their offices and exiled a great number of bishops, priests, deacons, and eminent Catholic laymen to Corsica and to the African deserts, which are filled with scorpions and venomous serpents. Many nuns were so cruelly tortured that they died on the rack, many were put to death. The people followed their bishops and priests to execution with lighted tapers in their hands. Mothers carried their little infants in their arms and laid them at the feet of the confessors, crying out with tears, “On your way to receiving your crowns, to whom do you leave us? Who will baptize our children? Who will impart to us the benefit of penance, and free us from the bonds of sin by the grace of reconciliation and pardon? Who will bury us with solemn prayers at our death? By whom will the divine Sacrifice be offered?”

Through divine intervention, St. Eugenius was liberated on the very scaffold, but exiled to an uninhabited desert in the province of Tripoli and committed to the guard of Anthony, an Arian bishop who treated him with the utmost barbarity, shutting him up in a narrow cell and allowing no one to visit him. Before entering that prison, however, he had found a way to write to his diocesans a splendid letter, in which he said: “If I return to Carthage, I will see you in this life; if I do not return, I will see you in the other. Pray for us and fast, because fasting and almsgiving have always obtained the mercy of God; but remember above all, that it is written we must not fear those who can kill only the body.”

When in 484, Huneric was succeeded by his nephew Gunthamund, a new king recalled Saint Eugenius to Carthage, opened the Catholic churches, and allowed all the exiled clergy to return. After reigning for twelve years, in 496 Gontamund died, and his brother Thrasamund succeeded to the throne. He arrested St. Eugenius and condemned him to death, but converted the sentence into exile in France.

St. Eugenius, about whom we know very little, was the bishop over many martyrs and, as such, became the symbol of all of them. He died July 13, 505, in a monastery which he had built and governed at Albi, near Toulouse.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          “Capture of Carthage (439),” Wikipedia. Apr. 09, 2022. Accessed: Jun. 25, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Capture_of_Carthage_(439)&oldid=1081811305

[2]          “CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Agrippinus.” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01232a.htm (accessed Jun. 25, 2022).

[3]          “Decian persecution,” Wikipedia. Nov. 30, 2021. Accessed: Jun. 25, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Decian_persecution&oldid=1057884115

[4]          “Epenetus of Carthage,” Wikipedia. Apr. 27, 2022. Accessed: Jun. 25, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Epenetus_of_Carthage&oldid=1084908255

[5]          “Saint Eugenius, Bishop of Carthage.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_eugenius.html (accessed Jun. 25, 2022).

[6]          “July 13—ST. EUGENIUS, Bishop,” Garden Of Mary. https://gardenofmary.com/july-13-st-eugenius-bishop/ (accessed Jun. 25, 2022).

[7]          “St. Eugenius of Carthage, saint of July 13.” https://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j081sdEugenius_7-13.htm (accessed Jun. 25, 2022).

[8]          “Eugenius of Carthage,” Wikipedia. Sep. 28, 2021. Accessed: Jun. 25, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eugenius_of_Carthage&oldid=1047002121

Saint Prosper of Aquitaine

Doctor of the Church c. 390 – c. 455

Feast – June 25

 “Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.” (1 Peter 5, 8-9)

The devil is an intelligent creature, he will use every opportunity to distort people. In good times an easy-going attitude, jealousy and pride are among his tools, in bad times anger is probably his favorite. For his manipulation to work it must address some kind difficulties people are facing. Sometimes they are false challenges, like climate change, where the solution is a totalitarian government run by elites (children of the devil). Other times they are real, like difficulties with comprehending the doctrine of the Trinity which led to the heresy of Arianism which was an easy explanation.

Around 380 the British monk and theologian Pelagius moved to Rome. In Rome he found that few in society shared his commitment to an ascetic lifestyle. Enjoying the reputation of austerity, St. Augustine called him a “saintly man,” he became a highly regarded spiritual director for both clergy and laity and soon gained a considerable following in Rome, his closest collaborator was a lawyer named Celestius. Pelagius increased his enthusiasm for moralism and formed his theology around it. He began to teach a very strict, rigid moralism, regarded the moral strength of man’s will, when steeled by asceticism, as sufficient in itself to desire and to attain the loftiest ideal of virtue and emphasizing a natural human ability to attain salvation. To prove his point, he denied the vast consequences of original sin, limiting it to a bad example which Adam set for next generations. By doing so he denied reality. When God created the world, He established a certain order. God created the first male and female, Adam and Eve, and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the livinarhg things that crawl on the earth. (Genesis 1: 27-28)

Adam and Eve having kids is the model family. In spiritual warfare the father is the first protector of the family, the second line of defense is the mother. When the father and mother commit a deadly sin and fall under the power of devil, (which happened with Adam and Eve) the children have no spiritual protection, their original nature turns into something which is popularly called “human nature.” This way the sin of Adam has been passed upon all. The chain, the avalanche of sinful activities follows through next generations until order is restored, which is impossible without God’s intervention. By proclaiming that man has the ability to attain salvation without the aid of divine grace Pelagius proudly told God, I don’t need Your help, ignoring the truth that God created everything, and everything depends on Him.

Then he attacked St. Augustine of Hippo who humbly praised and fully credited God for guiding him step by step from the swamps of sin into the safe lands of holiness in his autobiographical work Confessions.

Pelagius attacked the theology of divine grace on the grounds that it imperiled the entire moral law. In his opinion the value of Christ’s redemption was limited mainly to instruction and example, which the Savior threw into the balance as a counterweight against Adam’s wicked example.

After the fall of Rome to the Visigoths in 410, Pelagius and Celestius went to Africa then two years later left for Palestine. In 415 he was accused of heresy at the synod of Jerusalem but succeeded in avoiding censure. Then he wrote De libero arbitrio (“On Free Will”), which resulted in the condemnation of his teaching by two African councils and in 417 Pope Innocent I excommunicated Pelagius and Celestius. Pope Innocent’s successor St. Zosimus, after renewed investigation at the council of Carthage in 418 confirmed the council’s nine canons condemning Pelagius’s teachings.

Canon 1 “If any man says that Adam, the first man, was created mortal, so that whether he sinned or not he would have died, not as the wages of sin, but through the necessity of nature, let him be anathema.”

Canon 2 “If any man says that new-born children need not be baptized, or that they should indeed be baptized for the remission of sins, but that they have in them no original sin inherited from Adam which must be washed away in the bath of regeneration, so that in their ease the formula of baptism ‘for the remission of sins’ must not be taken literally, but figuratively, let him be anathema.”

Canon 3 “If any man says that in the kingdom of heaven or elsewhere there is a certain middle place, where children who die unbaptized live in bliss (beate vivant), whereas without baptism they cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven, that is, into eternal life, let him be anathema.”

Canon 4 “If any man says that the grace of God, by which man is justified through Jesus Christ, is only effectual for the forgiveness of sins already committed but is of no avail for avoiding sin in the future, let him be anathema.”

Canon 5 “If any man says that this grace only helps not to sin, in so far that by it we obtain a better insight into the Divine commands, and learn what we should desire and avoid, but does not also give the power gladly to do and to fulfill what we have seen to be good, let him be anathema.”

Canon 6 “If any man says that the grace of justification was given us in order that we might the more easily fulfill that which we are bound to do by the power of free will, so that we could, even without grace, only not so easily, fulfill the Divine commands, let him be anathema.”

Canon 7 “If any man understands the words of the Apostle: ‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us,’ to mean that we must acknowledge ourselves to be sinners only out of humility, not because we are really such, let him be anathema.”

Canon 8 “If any man says that the saints pronounce the words of the Lord’s Prayer, ‘forgive us our trespasses,’ not for themselves, because for them this petition is unnecessary, but for others, and that therefore it is, ‘forgive us,’ not ‘me,’ let him be anathema.”

Canon 9 “If any man says that the saints only pronounce these words, ‘forgive us our trespasses,’ out of humility, not in their literal meaning, let him be anathema.”

Shortly after the council of Carthage, Pelagius died and his heresy appeared to vanish with him. However, a few years later a softer version reappeared in southern France (Gaul).

The monks who resided at Marseilles and on the neighboring island of Lerinum, called  Massilians,  well known throughout the Christian world as holy and virtuous men, conspicuous for their learning and asceticism, heartily acquiesced in the condemnation of Pelagianism by the Synod of Carthage (418) and the “Tractoria” of Pope Zosimus, and also in the doctrines of original sin and grace. However, they also concluded that St. Augustine in his teaching concerning the necessity and gratuity especially of prevenient grace far overshot the mark. John Cassian, abbot of the monastery of St. Victor at Marseilles had endeavored in his thirteenth conference to demonstrate from Biblical examples that while grace often preceded the will, on the other hand the will frequently preceded grace. This started the theological movement which was in reality something between Augustine’s teachings on grace and those of the heretical monk Pelagius called “relics of the Pelagians” and today is known as Semi-Pelagianism. Semi-Pelagianism was less extreme, but it still denied important points of the faith. Its basic claims were: (1) the beginning of faith (though not faith itself or its increase) could be accomplished by the human will alone, unaided by grace; (2) in a loose sense, the sanctifying grace man receives from God can be merited by natural human effort, unaided by actual grace; (3) once a man has been justified, he does not need additional grace from God in order to persevere until the end of life.

In 417 in the aftermath of the Gothic invasions of Gaul, a layman, a refugee from Aquitaine born in Lemovices c. 390, educated at Bordeaux, named Prosper settled with the monks at Marseilles. He showed himself as man of high morals, purity and sanctity of manners, eloquence, and zeal. Being in the center of growing opposition to the teachings of St. Augustine regarding divine grace, in search of truth and clarity he reached out to the bishop of Hippo, who responded with letters that are now known as “On the Predestination of the Saints” and “On the Gift of Perseverance.” Thus the battle of his life began, the battle which extended over a hundred years and ended with condemnation of Semi-Pelagianism as heresy at the Ecumenical Council of Orange in 529. His arguments, which were based on the writings of St. Augustine, lead to his sainthood and title as a Doctor of the Church. The condemnation of Semi-Pelagianism was reaffirmed in 1546 by the Council of Trent.

During his fight, St. Prosper threw himself with passion into the religious controversies by defending St. Augustine and propagating orthodoxy. In 430 he wrote a 1000-line polemical poem against Pelagianism, Adversus ingratos, (facing ingratitude). A year later and accompanied by his friend Hilary, St. Prosper traveled to Rome to gain the support of Pope St. Celestine I against Semi-Pelagianism and to ask him to proclaim the truth of St. Augustine’s teachings. He also convinced the Pope to publish an open letter to the bishops of Gaul, against some members of the Gaulish Church. In 432 St. Prosper created his chief work De gratia Dei et libero arbitrio (God’s grace and free will).

Between 435 and 442 he wrote Capitulla, a simple list of ten doctrinal points asserting the efficacy and necessity of God’s Grace, each separately supported by papal statements. It was a strong defense of an essential Augustinian doctrine, but straightforward to make it easy to understand and accept.

When in September 440 St. Leo the Great became Pope, he called St. Prosper to Rome and made him his secretary employing him in the most important affairs of the Church. He assisted the Pope with correspondence dealing with Nestorian heresy.

Being of great virtue and possessing extraordinary talents and learning, St. Prosper dealt with delicate questions with remarkable insight.

St. Prosper was primarily responsible for crushing the Pelagian heresy. Its complete overthrow is said to be due to his zeal, learning, and unwearied endeavors. The date of his death remains uncertain, but he was still alive in 455, the date at which his Chronicle concludes.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          A. Augustin, “A TREATISE ON THE PREDESTINATION OF THE SAINTS,” p. 28.

[2]          “Pelagius,” Wikipedia. May 08, 2022. Accessed: Jun. 02, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pelagius&oldid=1086775098

[3]          “Pelagius | Biography, Beliefs, & Facts | Britannica.” https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pelagius-Christian-theologian (accessed Jun. 02, 2022).

[4]          “CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pelagius and Pelagianism.” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11604a.htm (accessed Jun. 02, 2022).

[5]          “CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Semipelagianism.” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13703a.htm (accessed Jun. 02, 2022).

[6]          “Semi-Pelagianism – New World Encyclopedia.” https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Semi-Pelagianism (accessed Jun. 02, 2022).

[7]          “What is semi-Pelagianism? | EWTN,” EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/what-is-semipelagianism-978 (accessed Jun. 02, 2022).

[8]          “Prosper of Aquitaine,” Wikipedia. Feb. 07, 2022. Accessed: Jun. 02, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prosper_of_Aquitaine&oldid=1070510459

[9]          C. Online, “St. Prosper of Aquitaine – Saints & Angels,” Catholic Online. https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=884 (accessed Jun. 02, 2022).

[10]        “Saint Prosper of Aquitaine, Doctor of the Church.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_prosper_of_aquitaine.html (accessed Jun. 02, 2022).

[11]        “St. Prosper of Aquitaine ca. 390-455 — Classical Christianity.” https://classicalchristianity.com/category/bysaint/st-prosper-of-aquitaine-ca-390-455/ (accessed Jun. 02, 2022).

Saint Gregory Nazianzen

Archbishop of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church (329-390)

Feast – May 9

The Edict of Milan in 313 started a new era, officially ending the persecution of Christianity. Christianity became the leading religion of the Roman Empire, but the war on the faith didn’t stop.

Arius (256–336) was a Cyrenaic presbyter, ascetic, and priest, and also a pupil of St. Lucian of Antioch at Lucian’s private academy. He adopted a modified form of the teachings of Paul of Samosata (200-275), Bishop of Antioch and originator of the Paulianist heresy, a nontrinitarian theological doctrine, which was a form of Monarchianism. His teachings, known as Arianism, became a major theological movement in the Christian Roman Empire during the fourth and fifth centuries. The conflict between Arianism and the standard Trinitarian beliefs was the first major doctrinal battle in the Christian church after the legalization of Christianity. It involved emperors, bishops, priests, and lay believers throughout the Roman empire. Bitter disputes among church leaders led to mob violence and political turmoil. Arianism was the first form of Christianity to make major inroads with the Germanic tribes, many of the “barbarians” who conquered Rome and deposed the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire Romulus Augustulus in 476 were actually Arian Christians. As a result of Arianism being successfully taught to the Germanic tribes it lingered for several more centuries in western Europe after the fall of the western Roman Empire.

Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God the Father with the difference that the Son of God did not always exist but was begotten within time by God the Father, therefore Jesus was not co-eternal, and not one substance, not of the same or similar but dissimilar nature with God the Father.

The creed taught to converts by Germanic Arian missionary Ulfilas may help explain why it was so successful in diverting many Christians.

“I believe that there is only one God the Father, alone unbegotten and invisible, and in His only begotten Son, our Lord and God, creator and maker of all things, not having any like unto Him… And I believe in one Holy Spirit, an enlightening and sanctifying power… [who is] neither God nor Lord, but the faithful minister of Christ; not equal, but subject and obedient in all things to the Son. And I believe the Son to be subject and obedient in all things to God the Father.”

To eradicate the growing interior conflict, Emperor Constantine convened the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325, which settled the Christological issue of the divine nature of God the Son and his relationship to God the Father, reflected this settlement in the Nicene Creed, and rejected the tenets of Arianism. Constantine exiled those who refused to accept the creed—including Arius himself and several others. He also exiled the bishops who signed the creed but refused to condemn Arius—notably Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis of Nicea. He also ordered all copies of the Thalia, the book in which Arius had expressed his teachings, to be burned. Arianism was appeared to be gone, and the theological debate concluded. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Constantine, under the influence of his sister, Flavia Julia Constantia, a convert to Christianity and supporter of the Arians, allowed Theognis of Nicea and Eusebius of Nicomedia to return from exile. Together with other friends of Arius, they began to work for Arius’ rehabilitation. In May 337, when Constantine realized that he was about to die he received baptism from Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia. His son and successor Flavius Julius Constantius, known as Constantius II, Roman emperor from 337 to 361, was an Arian too. In 339 Eusebius of Nicomedia had been made bishop of Constantinople and became an adviser to the Empire. Constantius II encouraged the anti-Nicene groups and set out to revise the official creed itself through numerous Church councils. He proceeded to exile bishops adhering to the old creed, including St.  Athanasius and Pope Liberius.

In this environment the son of St. Gregory of Nazianzus the Elder and St. Nonna of Nazianzus was raised. The son who would become the Archbishop of Constantinople, a Doctor of the Church and one of the Cappadocian Fathers. In the Eastern Catholic Churches he is revered as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs, along with Basil the Great and John Chrysostom. In both Eastern and Western Christianity he is considered one of the Great Fathers, the “Trinitarian Theologian” whose work continues to influence modern theologians. This son is St. Gregory of Nazianzus.

St. Gregory was born in 329 to Greek, wealthy, landowner parents, in the family estate of Karbala outside the village of Arianzus, near Nazianzus, in southwest Cappadocia. The infant was immediately consecrated to God. In 325 AD his mother, Nonna converted his father to Christianity. In 329 his father became a bishop of Nazianzus. St. Gregory and his brother, Caesarius, first studied at home with their uncle Amphylokhios. When he learned to read, his mother presented him with the Holy Scripture. After learning all that he could in his native land, he journeyed to Caesarea in Palestine to study at the famous school founded by Origen of Alexandria, an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian. Then he went to Alexandria in Egypt to rejoin his brother there and then to the metropolis of the sciences and the humanities, Athens. On the way to Athens, a storm of twenty days’ duration nearly caused the loss of the ship and all passengers; their safe arrival was attributed to Saint Gregory’s prayers, and all aboard adopted Christianity.

While at Athens, he studied under the famous rhetoricians Himerius and Proaeresius. There he developed a close friendship with his fellow student St. Basil of Caesarea. Together they turned away from the most attractive worldly prospects, lived in seclusion, self-discipline, and studious labor, knowing only two roads, the one to church and the other to school. After about ten years of studies and good works in Athens, they left the city and separated.

In 361 St. Gregory returned to Nazianzus, where his parents were now advanced in age, and was ordained a presbyter by his father’s wish, who wanted him to assist with caring for local Christians. St. Gregory had firmly resolved to devote his life and talents to God. He yearned for the monastic or ascetic life with the Scripture studies, and disliked his father’s decision. He consulted his beloved friend St. Basil who retired near St. Gregory’s own hometown. St. Basil urged him to assist his father. His first sermon, after a ten-weeks’ retreat was on the dangers and responsibilities of the priesthood. However, when the elder Gregory wished to make him a bishop, he fled to join his friend St. Basil in Pontus who was organizing a monastery in Pontus and invited him to come. He remained with Saint Basil for several years. When his brother Caesarius died, he returned home to help his father administer his diocese. Arriving at Nazianzus, St. Gregory found the local Christian community split by theological differences and his father accused of heresy by local monks signing an unclear interpretation of the dogmas of the faith. He convinced his father of the pernicious nature of Arianism and strengthened him in Orthodoxy, then he helped to heal the division through a combination of personal diplomacy and oratory. By this time Emperor Julian had publicly declared himself in opposition to Christianity. In response St. Gregory composed his Invectives Against Julian which affirms that Christianity will overcome imperfect rulers such as Julian through love and patience, and the process of deification which leads to a spiritual elevation and mystical union with God. In late 362, Emperor Julian resolved, to vigorously persecute St. Gregory and other Christian critics; however, Julian perished the following year during a campaign against the Persians and was replaced by emperor Jovian who was an avowed Christian. In 365 St. Basil was ordain priest. For the next few years together with St. Gregory, on behalf of Archbishop Eusebius of Caesarea, they effectively combated the Arian heresy.

In 370, Eusebius died, and St. Basil was chosen to succeed him.

In 371 Tyana became the capital of Cappadocian Secundus and as the bishop of Tyana, Anthimus asserted that the change in his city’s political status should be matched with a change in its religious status. With the support of Arians who did not wish to be under St. Basil’s authority he declared himself in authority over several Cappadocian towns in his new province which had previously been under St. Basil’s oversight.

In 372, in order to strengthen his position in dispute with Anthimus, St. Basil created the see of Sasima and ordained St. Gregory Bishop. By late 372 St. Gregory returned to Nazianzus to assist his dying father with the administration of his diocese. He continued to administer the Diocese of Nazianzus but refused to be named bishop. Donating most of his inheritance to the needy, he lived an austere existence. At the end of 375 he withdrew to a monastery at Seleukia, living there for three years. Near the end of this period his friend Basil died. Although Gregory’s health did not permit him to attend the funeral, he wrote a heartfelt letter of condolence to Basil’s brother, Gregory of Nyssa, and composed twelve memorial poems dedicated to the memory of his departed friend.

Upon the death of Arian supporter Emperor Valens in 378, Theodosius, a steadfast supporter of Nicene orthodoxy, become Emperor. The exiled Nicene party gradually returned to the city, which was distracted and in shambles due to the rule of the Arians and other heretics. In 379 St. Gregory, who was well known for rare gifts of conciliatory disposition, was asked by the council of bishops and the archbishop Meletios to lead a theological campaign to win over the city. After much hesitation, Gregory agreed and became Patriarch of Constantinople. His cousin Theodosia offered him a villa for his residence; Gregory immediately transformed much of it into a church, naming it Anastasia, “a scene for the resurrection of the faith.” From this little chapel he delivered five powerful discourses on Nicene doctrine, explaining the nature of the Trinity and the unity of the Godhead and refuting the denial of the Holy Spirit’s divinity. His homilies were well received and attracted ever-growing crowds to Anastasia.

Fearing Gregory’s popularity, his opponents decided to strike. On the vigil of Easter in 379, when Saint Gregory was baptizing catechumens, an Arian mob burst into his church casting stones killing one bishop and wounding St. Gregory. Escaping the mob, Gregory next found himself betrayed by his erstwhile friend, the philosopher Maximus the Cynic. Maximus attempted to seize St. Gregory’s position and have himself ordained bishop of Constantinople. Struck by the ingratitude of Maximus, Gregory attempted to resign from the cathedral, but his faithful flock forced him to stay and threw the usurper out of the city.

On November 24, 380 the holy emperor Theodosius arrived in the capital, enforced his decree against the heretics, returning the main church to the faith and enabling St. Gregory to make a solemn entrance. The Arians were so irritated at the decay of their heresy they resolved to take St. Gregory’s life. For this purpose, they chose an intrepid youth who was willing to undertake the sacrilegious commission, but God did not allow him to carry it out; he was touched with remorse and cast himself at the Saint’s feet, avowing his sinful intent. St. Gregory forgave him at once, treated him with all kindness and received him among his friends, to the wonder and edification of the whole city and to the confusion of the heretics, whose crime had served only as a mirror to the virtue of the Saint. His fame spread across the East and West. The saint lived in the capital as though he still lived in the wilderness: “his food was food of the wilderness; his clothing was whatever necessary. He made visitations without pretense, and though in proximity of the court, he sought nothing from the court.”

At the Second Ecumenical Council in 381, after the death of Patriarch Meletius of Antioch he was chosen to preside at the Council. The Egyptian and Macedonian bishops who had supported Maximus’ ordination arrived late for the Council. Once there, they refused to recognize Gregory’s position as head of the church of Constantinople, arguing that his transfer from the See of Sasima was canonically illegitimate.

Saint Gregory decided to resign his office for the sake of peace in the Church: “Let me be as the Prophet Jonah! I was responsible for the storm, but I would sacrifice myself for the salvation of the ship. Seize me and throw me… I was not happy when I ascended the throne, and gladly would I descend it.”

After telling the emperor of his desire to quit the capital, Saint Gregory appeared again at the Council to deliver a farewell address asking to be allowed to depart in peace.

Returning to his homeland of Cappadocia, Gregory once again resumed his position as bishop of Nazianzus. He spent the next year combating the local Apollinarian heretics. By the end of 383 he found his health too feeble to cope with episcopal duties. He established the pious Eulalius there as bishop, and then withdrew into the solitude of Arianzos. After enjoying six peaceful years in retirement at his family estate, he died on 25 January in 390.

In 391 St. Gregory’s cousin, Eulalios, published several of his more noteworthy works.  By 400, Rufinius began translating his orations into Latin. As his works circulated throughout the empire, they influenced theological thought. His orations were cited as authoritative by the First Council of Ephesus in 431. By 451 he was designated Theologian by the Council of Chalcedon:  – a title held by no others save John the Apostle.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          “Arianism – New World Encyclopedia.” https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Arianism (accessed May 16, 2022).

[2]          “Saint Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople.” https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2022/01/25/100298-saint-gregory-the-theologian-archbishop-of-constantinople (accessed May 16, 2022).

[3]          “CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Gregory of Nazianzus.” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07010b.htm (accessed May 16, 2022).

[4]          “Saint Gregory Nazianzen, Archbishop of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_gregory_nazianzen.html (accessed May 16, 2022).

[5]          “Saint/s of the Day – 2 January – St Basil the Great (329-379) and St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390) Fathers and Doctors of the Church – AnaStpaul.” https://anastpaul.com/2018/01/02/saint-s-of-the-day-st-basil-the-great-329-379-and-st-gregory-of-nazianzen-330-390-fathers-and-doctors-of-the-church/ (accessed May 16, 2022).

[6]          “Gregory of Nazianzus,” Wikipedia. May 14, 2022. Accessed: May 16, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gregory_of_Nazianzus&oldid=1087782924